MPH / MSPH 2021: Applied, Accepted, Waitlisted, Rejected, Attending

[She-Hulk]

Eh, this doesn't match almost every review I've seen of BU on this and other forums lol. Students seem to really love it there lol and so do lots of faculty, so I'm not sure where this idea of a low student satisfaction or a grab bag comes from. Not to discount those who have had negative experiences, just offering an alternative view.

Dean Galea, much like Dean Jha, is also a superstar, who left Columbia to go to BU and clearly believes in the future of BUSPH. He's is investing a lot of time and energy into continuing to build the school, all the way from changing the curriculum some 5-6 years ago to actively, publicly and firmly infusing antiracism into the education. So I think it's no surprise the school has risen in the rankings. He's also incredibly accessible (like respond to every email, mostly within an hour kind of accessible). BU also has a seriously underrated global presence, I found 7 professors working specifically in a geographic area that I couldn't find at any of the other schools I applied to. My one big problem with BU is it's just ridiculously expensive on the whole.

Sure, I think some questionable choices were made wrt to COVID, but I'd also say COVID messed with almost every school - we all saw Columbia's admissions and financial aid offices this year were wild lol and some schools have just not responded to students, like at all. Also, schools like Hopkins (my top school) and Yale continue to have some fraught relationships with the communities around them.

Also, Brown SPH is younger than BUSPH and only became CEPH accredited in 2016?

All in all, this is why I think everyone should spend the time and do their own research, talk to people who have gone to these schools and taught at these schools. It's the best way to get the most accurate, real-time feel, and decide what's best for you.

Not to take away from Dean Galea, but Dean Jha has been a very big presence and a thoughtful one during COVID, Galea has like 25,000 followers on Twitter and Jha has something like 200,000. Galea pushes his books on his twitter account, and the BUSPH twitter feed is a good chunk self-congratulatory on what the school is doing (which is OK and makes the feed a home for the students), whereas for the Brown twitter feed it is a better mix and more outwardly focused and engages with the world, Jha is doing a good job covering the situation in India, which is definitely one of the saddest things to happen so far during this pandemic. Jha estimates around 2 million Indians have died as the Indian government is actively suppressing the real mortality figures, which is beyond comprehension when you see even 1/100,000 of the suffering on YouTube, I thank Jha for tweeting about this, on BUSPH's twitter feed I got a video of Galea in BUSPH pulling a wagon around the school . . . OK, whatever, hopefully there was something important in that wagon.

Brown has a *long* history of global health and public health research, they decided for a while not to do the ceph, it was obvious that once they did it they'd get a lot more applicants. Brown works in a lot of different countries, and many schools like Tulane, University of Washington and JHU top BU in terms of geography and breadth of research for sure.

I don't doubt that BU publicly announced "infusing antiracism" into the curriculum, BU is certainly very image conscous, in public health it is true that health disparities research is both important and productive for improving the lives of marginalized people and learning about factors affecting everybody's public health, it is unclear what or how BU has changed their curriculum which in years past has been describes as "just more college" and students were uncertain what they were paying for.

I feel Galea is smart enough to turn the school around, definitely being available to students would be a big change, BU has had in the past an attitude of being belligerent with students and treating students in a dehumanizing fashion, they're a private school so apparently they can get away with a lot of that. You can better educate yourself by reading quality books and journals, some of BU's curriculum is poor quality and they've sometimes been unresponsive with requests to change it.

Brown does a good amount of full scholarships for people from diverse backgrounds, their application numbers increased something like 175% the last year with even more diverse students applying.

JHU actually has opportunities for public health students to engage the local community, Baltimore, unfortunately has a public health crisis of gun violence and other problems which have plagued the city for many years and in the midst of that despair there is the incongruity of a world class university with it's private security force and nice campus. Overall I feel that JHU wants to help the local community is actively looking for ways to do that.

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[deleted1093306]

Not to take away from Dean Galea, but Dean Jha has been a very big presence and a thoughtful one during COVID, Galea has like 25,000 followers on Twitter and Jha has something like 200,000. Galea pushes his books on his twitter account, and the BUSPH twitter feed is a good chunk self-congratulatory on what the school is doing (which is OK and makes the feed a home for the students), whereas for the Brown twitter feed it is a better mix and more outwardly focused and engages with the world, Jha is doing a good job covering the situation in India, which is definitely one of the saddest things to happen so far during this pandemic. Jha estimates around 2 million Indians have died as the Indian government is actively suppressing the real mortality figures, which is beyond comprehension when you see even 1/100,000 of the suffering on YouTube, I thank Jha for tweeting about this, on BUSPH's twitter feed I got a video of Galea in BUSPH pulling a wagon around the school . . . OK, whatever, hopefully there was something important in that wagon.

Brown has a *long* history of global health and public health research, they decided for a while not to do the ceph, it was obvious that once they did it they'd get a lot more applicants. Brown works in a lot of different countries, and many schools like Tulane, University of Washington and JHU top BU in terms of geography and breadth of research for sure.

I don't doubt that BU publicly announced "infusing antiracism" into the curriculum, BU is certainly very image conscous, in public health it is true that health disparities research is both important and productive for improving the lives of marginalized people and learning about factors affecting everybody's public health, it is unclear what or how BU has changed their curriculum which in years past has been describes as "just more college" and students were uncertain what they were paying for. Some BU professors make racist comments to students to have fun seeing their reaction, this is bizarre and makes a hostile learning environment really when you think about it, as somebody with actually a diverse background and predecessors who suffered pretty horrifically under policies that historically are probably considered some of the most racist in the history of US (and having the distinct displeasure in life of being the target of that behavior of BU professors), I think BU could do much to improve the learning environment and dial-down the pugilism of their faculty towards students and work to make a better learning environment.

I feel Galea is smart enough to turn the school around, definitely being available to students would be a big change, BU has had in the past an attitude of being belligerent with students and treating students in a dehumanizing fashion, they're a private school so apparently they can get away with a lot of that. You can better educate yourself by reading quality books and journals, some of BU's curriculum is poor quality and they've sometimes been unresponsive with requests to change it.

Brown does a good amount of full scholarships for people from diverse backgrounds, their application numbers increased something like 175% the last year with even more diverse students applying.

JHU actually has opportunities for public health students to engage the local community, Baltimore, unfortunately has a public health crisis of gun violence and other problems which have plagued the city for many years and in the midst of that despair there is the incongruity of a world class university with it's private security force and nice campus. Overall I feel that JHU wants to help the local community is actively looking for ways to do that.

You're one person, who clearly has some strong opinions about BU and about Brown, which is fine.

It's also true that there are tons of people, on multiple platforms, with very different opinions, which is also fine.

My main point was simply that anyone making grad school decisions should speak to multiple people to get a full picture, rather than rely on a bunch of cherry-picked examples (of which there are numerous counter-examples, in both directions) to support what one already thinks. That way, everyone can hopefully feel secure in their own decisions and go forth and prosper. That's it. Lol

 

[lil.beanieee]

ok it's April 30th.. Columbia wya😭

 

[deleted1091858]

ok it's April 30th.. Columbia wya😭

Ikr! 2 more weeks to wait

 

[lil.beanieee]

Ikr! 2 more weeks to wait

i hopeee we can hear back by today since they said end of April.. but either way we’re almost done!🥺

 

[ColdSore200]

i hopeee we can hear back by today since they said end of April.. but either way we’re almost done!🥺

I’ve been hoping we hear today too but the pessimist in me has lost hope :/ it’s still early though!

 

[deleted1091858]

I’ve been hoping we hear today too but the pessimist in me has lost hope :/ it’s still early though!

Got a status update from columbia. I didnt get in but im glad this is overrrrrrrrrr

 

[ColdSore200]

Got a status update from columbia. I didnt get in but im glad this is overrrrrrrrrr

Oh man, sorry to hear that. At least that means your application cycle is finally over. Where are you off to?

also, did you get an email that you got a status update or did you just check the portal? I’m checking my portal obsessively right now

 

[deleted1091858]

Oh man, sorry to hear that. At least that means your application cycle is finally over. Where are you off to?

also, did you get an email that you got a status update or did you just check the portal? I’m checking my portal obsessively right now

Email to check status update. GW which im really excited about !!

 

[mph_applicant43796]

ok now it's OFFICIALLY over for me....just got my JHU financial aid after the whole FAFSA mix up. As expected, it was just loans and the Welch scholarship that all part-time students get. No surprise scholarships or assistance. Now I'm way more confident and reassured that I made the right decision in picking Emory, as it's half the cost for me and I will likely graduate debt free!! thank you all for the journey 😊❤️

 

[KingofMaskedSinger]

Still waiting to hear back from Columbia. Was really hoping to hear from them by the end of April like I was told, but I've committed to Brown! I just wish I was able to know all of my options before doing so. It would be really sucky if they waited until the 15th just to reject me.

 

[ap123]

is there a yale group me i can join, trying to make some new friends before moving there!! really excited

 

[ColdSore200]

Now that April is out of the question, hoping to hear back from Columbia this week.

 

[KingofMaskedSinger]

Now that April is out of the question, hoping to hear back from Columbia this week.

Same here. Friday seems to be the day that they are releasing decisions.

 

[Samantha2021]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here. I was recently rejected from the only program I applied to, and I emailed the admissions committee asking why I was rejected if I could have any feedback on my application, or if I can possibly appeal the decision. I only received a generic email stating that their application cycle was competitive and they had to reject individuals. Should I email again asking for feedback or does it seem like they just want to get rid of answering my question.

So sorry to hear about your rejection. I am not an expert and just going by what I have heard, but it sounds like there was a great increase in applications this year because of the pandemic. And really weird things happened. Safety schools were not safe this year. People expecting merit money just didn't get it.

 

[KingofMaskedSinger]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here. I was recently rejected from the only program I applied to, and I emailed the admissions committee asking why I was rejected if I could have any feedback on my application, or if I can possibly appeal the decision. I only received a generic email stating that their application cycle was competitive and they had to reject individuals. Should I email again asking for feedback or does it seem like they just want to get rid of answering my question.

I agree with what @Samantha2021 said about this being a more competitive cycle than previous years due to the pandemic. If you really want to try again, you could contact a direct staff member in the admissions department rather than the general admissions committee email. You might be able to get a more personalized response.

 

[oliver5]

Hi everybody, I am looking for some help making my final decision between UCLA and SDSU! I have narrowed it down to these 2 schools because they have the specific program I am interested in--MS Epidemiology. I want to pursue a career in research (most likely academia) which is why I chose the MS program. Does anyone have insight into how important school/program ranking is? UCLA is ranked higher and has a better national reputation, but my tuition/living expenses will be almost twice as much and I will have to move out of my current home and away from my family, so I am trying to decide if it is worth it. Any insight or advice on the importance of rankings or either school in general is super appreciated!!

 

[nmtbf08]

Hi everybody, I am looking for some help making my final decision between UCLA and SDSU! I have narrowed it down to these 2 schools because they have the specific program I am interested in--MS Epidemiology. I want to pursue a career in research (most likely academia) which is why I chose the MS program. Does anyone have insight into how important school/program ranking is? UCLA is ranked higher and has a better national reputation, but my tuition/living expenses will be almost twice as much and I will have to move out of my current home and away from my family, so I am trying to decide if it is worth it. Any insight or advice on the importance of rankings or either school in general is super appreciated!!

Hi, heres my 2 cents on ranking. I think rankings are very important for getting your first job or into a good phd program if either of interest are competitive. When I was researching grad programs I spent a lot of time looking at how many of the firms I was interested in working with worked closely with the program of interest, how many of the alum were working at those firms and the salary/job offer rate upon graduation. Additionally, I still may pursue a PHD so I wanted to make sure that the programs I applied too were geared towards that by looking at alum PHD placement.

I am likely going to JHU and what really interested me about their MHS program is that it is very small and most students within the program get to work on research with professors which is incredibly important for PHD programs. Additionally, my program requires a capstone where I produce a scholarly article (ideally publishable) so the rigor and amount of research opportunities imo will pave the way to most of my desired programs or at least make me slightly more competitive. I have seen many people weigh in on ranking in this forum and they have said that it's not necessary for MPH and public health but I believe it is entirely dependent on your career objectives. Yes, you can get a job fairly easy at a local or state public health institution but if you want to work with think tanks or consulting firms, the connections and prestige absolutely matter. So that all being said if SDSU offers those options to you then go for the cheaper option but if they don't opposed to UCLA than I would consider not letting cheaper living influence your decision heavily. I do not believe it is in anyones best interest to spend the time/money on a program that will only get them 75% of where they want to go! I am taking out all loans for grad school because I went to a state school for undergraduate and found it very difficult to get in the door anywhere I wanted to work because of the lack of prestige/connections. Good luck!

 

[She-Hulk]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here. I was recently rejected from the only program I applied to, and I emailed the admissions committee asking why I was rejected if I could have any feedback on my application, or if I can possibly appeal the decision. I only received a generic email stating that their application cycle was competitive and they had to reject individuals. Should I email again asking for feedback or does it seem like they just want to get rid of answering my question.

I'd agree that it was a competitive application cycle, but still applying to just one school sometimes doesn't work though I've seen it be successful here sometimes. There are a lot of top public health schools, I'd work on improving my application and reapply either next year, or the year after, I think it is going to be more competitive in the short-term to get into public health school, so probably helps to apply to a good number of school where you'd be happy.

 

[tryhardbitehard]

Has anyone applied to UC Berkeley's online MPH program? Still have yet to hear back from them..

 

[Sheldon]

Has anyone applied to UC Berkeley's online MPH program? Still have yet to hear back from them..

I'm interested in this program. I'm about to defend my DSc in two months, but want to use an MPH as a pivot into something I've been thinking about for a long time...

Can you PM me with your stats and the pros/cons of this program? Thank you in advance.

 

[abibee]

after being waitlisted by BU for three months they came in swinging with a rejection. while I was not absolutely counting on this, I did feel like my chances were somewhat better with BU. I am extremely disappointed

 

[chocfullokat]

Hi everybody, I am looking for some help making my final decision between UCLA and SDSU! I have narrowed it down to these 2 schools because they have the specific program I am interested in--MS Epidemiology. I want to pursue a career in research (most likely academia) which is why I chose the MS program. Does anyone have insight into how important school/program ranking is? UCLA is ranked higher and has a better national reputation, but my tuition/living expenses will be almost twice as much and I will have to move out of my current home and away from my family, so I am trying to decide if it is worth it. Any insight or advice on the importance of rankings or either school in general is super appreciated!!

UCLA's reputation definitely has a lot going for it (I would consider rankings a bit less since they could be subjective...MPH rankings are based on faculty ranking other programs). Compare the curriculum of the MS Epi programs, reach out to current students to get their perspective on curriculum and what opportunities they've gotten (work/research), reach out to professors to understand what work they're doing, and figure out which city you'd be most comfortable and has the best opportunities for you. Location matters if you want to do research, so consider on-campus opportunities and the organizations surrounding it where you'd get a part-time job or find a job after graduation.

 

[ColdSore200]

Really hope Columbia notifies the rest of us waitlist folk today, I cannot wait another week

 

[lil.beanieee]

Really hope Columbia notifies the rest of us waitlist folk today, I cannot wait another week

right!! like what’s taking so long??🥺

 

[ali-nicole]

Accepted into the JHSPH Winter start Part time/Online MPH! Anyone else accepted into this program?

Yes, but starting in June!

 

[ColdSore200]

Welp. This is the last week, not confident at all but want closure haha.

 

[Anya230]

Does anyone know if it is possible to reach out to a school that you declined and ask for enrollment?

 

[KingofMaskedSinger]

Does anyone know if it is possible to reach out to a school that you declined and ask for enrollment?

I was given the option to reach out at GW after I declined my acceptance in case I changed my mind, so I think it would be worth giving it a shot if you explain your situation a little bit.

 

[mackeral]

Now that most of us have made decisions, anyone else freaking out about a big move? Going down to New Orleans this weekend (fully vaxxed) to try to get a feel and hoping that will help calm my nerves. But 3 months is SOON!

 

[oosalmonoo]

Same here! I'll be moving from Virginia to Rhode Island and I don't think I've ever stepped foot in New England before. Hoping to visit sometime in June/July to see what it's like and look at apartments. I'm excited though!

I live in Rhode Island already if u want to link up

 

[ColdSore200]

I would say that we have a 50% chance of hearing back from Columbia today, but at this point idek if they are going to stick to the May 15 date so who knows. I emailed them on Tuesday asking for a timeline, and they never even responded lol.

Edit: Also, for the last day or so, when I log on to the portal, it goes directly to my decision letter rather than the portal itself. Has it started doing that for anyone else? Interesting..

 

[KingofMaskedSinger]

I would say that we have a 50% chance of hearing back from Columbia today, but at this point idek if they are going to stick to the May 15 date so who knows. I emailed them on Tuesday asking for a timeline, and they never even responded lol.

Edit: Also, for the last day or so, when I log on to the portal, it goes directly to my decision letter rather than the portal itself. Has it started doing that for anyone else? Interesting..

When I log in it still goes to the homepage...maybe it's a sign that a decision is coming? Also I remember you saying you were waiting to put down a deposit for NYU, did you already commit there or are you still waiting to hear back from Columbia?

 

[ColdSore200]

When I log in it still goes to the homepage...maybe it's a sign that a decision is coming? Also I remember you saying you were waiting to put down a deposit for NYU, did you already commit there or are you still waiting to hear back from Columbia?

I waited as long as I could but I ended up putting my deposit down for NYU at the end of April as they couldn’t extend their deadline any longer. Super excited to attend but I’ll be keeping an eye on Columbia as that still is my top choice.

 

[KingofMaskedSinger]

I waited as long as I could but I ended up putting my deposit down for NYU at the end of April as they couldn’t extend their deadline any longer. Super excited to attend but I’ll be keeping an eye on Columbia as that still is my top choice.

Congrats! It's a good program. And at least you'll still be in the city either way.

 

[lil.beanieee]

so like ... are we finally hearing back from Columbia today?🙈

 

[ColdSore200]

so like ... are we finally hearing back from Columbia today?🙈

My money is on no lmao

so now what? 🥲

 

[KingofMaskedSinger]

so like ... are we finally hearing back from Columbia today?🙈

we've been waiting patiently for a decision for 5+ months I really hope they don't delay it any longer

 

[bigskywing]

Will Columbia inform waitlisted people of their final decision tomorrow? Tomorrow is Saturday...

 

[KingofMaskedSinger]

Will Columbia inform waitlisted people of their final decision tomorrow? Tomorrow is Saturday...

I really hope so but I wonder if they send out decisions on weekends...

 

[mphhopeful99]

I really hope so but I wonder if they send out decisions on weekends...

Yeah I’m wondering the same thing! It’s so frustrating to make us wait so long and not even bother with any updates.

 

[ColdSore200]

I haven’t heard of Columbia releasing anything on weekends throughout the whole application cycle so I have very little hope there.

Has anyone been able to reach them and get a response? It’s crazy we have no idea when we could be hearing back at this point.

 

[abibee]

Waiting with Columbia people to get a decision on waitlist for Yale. I just feel doubtful at this point

 

[jimin_]

for columbia - i talked to someone on the phone bc i’m trying to switch departments but it conflicts w the waitlist rn. 3 departments are full full PopFam, HPM, SMS
She did say the departments need to release their waitlist this weekend if that is helpful to anyone at all

 

[mphhopeful99]

Just got rejected off of the waitlist! Hope some of you got a spot!

 

[ColdSore200]

Just got rejected off of the waitlist! Hope some of you got a spot!

Sorry to hear that. Where are you off to in the fall?

 

[ColdSore200]

BRUH

Columbia is keeping me on the waitlist and they will let me know before August 1st in case any spots open up. I’m dead lmao. I’m going to accept my spot but now I’m going to have to talk to NYU and ask when the deadline to pay tuition / accept loans is.

 

[KingofMaskedSinger]

BRUH

Columbia is keeping me on the waitlist and they will let me know before August 1st in case any spots open up. I’m dead lmao. I’m going to accept my spot but now I’m going to have to talk to NYU and ask when the deadline to pay tuition / accept loans is.

That's ridiculous that they're keeping you waiting for that long. Fingers crossed that the wait yields the results you want!

 

[dandelion1201]

BRUH

Columbia is keeping me on the waitlist and they will let me know before August 1st in case any spots open up. I’m dead lmao. I’m going to accept my spot but now I’m going to have to talk to NYU and ask when the deadline to pay tuition / accept loans is.

Lol same! I committed to Brown, but dang Columbia is just heartless... just make a decision already

 

[KingofMaskedSinger]

Now that I finally received my waitlist decision I'm glad this application cycle is over. It's been a wild ride with all of you. Good luck everyone! Brown here I come!