MPH Fall 2018: Applied, Accepted, Waitlisted, Rejected!

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Members don't see this ad.
runsdmph said:
Has anyone applied to Tufts? I had originally planned on going to school on the west coast but some things have changed so I'm looking into more programs in the Northeast. I haven't really heard anything about this program so would love the hear if anyone has any insight!
Click to expand...
I did! i applied and got accepted however declined it yesterday
 
Turned down offers from UMN, Michigan, & GW today since they are no longer under consideration. Will probably hold off until the end of the month for the rest to see if there are any surprise changes to financial situations! Hopefully this helps out someone on a waitlist though.
 
Lissie6 said:
I was accepted into that program too! Insanely excited. Are you going to accepted students day?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure yet. Given the cost, I'm not sure it's a real option for me and I don't want to take the day off work. If it were a weekend I'd definitely be there!
 
Just wanted to let you guys know that if you’re having any doubts about financial aid packages (like why you don’t have it yet, etc.) definitely call the department of the school. Turns out Mt. Sinai was missing my ssn and because of that, I didn’t get an award notice on my portal today.
 
I'm STILL waiting on a decision from Hopkins MPH and now they just sent me a spam about engineering programs :wtf:
 
  • Like
Reactions: VAa
For anyone waiting on Columbia's financial aid, just called (after giving them my SSN more than a week ago) and they said packages should be out in the next 7 business days. Ugh.
 
in case anyone was wondering....I called JHU yesterday to ask when we can expect to find out about the Bloomberg Fellowship. They said decisions will be coming out "early next week".
 
Just got my JHU award package for a MSPH...my god, are award packages always this low or do i have terrible luck? After calculating, I'd have to take out a separate $40k loan....is it worth it? JHU is my TOP choice but having to take out that massive amount i feel would kill me....and i'm already $18k in debt from undergrad. I appreciate anyone's feedback!
 
Last edited:
evileye9 said:
in case anyone was wondering....I called JHU yesterday to ask when we can expect to find out about the Bloomberg Fellowship. They said decisions will be coming out "early next week".
Click to expand...
Any clue about Sommer Scholars?
 
ldlr said:
Just got my JHU award package for a MSPH...my god, are award packages always this low or do i have terrible luck? After calculating, I'd have to take out a separate $40k loan....is it worth it? JHU is my TOP choice but having to take out that massive amount i feel would kill me....and i'm already $18k in debt from undergrad. I appreciate anyone's feedback!
Click to expand...

Which MSPH program? I know for HPM, students work full time their second year and your salary should cover room and board. If your field placement is with a JHU employer, you can get tuition remission to cover the rest of your tuition for second year.
 
epi5452 said:
I received an email the other day about needing to fill out an application. I emailed and asked about it, and they told me where to find it! If you go to your SIS page, and click on Financial Aid Summary, then you'll see a drop down menu that says Menu on the top left. Click that and then select To Do List, and you'll see an option to fill out the PH Student Aid Application! Once that's filled out, everything should be complete for them to start putting together a financial package! 🙂
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info! I didn't fill out FAFSA because I am an international student.. mayhe that is why I didn't receive an email about SIS? I only have access to the mypath page
 
WARNING ABOUT DARTMOUTH MPH

I used these forums last year and decided to come to Dartmouth because it is an ivy and seemed to have a good program, but since being here I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone and urge people to think twice before coming here. The program is not worth the money or the name. All they clearly care about is tuition revenue and the education quality is an afterthought. The program only has 1 classroom, so classes are in the same room everyday which is tiring frankly. I don’t think the connections here are worthwhile and they won’t release information about where their graduates have obtained jobs or how long it took them to find employment after graduation. I wish I would have asked that before coming because I believe it will be difficult for me to find a job because the MPH program doesn’t have a far reaching reputation. They are also narrowly focused on health care delivery to what I believe is a detriment to their students because most are coming out of undergrad with not a clear idea of what they would like to do and Dartmouth admits them anyway and then we are pigeonholed into a niche field. I also wish I would have asked about their program retention rate because a few people have left the program half way though because they were disappointed with the quality. I think this would be a good program for someone who knew exactly what they wanted to do in this niche space and know what they would need to do within a span of 11 month to reach their goal. The program doesn’t really give any guidance on that.
 
Hello all,
I have been glued to this board and have found it really helpful. I have narrowed down to Columbia and Yale for the infectious disease epidemiology MPH. Only problem is their admitted students days are basically the same weekend (which is close to that decision deadline) so I need to collect as much info possible. If anyone could speak on the following:
diversity (first hand POC opinions)
faculty support
prospects post graduation (ideally placements with international orgs)

I figured reputation doesn't matter as much considering both schools have clout but I don't know about in the PH field in particular.
Any other 2 cents would be helpful!
 
Lusaka2017 said:
Hello all,
I have been glued to this board and have found it really helpful. I have narrowed down to Columbia and Yale for the infectious disease epidemiology MPH. Only problem is their admitted students days are basically the same weekend (which is close to that decision deadline) so I need to collect as much info possible. If anyone could speak on the following:
diversity (first hand POC opinions)
faculty support
prospects post graduation (ideally placements with international orgs)

I figured reputation doesn't matter as much considering both schools have clout but I don't know about in the PH field in particular.
Any other 2 cents would be helpful!
Click to expand...

1) I cannot offer a first hand POC opinion, but I can say that Yale has various cultural centers that graduate/professional students are welcome to be part of. Many YSPH students do take part in them and, although I do not have personal experience with them, my peers do talk about them positively. Additionally, YSPH has a diversity committee, and peers in my class have been very active with it this year, increasing its impact on campus. I believe Yale should have sent out a list of Student Ambassadors to admitted students by now. All students on that list are willing to respond to emails from admitted students. I highly recommend looking through that list for students involved in diversity or cultural groups on campus (which may be listed under Yale Affiliated Membership). Definitely feel free to reach out to anybody on the student ambassador list for a better answer!

2) Faculty support at Yale has been great. I will say that class size has been much bigger than expected. Because YSPH is a very small school, only one section of each class is offered. That means each class is as big as the demand. For example, your core classes will likely have your entire incoming class in them. Elective classes are much smaller. With this being said, even in large classes, faculty is very available. They hold their own office hours (in addition to office hours held by teaching fellows), and they are willing to meet with you outside of office hours by appointment. Faculty members readily take on MPH students for research, and in my experience, have been happy to meet to discuss topics even if they are outside of class materials. I do believe that faculty cares about students.

3. For specific international placement questions, I again recommend looking through that student ambassador list for students in the global health concentration or who list an interest in global health, as they are more likely to know about international placement more specifically. Second year students may have insight on the job search. All global health concentration students are likely to be doing their required summer practicum/internship abroad, so both first and second year students should be able to comment on that process. Overall, Yale's job placement is incredibly high shortly after graduation. We have a great career services office that is very approachable and willing to help students. YSPH students have a mandatory career services / professional development seminar course that you are required to take during your first semester in small groups, allowing all students to get to know and build connections with career services at the very beginning of your time at YSPH.

In terms of admitted students days, I know that Yale holds theirs on Mondays, which may allow you to attend Columbia's and Yale's in the same few days, assuming Columbia's is not on a Monday. There is a relatively inexpensive train called MetroNorth that goes from New Haven to Grand Central Station in New York.

I am an EMD student at Yale (who also considered infectious disease epi at Columbia), so feel free to ask me any program specific questions as well!
 
Last edited:
GlickClicks said:
WARNING ABOUT DARTMOUTH MPH

I used these forums last year and decided to come to Dartmouth because it is an ivy and seemed to have a good program, but since being here I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone and urge people to think twice before coming here. The program is not worth the money or the name. All they clearly care about is tuition revenue and the education quality is an afterthought. The program only has 1 classroom, so classes are in the same room everyday which is tiring frankly. I don’t think the connections here are worthwhile and they won’t release information about where their graduates have obtained jobs or how long it took them to find employment after graduation. I wish I would have asked that before coming because I believe it will be difficult for me to find a job because the MPH program doesn’t have a far reaching reputation. They are also narrowly focused on health care delivery to what I believe is a detriment to their students because most are coming out of undergrad with not a clear idea of what they would like to do and Dartmouth admits them anyway and then we are pigeonholed into a niche field. I also wish I would have asked about their program retention rate because a few people have left the program half way though because they were disappointed with the quality. I think this would be a good program for someone who knew exactly what they wanted to do in this niche space and know what they would need to do within a span of 11 month to reach their goal. The program doesn’t really give any guidance on that.
Click to expand...

I'm currently enrolled in the online MPH program at Dartmouth and have to respectfully disagree. It's true: the program is very focused, but that's not a secret. It's actually a well-publicized selling point...for those interested/committed to the focus area (i.e. health policy and care delivery in the U.S.). The professional connections are also very solid, just like any ivy league school. No one in the online MPH program has dropped out, and faculty/staff have been extremely supportive. If you're interested in employment assistance and statistics, just go to the MPH website:

Career Support Services for Students | The Dartmouth Institute

http://tdi.dartmouth.edu/application/files/1715/1621/1915/EmploymentReport-1617.pdf

I should note the online MPH program spans 2 years, as opposed to 1. I imagine completing a 1-year MPH would be challenging...but this would be the case regardless of the school. Bottom line: If you're fully committed to transforming the US health care system using a public health framework, you won't find a more focused, well-developed program. If that's not the case, this definitely isn't the program for you.
 
Optimistic81 said:
I'm currently enrolled in the online MPH program at Dartmouth and have to respectfully disagree. It's true: the program is very focused, but that's not a secret. It's actually a well-publicized selling point...for those interested/committed to the focus area (i.e. health policy and care delivery in the U.S.). The professional connections are also very solid, just like any ivy league school. No one in the online MPH program has dropped out, and faculty/staff have been extremely supportive. If you're interested in employment assistance and statistics, just go to the MPH website:

Career Support Services for Students | The Dartmouth Institute

http://tdi.dartmouth.edu/application/files/1715/1621/1915/EmploymentReport-1617.pdf

I should note the online MPH program spans 2 years, as opposed to 1. I imagine completing a 1-year MPH would be challenging...but this would be the case regardless of the school. Bottom line: If you're fully committed to transforming the US health care system using a public health framework, you won't find a more focused, well-developed program. If that's not the case, this definitely isn't the program for you.
Click to expand...
Thank you for speaking up.

Usually I support people posting negative reviews of programs (thinking about recent ones re: NYU Cross-Continental and SLU), but this review sounds more like someone that chose a program that's a poor fit for them rather than a truly disingenuous institution. To the people making decisions about where to attend: please, please do your research! Ask the program and people here lots of questions, and be sure that the choice you make is going to help you reach a concrete goal rather than just be a vague next step into a future in public health.
 
Yale was supposed to release more merit scholarships by March 15. Has anyone received one of these select few? I was waiting to see if I was awarded one before I turned them down.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
mrmeeseekslookatme said:
Yale was supposed to release more merit scholarships by March 15. Has anyone received one of these select few? I was waiting to see if I was awarded one before I turned them down.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

From what I understand, they only give out about 3: https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2014/09/26/public-health-struggles-with-financial-aid/

(I know the article’s old, but given that the email from YSPH financial aid made it a point to say scholarships were “highly competitive”, I get the sense that not much has changed)
 
Anyone that's contacted Berkeley about their application, who did y'all contact: SPH or the Graduate Admissions office? I am going to call or email them today to see if they can give me a status update because it is March 16th and I have heard nothing. I figured it's either a rejection or waitlist if it's taking them this long.
 
Vslyph said:
From what I understand, they only give out about 3: https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2014/09/26/public-health-struggles-with-financial-aid/

(I know the article’s old, but given that the email from YSPH financial aid made it a point to say scholarships were “highly competitive”, I get the sense that not much has changed)
Click to expand...
I'm kind of hoping my husband makes it big as a lawyer (let's be real, I'm probably not going to be the one making it big as a public health practitioner!) so that we can fund a couple scholarships in the future. This is SUCH a worthwhile field, yet the barrier to entry is so high due to a terrible cost/return ratio.
 
phclarinetist said:
Anyone that's contacted Berkeley about their application, who did y'all contact: SPH or the Graduate Admissions office? I am going to call or email them today to see if they can give me a status update because it is March 16th and I have heard nothing. I figured it's either a rejection or waitlist if it's taking them this long.
Click to expand...

I called both departments a week or so ago and SPH admissions rep said they've sent the decisions out to the Grad admissions office and that they would be giving decision notifications in the next 48 hours. But that was like 10 days ago and i've heard nothing since then. I want to call back but I feel like that would be so pushy. At this point I'm not even sure if Berkeley is a contender anymore because of how long they've taken to get back to us...
 
ninz54 said:
I called both departments a week or so ago and SPH admissions rep said they've sent the decisions out to the Grad admissions office and that they would be giving decision notifications in the next 48 hours. But that was like 10 days ago and i've heard nothing since then. I want to call back but I feel like that would be so pushy. At this point I'm not even sure if Berkeley is a contender anymore because of how long they've taken to get back to us...
Click to expand...

So sorry that you and other posters still haven't heard back from Berkeley 🙁. I don't think it would be pushy to call them since it's been quite some time since you last checked in. I would give it a shot and see what their response is. At this point, national admit day is about a month away and people need time to make an informed decision!
 
For anyone who applied to WashU's Brown School, how did you hear your decision? By email or postal mail? I have a letter coming in from them today but I'm out of town so I won't be able to check until next week, and I didn't receive an email about anything :/
 
ninz54 said:
I called both departments a week or so ago and SPH admissions rep said they've sent the decisions out to the Grad admissions office and that they would be giving decision notifications in the next 48 hours. But that was like 10 days ago and i've heard nothing since then. I want to call back but I feel like that would be so pushy. At this point I'm not even sure if Berkeley is a contender anymore because of how long they've taken to get back to us...
Click to expand...

AGREED! I'm still waiting and since I've already gotten into my other two top choices (Michigan and Columbia) it's hard to really consider Berkeley when I haven't gotten a decision from them. They're pretty much out of the running at this point. I emailed Wednesday to ask if they're even going to have a second admit day (visit day is supposed to be Monday, March 19th) and I haven't heard back at all.
 
Last edited:
Anyone still with crickets from Harvard (Global Health-45)? On Monday, they replied an emailed application update with a call stating I would find out Thursday. Still nothing.
 
sweetgirl964 said:
For anyone who applied to WashU's Brown School, how did you hear your decision? By email or postal mail? I have a letter coming in from them today but I'm out of town so I won't be able to check until next week, and I didn't receive an email about anything :/
Click to expand...
You will get a mail that a decision is been made and you will have to get onto the portal to see the decision letter
 
Has anyone decided or seriously considering to join WashU MPH program??
 
n3t said:
1) I cannot offer a first hand POC opinion, but I can say that Yale has various cultural centers that graduate/professional students are welcome to be part of. Many YSPH students do take part in them and, although I do not have personal experience with them, my peers do talk about them positively. Additionally, YSPH has a diversity committee, and peers in my class have been very active with it this year, increasing its impact on campus. I believe Yale should have sent out a list of Student Ambassadors to admitted students by now. All students on that list are willing to respond to emails from admitted students. I highly recommend looking through that list for students involved in diversity or cultural groups on campus (which may be listed under Yale Affiliated Membership). Definitely feel free to reach out to anybody on the student ambassador list for a better answer!

2) Faculty support at Yale has been great. I will say that class size has been much bigger than expected. Because YSPH is a very small school, only one section of each class is offered. That means each class is as big as the demand. For example, your core classes will likely have your entire incoming class in them. Elective classes are much smaller. With this being said, even in large classes, faculty is very available. They hold their own office hours (in addition to office hours held by teaching fellows), and they are willing to meet with you outside of office hours by appointment. Faculty members readily take on MPH students for research, and in my experience, have been happy to meet to discuss topics even if they are outside of class materials. I do believe that faculty cares about students.

3. For specific international placement questions, I again recommend looking through that student ambassador list for students in the global health concentration or who list an interest in global health, as they are more likely to know about international placement more specifically. Second year students may have insight on the job search. All global health concentration students are likely to be doing their required summer practicum/internship abroad, so both first and second year students should be able to comment on that process. Overall, Yale's job placement is incredibly high shortly after graduation. We have a great career services office that is very approachable and willing to help students. YSPH students have a mandatory career services / professional development seminar course that you are required to take during your first semester in small groups, allowing all students to get to know and build connections with career services at the very beginning of your time at YSPH.

In terms of admitted students days, I know that Yale holds theirs on Mondays, which may allow you to attend Columbia's and Yale's in the same few days, assuming Columbia's is not on a Monday. There is a relatively inexpensive train called MetroNorth that goes from New Haven to Grand Central Station in New York.

I am an EMD student at Yale (who also considered infectious disease epi at Columbia), so feel free to ask me any program specific questions as well!
Click to expand...

Hi! I’m seriously seriously considering Yale against BU so this post is so helpful! Do you mind if I ask if you/a lot of your peers find RA or other research positions in the school? A big selling point for Boston is all of the internship opportunities, because it’s really important to me that I work while going to school. Would you say that Yale provides competitive opportunities? Job placement definitely ranks high on the list too so I’m very impressed with Yale. Do you know where most graduates find work? NY, Boston, Chicago, or maybe even going abroad are the most attractive to me.

Thanks so much!
 
Oregon State sent me the link to their internal graduate school application (you have to fill this out before they release your decision) and public health isn't listed as a choice for for major:lame: really annoying to have a bump in the road in being able to make my decision! SDSU needs me to give them my decision soon and I'd like to have all my options known!!! Hopefully I hear back from them soon... just thought I'd share my frustrations haha
 
pusheen323 said:
I think funding is always kind of bad for professional master’s degrees and due to the current administration, funding may be down since they are not friendly to science, research, funding it, etc.
Click to expand...
That's the sad and disappointing part of this whole ordeal. Hopefully things improve and change for the better in these next few years (especially after this current administration 😛).
 
Lissie6 said:
Hi! I’m seriously seriously considering Yale against BU so this post is so helpful! Do you mind if I ask if you/a lot of your peers find RA or other research positions in the school? A big selling point for Boston is all of the internship opportunities, because it’s really important to me that I work while going to school. Would you say that Yale provides competitive opportunities? Job placement definitely ranks high on the list too so I’m very impressed with Yale. Do you know where most graduates find work? NY, Boston, Chicago, or maybe even going abroad are the most attractive to me.

Thanks so much!
Click to expand...
I was also deciding between Yale and BU back in the day. I will say that I don't know anybody at Yale who wants an RA position who doesn't have one. Students simply approach faculty and ask if they can join their research team. If they have room, you're good to go. If not, you just ask somebody else. There are many projects going on, it is not difficult to find an open spot. YSPH students find RA positions within YSPH and at other Yale schools. We are welcome to reach out to anyone at Yale that is doing research we are interested in. I'm not sure what department you are in, but Yale also has affiliations with agencies outside of their academic schools around New Haven where students often find work that is related to their degrees. The one issue is funding. You will have no problem finding research positions, but you may not find one where you will get paid right away. It all really depends on the funding of each individual project. Professors pay as many students as their funding allows them to. You may not be paid the first semester or first year, but possibly will in the future. Some positions are paid right from the start. Many students are paid, but some are not. There are also teaching fellow positions that you would be able to look for during your first semester with the Yale undergrads at Yale College or your second year in YSPH that pay well (just what Yale calls a TA).

You will be competitive for internships at Yale. I feel like BU is great if you know you want to stay in Boston for your internship since they do have lots of connections in the city they reside in. However, Yale has a great domestic and global reputation and connections all over the world (not saying that BU doesn't, I have just seen that Yale does). Yale has an internship database of everywhere that YSPH students have completed their internships all over the world as well as contacts we have made there that students can reach out to. Many Yale professors are doing global research and welcome YSPH students to join them for their internships abroad. Yale students just received their internship proposal forms from the school, and I would say the vast majority of us already have great internships lined up. Career services is very friendly and helpful, as I mentioned in the post you quoted.

During your first semester, Yale opens up a mentor database full of YSPH alumni. These mentors are working all over the world, including the US states and internationally. YSPH students come from all over the world, and many of them do return to their home states or countries; Yale's success in job placement appears to be very far reaching. Many second year students already have job placements. I will say that, going to school in CT, many students do choose to look for jobs around Boston, NY, and DC, and career services runs "career treks" to these cities to offer networking opportunities a few times a year. From the alumni network and from second year peers finding jobs, Yale definitely does not appear to be a regional programs and there are connections and name recognition all over the world.
 
I just got off a Skype meeting with a Yale Health Policy professor and these are some key points I've taken away:
  • You have access to all the institutions at Yale. You don't have to feel confined to take classes or do research within the program you applied to. They actually encourage you to explore the other programs and see if you want to do research with professors from other subjects/schools. This was important to me because honestly I have a broad range of interests that I'm still trying to triangulate. Having the opportunity to navigate my interests but still tie it back to health policy is crucial for wherever I pursue my MPH.
  • For those who are worried that Yale may be too research focused (like me) rather than applied advocacy, there are a lot of opportunities for advocacy work especially since New Haven deals with many issues in regards to immigration and the refugee crisis. There are also subject and disparity experts (professors) who make advocacy just as an important part as their research.
  • The health policy advising team seems to serve as a really great mentoring resource. The professor I was skyping with made me feel really comfortable and not at all naïve for not knowing what I particularly wanted to do with my MPH. It's really vital for me to be able to attend a grad school that I am able to foster mentorships with professors.
Hope this helps some of you who are feeling WAY overwhelmed with making the wrong decision.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
MPH / MSPH 2024: Applied, Accepted, Waitlisted, Rejected, Attending
Replies
3
Views
7K
catch-22
catch-22
D
2024 Public Health Doctoral Programs ( PhD, DrPH, ScD): Applied, Accepted, Waitlisted, Attending, Rejected
Replies
0
Views
4K
drph2024
D
She-Hulk
MPH / MSPH 2023: Applied, Accepted, Waitlisted, Rejected, Attending
2 3
Replies
103
Views
29K
Nicole Brown
Nicole Brown
J
MHA 2024: Applied, Interviewed, Rejected, Attending
Replies
5
Views
4K
MHAApplicant2024
M
Z
MPH / MSPH 2022: Applied, Accepted, Waitlisted, Rejected, Attending
22 23 24 25 26
Replies
1K
Views
211K
Nicole Brown
Nicole Brown
Top