MPH 2020: Applied, Accepted, Rejected, Waitlisted

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Hi all!

I was accepted to Penn’s MPH. I only applied to them (I’m also applying to other types of programs) and I’m really excited! I know you all have a ton more knowledge about these programs than me. So I was wondering if someone could share there impressions of penn (eg. quality, opportunities, faculty, students....). Any knowledge is super welcome! Thanks!
 
Hi all!

I was accepted to Penn’s MPH. I only applied to them (I’m also applying to other types of programs) and I’m really excited! I know you all have a ton more knowledge about these programs than me. So I was wondering if someone could share there impressions of penn (eg. quality, opportunities, faculty, students....). Any knowledge is super welcome! Thanks!
Congrats!!! I applied there too. When did you apply by the way and what concentration? I heard from a current student and they love it so far especially with the internship program and the resources available.
 
Congrats!!! I applied there too. When did you apply by the way and what concentration? I heard from a current student and they love it so far especially with the internship program and the resources available.

Hey! I applied 11/05, I got an email saying it was under review on 11/11, and got accepted 12/2. General concentration. 🙂
 
Also, did anyone get another email from Columbia about an interview for the second time? I did mine Wednesday and received the same email today.
 
Undergraduate School: University of California
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 2.87/2.79 (SOPHAS verified)
Major/minor: Biology
Grad GPA (if applicable): n/a
Grad studies (if applicable): n/a
GRE(including date taken): V-148 (37th %) Q-154 (53rd %) AW-4.0 (57th%) (Taken October 2019)

Experience/research:
- 2 years as a research assistant in health lab (undergrad)
- 1.5 years as research assistant in biology lab (undergrad)
- 1 year volunteering in health center (undergrad)
- 3.5 years as assistant coordinator (super part time and volunteer) (undergrad)
- 1 year as research assistant in health center at University of California (post undergrad)

Letters of Rec: 2 former lab supervisors and 1 from current supervisor

Interested in: LGBTQ+ health, minority disparities, mental health, child psychology & health, health policy

Program Applying to: Health Education/Promotion & Community Health Sciences
Applied: George Washington University (11/30), Oregon Health & Sciences (11/30), Colorado School of Public Heath (11/30), UC Berkeley (11/30), UC Irvine (11/30), UC Davis (11/30), UC Los Angeles (11/30), UC San Diego(11/30), UC Santa Cruz (11/30), Rutgers (11/30), Temple (11/30)
Accepted:
Rejected:
Waitlisted:
Attending:

**I know I have a low GPA and GRE, but I thought there was no harm in trying (aside from the harm done to my bank account RIP)**
 
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Hi, did anyone know the deadline of UCI MPH? I know the date is Dec 15, but what specific time? Thank you!
Don't take my word for this but I wanna say 9pm PST, but I recommend finishing it earlier in case too many try submitting apps that day.
 
Undergraduate School: University of California
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 2.87/2.79 (SOPHAS verified)
Major/minor: Biology
Grad GPA (if applicable): n/a
Grad studies (if applicable): n/a
GRE(including date taken): V-148 (37th %) Q-154 (53rd %) AW-4.0 (57th%) (Taken October 2019)

Experience/research:
- 2 years as a research assistant in health lab (undergrad)
- 1.5 years as research assistant in biology lab (undergrad)
- 1 year volunteering in health center (undergrad)
- 3.5 years as assistant coordinator (super part time and volunteer) (undergrad)
- 1 year as research assistant in health center at University of California (post undergrad)

Letters of Rec: 2 former lab supervisors and 1 from current supervisor

Interested in: LGBTQ+ health, minority disparities, mental health, child psychology & health, health policy

Program Applying to: Health Education/Promotion & Community Health Sciences
Applied: George Washington University (11/30), Oregon Health & Sciences (11/30), Colorado School of Public Heath (11/30), UC Berkeley (11/30), UC Irvine (11/30), UC Davis (11/30), UC Los Angeles (11/30), UC San Diego(11/30), UC Santa Cruz (11/30), Rutgers (11/30), Temple (11/30), Boston U (will apply before end of December)
Accepted:
Rejected:
Waitlisted:
Attending:

**I know I have a low GPA and GRE, but I thought there was no harm in trying (aside from the harm done to my bank account RIP)**

Best of luck! Try not to worry too much about your GPA/GRE! I’m sure you experience, SOPs, and LORs will attract a program or two!
 
Hi all!

I’ve been following along since I sent in my applications and panicked at the lack of next steps! Thought I would answer my own question on letter or recommendations, since I’ve heard back from a few schools on receiving apps.

I applied to all programs on 12/1, with transcripts and GREs accepted and 2/3 letters. Sophas verified me 12/4, so my question was would schools receive the application without all 3 LoR. I since had notes from UT and UC Berkeley confirming receipt of the app apart from the last letter, so while they won’t review til all three are in, they do get received! For Berkeley they also had an option to submit the grad school application late if they’d already received Sophas by 12/1, although I submitted on time.

Update: final letter in 12/9

Program Applying to: Health Promotion/Behavior/Sociomedical type

Applied 12/1: GWU, UC Berkeley, Emory, UT Houston, Columbia, Harvard, UNC
Accepted: Harvard (2/20 + $), Columbia (2/13 +$), Emory (1/16 +$), UNC (1/8), GWU (1/9 + $), UT Health (12/12 + $)
Rejected: Berkeley (3/11)
 
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HPM! Just had it this morning. I don't think I did that well. He said he will try to have decisions finalized by Monday but at the latest released by XMAS
Wow Monday is so soon! Even by Xmas is very soon that's great! I pray it ends up well in the end, what a great opportunity to have that interview, congrats on that again 🙂
 
I applied for infectious disease epi. Which one are you interested in? I'm a senior at Cornell so I'm taking one of their intro courses and my experience with the professors and current MPH students has been great so far. They also said that the accreditation site visit a few weeks ago went really well so they should be on track to be CEPH-accredited in March.
I'm also a Senior at Cornell! This is my final semester and I'm in Human Ecology. What major are you? I'm so glad to hear that it has been great so far because I could totally end up staying at Cornell which excites me (I transferred so haven't been here as long as others)! I applied for Food Systems and called recently, I'll be hearing back within the next few weeks I think and hopefully you do soon too! 🙂
 
I'm also a Senior at Cornell! This is my final semester and I'm in Human Ecology. What major are you? I'm so glad to hear that it has been great so far because I could totally end up staying at Cornell which excites me (I transferred so haven't been here as long as others)! I applied for Food Systems and called recently, I'll be hearing back within the next few weeks I think and hopefully you do soon too! 🙂
Small world! I just graduated from Cornell this past May. I was Class of 2020, but graduated a year early
 
I’ve heard it’s pretty informal?? Were there any curve ball questions?
Not really. Just why an MSPH, what kind of org I see myself at in the future, and what I want to w this degree....
 
Just got an interview invite from Dartmouth!
For Dartmouth, how long does it usually take for the adcoms to get back to you? I submitted my app around late November and confirmed that it was under review the last day of November.
 
I'm also a Senior at Cornell! This is my final semester and I'm in Human Ecology. What major are you? I'm so glad to hear that it has been great so far because I could totally end up staying at Cornell which excites me (I transferred so haven't been here as long as others)! I applied for Food Systems and called recently, I'll be hearing back within the next few weeks I think and hopefully you do soon too! 🙂

Small world! I just graduated from Cornell this past May. I was Class of 2020, but graduated a year early

Definitely a small world! I'm majoring in biology and French
 
For Dartmouth, how long does it usually take for the adcoms to get back to you? I submitted my app around late November and confirmed that it was under review the last day of November.

I submitted my application late October, so I suspect they didn't start reviewing things until the priority deadline.
 
Undergraduate School: liberal arts university in the midwest
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.76 (3.8 calculated by SOPHAS)/4.0
Major/minor: Dual degree in Public Health Honors (BS) and Sociology Honors (BA) May 2020
Grad GPA (if applicable): n/a
Grad studies (if applicable): taking graduate public health courses through pipeline program at my university
GRE(including date taken): V-157 (76th %) Q-151 (41st %) AW-5.0 (92nd%) (taken 11/11/2019)

Experience/research:
NIH diversity research program (4 years)
McNair scholars program
CDC/Hopkins SPH summer research program
Columbia SPH epi/biostats summer research program
county health department intern ~1 year
State gov health policy intern ~1 year
community health intern ~1 year
contributed to a published chapter in book about telehealth
presented at 7 research conferences (local and national)
ABRCMS 2019 Poster Award
various other campus leadership roles/volunteer work

Other: 1st gen college student, 2nd gen immigrant, underrepresented background/SES

Letters of Rec: epi professor, dean of graduate school at my university, state rep I interned with, columbia sph summer program director, director of undergrad public health program at my university

Interested in: Social epidemiology, immigrant/minority health, maternal and child health, health policy

I’m applying to MPH programs in Epidemiology with a certificate in health policy at all the schools except Hopkins (MSPH in population health, certificate in epi).

Applied: Umich, Columbia, Hopkins, George Washington, BostonU (11/29)
Accepted:
Rejected:
Waitlisted:
Attending:


Kind of freaking out, but reading through these forums has made me feel a lot better. I know applying to only 5 big schools is a bit ambitious, but I would have a very hard time moving out of state (MI) for any other schools. I also know my GRE isn’t stellar but I hope other components of my application are strong enough to compensate for that. I emphasize the quantitive training I’ve already received and why I will succeed in epi despite my GRE, so hopefully that helps. Any advice you all may have is greatly appreciated!
 
That's awesome! Where have you applied/are you going to apply for grad school and what programs are you looking to do? 🙂
I applied to GWU, Boston, UNC, Emory, Columbia, Michigan, Yale, and NYU all for Health Policy! Hbu?
 
Undergraduate School: liberal arts university in the midwest
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.76 (3.8 calculated by SOPHAS)/4.0
Major/minor: Dual degree in Public Health Honors (BS) and Sociology Honors (BA) May 2020
Grad GPA (if applicable): n/a
Grad studies (if applicable): taking graduate public health courses through pipeline program at my university
GRE(including date taken): V-157 (76th %) Q-151 (41st %) AW-5.0 (92nd%) (taken 11/11/2019)

Experience/research:
NIH diversity research program (4 years)
McNair scholars program
CDC/Hopkins SPH summer research program
Columbia SPH epi/biostats summer research program
county health department intern ~1 year
State gov health policy intern ~1 year
community health intern ~1 year
contributed to a published chapter in book about telehealth
presented at 7 research conferences (local and national)
ABRCMS 2019 Poster Award
various other campus leadership roles/volunteer work

Other: 1st gen college student, 2nd gen immigrant, underrepresented background/SES

Letters of Rec: epi professor, dean of graduate school at my university, state rep I interned with, columbia sph summer program director, director of undergrad public health program at my university

Interested in: Social epidemiology, immigrant/minority health, maternal and child health, health policy

I’m applying to MPH programs in Epidemiology with a certificate in health policy at all the schools except Hopkins (MSPH in population health, certificate in epi).

Applied: Umich, Columbia, Hopkins, George Washington, BostonU (11/29)
Accepted:
Rejected:
Waitlisted:
Attending:


Kind of freaking out, but reading through these forums has made me feel a lot better. I know applying to only 5 big schools is a bit ambitious, but I would have a very hard time moving out of state (MI) for any other schools. I also know my GRE isn’t stellar but I hope other components of my application are strong enough to compensate for that. I emphasize the quantitive training I’ve already received and why I will succeed in epi despite my GRE, so hopefully that helps. Any advice you all may have is greatly appreciated!

You'll get in to a lot of good schools, but I'd consider adding other schools like UNC, Emory, Brown and others . . . You are lucky that your instate school, UMich is a very good school and ranked better than BostonU, George Washington, and others. You have a pretty strong application, and I think you could well get a partial or full-scholarship somewhere.

Just remember that rankings aren't everything! Public health schools are relatively easy to gain admission to compared to most other fields, and it isn't necessarily the reputation of the school versus what skills you learn. Schools like BU and Columbia have very high tuition (and very expensive cost of living) and cater in part to people who already have jobs or employers who will pay for their education, a high tuition doesn't mean you'll get a great education, often just means that the school is private and that alumni don't donate a lot! Rankings anyway are flawed somewhat and schools clustered in a region will mutually rank each other higher.

If you are most interested in research then go with a school that matches your research interests, or has a strong research background like JHU, UNC or Harvard, it is about finding faculty who share your research interests if you are going that route. Also look at Tulane! It has a great history of public health, as well as Emory. Nothing wrong with public health in midwest in Michigan and Minnesota, I read a lot of good public health coming out of institutions in these areas all the time.

GW is . . . OK, the big advantage is being in Washington DC from an international/global and policy perspective, BU is crowded out by other public health schools and they recently had problems getting people to get externships, though I think BU did away (or will do away) with using GRE scores (yours aren't a big problem IMHO when you look at your whole application), BU did it mostly to lure in more applicants.
 
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Undergraduate School: Top 10 university
Undergrad GPA 3.77 (SOPHAS verified)
Major/minor: Human Development and Global Health, graduating in June 2020
GRE(11/1/2019): V-155 (68th %) Q-161 (76th %) AW-4.0 (57th%)

Experience/research:
-2 years as Health Desk volunteer
-2 years providing free First AID/CPR/AED training to community
-Summer internship at local municipality health department
-3 month internship at children's hospital as a School Services Intern--not very public health related

This is all of my public health related experience--my interest changed midway through my undergraduate career. I am not very confident about my experience compared to many other applicants. I mentioned my international study in South Africa and listed research papers/projects I completed for classes on my resume (my career adviser told me to do this!!)

Other: Underrepresented background

Letters of Recommendation: Local health department director (supervisor at internship), one academic advisor, one professor

Interested in: Social determinants of health, health equity, racial disparities in health

Applied: Columbia (Sociomedical Sciences, applied 11/25), Yale (Social and Behavioral Sciences, applied 12/5), Emory (Behavioral Sciences and Health Education 12/15), Northwestern (Community Health Research)
Applying: Northwestern (Community Health Research)
Accepted:
Rejected:
Waitlisted:
Attending:


I was a lot more confident about my application until I saw all the work/research experience other applicants have! My nerves have started to kick in. This application season has been hectic (and I only 2/5 applications in) between taking a full course load, working part-time, studying for the GRE, and getting my applications together! I was hoping to have a stellar GRE to put me in a better place for scholarships but I did not do as well as I intended. I am just praying for the best at this point!
 
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Is there anyone else applying to MPH/RD programs?


Undergraduate School: UNC
Undergrad GPA: 3.67 (SOPHAS verified)
Major/minor: BA Exercise and Sport Science BA Hispanic Literature and Culture
Grad GPA (if applicable): n/a
Grad studies (if applicable): n/a
GRE(including date taken): V-159 Q-159 AW-4.5 1/4/2019

Experience/research:
-Internship with No Kid Hungry teaching kids nutrition lessons and advocating for increased access to the federally-funded Summer Meals Program
-Volunteering in a charity clinic serving uninsured patients which has now turned into a full-time job as an MA. I also interpret for Spanish-speaking patients in this role.
-Leadership position in the Social Justice ministry at my church where I helped organize and lead alternative breaks, days of service and other projects.

Letters of Rec: 2 professors from my major and my supervisor from my internship

Interested in: Nutrition, specifically programs MPH/RD or MSPH/RD programs.

Applied: JHU, UMich, and UNC
Accepted: TBA
Rejected:

Waitlisted:
Attending:
 
You'll get in to a lot of good schools, but I'd consider adding other schools like UNC, Emory, Brown and others . . . You are lucky that your instate school, UMich is a very good school and ranked better than BostonU, George Washington, and others. You have a pretty strong application, and I think you could well get a partial or full-scholarship somewhere.

Just remember that rankings aren't everything! Public health schools are relatively easy to gain admission to compared to most other fields, and it isn't necessarily the reputation of the school versus what skills you learn. Schools like BU and Columbia have very high tuition (and very expensive cost of living) and cater in part to people who already have jobs or employers who will pay for their education, a high tuition doesn't mean you'll get a great education, often just means that the school is private and that alumni don't donate a lot! Rankings anyway are flawed somewhat and schools clustered in a region will mutually rank each other higher.

If you are most interested in research then go with a school that matches your research interests, or has a strong research background like JHU, UNC or Harvard, it is about finding faculty who share your research interests if you are going that route. Also look at Tulane! It has a great history of public health, as well as Emory. Nothing wrong with public health in midwest in Michigan and Minnesota, I read a lot of good public health coming out of institutions in these areas all the time.

GW is . . . OK, the big advantage is being in Washington DC from an international/global and policy perspective, BU is crowded out by other public health schools and they recently had problems getting people to get externships, though I think BU did away (or will do away) with using GRE scores (yours aren't a big problem IMHO when you look at your whole application), BU did it mostly to lure in more applicants.

Wow! Thank you for your kind words and thorough response. UMich is definitely my top choice both because it's in-state (tuition wise, and I would like to continue living/working here) as well as because southeast Michigan has an influx of immigrants and that is ideally the population I would work with.

Ranking isn't super important to me, I chose my schools based on where I could see myself living/building a network and what assets they had in terms of research/connections/alumni. I strongly considered Harvard, UNC, Emory, Tulane, and Brown, but I'm not sure it is worth applying if I don't see myself going there even if I got in. Maybe that isn't a good mindset, what are your thoughts? BostonU and GW, as you said, are OK.. I like both areas and what each school has to offer, plus I've had pleasant interactions with their faculty. I think I am mostly hoping I get a good offer from them that I can leverage elsewhere if need be.

Career-wise, I don't think I would like to conduct research, but I'd like to be somewhere at the intersection of implementation science and influencing policy, hence the schools/programs I've applied to. Are you familiar with any schools/programs that touch on this that maybe I haven't considered?
 
Wow! Thank you for your kind words and thorough response. UMich is definitely my top choice both because it's in-state (tuition wise, and I would like to continue living/working here) as well as because southeast Michigan has an influx of immigrants and that is ideally the population I would work with.

Ranking isn't super important to me, I chose my schools based on where I could see myself living/building a network and what assets they had in terms of research/connections/alumni. I strongly considered Harvard, UNC, Emory, Tulane, and Brown, but I'm not sure it is worth applying if I don't see myself going there even if I got in. Maybe that isn't a good mindset, what are your thoughts? BostonU and GW, as you said, are OK.. I like both areas and what each school has to offer, plus I've had pleasant interactions with their faculty. I think I am mostly hoping I get a good offer from them that I can leverage elsewhere if need be.

Career-wise, I don't think I would like to conduct research, but I'd like to be somewhere at the intersection of implementation science and influencing policy, hence the schools/programs I've applied to. Are you familiar with any schools/programs that touch on this that maybe I haven't considered?

I think I see more of where you are coming from, given that you evaluated geography and where'd you'd like to actually end up. I think your career goals are interesting, and quite possibly you might pursue in additional qualifications after the MPH? All I can add is:

1. The only big caveat I've heard of in terms of applying for a brand name school like Harvard, or JHU, is that it looks very good on a subsequent application for graduate school, like if you wanted to apply for the DrPH, the doctor of public health programs, having that on the resume along with research would help I have gathered.

2. You are definitely lucky having a very good public health school in your backyard, in Michigan, though I think that in terms of global policy and even national policy, definitely Washington D.C. schools and those in the area, like JHU, have an advantage. The influx of immigrants in Michigan notwithstanding, I think that you'd get exposure to more of the NGOs and governmental organizations dealing with immigrant health and related areas like global health in Washington DC and even in places like Emory versus Michigan, but also going to where you feel comfortable is a big deal too!

Good luck with applying!
 
Don't take my word for this but I wanna say 9 pm PST, but I recommend finishing it earlier in case too many try submitting apps that day.
Thank you! I also applied the UCI, and I will retake my GRE on DEC15 which is my last chance this year, so I was extremely nervous. QAQ, I hope I can get a higher score (maybe 315) this time.
 
For the people that didn't fill out the Columbia supplement questions....I got my portal login info and there is no place to edit and add the answers to the questions like someone said earlier in the thread....was anyone able to find it or do I just email them?
 
For the people that didn't fill out the Columbia supplement questions....I got my portal login info and there is no place to edit and add the answers to the questions like someone said earlier in the thread....was anyone able to find it or do I just email them?

I emailed them and let them know and they added the questions to my application portal!
 
I'm glad everyone is mentioning the Columbia supplemental questions because I wouldn't have even known about them! There were no supplemental questions when I was filling out the application but on the SOPHAS PDF submitted app there are and now they're empty. For anyone who hasn't checked their submitted app make sure you do in case there are questions that didn't show up!!
 
I'm glad everyone is mentioning the Columbia supplemental questions because I wouldn't have even known about them! There were no supplemental questions when I was filling out the application but on the SOPHAS PDF submitted app there are and now they're empty. For anyone who hasn't checked their submitted app make sure you do in case there are questions that didn't show up!!

Oh jeez, I thought that maybe my program just didn't have any supplemental questions but I checked the PDF and there they are!!! I guess I'll fill them out tonight and email them. I hope I'm not too late. 🙁
 
Are Columbia interviews supposed to happen around this time?
From past forums I assumed they happened in January but I’ve been seeing people getting email requests for interviews so I’m hoping it comes soon! They’ve had my application for about 3 weeks so I’m just anxious
 
Oh jeez, I thought that maybe my program just didn't have any supplemental questions but I checked the PDF and there they are!!! I guess I'll fill them out tonight and email them. I hope I'm not too late. 🙁

You're not too late!! I emailed them last night and they just got back to me (so quick!) saying they put the supplemental questions in my portal. I'd email them asking to do that instead of just emailing the questions in, because it seems like they have a system for this. I just hope that everyone finds out about this so they don't have a bunch of unanswered questions. Good luck!
 
Congrats! May I ask when you received an Email? Also, when did your app go under review? I too applied for Health Policy!
I submitted on 11/18 . Verified on 11/21. Heard back on 12/2! Good luck!
 
Has anybody already interviewed with Columbia? I received the mail that somebody would reach out to me almost 2 weeks ago. But I have not been contacted yet...
 
Tufts App is finally under review. Received portal login as well.
 
You're not too late!! I emailed them last night and they just got back to me (so quick!) saying they put the supplemental questions in my portal. I'd email them asking to do that instead of just emailing the questions in, because it seems like they have a system for this. I just hope that everyone finds out about this so they don't have a bunch of unanswered questions. Good luck!

Yep, I just got it too! Do you think it'll affect our admissions decision? Mine has only been in review since 12/5 so I'm hoping they haven't even gotten around to looking at it yet...
 
Yep, I just got it too! Do you think it'll affect our admissions decision? Mine has only been in review since 12/5 so I'm hoping they haven't even gotten around to looking at it yet...

Yea that’s what I’m hoping too, the one time I hope an admissions team is slow. They’re all optional anyways so they technically aren’t supposed to affect admissions decisions, but there are questions that could qualify you for scholarship consideration so still important!
 
Has anyone heard about Minnesota executive MPH?? Any reviews about it??
 
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