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

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Just received an email from Columbia admissions. They asked about some in progress courses I am taking now. They wanted to know if I had grades yet for them. I told them I wouldn't until March because the term just started. I explained in the email that I did really well in the Fall term (3.71) and I would do well in this term.

Hopefully this means they are trying to work with me.
 
I haven't seen too many folks on here who applied to University of Washington (Seattle). I applied to their Epi program and it's one of my top choices. Does anyone know when they typically release decisions?
I applied, Nov 28. Haven't heard back
 
Just received an email from Columbia admissions. They asked about some in progress courses I am taking now. They wanted to know if I had grades yet for them. I told them I wouldn't until March because the term just started. I explained in the email that I did really well in the Fall term (3.71) and I would do well in this term.

Hopefully this means they are trying to work with me.

That sounds like they want to give you a chance.

Stay focused and do well in your current courses 🤗

If you recently took exams for any of your current classes and did well, I would email them a copy of the results. This shows them that you are trying. This should help to speed up their admissions decision for you 🤗

My $0.02
 
Just received an acceptance to the 1-year MPH w/ $10k scholarship less than an hour ago!
Ahh congratulations! I applied to the hybrid 2-year program - anyone in that group hear today?

Also, did your application ever say anything other than 'received' in the portal before getting your decision? I know they're actively reviewing my application from emails I've received from the department but my status hasn't changed.
 
Should I upload an unofficial transcript updated onto my columbia portal? I had two classes - got one A and one B but the B was in the math class
 
I am!! From their portal, it seems to be by the end of February? I'm not sure if that means they'll release all the decisions then or if it's supposed to start trickling in at some point earlier?

I applied, Nov 28. Haven't heard back

Just did a search in last year's forum and it looks like some folks heard back on 1/28, so maybe next week? 🤞
 
Should I upload an unofficial transcript updated onto my columbia portal? I had two classes - got one A and one B but the B was in the math class
I uploaded a copy of my transcript to the portal and requested one be sent to SOPHAS. SOPHAS hasn’t received my transcript yet (it’s been weeks), so I did both to be safe. When I asked schools about transcript updates, most told me to submit through SOPHAS.
 
Ahh congratulations! I applied to the hybrid 2-year program - anyone in that group hear today?

Also, did your application ever say anything other than 'received' in the portal before getting your decision? I know they're actively reviewing my application from emails I've received from the department but my status hasn't changed.
Thank you!! That's all my portal said up until today when an update was posted! It never said "under review" or anything like that.
 
I uploaded a copy of my transcript to the portal and requested one be sent to SOPHAS. SOPHAS hasn’t received my transcript yet (it’s been weeks), so I did both to be safe. When I asked schools about transcript updates, most told me to submit through SOPHAS.

Interesting! When I spoke to JHU to send the most recent (fall 2020) transcript, they told me to send it directly to JHU from the school and not through SOPHAS. They said, sending it to SOPHAS "messes" up the application and they have to download the whole thing or something.
 
Interesting! When I spoke to JHU to send the most recent (fall 2020) transcript, they told me to send it directly to JHU from the school and not through SOPHAS. They said, sending it to SOPHAS "messes" up the application and they have to download the whole thing or something.
I found it depends on the school! Yale told me to send it through SOPHAS, Columbia just said to send it (no instruction where), UIC said to email it, and others said didn’t matter what I did.

To add, all of them said a transcript update was completely optional so don’t stress if you didn’t do one.
 
I found it depends on the school! Yale told me to send it through SOPHAS, Columbia just said to send it (no instruction where), UIC said to email it, and others said didn’t matter what I did.

To add, all of them said a transcript update was completely optional so don’t stress if you didn’t do one.
Columbia's portal does have an "upload files" section, so they could be referring to that, if I'm not mistaken?
 
I just uploaded an unofficial transcript to the Columbia Portal with my fall grades, should I send an email notifying them that I did that?
 
Congratulations to everyone who received acceptances!

Does anyone know when Columbia releases decisions for applications submitted after the priority deadline? Thanks!
Just recieved this response from the admissions office: "Thank you for your email. Decisions have begun to be released for those who applied by the priority deadline. The admission committee is working diligently to review each completed application, and decisions will continue to be released on a rolling basis in the coming weeks."

I will be checking my portal aprox. 20 times a day. Lol.
 
Sorry this is long 🙃

Of course!! Here is the email I sent to Emory (I sent it directly to the admissions officer for my specific program- Theresa Nash for global health. Other schools, I just sent to the general admissions email)

The letter that I wrote is a little on the very personal side so I won’t share what I actually wrote but I can share the way that I wrote it.


Email:
My name is ____ and I just recently submitted my application to Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health through SOPHAS. I wanted to reach out to you to see if you would consider accepting a supporting letter of explanation about extenuating circumstances that led to my GPA being slightly lower than I would have liked. I had reached out to the general admissions and they pointed me towards reaching out to someone directly in the department that I am applying for.

I would love a chance to let your admissions office in on the factors that affected my undergraduate experience as I believe that my GPA upon graduation does not adequately reflect my academic and professional ability to succeed in a graduate program. If you do not accept supplemental materials, I completely understand, and I hope that the other components of my application will showcase my passion and dedication for pursuing an MPH at your institution. I have included the supplement in this email just in case.

If you have any questions or concerns I would be happy to answer them.

Warm Regards,

Letter:
  • Started out thanking them for the opportunity to be considered at their institution and my purpose for writing the letter (to offer an explanation of why my gpa is low)
  • Next paragraph, I simply wrote out the details of my undergrad experience. (Mine was related to medical issues). I was specific as possible, but also not trying to sounds biased or make it sound like I had excuses. I just laid out the facts.
  • Then I transitioned into how I grew from it, what I have done to move forward, what I learned about myself and how I am now prepared for the next level of education and that my gpa was only a fraction of my story and hoped that my dedication for my intended field (maternal health care and rights in sub Saharan Africa) would shine through other parts of my application. Then I thanked them again
Thank you so much for the advice! Super helpful. Do you think its too late to send out a similar email now? Specifically to UC Davis? I saw on gradcafe that acceptances are usually released in Feb and thats just in a few weeks so I'm wondering if I should even bother.
 
do y’all think it’s worth upload my final transcript at this point? The email Response I received yesterday said my app was in the final stages of review? Would that prolong the decision?
 
do y’all think it’s worth upload my final transcript at this point? The email Response I received yesterday said my app was in the final stages of review? Would that prolong the decision?
For context, I graduated in the fall and did pretty well in all my class (all As and 1 B) and it raised my gpa by 0.1 point
 
For context, I graduated in the fall and did pretty well in all my class (all As and 1 B) and it raised my gpa by 0.1 point

I would email your updated transcript directly to the department of your interest so they can see your transcript with good grades in time for your application review. You can also upload a copy of the transcript to the portal. This way it does not matter which stage your app review is at, adcom will see your updated transcript for the review process.

I hope everyone can achieve his/her dreams in life. Best wishes.
 
Thank you so much for the advice! Super helpful. Do you think its too late to send out a similar email now? Specifically to UC Davis? I saw on gradcafe that acceptances are usually released in Feb and thats just in a few weeks so I'm wondering if I should even bother.
I’d say no! Go for it!
 
Hi everyone! I have been most active on the MHA thread, since I did not know there was an MPH program thread. I mostly applied to MHA programs, but I did apply to UCLA MPH HPM & Michigan's MHSA/MPH program. Does anyone know if there is an admitted group chat for those accepted into Michigan or UCLA on LinkedIn or facebook?
 
Hi everyone! I have been most active on the MHA thread, since I did not know there was an MPH program thread. I mostly applied to MHA programs, but I did apply to UCLA MPH HPM & Michigan's MHSA/MPH program. Does anyone know if there is an admitted group chat for those accepted into Michigan or UCLA on LinkedIn or facebook?
I know there is an admitted student's Facebook group for the Michigan MPH programs. The link is in your acceptance email.
 
Did anyone get a columbia acceptance after 1/20?
 
What happened to Emory acceptances? I know several that got in but it's been radio silence since? Is there a pattern?
Im waiting for Emory too. I emailed them about my low gpa and they said there is no minimum as their admissions is holistic. I guess send out decisions in batches. I applied to Environmental Health.
 
If you find your emory email it states that the decision is via portal. that is how i found my rejection.
 
For those who’ve heard from Emory, when did your application go under review? I applied for epi.
 
For those who’ve heard from Emory, when did your application go under review? I applied for epi.

Application Received - 12/15, Routed for Review - 1/8, Accepted - 1/20 (portal updated, but email came in 1/22). Mine is for the EMPH program.
 
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