Heyy, how did you find Pitt on your visit?
For convenience, I'll provide thoughts on all the schools I visited (thanks to work that pays me to travel all over the US!)
Pitt:
-Loved Pittsburgh, seemed an excellent combo of affordable, diverse, and large enough to provide a wide variety of things to do without being huge. One of my friends is a medical resident at Pitt and loves it.
-Campus was very pretty, PH building was nice. Very close to hospital and other resources.
-I got the impression that the epi program didn't have the same caliber of students as other schools (columbia, hopkins, etc.)
-Vibe seemed especially supportive/collaborative for students
-Ability to do the program in 3 semesters is a plus, though it seems most students are encouraged to take 4 semesters. If you want to do 3 I'd make it clear when you come in and plan well.
-Funding seems to be an issue with limited scholarships and GSR positions not available to master's students, but take into account the above point when calculating costs
-If you are looking for a scholarship I would make your interest in the program very clear
Columbia
-NYC location major plus opportunity-wise, major downside CoL-wise. I have friends around and the consensus seems that you can find a place with roommates close to the medical campus for 1000+/mo. Options to sublet for a month/summer while searching for a better long-term place is also an option
-Campus is dated
-Rigidity of program was a downside for me with the first semester completely set, and not as much room for electives as other programs
-Have heard anecdotally that students can have a snobby attitude, but tbh you probably find people like that everywhere
-Size can be a problem as far as making connections with professors--the burden is more on you to make them than it is at other schools
-Otherwise is a solid program and I believe would put one at a good place for PhD admissions
-$$$$
Berkeley
-New PH building is GORGEOUS (epi dept has floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking the Bay), Berkeley is GORGEOUS. Omg, I loved the campus. Super close to hiking and all kinds of outdoorsy things, a subway ride to SF.
-CoL also very high, expect to pay 900+/mo with roommates, more without
-Very focused on CA public health issues, which for me is a plus (I am interested in working with immigrant populations and speak spanish)
-Following that, also easy to make a lot of CA connections. If you want to end up in CA afterwards, this is a good choice
-GSR positions seem to be available for those who seek them out, though I've not been able to get anyone to say that YOU WILL HAVE ONE which makes me wary (I don't want to move somewhere banking on this, and then not be able to have a job).
-MCAH dept is awesome, very tight-knit, profs I met with were great. It's a very small dept but with access to all the resources of the larger school. Have heard only good things from the students
-MCAH dept is very quant focused and you can make it very hard skill based with electives.
-You can get CA residency for tuition purposes your second year
-As I said earlier, I had a lot of trouble contacting epi/biostats profs and got the impression they were overworked/uninterested in recruiting students, which really turned me off
-NOT connected to a medical school, so if you're interested in clinical research you might want to look elsewhere. They partner with UCSF which is like a 30m subway ride away not in rush hour
Yale
-Smaller program, but this conversely means sometimes a lack of course options if you have really specific interests. I would look to see what courses are offered in your area of interest
-Students seem interested and engaged from all the lunch talks I go to lol
-Speaking of which, there's free (good) lunch like 2x a week with public health talks, not sure if this is the same at other schools. Then lots of lunch talks at the med school which is like 50 feet away. Public health--medical school integration seems good, so would be a decent place if you're interested in clinical research.
-Campus is fine, nothing special but not terrible
-Very expensive tuition ($46k for 2019-2020), limited financial support
-New Haven is OK, has great pizza and is close to NYC. Most students live in East Rock, where rent is going to average like $600-700/mo for a room in a shared apt or $1000+ for a 1BR (but you can find nice 1BRs for like 1200). There's a great (read: cheap) grad student bar, and a nice selection of happy hours downtown.
-In line with Columbia, it is a solid program that would put you at a good place for PhD admissions
(I'd love if others who have visited schools could also provide thoughts for those of us who can't go because of distance/time/money, that would be awesome!!)
) but it looks like people started hearing from Yale on 2/15 last year. Does anyone know if Yale has released a specific date for this year?
Can't believe it!!
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