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

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!NDee said:
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!!
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Congrats! I got the exact same, and it is making me feel a lot more confident in probably accepting my offer to Emory 🙂 I have heard of a lot of great things coming from REAL Award Jobs!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Well, I'm pretty set on Columbia, especially after Admitted Students Day, but Michigan just offered me a 50% tuition Dean's Scholarship as well! And, I don't think I mentioned this earlier, but I got $15k from Emory last week for being a PCV, but haven't heard on REAL awards or anything else.
 
Got the $12k Lettie Patte Award and $10K REAL from Emory as well, and then $1k work study for Hopkins + loans
 
sev321 said:
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!

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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On behalf of everyone that couldn't make it, THANK YOU! One question: what were the direct, honest answers the students gave when you asked what they disliked about Mailman?
 
Nine Co said:
Congratulations!
Did you receive the acceptance and the scholarship email at the same time?
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I had gotten an email over the weekend which said Your Application Decision. It allowed me to login to an application portal with my decision and at the time didn't show any significant scholarship. And today I received an email about getting selected for a Fellowship with the scholarship.
 
wwmmkk said:
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.

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 got the same scholarship from Drexel. Since I won't be able to visit, looking forward to what you have to say from the admitted student's event!
 
Not sure if this has been posted somewhere or if it's known already.. I had contacted US News for a Public Health rankings update and this is what the customer relations officer had to say:
'Thank you for contacting U.S. News.
The Health programs, including Public Health, are rated in four year cycles. The last one, as you note, was in 2015. Unfortunately, we will not be ranking these programs again until 2019.'' :uhno:
 
sokapheapluuh said:
Well, I'm pretty set on Columbia, especially after Admitted Students Day, but Michigan just offered me a 50% tuition Dean's Scholarship as well! .
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Congratulations! Do you mind sharing your application timeline for Michigan?
 
Raja_MX said:
Congratulations! Do you mind sharing your application timeline for Michigan?
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Sure! It was SOPHAS submitted and verified in 12/10, and I got their "received" email on 12/19. Didn't hear from them again until 02/09 with acceptance into the HBHE program. Didn't think I was getting a scholarship since so many other had heard already, then this popped up in my inbox today! I got their financial aid stuff in mid/late Feb, which is why I had discounted a scholarship.
 
sokapheapluuh said:
Sure! It was SOPHAS submitted and verified in 12/10, and I got their "received" email on 12/19. Didn't hear from them again until 02/09 with acceptance into the HBHE program. Didn't think I was getting a scholarship since so many other had heard already, then this popped up in my inbox today! I got their financial aid stuff in mid/late Feb, which is why I had discounted a scholarship.
Click to expand...
Does it show up anywhere in Wolverineaccess? Maybe under Award Summary along with the loans and work-study funding offered?
 
granville said:
Chiming in here that I am also waiting on a decision from that program. Very distressing, as it's high on my list.
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I received my acceptance to the GH-65 credit program on Feb 23. I think there's a large group of GH folks who haven't heard back yet. Fingers crossed for some good news for y'all!
 
granville said:
On behalf of everyone that couldn't make it, THANK YOU! One question: what were the direct, honest answers the students gave when you asked what they disliked about Mailman?
Click to expand...
Both the faculty member and the students answered this question, but I remember a lot more from the professor. She wished that the school had more faculty resources in order to have smaller class sizes, and even more different types of classes and opportunity for students. She wished that the CORE could be a little bit smaller, but thinks that the ISP makes a good "compromise". She wished for more classroom space. She wished that Columbia would get even MORE integrated and involved with the Washington Heights area, since there are real public health problems right here in their back yard, so there's always room for improvement. The student agreed, and they talked about how their can be some disconnect between their ivy league school and the community of Washington Heights, but the outreach programs and initiatives they have are a start. They also laughed about some of the more trivial "dislikes", like how annoying the 168th street bus stop is, and things like that, but despite all those structural things, they loved the people here. The professor loved it so much she got 3 graduate degrees at Columbia (2 at Mailman), and the student was sad to be leaving Columbia, because she was going to attend UCLA's PhD program to work with a professor with research that specifically matched what she wanted to do. These are just these two opinions, and I'm sure other people may have different "dislikes", but I got some pretty insincere "my school is perfect" type answers to that question when looking at undergrad schools, so I found their responses thoughtful and honest.
 
Just out of curiosity, is anyone still waiting to hear back from Harvard SBS-65?---- I have a friend who applied but hasn't heard back yet.
 
Kon2D3 said:
Does it show up anywhere in Wolverineaccess? Maybe under Award Summary along with the loans and work-study funding offered?
Click to expand...
Nope! I double-checked afterwards and nothing. It's very confusing honestly because it says "tuition-only" and I was hoping they would separate it out from the fees in the financial aid breakdown.
 
[DELETED] Someone already asked this question and I didn't notice. Womp.
 
LDK92 said:
Just out of curiosity, is anyone still waiting to hear back from Harvard SBS-65?---- I have a friend who applied but hasn't heard back yet.
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Me haha. I emailed the program coordinator, Cleo. She said my app was still under review amd should hear back in 2-3 weeks. She said they will complete decisions by mid march. But I feel like this is a prepared email bc others have gotten the same response
 
MPHer234 said:
Me haha. I emailed the program coordinator, Cleo. She said my app was still under review amd should hear back in 2-3 weeks. She said they will complete decisions by mid march. But I feel like this is a prepared email bc others have gotten the same response
Click to expand...

I'm frustrated for you guys haha thanks for sharing 🙂 I will let my friend know!
 
I feel for all you guys who are still waiting to hear back from places! I can't believe Harvard could take another 2-3 weeks - that's right up against their visit day, which is hard for people who need to book flights to visit.

I think it's always a risk/big ask, but those waiting (for whatever program) may consider reaching out and asking for a specific notification deadline. For personal reasons, I really needed to know my status from UW on or before 2/22, so I called and asked for a determination by that time, explaining my situation. They didn't flat out guarantee I'd hear by then but they were very understanding and ultimately did let me know ahead of 2/22. I would only recommend this in the case of someone who, say, feels strongly that in order for them to consider a program they are waiting on, they really need to be able to make the visit day, or have X amount of time to consider the offer. If it's just a matter of "I'm tired of waiting to hear," I wouldn't risk it. You never know how a program is going to respond to being prodded.
 
jpar263 said:
Question: how was Minnesota's admit students day?
Click to expand...
It was great! I really enjoyed it. Everyone is so friendly. Seems like a lot of opportunities are available for RA positions you just have to seek them yourself. Staff were really friendly and pushed the mentor program pretty heavily. They were saying how they help their own. It was a great experience. They said classes generally aren't bigger than 20-25.
 
What's the best way of going about informing school X that you received a scholarship from school Y?
 
ellb39 said:
I feel for all you guys who are still waiting to hear back from places! I can't believe Harvard could take another 2-3 weeks - that's right up against their visit day, which is hard for people who need to book flights to visit.

I think it's always a risk/big ask, but those waiting (for whatever program) may consider reaching out and asking for a specific notification deadline. For personal reasons, I really needed to know my status from UW on or before 2/22, so I called and asked for a determination by that time, explaining my situation. They didn't flat out guarantee I'd hear by then but they were very understanding and ultimately did let me know ahead of 2/22. I would only recommend this in the case of someone who, say, feels strongly that in order for them to consider a program they are waiting on, they really need to be able to make the visit day, or have X amount of time to consider the offer. If it's just a matter of "I'm tired of waiting to hear," I wouldn't risk it. You never know how a program is going to respond to being prodded.
Click to expand...


I feel you...I have been told by Michigan I will hear this week and the admitted students day is Saturday. I tried to see if I could speed things up by mentioning needing to make travel plans but she told me I'd hear this week and that was it.
 
Has anyone heard back from UNC Gillings MPH in Epi program yet?
 
jpar263 said:
Question: how was Minnesota's admit students day?
Click to expand...

I loved Minnesota's visit day. Some of the things that really stuck out to me were how they did advisers for each person and their mentor program. Each person in the program receives a team of advisers (4-5 people) rather than just one, and your primary adviser is someone they try to match you up with based on your research interests (though depending on what you're interested in, that might not be the case). The mentoring program is an optional program where you sign up for a mentor and write out your career goals and interests and write what you want to get out of an adviser and how often you would want to communicate with them and they match you up with a UM SPH alumni that is your mentor. The mentor could be in Minnesota or anywhere in the country--you can put that you would prefer someone in one area and they can find you someone there. It seems like the school has a really big alumni base.

Each student does a field experience which many do the summer between their first and second year of the MPH program. You can't be working for the school or at a job you've worked at before, it basically needs to be an internship/job where you can apply the skills you've learned in the MPH program. They help you with field experience placements if you need help finding one, and some people even go on to work at their place where they did their field experience after they graduate.

They have a really strong connection with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) which is one of the best departments of health in the nation. Students said that MDH even has connections with the CDC and it can sometimes be a feeder into the CDC. MDH looks to hire SPH students as they are students so many students get a job there during their time at the school and make $20-$25/hr. The MDH is on the metro line so it looks like you can hop on the metro stop on campus and go straight there.

I think what I liked the most is how willing they seem to help you through the program, they genuinely want you to be successful (read: you're not just a number) and provide the resources to do so. It's a very respected school of public health that seems to really care about its students and graduates.
 
Hi Friends, So I heard back from my final school and thought I 'd do a recap.

Undergrad School: Small liberal arts college graduated 2014
Undergrad GPA/ Major GPA: 3.3 overall/ 4.0 major (darned chemistry)
Major: Premed concentration, Major in Public Health/ Minor in French
GRE: 148 Q 160 V 5 AW (womp womp on that quant score)

Experience/ Research: (I'll be brief)
- 1 year international public health organization in Africa and Asia
- 1 year medical research assistant
- 2 first author publications, 4 co-authorships
- 2 research presentations at international conferences
- undergraduate internship with global health organization in Africa
- 100+ hours physician shadowing experience in Africa and US
- Founded a local NPO
-Various other related ECs

-Great LORs 2 from undergrad, 3 from post-undergrad experiences ( principal investigator, supervisor at MCH NP organization, undergraduate research advisor)

Interests: Global Maternal Child Health, Population and reproductive health, Women's health

Applied: Columbia (MPH), GWU (MPH), UNC CH (MsPH to PhD), JHOPS (MsPH), Harvard (MPH), Tulane (MPH), UMass (MPH), Boston U (MPH), UMD (MPH), UC Berkeley (MPH), Brown U (MPH), U Penn (MPH), U Pitt (MPH) and Emory (MPH)

Accepted: Tulane, George Washington University, UC Berkeley, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, UNC, Harvard, Tulane, Boston University (with scholarship), Emory University (with scholarship).

I withdrew/ didn't complete my other applications: Brown, U Penn, U Pit, UMD, U Mass

Rejected: N/A

Best of luck to everyone who hasn't heard back yet, I am sure you will all do incredibly well! Congratulations to everyone who has heard back!

Now we just wait for financial aid packages :/

Just a quick thing, honestly DON'T SELL YOURSELF SHORT. I honestly thought with my stats that I wouldn't get into some of the schools I got into, but you've gotta take that leap of faith.
 
MCHHopeful said:
Hi Friends, So I heard back from my final school and thought I 'd do a recap.

Undergrad School: Small liberal arts college graduated 2014
Undergrad GPA/ Major GPA: 3.3 overall/ 4.0 major (darned chemistry)
Major: Premed concentration, Major in Public Health/ Minor in French
GRE: 148 Q 160 V 5 AW (womp womp on that quant score)

Experience/ Research: (I'll be brief)
- 1 year international public health organization in Africa and Asia
- 1 year medical research assistant
- 2 first author publications, 4 co-authorships
- 2 research presentations at international conferences
- undergraduate internship with global health organization in Africa
- 100+ hours physician shadowing experience in Africa and US
- Founded a local NPO
-Various other related ECs

-Great LORs 2 from undergrad, 3 from post-undergrad experiences ( principal investigator, supervisor at MCH NP organization, undergraduate research advisor)

Interests: Global Maternal Child Health, Population and reproductive health, Women's health

Applied: Columbia (MPH), GWU (MPH), UNC CH (MsPH to PhD), JHOPS (MsPH), Harvard (MPH), Tulane (MPH), UMass (MPH), Boston U (MPH), UMD (MPH), UC Berkeley (MPH), Brown U (MPH), U Penn (MPH), U Pitt (MPH) and Emory (MPH)

Accepted: Tulane, George Washington University, UC Berkeley, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, UNC, Harvard, Tulane, Boston University (with scholarship), Emory University (with scholarship).

I withdrew/ didn't complete my other applications: Brown, U Penn, U Pit, UMD, U Mass

Rejected: N/A

Best of luck to everyone who hasn't heard back yet, I am sure you will all do incredibly well! Congratulations to everyone who has heard back!

Now we just wait for financial aid packages :/

Just a quick thing, honestly DON'T SELL YOURSELF SHORT. I honestly thought with my stats that I wouldn't get into some of the schools I got into, but you've gotta take that leap of faith.
Click to expand...

Completely agree. There isn't really a rhyme or reason to admissions processes--it's a total crap shoot tbh, and definitely dependent on which hands your application ends up in; it can strongly to appeal to some while not to others regardless of the school and its prestige or ranking. Apply far and wide if you can swing the (heavy, ridiculously heavy) application fees. I was rejected from most Ivies ranked lower than the public schools I was admitted to, my only ivy acceptance being Harvard. While with the Ivies I was rejected from I had solid relationships with admissions reps or strong interviews, with Harvard I had ultimately no interaction before receiving my acceptance letter. Moral of the story: don't sell yourself short.
 
Anyone still waiting on financial aid from Emory or Michigan? How were you notified if you've heard already--email or obsessively checking OPUS/Wolverine? Thanks!
 
publichealthplease said:
Anyone still waiting on financial aid from Emory or Michigan? How were you notified if you've heard already--email or obsessively checking OPUS/Wolverine? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm still waiting for both schools, but I submitted my documents right before the deadline. I presume that we will be notified via email.
 
publichealthplease said:
Anyone still waiting on financial aid from Emory or Michigan? How were you notified if you've heard already--email or obsessively checking OPUS/Wolverine? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Rec'd notices from both schools via email. My Wolverine access reflects my aid package, but Opus hasn't updated (I was just notified yesterday).
 
publichealthplease said:
Anyone still waiting on financial aid from Emory or Michigan? How were you notified if you've heard already--email or obsessively checking OPUS/Wolverine? Thanks!
Click to expand...
My Wolverine access has my aid, but not my scholarship. Notified via email. For both.
 
granville said:
Chiming in here that I am also waiting on a decision from that program. Very distressing, as it's high on my list.
Click to expand...

Absolutely ridiculous. I submitted all of my applications through SOPHAS in early October, verified 10/23/16. I understand Harvard isn't rolling, but still. I'm about ready to send my deposit to Mailman and call it a day.
 
Undergrad School: University of Massachusetts
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.5/3.7
Major/Minor: sociology
GRE 158V 148Q
Experience/Research (please, be brief):
- 4 years working at two different planned parenthood locations, in varied clinical and administrative capacities.
-volunteer experience at immigrant health organizations regarding reproductive health

Interested in: epidemiology/women's health

Applied: BU, Tufts, Umass, UMD (applied late still waiting to hear)
Accepted: BU (15k) Umass, Tufts
Rejected:
Waitlisted:
 
trnks11 said:
I'm still waiting. Columbia said we should hear back by April 15th, the latest. It's rolling.

For people considering attending Yale's Open House, do y'all know if Yale offers travel grants to these events?
Click to expand...

I asked, and they said that if funding opens up for travel grants, they'll let me know. nothing yet!
 
MPHer234 said:
Me haha. I emailed the program coordinator, Cleo. She said my app was still under review amd should hear back in 2-3 weeks. She said they will complete decisions by mid march. But I feel like this is a prepared email bc others have gotten the same response
Click to expand...

same. hopefully we'll hear back by Friday ??? **fingers crossed**
 
Does anyone have any advice for waitlisted students? I'm waitlisted at Yale(which is my top choice) and the waiting part is very tiring. I have other good options such as BU(+$20K), Emory and Tulane and have until April 15th to wait. Thanks for the help.
 
I have pretty much narrowed down my decision between UCLA and UC Berkeley. I have until April 15 to make a decision but I cannot commit to a school until I hear back about my financial aid. Has anyone whose been accepted to either of these schools heard back from Financial Aid; whether it be grants/scholarships/GSI/GSR/Loans etc? HELP! This financial uncertainty is killing me.
 
epihopeful17 said:
I loved Minnesota's visit day. Some of the things that really stuck out to me were how they did advisers for each person and their mentor program. Each person in the program receives a team of advisers (4-5 people) rather than just one, and your primary adviser is someone they try to match you up with based on your research interests (though depending on what you're interested in, that might not be the case). The mentoring program is an optional program where you sign up for a mentor and write out your career goals and interests and write what you want to get out of an adviser and how often you would want to communicate with them and they match you up with a UM SPH alumni that is your mentor. The mentor could be in Minnesota or anywhere in the country--you can put that you would prefer someone in one area and they can find you someone there. It seems like the school has a really big alumni base.

Each student does a field experience which many do the summer between their first and second year of the MPH program. You can't be working for the school or at a job you've worked at before, it basically needs to be an internship/job where you can apply the skills you've learned in the MPH program. They help you with field experience placements if you need help finding one, and some people even go on to work at their place where they did their field experience after they graduate.

They have a really strong connection with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) which is one of the best departments of health in the nation. Students said that MDH even has connections with the CDC and it can sometimes be a feeder into the CDC. MDH looks to hire SPH students as they are students so many students get a job there during their time at the school and make $20-$25/hr. The MDH is on the metro line so it looks like you can hop on the metro stop on campus and go straight there.

I think what I liked the most is how willing they seem to help you through the program, they genuinely want you to be successful (read: you're not just a number) and provide the resources to do so. It's a very respected school of public health that seems to really care about its students and graduates.
Click to expand...
thanks for all the info!
 
sloth17 said:
I'm still waiting for both schools, but I submitted my documents right before the deadline. I presume that we will be notified via email.
Click to expand...
I got mine from Michigan already, I was obsessively checking Wolverine, and saw it there! I think an email came a day or two later. Still haven't heard from Emory fin aid though
 
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