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

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Hey! Sorry, just saw this. I'm an international student, so my deadline was on January 15th. I applied on the last day, so I was pleasantly surprised when I heard back so soon. I hope that's not a bad sign. I'm considering Michigan as one of my top choices.


Hello! Yes, I'm super curious as well. My interview is scheduled to happen next week, and I have no idea what to expect. What about you? How are you prepping for it?

Mine is scheduled on Feb 1. I searched information on some Chinese forums, and learned that the interview will cover questions such as why health policy & management, what concentration do you like in this field, what's your career plan, and talk about your on-going research about health/public health, then it will be the section that you can ask the interviewer some questions. The girl who shared those experience also said that her interviewer was an ethnic Chinese, so I don't know whether they will designate the faculty according to the students' background, but I guess the questions will be pretty similar. Good luck for everyone!
 
I also was accepted to Emory for Epi today! :soexcited:

Much to my surprise, I got into my top 3 programs (Yale EMD, Emory Epi, and Boston Epi). I'm starting to really struggle with what I'm going to want to do. Yale is my number one choice, and if cost the same as other schools, I would have no problem. I'm so into going to Yale for EMD as it's almost perfectly aligned with my interests. I also like the smaller class sizes, and I know that they are doing good amounts HIV research, which is exactly what I want to get involved in. Emory's program is good but it's not specific to infectious disease. Boston has more of a focus on infectious disease than Emory, but the cost of living is a lot for me.

I've been reading through and see others posts about how going to Yale versus a cheaper school might not make much of a difference in the long run (except for the debt :laugh:). I know that you all can't tell me where to go, but I just feel so disheartened with wanting to go to Yale.
P.S. I am still awaiting financial aid from Yale, but I have a high anxiety disorder, and I'm not patient at all clearly :laugh:.
 
Also, I know from speaking with someone from Emory's admissions team, that they offer travel grants to go to admitted students day. I don't know if they are this year, but might be something to look into if you are wanting to go there for that event.
 
I also was accepted to Emory for Epi today! :soexcited:

Much to my surprise, I got into my top 3 programs (Yale EMD, Emory Epi, and Boston Epi). I'm starting to really struggle with what I'm going to want to do. Yale is my number one choice, and if cost the same as other schools, I would have no problem. I'm so into going to Yale for EMD as it's almost perfectly aligned with my interests. I also like the smaller class sizes, and I know that they are doing good amounts HIV research, which is exactly what I want to get involved in. Emory's program is good but it's not specific to infectious disease. Boston has more of a focus on infectious disease than Emory, but the cost of living is a lot for me.

I've been reading through and see others posts about how going to Yale versus a cheaper school might not make much of a difference in the long run (except for the debt :laugh:). I know that you all can't tell me where to go, but I just feel so disheartened with wanting to go to Yale.
P.S. I am still awaiting financial aid from Yale, but I have a high anxiety disorder, and I'm not patient at all clearly :laugh:.

I am in the same dilemma. I just can't seem to find anything that comes close to the EMD program at Yale. The close connection to faculty, the divide between chronic disease epi and EMD and the prevalent research present (my specific interest is tuberculosis) make Yale unbeatable. My problem is having to choose between the IDV program at Berkeley (closer to home) and Yale EMD and I have no idea what to do. I am hoping that going to admitted students day would provide me more insight (even though flying from WA to NY is no joke).
 
Has anybody done an interview for MSPH at JHU? I am scheduled to have one in the next few days. If so, can you elaborate a little bit on the MSPH interview? Very much appreciated.
 
Has anybody done an interview for MSPH at JHU? I am scheduled to have one in the next few days. If so, can you elaborate a little bit on the MSPH interview? Very much appreciated.
Congratulations! I also apply for the MSPH but have heard from nothing. When did you get the interview notification?
 
Undergrad School: International Medical School
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.42
Major/Minor:
GradGPA
(if applicable): NA
Grad Studies (if applicable):NA
GRE (including date taken) or Other Test (if applicable): Q:157 V:152 AWA:3.5
Experience/Research (please, be brief): -3 months of international clinical electives (1at Cornell; 2 at UAB)
1 year experience at Primary Health Care as Medical Officer in Urban slum, India
150 hours of community service in rural health campaigns, India
2 research projects in undergrad
Special factors: 2 US LORs from professors at UAB

***Please include the following whenever possible: specific concentration/track, dates, type of correspondence (phone, email, letter, etc.), scholarships/grants.***

Interested in:
Applied
(include the date of application): Hopkins (12/1) Yale (1/5) Columbia (1/12) NW ( 1/5) Thomas Jefferson (1/17) U Miami (1/17)
Accepted: U Miami (1/25), Thomas Jefferson (2/3), Hopkins (3/12)
Rejected: Yale, Columbia
Waitlisted:

Attending: Hopkins.


Hi everyone! Congratulations on your success! With all of you moving ahead in your MPH journey it's lil stupid to ask it now but I would like to know how possible is it to get an acceptance from Hopkins or Columbia or Yale considering I applied real close to deadlines?
Thanks!
 
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Thank you!! I applied epi, but the email just says accepted to the MPH program, nothing about the concentration. Good luck I hope you hear back soon!!
You only submitted a SOPHAS application, right? There was no other grad app from USC?
 
I was also accepted to Emory today!

I thought that being accepted would reduce my anxiety, but nope. It's only increased it. I have been accepted at my top three schools so it will really come down to finances as to where I will actually attend. It'll just be hard to turn down two of my top choices... cue nightmares of what could have been...
 
I had my Columbia HPM phone interview on Friday and I think it was decent. However, I'd like to be more prepared for my UNC-Chapel Hill interview next month. Does anyone have any advice on how to confidently answer interview questions without rambling and sounding desperate? Also, this may sound silly, but what kind of questions should I ask the interviewer(s)?
 
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I had my Columbia HPM phone interview on Friday and I think it was decent. However, I'd like to be more prepared for my UNC-Chapel Hill interview next month. Does anyone have any advice on how to confidently answer interview questions without rambling and sounding desperate? Also, this may sound silly, but what kind of questions should I ask the interviewer(s)?
I always had a friend practice with me. I'd have them ask me questions about why X school or why now, things like that. Also I generally ask about student involvement in the community (such as volunteering), employment rates post graduation if they aren't easily found online, career services offered, and research opportunities.
 
You only submitted a SOPHAS application, right? There was no other grad app from USC?

No I just submitted SOPHAS then a couple days later I received the youSC portal email (November 11), then i received an email January 8 that my application was complete
 
I also was accepted to Emory for Epi today! :soexcited:

Much to my surprise, I got into my top 3 programs (Yale EMD, Emory Epi, and Boston Epi). I'm starting to really struggle with what I'm going to want to do. Yale is my number one choice, and if cost the same as other schools, I would have no problem. I'm so into going to Yale for EMD as it's almost perfectly aligned with my interests. I also like the smaller class sizes, and I know that they are doing good amounts HIV research, which is exactly what I want to get involved in. Emory's program is good but it's not specific to infectious disease. Boston has more of a focus on infectious disease than Emory, but the cost of living is a lot for me.

I've been reading through and see others posts about how going to Yale versus a cheaper school might not make much of a difference in the long run (except for the debt :laugh:). I know that you all can't tell me where to go, but I just feel so disheartened with wanting to go to Yale.
P.S. I am still awaiting financial aid from Yale, but I have a high anxiety disorder, and I'm not patient at all clearly :laugh:.
I just want to chime in here and say the one thing I found misleading about Yale is the class sizes. Yale markets itself as a small school of public health, which is very true. However, because it is so small, that means there is only one section of each class, and there are no enrollment caps on classes. This means that every class is as big as the demand. For core curriculum classes, your entire incoming class that needs to take the course will be taking it together in the same auditorium. My incoming class was about 200, but yours should be smaller. Still, the way Yale stressed how small it was, I was expecting to avoid these very large lectures. Once you begin taking electives and when you take EMD/department specific courses (which you start your first semester), class sizes can be much smaller as, again, each class is the size of the demand. The classroom is picked and changed based on enrollment. You may be in a small conference room with a handful of other students or in a lecture hall with nearly 100-200 students. On average, my core classes at Yale were larger than my friend's core classes at BUSPH, but perhaps you get more personal attention at Yale as there is only one section of each course for a professor to focus on and the school itself is much smaller. Despite this, professors are very approachable and available and the teaching fellows are a great resource. It really hasn't been an issue, but I don't want others to be surprised by this like I was.
 
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Congratulations! I also apply for the MSPH but have heard from nothing. When did you get the interview notification?
Two hours ago. I think I am actually gonna go to the campus to meet in person. I applied on Jan 13th. Application was completed on the 23rd.
 
Undergrad School: Top 20 Private University
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.6
Major/Minor: Biology/Chinese Language & Culture
GradGPA (if applicable): N/A
Grad Studies (if applicable): N/A
GRE (including date taken) or Other Test (if applicable): No GRE, submitted MCAT (80th percentile)
Experience/Research (please, be brief):
- Couple international volunteers/mission trips/internships (Indonesia, Korea, Honduras, etc.) during college
- Research Assistant & Technician for 2.5 years during college
- Currently working at a large university hospital as Clinical Research Coordinator (since 2016)

Special factors:
-
International student (currently working with F-1 OPT VISA)
- Speak a couple languages (Bahasa Indonesia, Korean, Mandarin)

***Please include the following whenever possible: specific concentration/track, dates, type of correspondence (phone, email, letter, etc.), scholarships/grants.***

Interested in: Health Policy, Maternal & Child Health, Global Health
Applied(include the date of application): UNC (11/28), JHU (11/7), Dartmouth (11/7), Emory (12/13), UPenn (1/10), Wash.U (11/7), Columbia (11/30), Vanderbilt (12/4), GWU (11/12), BU (12/18), Colorado (12/25), Yale (1/8)
Accepted: JHU, GWU, Wash.U ($+), Columbia, Emory, Colorado
Rejected:
Waitlisted:
Interviews:
Phone interview with Columbia (1/5), Dartmouth (1/8)

Got my acceptance letter/e-mail from both Emory and Colorado for HPM this afternoon! 🙂 🙂 🙂
 
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Two hours ago. I think I am actually gonna go to the campus to meet in person. I applied on Jan 13th. Application was completed on the 23rd.
What program did you apply to? I applied to the MSPH in Epi, but haven’t heard a thing
 
Y'all should definitely go to admitted students' events or visit campus if you can. The two schools I ended up deciding between (Drexel and Brown) were not even close to my top choices until I visited. It never hurts to ask if they can subsidize travel cost or put you up with a current student. If you can't make the event, go another time that's more convenient for you-- schools should do all they can to let you sit in on a class, meet with professors and students, etc.
 
Echoing advice to do students' days or campus visits! UNC was probably my top choice until I visited last week... I still liked it a lot, but I don't think it'd be the right fit for me after all and have pretty much removed it from my top three. I would've had no idea unless I had visited. Even though it's expensive to travel and a hassle for time off work, I would try to block out at least 2-3 visits for your top choices so you can make fully informed decisions, or at least get very detailed notes from people who did attend. It's part of the investment in your future!

Is anyone doing Columbia's admitted student day on March 2nd or Hopkins on March 9th?
 
Has anybody done an interview for MSPH at JHU? I am scheduled to have one in the next few days. If so, can you elaborate a little bit on the MSPH interview? Very much appreciated.

I’ve also been offered an “informal” interview. I was under the impression they don’t do interviews for their masters program...
 
Echoing advice to do students' days or campus visits! UNC was probably my top choice until I visited last week... I still liked it a lot, but I don't think it'd be the right fit for me after all and have pretty much removed it from my top three. I would've had no idea unless I had visited. Even though it's expensive to travel and a hassle for time off work, I would try to block out at least 2-3 visits for your top choices so you can make fully informed decisions, or at least get very detailed notes from people who did attend. It's part of the investment in your future!

Is anyone doing Columbia's admitted student day on March 2nd or Hopkins on March 9th?
May I ask why you didn't like UNC? It is in my top 3 choices for Epi but I have not heard back from them yet.
 
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Echoing advice to do students' days or campus visits! UNC was probably my top choice until I visited last week... I still liked it a lot, but I don't think it'd be the right fit for me after all and have pretty much removed it from my top three. I would've had no idea unless I had visited. Even though it's expensive to travel and a hassle for time off work, I would try to block out at least 2-3 visits for your top choices so you can make fully informed decisions, or at least get very detailed notes from people who did attend. It's part of the investment in your future!

Is anyone doing Columbia's admitted student day on March 2nd or Hopkins on March 9th?

I am planning to attend both. Maybe we can meet up! (PM Me).
 
Those of you who are going to Emory's admitted students day from March 22nd - 23rd, are you going both days or one of the days? Since I might be working, i think i might try to go on the 23rd. It may be reasonable to request one day off instead of two days. Lol I'm still debating but I'm also thinking about either making an appointment to visit campus or going to one of their information sessions, which i think are on Saturdays.
 
Y'all should definitely go to admitted students' events or visit campus if you can. The two schools I ended up deciding between (Drexel and Brown) were not even close to my top choices until I visited. It never hurts to ask if they can subsidize travel cost or put you up with a current student. If you can't make the event, go another time that's more convenient for you-- schools should do all they can to let you sit in on a class, meet with professors and students, etc.

I was fortunate enough to tour all the schools I applied to, but I am definitely going to go to the admitted student event for wherever I end up deciding to go. For sure, visit the ones that you can. I ended up taking UCLA off of my list of schools. Not because of the program, but because I knew I would really hate living in Los Angeles.
 
Has anybody done an interview for MSPH at JHU? I am scheduled to have one in the next few days. If so, can you elaborate a little bit on the MSPH interview? Very much appreciated.

I've been lurking here for a while, but figured I'd chime in. I had a phone interview for JHU MSPH (Health Policy) on 1/3. It was a very informal conversation, and I had the chance to ask some specific, logistical questions about the program to see if it was the right fit for me. It seemed like they had already reviewed my application materials and had a sense of my qualifications, so it was more about making sure I had all of the information I needed. I would definitely be prepared to explain why you want to go to Hopkins/why this program but that's pretty much it. I was accepted into the program on 1/25, about three weeks after the interview.
 
Just called Columbia since I still have yet to hear from them and they said we should be hearing back by the end of February 🙁
 
After months of aimless lurking, I now present you all my stats! Whoo!

Undergrad School: State School
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.7 (SOPHAS 3.68)
Major/Minor: Biology major, Chemistry minor
GRE (including date taken) or Other Test (if applicable): GRE taken some time in June 2017 157 V / 163 Q / 5.5 AW
Experience/Research (please, be brief):
-2 years working in Public Health with Peace Corps
-2 years as a part time pharmacy technician
-2 years as a university-hired group chemistry tutor
-1 year research assistant
-EMT certified
-Participant in Public Health volunteer trips twice to Honduras and once to the Dominican Republic (led one of these trips too), and two domestic volunteer trips. Plus spent a lot of time at hospitals volunteering locally.
-Lots of leadership roles in various undergraduate clubs/orgs and within Peace Corps (too many to list).

Special factors:
Graduated early! Worked basically full time for a large chunk of undergrad. First generation college student. Skills in 5 languages (a few languages are very obscure country-specific languages though, this is way less impressive than it sounds).

***Please include the following whenever possible: specific concentration/track, dates, type of correspondence (phone, email, letter, etc.), scholarships/grants.***

Interested in:
Applied
(include the date of application): Emory, Johns Hopkins, St. Louis University, Michigan, George Washington (all verified 12/15/2017) ALL Global EPI MPH (MSPH for Hopkins)
Accepted: Michigan (1/8) + half tuition (2/20), GW (1/11) +30K (2/10), Emory (1/29), SLU (1/29)
Rejected:
Waitlisted: JHU (2/20)


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Aug 15, 2017
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I always had a friend practice with me. I'd have them ask me questions about why X school or why now, things like that. Also I generally ask about student involvement in the community (such as volunteering), employment rates post graduation if they aren't easily found online, career services offered, and research opportunities.
Those are great questions to ask. Thank you. I may also utilize the interview simulations in my school.
 
I've been lurking here for a while, but figured I'd chime in. I had a phone interview for JHU MSPH (Health Policy) on 1/3. It was a very informal conversation, and I had the chance to ask some specific, logistical questions about the program to see if it was the right fit for me. It seemed like they had already reviewed my application materials and had a sense of my qualifications, so it was more about making sure I had all of the information I needed. I would definitely be prepared to explain why you want to go to Hopkins/why this program but that's pretty much it. I was accepted into the program on 1/25, about three weeks after the interview.
How long was your call? I am gonna go to BSPH this afternoon.
 
Even though my application for Hopkins wasn't sent for review until 01/18 I'm and still anxious about not hearing anything from them since then :nailbiting:
 
Even though my application for Hopkins wasn't sent for review until 01/18 I'm and still anxious about not hearing anything from them since then :nailbiting:
Mine has literally been sent for review since I first logged into my microsite in Mid-Oct-- I contacted a program manager mid-Jan and she said I'd probably have a decision by the end of the month, which is tomorrow...but I'm not holding my breath...
 
Mine has literally been sent for review since I first logged into my microsite in Mid-Oct-- I contacted a program manager mid-Jan and she said I'd probably have a decision by the end of the month, which is tomorrow...but I'm not holding my breath...
I guess that makes me feel a little better haha.
 
I was rejected by Brown last week (even before the deadline.) Is anyone here in the same boat?

If you have not been rejected at this point, it might be a good sign...
 
This is a good question. I'm wondering this as well. I want to go to Emory's admitted students day but i live in California. Cross country flights are expensive. Lol
I grew up in So-Cal and decided to go to undergrad in the East Coast without having ever visited the school I attended. I eventually grew to like living in that city after discovering its vibrant food scene, but my first year was miserable. If you haven't lived outside of California, I highly recommend visiting to make sure you like the city and the school atmosphere and that the professors are actually great lecturers. I transferred from a community college to an Ivy League, but I felt like some of my community college professors were better at teaching than many Ivy professors.
 
If anyone's waiting on OHSU-PSU I e-mailed to ask when they will be making decisions and they said "The review committee will be meeting again in February and you can anticipate to hear of a decision by email towards the end of the month."
 
I grew up in So-Cal and decided to go to undergrad in the East Coast without having ever visited the school I attended. I eventually grew to like living in that city after discovering its vibrant food scene, but my first year was miserable. If you haven't lived outside of California, I highly recommend visiting to make sure you like the city and the school atmosphere and that the professors are actually great lecturers. I transferred from a community college to an Ivy League, but I felt like some of my community college professors were better at teaching than many Ivy professors.
I visited Emory a couple of years ago, but due to the heavy rain and moderate hail, they had to cut the two hour admission info session in half. They had a panel dicussion and answered a good amount of questions, but they canceled the campus tour part of the session due to the weather. From the building and only room we were in, it looked nice. lol I think it'll be better for me to sign up for a student-guided campus tour.
 
Yeah, I don't think I'll do both days, though (I work on Thursday). Only the 23rd!

Plus, it gives me an excuse to go out and "travel," since I've been cooped up in NY for so long! 😛
That's a good point! lol I think I might do the same and try to attend the 23rd. I just hope I don't miss anything important on the 22nd. Hopefully it's not highly reccomended that we attend both days. 😛
 
Yeah, I don't think I'll do both days, though (I work on Thursday). Only the 23rd!

Plus, it gives me an excuse to go out and "travel," since I've been cooped up in NY for so long! 😛
I'm actually supposed to be on vacation in Florida with my family this week (fall version of myself didn't know March was visit month) so I'm trying to decide how to make it work...I'm hoping to hear from fin aid and scholarships soon so I have an idea of how likely I am to attend before I go about changing everything!
 
I'm actually supposed to be on vacation in Florida with my family this week (fall version of myself didn't know March was visit month) so I'm trying to decide how to make it work...I'm hoping to hear from fin aid and scholarships soon so I have an idea of how likely I am to attend before I go about changing everything!

Good idea! If you aren't able to attend, I'll (and I'm sure others) be writing up what happened for the day and pros/cons!
 
Good idea! If you aren't able to attend, I'll (and I'm sure others) be writing up what happened for the day and pros/cons!
I checked out the Visit Emory link and the 22nd is optional while the 23rd is the main event. The registration doesn't open until Feb 16, and they'll post more programs and information about Visit Emory 2018 I believe when they provide the registration link. I'm 85% sure I'll be going, I just have to talk to my supervisor. lol
 
I was rejected by Brown last week (even before the deadline.) Is anyone here in the same boat?

If you have not been rejected at this point, it might be a good sign...

I’m right there with you I got the email late last week
 
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