MPH Fall 2017: Applied, Accepted, Waitlisted, Rejected!

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(1) Sorry if I was unclear in my commentary. The curriculum overall presently a lot of opportunity for customization. This is along with the foundational rigor of the core, which in and of itself was not customizable. All MPH students, regardless of department, take the core in their first semester in its entirety.

(2) Around 93% of graduates are employed within 6 months after graduating, and many have job offers prior to graduating. A small percent continue on to further education, a smaller percentage are not actively looking for work, and around 2% are seeking work.

Correct.
My brother attends Mailman (he loves it, though i don't think it's the best program for me personally), and just said that yoru core classes your first semester are assigned, meaning you can't schedule them. You take these classes with your cohort.
 
Columbia visit day thoughts:

So I came into this super skeptical. I know a couple of people from my undergrad who went to Mailman for their MPHs who, though not unhappy per say, definitely don't jump to sing its praises. I had heard some negative things like there's no sense of community, it's hard to get ahold of professors, hard to get the classes you want, too big, etc. My experience was totally unexpected, and lovely. Everyone I spoke to - professors, other admitted student, current students, were friendly and amazingly accomplished and doing interesting work. Most meaningful to me was the following:
  • they really emphasized investment in the community and Columbia's relationship with the city, as well as the importance of making students aware of local issues concerning the university (i.e. gentrification, social justice).
  • they talked about a ton of initiatives that bring students out into the community and community members into the fold of columbia's resources and spaces.
  • the career office seems amazing.
  • the training seems rigorous in terms of the core, but also flexible and customizable
  • so resourced
Some concerns I still have
  • it's a big program. your cohort is likely to be over 100 students, and some of the core courses can be really huge
  • professors who provide academic advising can have 12+ advisees at a time. then again, some only have 1-2.
  • student housing is not guaranteed. this would not be an issue for me, but may be for others.
The sense I get is that this experience really is what you make of it. It's a big place, with a lot of moving parts, but you can find your people and make connections if you put yourself out there. It may be a poor fit for people who need/want some more hand-holding, smaller class sizes in the core, or to go to a place small enough that everyone knows each other.

Happy to answer questions!

I doubt there's any program anywhere that's got it all but from your description (and I've visited Mailman myself a year ago), I get the sense that Mailman is pretty close to the elusive "perfect". Also, you get to call NYC your home!
 
Hey, I had the same feeling. My questions for current students especially didn't get answered: I kept asking about the orientation of the department, in terms of research focus as well as after graduation, and she answered flat out wrong. I then contacted some professors, who answered the questions amazingly.

My opinion: columbia will be what you make of it. For me, it's a reasonable choice because I'm already in NYC, don't want to move, and want somewhere that gives a decent education in what I want to do.
What did she say about research focuses or life after graduation that was flat out wrong? I may have interpreted this commentary incorrectly, but I am interested in people's overall impressions and would like to hear your thoughts.
 
I feel like I'm just wasting time waiting for financial aid information from Columbia--for people who received their information, was it in an email or a phone call?? I received an email about current students and there was a phone number to call with financial aid questions, but I'm out of the country until 3/14. I feel like I should be getting some kind of update about this pretty soon.
 
Hi, I've been meaning to post my stats, but had this idea it might be a jinx of some sort as I keep waiting. Now, I am so excited about the opportunities I am so fortunately offered and absolutely believe it when the admissions say they look at your application holistically! Giving hope to prospective applicants!

Undergrad School: UCLA
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 2.77 (2.94 SOPHAS, they factored in cc courses I took post-grad)
Major/Minor: Psychology
GradGPA
(if applicable):
Grad Studies (if applicable):
GRE (including date taken) or Other Test (if applicable): 157Q | 156V | 4.0 AW taken Oct 2016
Experience/Research (please, be brief):
-3 years (by matriculation) of FT work as RA/analyst in health service research (statistic group and community engagement program)
-2 years in clinic settings for kids with developmental delay or autism
-1.5 years in pediatric unit in hospital
-10 months Undergraduate RA at Center for Prodromal Studies
-8 month volunteer experience in Multiple Sclerosis Center

LOR: 1 undergraduate professor, 2 employer (faculty in public health research)

Special factors???
Learning sign language?

Interested in: Social and behavioral health, social determinants of health, community assessment and evaluation, program design, evaluation, and outcomes, stroke
Applied: UCLA (11/26), UC Berkeley (11/26), Harvard (11/26), Columbia (11/27), UW (12/27), BU (12/31), Emory (12/31), Yale (1/9), University of Pittsburgh (1/15)
Accepted: BU (2/2 + $), University of Pittsburgh (2/3), Emory (2/10), UW (2/17), Columbia (Waitlisted 2/9, Accepted 3/1 :soexcited:)
Rejected:
Waitlisted:

I aimed high and landed a spot in some pretty great programs and am so glad I did. I was feeling so hopeless because of my low GPA, but addressing it in your statements and having a clear goal to show that you're serious this time around is important.
The worst they can say is no, but turn that around and move on 😉
I'm excited to meet some of the people here at the admit days and in the field in the future! Please keep up the enthusiasm to improve our world! :banana:


This made me feel so much better! My GPA isn't much higher than yours and my top choice is BU. How long did it take them to come back with a decision?!
 
And if you end up hating Columbia, it'll make your decision-making process that much easier haha. That's why visiting is so important!

And.... I love it! It was a long day and I had to commute over two hours to get there in the morning from nj (where I'm originally from). But even after that I was wowed.

Tidbits from my visit:
1. The faculty have a open door policy and always open to chat with students. If you make the effort to reach out they are there to help!
2. LOVEEEDDDD learning about how you're assigned (or can pick!!) an advisor and can meet with them whenever throughout the two years. The advisor also is hands on when organizing the thesis. I barely had an advisor at BU during my undergrad (I met with him maybe once in 4 years) and will be most certainly utilizing him/her as a resource in grad school.
3. Career services are for life- which means you can ways contact or stop by the office whenever. even after graduation.
4. alumni are incredibly active and will help current students. I was lucky to snag a seat next to an alumni with my concentration and certificate during the lunch (score!). We chatted throughout lunch and she even recommended a couple professors I should reach out too. I even mentioned that I was interested in cancer prevention and she knew exactly who I should talk to from Columbia who works in this field. She was a gem.
5. I got the impression that the CORE is a pain but useful down the line as you will gain a base knowledge of all things PH from biology to healthcare policy. As a former communications major I am very grateful for this. They shared all of the modules for the core and while that was slightly overwhelming I personally see the benefit in doing this extensive training the first semester before you take a deep dive into your concentration. Also you are placed in a cohort with students in other departments so you can meet students with a wide variety of interests.
6. The facilities are super nice. We walked through the buildings where most ph classes are held. The libraries are fully equipped with macs and white boards. Some classrooms even come with laptops attached to the desks. Nice to see the high tuition actually put into good use lol I was really impressed.

If anyone has any questions feel free to reach out!

Pardon any typos- typing from my phone 🙂
 
Is there anyone still waiting for Harvard SM global health and population and Stanford Epi? Everyone seems occupied with choices and I am still waiting for them!:dead:
 
And.... I love it! It was a long day and I had to commute over two hours to get there in the morning from nj (where I'm originally from). But even after that I was wowed.

Tidbits from my visit:
1. The faculty have a open door policy and always open to chat with students. If you make the effort to reach out they are there to help!
2. LOVEEEDDDD learning about how you're assigned (or can pick!!) an advisor and can meet with them whenever throughout the two years. The advisor also is hands on when organizing the thesis. I barely had an advisor at BU during my undergrad (I met with him maybe once in 4 years) and will be most certainly utilizing him/her as a resource in grad school.
3. Career services are for life- which means you can ways contact or stop by the office whenever. even after graduation.
4. alumni are incredibly active and will help current students. I was lucky to snag a seat next to an alumni with my concentration and certificate during the lunch (score!). We chatted throughout lunch and she even recommended a couple professors I should reach out too. I even mentioned that I was interested in cancer prevention and she knew exactly who I should talk to from Columbia who works in this field. She was a gem.
5. I got the impression that the CORE is a pain but useful down the line as you will gain a base knowledge of all things PH from biology to healthcare policy. As a former communications major I am very grateful for this. They shared all of the modules for the core and while that was slightly overwhelming I personally see the benefit in doing this extensive training the first semester before you take a deep dive into your concentration. Also you are placed in a cohort with students in other departments so you can meet students with a wide variety of interests.
6. The facilities are super nice. We walked through the buildings where most ph classes are held. The libraries are fully equipped with macs and white boards. Some classrooms even come with laptops attached to the desks. Nice to see the high tuition actually put into good use lol I was really impressed.

If anyone has any questions feel free to reach out!

Pardon any typos- typing from my phone 🙂
So helpful! Do you know if all the classes at Mailman are held at the Columbia Presbyterian campus, or are some held at the main campus as well?
 
Hey everyone I am new!

Undergrad School: Clark University
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.3
Major/Minor: Biology
GradGPA (if applicable): N/A
Grad Studies (if applicable): N/A
Experience/Research (please, be brief):
-Working for a Chronic illness non profit for 3 years
- Interning at a Public Health Department for a semester
Interested in: Public Health
Accepted: Boston University, Tufts University, and Northeastern University


Lost at which program is better especially when I want to go into epidemiology. I do better in smaller classes and I am interested in autoimmune/chronic illness research. I created my own forum to vote on which MPH program is better. Let me know what you think: https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/bu-vs-tufts-vs-northeastern-mph.1245742/
 
So helpful! Do you know if all the classes at Mailman are held at the Columbia Presbyterian campus, or are some held at the main campus as well?

I actually have no idea! I think all classes are at the med campus (which is a total bummer because the Morningside campus is gorgeous). I totally forgot to ask that question!
 
So helpful! Do you know if all the classes at Mailman are held at the Columbia Presbyterian campus, or are some held at the main campus as well?

I do not know for sure, but suspect that while most classes will be on the Presby campus, classes in which you are cross-registered with other grad schools (most programs allow cross registration for electives if you can justify your interest) may be on the main campus.
 
I doubt there's any program anywhere that's got it all but from your description (and I've visited Mailman myself a year ago), I get the sense that Mailman is pretty close to the elusive "perfect". Also, you get to call NYC your home!

Just a reminder to all that I am NYC born and raised so if any one has questions about living there, I am happy to try and answer them. NYC has its pros and cons 🙂
 
Just received a scholarship letter from Drexel. $34k over 2 years and $1k/month assistantship for 9 months for both years. And immediately got an email from a professor who works in areas I am interested in. Drexel is looking more and more good.

I also saw that there are other people here on the forum who got similar awards. (What are your thoughts so far??) Also read someone here on the forum say really positive things about Drexel from their visit. Does anybody know someone who has attended Drexel MPH and their experience there?
 
Just received a scholarship letter from Drexel. $34k over 2 years and $1k/month assistantship for 9 months for both years. And immediately got an email from a professor who works in areas I am interested in. Drexel is looking more and more good.

I also saw that there are other people here on the forum who got similar awards. (What are your thoughts so far??) Also read someone here on the forum say really positive things about Drexel from their visit. Does anybody know someone who has attended Drexel MPH and their experience there?
I visited! Message me with questions you might have.
 
Is there anyone still waiting for Harvard SM global health and population and Stanford Epi? Everyone seems occupied with choices and I am still waiting for them!:dead:
Yeah Still waiting.. !! Hope they release some this week.
 
This made me feel so much better! My GPA isn't much higher than yours and my top choice is BU. How long did it take them to come back with a decision?!
It took them about 4-5 weeks, it was my first acceptance actually, so I think they'll get back to you real soon. Good luck!
 
This may be a silly question, but does someone have a link or know how to register for Yale's Student Admit Day (April 3rd or 10th)
 
HI, I was wondering has anyone heard anything yet about the institutional scholarships or other financial aid from Columbia?
 
Does anyone remember seeing a chart on the sophas website about which schools allowed deferrals and which didn't? I swear I found something that was super to-the-point about each school but I've been searching for the past ~20 minutes and cant find it again...
 
Does anybody know if it is possible to switch programs at GW? I had already paid my application fee for MPH in Nutrition at GW when I realized I wanted to switch to Child and Maternal Health.. I just got accepted to the Nutrition program now I'm wondering if they'll let me :nailbiting:
 
just got rejected by harvard (health policy)... happy the waiting game is officially over tbh
Did they send you an email first or just portal? Also when did you submit your app. Thanks and sorry to hear about the news 🙁(
 
Just received a scholarship letter from Drexel. $34k over 2 years and $1k/month assistantship for 9 months for both years. And immediately got an email from a professor who works in areas I am interested in. Drexel is looking more and more good.

I also saw that there are other people here on the forum who got similar awards. (What are your thoughts so far??) Also read someone here on the forum say really positive things about Drexel from their visit. Does anybody know someone who has attended Drexel MPH and their experience there?

Congratulations!
Did you receive the acceptance and the scholarship email at the same time?
 
My top choice was Hopkins, but after visiting Columbia today (couldn't make admitted students day for a work thing), I fell in love. I feel so torn now!
 
HI, I was wondering has anyone heard anything yet about the institutional scholarships or other financial aid from Columbia?
They said at Admitted Students day that it would be relased this week hopefully. The financial aid officer during my individual meeting said they had a delay in their system so that FAFSAs didnt download til last week, so they've been working like crazy on those. The director said next week for need and other random scholarships, but merit awards have already been sent.
 
Did they send you an email first or just portal? Also when did you submit your app. Thanks and sorry to hear about the news 🙁(


email first, telling me to check the portal. i submitted 12/1 and got an emailing confirming my application was complete 12/21
 
I heard back from all my schools so here are my stats again with updated acceptances and rejections.

Undergrad School:
Towson University
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.5
Major/Minor: Health Care Management/Business Administration
GradGPA (if applicable): N/A
Grad Studies (if applicable): N/A
GRE (including date taken) or Other Test (if applicable): Some time in December...I didn't do well. 144/144/3.5 I did take a class and still didn't do well...I'm a bad tester honestly 🙁
Experience/Research (please, be brief): I had an internship at my hospital and then ended up working with them for a year. I was mainly just patient services (scheduling) but my manager had me do lots of other tasks like prior authorization and billing you name it. I've let and now I work for a health care management company where i assist in fraud investigation. Both jobs were full time.
I've had a lot of internships that were for non profits or wholesome organizations like providing housing for adults with disabilities.
I'm in a honors fraternity and we did countless hours of volunteering while i was in college. I was also inducted into two other honor socities.
LORs: I was lucky enough to get a letter from my advisor at school who also was my professor. I was very close to her and she knows how hard working I am. My other two letters came from my previous job, my manager and my director. They were both very supportive of my hopes to continue my education and they saw me as an asset to be placed in any position while I was there.
Interested in: Epidemiology. I really would like to learn about the racial disparities (specfically African Americans) between minorities and mental health care.
Special factors???
Clearly I am not very good at standardized tests. I focused on the fact that I have a great GPA, full time work experience and have gained a lot of skills, and wrote what i believe to be a great personal statement. I hope all of this may outweigh my low GRE scores.

Applied:
e-submitted SOPHAS on 1/30 (hasn't been verified yet) JHU, GWU, and UMD
Accepted: George Washington University
Rejected: Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland: College Park
Waitlisted: N/A

I have to say I'm very happy and even though it is my only acceptance I've started to love the idea of being a student at GW. I was accepted into their Epi program so I'm very excited to start in the fall! I'm a little hurt at UMD cause....huh? Idk lol. I thought it was weird. I'm over the top happy I got into GW! Although on this thread awhile ago someone said "GW will accept anyone with a pulse" take the negativity else where! I know its a good school right? Anyways! Best of luck to everyone and if you're going to GW I'll see you there.

:soexcited::soexcited::soexcited:


Congrats on your acceptance to GW! I am waiting to hear back. When was your application received and when did you hear you were accepted?
 
Congrats on your acceptance to GW! I am waiting to hear back. When was your application received and when did you hear you were accepted?

I just heard back from GW this morning, but it's for the Nutrition MPH program so I'm not sure if the program you applied to had more applicants! Only took them about a week after I was verified to make a decision
 
This morning I emailed the financial aid advisor at Emory asking when to expect an award package, she responded "mid march". Well I received an email around 3pm, 12K Lettie Pate Award (10k yr 1, 2k in yr 2) and 10K REAL award, over two years!!
 
Re: Drexel-- I saw a $17,000/year award on my financial aid portal labeled "Global Health Schlp", but I really excitedly thought was in addition to the $5,666/quarter (+ $1000/month stipend) Dornsife Public Health Fellowship. Not the case! I called and apparently the tuition funding part of the fellowship is showing up as "Global Health Schlp" in the portal. Really thought they were giving me a full ride for a second! They are still far and away the best financial option for me, however, so no real bummer there.

I also called Brown and they said that they won't have decisions for "a few weeks." I... am very annoyed. As time goes on, they are becoming my first choice, and this is just unacceptably and unprofessionally late notice. The person I spoke too said she was "aware" of the April 15 deadline but could not confirm that I would have a decision by then. She also asked what the best way to contact me was, which was bizarre because wouldn't they notify all candidates the same way? And I don't even remember if I gave her my name. According to her, the reason they are so late on decisions is (1) it's their first year using SOPHAS and they are struggling with it and (2) they have 3 times the predicted number of applicants. 😕

Aaaanyway, I'll be at Drexel's admitted students' event on Friday and will post about it here when it's finished. If all goes well, I'll probably be headed there in the fall! And if not, I'll really be laying the pressure on Brown to give me a decision & match Drexel's scholarship (unlikely, I know).
 
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I just heard back from GW this morning, but it's for the Nutrition MPH program so I'm not sure if the program you applied to had more applicants! Only took them about a week after I was verified to make a decision

That is a quick turnaround. I applied to the Maternal Child Health program, so it may be a bit different. But that is very promising, thank you!
 
This morning I emailed the financial aid advisor at Emory asking when to expect an award package, she responded "mid march". Well I received an email around 3pm, 12K Lettie Pate Award (10k yr 1, 2k in yr 2) and 10K REAL award, over two years!!
Congrats! When did you get admission offer and submit your FAFSA? Thanks!
 
Re: Drexel-- I saw a $17,000/year award on my financial aid portal labeled "Global Health Schlp", but I really excitedly thought was in addition to the $5,666/quarter (+ $1000/month stipend) Dornsife Public Health Fellowship. Not the case! I called and apparently the tuition funding part of the fellowship is showing up at "Global Health Schlp" in the portal. Really thought they were giving me a full ride for a second! They are still far and away the best financial option for me, however, so no real bummer there.

I also called Brown and they said that they won't have decisions for "a few weeks." I... am very annoyed. As time goes on, they are becoming my first choice, and this is just unacceptably and unprofessionally late notice. The person I spoke too said she was "aware" of the April 15 deadline but could not confirm that I would have a decision by then. She also asked what the best way to contact me was, which was bizarre because wouldn't they notify all candidates the same way? And I don't even remember if I gave her my name. According to her, the reason they are so late on decisions is (1) it's their first year using SOPHAS and they are struggling with it and (2) they have 3 times the predicted number of applicants. 😕

Aaaanyway, I'll be at Drexel's admitted students' event on Friday and will post about it here when it's finished. If all goes well, I'll probably be headed there in the fall! And if not, I'll really be laying the pressure on Brown to give me a decision & match Drexel's scholarship (unlikely, I know).

That's really good to know. I also received the Dornsife fellowship and was amazed when I saw that $17k global health scholarship. Bummer it's not in addition to - that would be one amazing package.
 
Feeling bummed about my financial aid award for JHU only 30k in loans and a a couple grand for work study 🙁
 
Feeling bummed about my financial aid award for JHU only 30k in loans and a a couple grand for work study 🙁
Same!! The only reason I haven't 100% counted it out is because of the tuition reduction the second year. Still, it's a terrible financial aid award. :eyebrow:
 
Hi everyone, here's my recap from Columbia's Admit day! Going to try to go into as much detail as possible for those who want it, so sorry to everyone else for the length! (also ignore the typos, I typed this on my phone on my plane ride home!)

School Wide Stuff
  • Health equity and diversity is key. They have diversity offices, teach social and global awarness, cultural comeptency, etc as part of their orientation/ integrated into their curriculum. Students are social and political activists. If you want to avoid controversy/politics, this may not be your place.
  • You have the chance to work with other columbia graduate schools, and collaborate to solve problems (they talked about how they worked with the engineers to solve challenges faced by global health Zika workers)
  • They love giving back to NYC, through outreach programs, work with NYC DOH, volunteering, etc.
  • Size:1500 students. For some, this may be a negative, but its smaller than Hopkins. I personally like the idea of a larger school because then there are more opportunities, a larger alumni network, etc, and they seem to have a lot of built in systems to make their school seems smaller, like ISP, advisors, and such. I come from a large state school though, so this may not be for everyone.
Alumni
  • Extremely active with current students. They're always mentoring, offering advice if you reach out, guest speaking in class etc. its obvious they love their school, if they keep coming back to it.
  • They bring students to networking events in a ton of different cities, including a spring break week in DC to network. A lot of alumni found their jobs through columbia connections. 96% were employed or continuing education 6mo after graduation, and 2% were not seeking by choice.
  • The career center works with you to create a career trajectory, and adivses you on classes to take, extracurriculars, internships, imdependnt studies, electives, and such.
Curriculum
  • Most classes, after the CORE, are small enough to fit around a table. All glasses are taugh by professors, not TAs.
  • Larger classes have smaller sections they break down into.
  • Classrooms that teach programming stuff like SAS or R have computers at every seat so professors can guide you through the coding process.
  • The CORE is made up of a bunch of small modules all running at once, rather than 5 classes based on the discipline. They're meant to show you how to approach public health from an interdisciplinary perspective.
  • The ISP allows you to meet in a small group of 25 so you can get to know students outside your area, and a professor more intimately. These are the groups students find their friend group in.
  • Leadership is taught as a course in your second semester.
  • Advisors are matched to you based off what you had in your application. They guide you through columbia and help with your thesis.
  • You can take columbia classes outside of mailman for fun, or for pass fail in order to supplement your education.
  • There is a poster session where 2nd years share their practicum experiences and 1st years use this fair to "shop" for a prwcticum they might want to do.
  • Offer stipend support for unpaid prwcticums and match you with paid ones if you ask for it because of financial reasons.
Lumch with Faculty and Current students
  • The ones i had at my table for ljnch were pasionate and very informative. They answered all my questions directly, and i had no problem with that, so i guess I had better luck than other posters. I talked to Dana March individually, and she told me about professors doing research in my area of interest, and was so approachable and passionate about mailman.
  • One student even asked Dana and the current students what they liked least about Mailman, and both gave very direct and honest answers. Obviously no school is perfect, but it was nice to see them answer openly about areas the school is trying to improve on.

Career services
  • Starting median salary for those right iut if undergrad is in the $60ks, average debt in in the $40s. They send out weekly emails with job postings, in addition to job boards, career fairs, and networking trips.
  • All career services are for life, and they really seemed to be top notch.
  • Alumni coach and mentor you, and columbia even gives you access to other school's public health job boards if you move to a different city.
  • They also have programs geared to helping you get into a PHD program if that's your next step.

Money
  • Outside of your financial aid package, you can get leadership awards, stipends for interships, research assistantship positions, ta positions at the main campus and in the core, and any merit aid not given out due to award winners going somewhere else is given back to attending students in the fall.

I went in super critical of Columbia due to how great of an offer I got at Yale. As of right now, i still plan to visit Yale in April, but that depends on financial aid offers from Columbia! Hope this all helps out a little, and lmk if you have questions!
 
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Rejected from Harvard.
Also, got my first financial aid package from Johns Hopkins for MSPH. 34K in loans and 1K work study. Definitely gives them a back seat for me.
 
Soooo if i applied to Harvard by the priority deadline and still haven't heard back, can I just assume I got rejected? I just wanna know ]]: Did anyone get accepted today?
 
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