MPH How necessary is applying for scholarships?

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jshek94

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7+ Year Member
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I just watched Don Asher's presentation on youtube about how to get into grad school. He said if you are a STEM student and don't apply for at least 3-4 scholarships you will be considered a "dud". No matter how great your grades are, or anything else, if you do not apply for scholarships the school will not take you seriously. I was wondering if anyone has any insight on this? I haven't heard this before.
 
Can you clarify? I don't think graduate school admissions panels take into consideration whether or not you applied for scholarships, at least not in the field of public health. On a personal note though, grad school is expensive and many schools have plenty of opportunities to grant tuition waivers to graduate students. I wouldn't enter a PhD program without a tuition waiver, and if you're entering as a master's I would definitely recommend having one by at least the second year.