MPH 2019: Applied, Waitlisted, Accepted!

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Got my first acceptance (COLUMBIA) so figured I should sign up!!

Undergrad School: Small(ish) state school
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.36 (SOPHAS verified) (3.51 upper division)
Major/Minor: Community health / sociology
GRE: V: 162 /(91%), Q: 158 (68%), W: 3.5 (Sept 2018)
Experience/Research (please, be brief):

- study abroad program studying health disparities faced by Aboriginal students in australia
- 1 year internship at state office of rural health studying disparities faced by American Indians and those in frontier counties
- development of a social media program implemented by a large public hospital in Australia
research funded by Idea Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence

LOR: two from advisors at my internship, one from a professor of demography, one from my epi professor

Interests: family/neonatal health, health disparities, global health

Applied: Colorado School of Public Health - epi or global health (11/25), Columbia sociomedical science (12/1) , University of Georgia epi (1/3) , Georgia State epi (11/29), Brown University (doing this week!!)
Accepted - Columbia!! (1/23)
 
MPAfya_19 said:
In at Columbia for sociomedical sciences with a global health certificate!! Congrats to everyone else who got good news today too!

Also, what are your opinions on checking in with a school regarding admissions decisions? I'm going on 9 weeks waiting for a decision from Emory, and am worried my application got lost in the shuffle somehow. Would it be inappropriate to email admissions to check in?
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I'm in the same boat with a different school. I received my confirmation email from JH on 10/16 that my app was forwarded for review, weeeeell over the timeline provided on the Virtual Fair last week but I'm trying to factor in the holidays. Planning on reaching out next week if nothing comes out this week.
 
Undergrad School: University of Toledo
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.64 (SOPHAS verified) (3.9 upper division)
Major/Minor: Biology/pre-med
MCAT: 502 (56%)
Experience/Research (please, be brief):

- 1 year long study abroad program
- 1 year as a medical scribe in the emergency department
- 2+ years in various biomedical research labs (abroad, at University of Toledo, and at University of Michigan)
-4 years as an administrative assistant for cell and developmental biology at University of Michigan
-Numerous healthcare related volunteering (thought I wanted to go to med school)

LOR: One from my women's and gender studies professor, one from my study abroad coordinator who is also the vice provost of UT, and one from a biology professor who is also the associate chair of the department

Interests: Sociomedical sciences, women's health

Applied: Columbia - 12/6
Accepted - Columbia (SMS with a certificate in sexuality, sexual & reproductive health)!!! - 1/23

Congrats to everyone who heard from Columbia today! Is anyone planning on going to one of the admitted students days?
 
Congrats to everyone on their acceptances! This forum has been really helpful for me, so I figured I would contribute.

Undergrad School: University of Miami (graduating in May)
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.87 (SOPHAS verified)
Major/Minor: Majors: exercise physiology and public health Minor: Human and social development
GRE: V: 156 (73%), Q: 156 (61%), W: 4.0 (59%) (October 2018)
Experience/Research (please, be brief):
- Research assistant for study concerning female hormones and muscle recovery (4 months)
- Intern at nonprofit focused on access to and utilization of WIC and SNAP on Long Island (3 months)
- Health outreach peer educator on campus (~ 1 year)
- Secretary of organization focused on health education for youth in Miami-Dade community (~9 months)
- President of rock climbing club (~ 9 months)

LOR: One from internship supervisor, three from University of Miami faculty

Interests: Chronic disease epidemiology, nutrition, exercise, obesity

Applied: Columbia epidemiology (11/23/18), University of Maryland physical activity (12/13/18), GWU physical activity (12/13/18), Boston University epidemiology (12/15/18), Yale chronic disease epidemiology (12/16/18), University at Albany epidemiology (12/21/18), Pitt epidemiology (12/21/18), Drexel epidemiology (12/21/18)
Accepted - Drexel + $ (1/8/19), Boston University + $ (1/11/19), University at Albany (1/15/19), Pitt (1/16/19), University of Maryland (1/22/19), Columbia (1/23/19)
Waiting: GWU, Yale
 
Maybe someone might have an answer to this... I am hoping that I will qualify for a merit based scholarship from Columbia. Does anyone know if we have to submit FAFSA to be considered for one? I haven't submitted financial aid info yet
 
Hey guys, I’m not sure if there are many current students lurking on this thread but would anyone be able to speak on behalf of the Mount Sinai MPH and NYU MPH programs? I have been accepted to both programs and am looking to learn more about them from current students.

For Mount Sinai, I got in for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and for NYU I got in for Public Health Nutrition. I want to focus in Nutrition, Global Health and Chronic and Noncomminicable diseases. I am also looking at Emory since I was accepted there too but I’m not sure if I want to move that far away yet.

If you know about these programs, I would love to hear more information about them!

Thanks!
 
SunshineSarahbelle said:
Maybe someone might have an answer to this... I am hoping that I will qualify for a merit based scholarship from Columbia. Does anyone know if we have to submit FAFSA to be considered for one? I haven't submitted financial aid info yet
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As far as I know, you only need to submit the FAFSA if you're looking for need-based aids and loans. I think you're automatically considered for merit-based aid.
 
plsmphepi said:
I have this question too, for fellow applicants that got into both Emory and Columbia for Epi! Any insight is appreciated, anything at all!
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I'd recommend doing online research of all your schools and visiting those that you can!

Some things to consider (in whatever order matters most to you!):
- Tuition Cost
- Cost of Living
- Faculty Interests
- Courses (required and elective) available
- External & Internal opportunities
- Alumni statistics
- Location (this is where you'll form your network!)
- Atmosphere / Facilities
- Student happiness
- Student/ Professional Organizations
- Family/friends/etc
- Prestige

That being said, I chose Emory and absolutely love it so far!
 
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SunshineSarahbelle said:
Maybe someone might have an answer to this... I am hoping that I will qualify for a merit based scholarship from Columbia. Does anyone know if we have to submit FAFSA to be considered for one? I haven't submitted financial aid info yet
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Since graduate need-based aid doesn't usually consider consider parental income (you are considered independent when you apply to graduate school), I would recommend submitting the FAFSA. Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky. Congrats on your acceptance and wishing you the best on merit considerations! 🙂
 
SunshineSarahbelle said:
Maybe someone might have an answer to this... I am hoping that I will qualify for a merit based scholarship from Columbia. Does anyone know if we have to submit FAFSA to be considered for one? I haven't submitted financial aid info yet
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Similar question, did anyone who was accepted to Columbia today receive a merit-based scholarship? I’m not really expecting one because I know Columbia has some super strict requirements that I don’t think I met, but I’m just curious if anyone heard with their acceptance or if they release those decisions later.
 
flawedmph said:
As far as I know, you only need to submit the FAFSA if you're looking for need-based aids and loans. I think you're automatically considered for merit-based aid.
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I've heard differently from schools. I think you should still submit FAFSA, it's free and isn't super lengthy if you've filled it out before!
 
Does anyone have a sense of what the criteria is like for scholarships from Mount Sinai/what kind of stats you need to qualify?
 
CLib1214 said:
Similar question, did anyone who was accepted to Columbia today receive a merit-based scholarship? I’m not really expecting one because I know Columbia has some super strict requirements that I don’t think I met, but I’m just curious if anyone heard with their acceptance or if they release those decisions later.
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I didn’t get anything, but also I think my GPA and quant GRE score probably don’t meet the requirements.
 
CMo12 said:
I think I got an acceptance from Emory. I got an email from the global health department congratulating me on my acceptance and giving me more information about the program. My portal still says under review though...?
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I got the same email and then the next day got my official acceptance!
 
krequals10 said:
I got the same email and then the next day got my official acceptance!
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Was the "official acceptance" in your portal admissions status or an emailed acceptance letter? I got an acceptance email yesterday and I called Emory admissions today and they said my portal will change in 1-2 weeks (??) so confused
 
cramerb83 said:
hahaha, that is so wacky. I've just been rejected from BU, so hopefully for your sake our fates aren't tied!
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Ugh so sorry to hear that. I found out Friday I got into GW, but provisionally that I keep a GPA above 3.0 my first semester. Good luck with the other schools!
 
Hey all,

Congrats to all those that received Columbia admissions today! And I want to celebrate those that have shared their acceptances over the past two months. As the prospect of choosing between multiple programs presents itself for many of us, the next logical line of reasoning, I imagine, is that our decisions weigh heavily on the financial aid offers we receive. Still, that anxiety-inducing question remains: how will I finance this? For many - if not most - of us. As a group, we are spread across the country (out-of-state tuition vs. in-state) and the world (international tuition rates/ no access to fed. funding), as such we all have unique financial circumstances to face down in our decision to pursue our degrees/career goals. As the reality of attending graduate school becomes more real, so too is the reality of taking on debt upward of $50-100k (tuition/CoL). Personally, this worries me. Certainly, I was aware of this before applying; however, this did narrow my applications and influenced consideration for some programs over others. With the cost of Columbia and the cost of living in NY, I had to really evaluate whether I would attend if accepted due to cost.

I was hoping to create a space for discussion around tuition, debt, and loans, specifically for 2019-20 admissions. And hear others' thoughts on the potential financial burden of attending many of these excellent programs. It may be helpful if current MPH students could weigh in on the experience of managing finances while in a program/challenges/stress or share their program's culture around addressing these issues, and maybe offer advice?

I figured this thread is the most active/relevant to current applicants. If necessary, I can create a separate thread.

TLDR; can we have a real conversation about funding?
 
Nb30 said:
Was the "official acceptance" in your portal admissions status or an emailed acceptance letter? I got an acceptance email yesterday and I called Emory admissions today and they said my portal will change in 1-2 weeks (??) so confused
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I also received two official emails of sorts. One about acceptance and the other about financial aid timeline. No change in portal as yet.
The email though, “RSPH Funding Timeline

January

  • Funding your Degree Webinar (more to come!)
  • Complete the FAFSA, if you have not already. This is a critical step in maximizing your opportunities to receive need-based and other funding from RSPH

February (mid to late)
  • Merit scholarship notifications are sent to recipients via email (from RSPH)
  • Other Institutional funding notifications begin via email (from RSPH)

March
  • Funding award notifications continue via email and OPUS (from Emory’s Office of Financial Aid and RSPH)

April 15th
  • Decision deadline”
 
Mph576 said:
Ugh so sorry to hear that. I found out Friday I got into GW, but provisionally that I keep a GPA above 3.0 my first semester. Good luck with the other schools!
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My GW acceptance is also provisional on the same, maybe that's something everyone receives?
 
EHS_MPHapplicant said:
I was hoping to create a space for discussion around tuition, debt, and loans, specifically for 2019-20 admissions. And hear others' thoughts on the potential financial burden of attending many of these excellent programs. It may be helpful if current MPH students could weigh in on the experience of managing finances while in a program/challenges/stress or share their program's culture around addressing these issues, and maybe offer advice?
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This is REALLY important, and something that always makes me second-hand nervous reading these threads as people accept offers before hearing anything about scholarships.

Some kinda random advice--
1. When you visit schools or email current students after admission, try to get in contact with someone who may have a similar financial situation to you. Consider age, marital status, previous work history, international status, etc. Ask them about finances. They are probably the best person to give you a realistic perspective on how much renting rooms/apartments cost in the area, what people typically spend on groceries or transportation, etc. Tuition is more predictable than cost of living, and the COL estimates schools posts are usually wildly off base. (Side note: the Brown one is definitely off base, please PM me if you want more info about COL in Providence!)
2. Know that your first semester or even year is likely to be your most expensive. Even if you get a scholarship with admissions, chances are you'll find part time work, a TAship, another small RA project or whatever that will pay a bit more or discount tuition further once you've had some training and networked in your program.
3. The people who decide on financial aid (loans, need-based grants) are not the same people who decide on scholarships (from a school/department). You probably will not hear from financial aid until well after April 15. You should absolutely hear from scholarship people before then. For US citizens, remember that the max amount of federal loans grad student can take out per year is $20,500. After that, you will need to go private or cover the costs with savings and scholarships. [edit: fixed a typo here to make it accurate! Also wanted to add that you shouldn't expect any need-based aid in the form of grants anywhere. It's so extraordinarily rare for MPH programs that I've never heard of anyone having any meaningful amount.]
4. Don't do anything unpaid-- your internship should pay you and any research assisting you do should be paid. Sometimes professors hire research assistants before they have grant money, and that's OK to take if they and you trust the grant money is coming. But leave if it never shows. You can't eat off experience. (Side note, especially for global health people: NEVER pay for your internship. I've seen people basically doing voluntourism projects for global health internships. Not OK.)
5. Plan and practice some lifestyle changes before school starts. If you're someone who, for example, is used to buying lunch at work, first semester of a new grad program is not the time to practice meal prep and packing lunches. Start incorporating cost-saving strategies into your daily routine the summer before your program starts.

Once scholarships came in, Brown wasn't the cheapest school for me to attend. I turned down 4 programs that would have been cheaper: Minnesota, Drexel, SUNY Buffalo, and Colorado SPH. For Buffalo and Colorado, I felt that the network in those areas wasn't going to support my interests; turning them down was easy and felt like the most professional choice to make. I think I could have had a great experience at Minnesota and Drexel (/in the Twin Cities or Philly), but in the end, I chose to attend Brown so my partner could keep their job. This may not have been the smartest financial decision, but I have no regrets because (1) I've loved my program and (2) my partner keeping their job provided consistency and security that wouldn't have been there if we had moved out of the region. Obviously these decisions are all very personal, but that's my story in case it helps anyone else.
 
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Does anyone know if being recommended for admission to UMich HMP is an unofficial yes? Or is it just the next stage in the admissions process? Thanks!
 
redeye19 said:
Does anyone know if being recommended for admission to UMich HMP is an unofficial yes? Or is it just the next stage in the admissions process? Thanks!
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I'm pretty sure it's an unofficial yes, congrats! When did you have your interview and when/how did you hear back? Thanks!
 
MHA19 said:
I'm pretty sure it's an unofficial yes, congrats! When did you have your interview and when/how did you hear back? Thanks!
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Thanks! I had my interview 1/17 and heard back 1/24. I just happened to check my application status on Wolverine Access today and there was a link to view admissions recommendation. I didn't get any kind of notification. Turnaround time from interview was much faster than I thought it would be!
 
Hey guys! This may be a bit unrelated but I wanted to share with you guys since I've been more invested over here.
I got into the Emory MBA program! With $$! I did a business school interview (and thought it went terribly) but got in! Woot! :banana:

So now I know I'm in for the MPH/MBA program and can finally consider the Emory visit days for real.

Link up!
 
Nb30 said:
Was the "official acceptance" in your portal admissions status or an emailed acceptance letter? I got an acceptance email yesterday and I called Emory admissions today and they said my portal will change in 1-2 weeks (??) so confused
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I received an email from the department congratulating me on my acceptance. Then the next day OPUS updated my status to "admitted" where I also saw my official acceptance letter. And then a few hours after that I received the official acceptance letter via email.

I'm not sure why yours will take 1-2 weeks, but if you've received the email then I'm sure you're good and it's just the system that takes a bit of time to catch up.
 
twinkysaur said:
Did you receive any application confirmation from UIC? I applied 10/30 and haven't heard anything from them :\
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I finished my application around September 7th. I never received a confirmation about my application being complete or anything. I ended up emailing about 2 months after applying to verify they received everything.
 
Gopher15 said:
I finished my application around September 7th. I never received a confirmation about my application being complete or anything. I ended up emailing about 2 months after applying to verify they received everything.
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I submitted my application in December 1st week.They said they would send the decisions in mid-Jan. I am waiting for them too.
Anyway, congratulations to you and all the best for the other admits.
 
Gopher15 said:
I finished my application around September 7th. I never received a confirmation about my application being complete or anything. I ended up emailing about 2 months after applying to verify they received everything.
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Congrats on the acceptance! Can I ask what concentration you were admitted to?
 
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