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

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Ok y'all, I'd really like your thoughts on this:

I'm basically deciding between UMich, Emory and JHU (Mildly considering UTHealth and UIC because of cost). I'm leaning more towards JHU because with working, it would be somewhat affordable, the large alumni base, and research. But here's my issue, I haven't completed one of the pre-req for JHU, the program starts in June and I'm committed to graduating in the Spring of 2023 since the funding for my work runs out then. Should I take the pre-req course and fully commit to JHU or should I go towards another school and not spend money for the class? Thoughts?
 
Has anyone received any information about an admitted student's day or anything similar for UW? I was accepted into the Epi program and the letter said invitations would be sent in the following weeks but I haven't received anything.
I attended both of the admitted students' days. They were on March 4th and March 5th. I'm not sure why you might not have gotten those invitations, but they sent out an email not too long ago about accessing the recordings on Canvas. The link is Canvas Login but you need to sign in with your UW NetId.
 
I've been off this forum because I was honestly super sad about getting rejected from Harvard and needed some time. But, I really do think everything happens for a reason, and am feeling much better! It would've been nice since I've lived in Boston for 10 years, but, sigh, it's ok.

I'm heavily leaning toward Yale since Columbia and JHU hasn't given me any money :/ I've also heard amazing things about Yale's program and have heard not-so-great things about Columbia from former students.

For Yale, I am thinking about changing my concentration from SBS to Health Management (during one of the admitted students events they made it seem like it was easy to do so?). Has anyone changed concentrations at Yale? Also, I read on the forum that Yale's health management concentration isn't CAHME accredited? I spoke to a former health management track public health student (at UCLA) and she told me that she hasn't even heard of that accreditation. How important is that?

Also (I know sorry for so many questions) I'm thinking about applying to the dual MPH/MBA program at Yale if I do go there! Anyone here doing that? Again, from the admitted students events, they made it seem like there was a good possibility of being accepted.
 
Does anyone have an email for Brown to see if I can appeal for aid? There was no mention of it in my acceptance letter.
i posted this yesterday after asking about an appeal:
if anyone is looking to appeal their financial aid package at brown, this is the email i received after checking if it was possible:
" If you want to appeal your aid decision, you can send an appeal with any new information not reflected in your FAFSA data to the Graduate Financial Aid Office at [email protected]. The MPH Program only has small scholarships for higher need students so the scholarship would not increase by more than 5% even if the appeal changes your aid need designation."
 
Has anyone decided to go to HSPH (or not)? And what were the factors in that decision?
I'm debating between HSPH and Hopkins! Both for mph 65/full-time. I'm heavily leaning towards Hopkins because got a scholarship that covers 1/3 of tuition (and nothing from Harvard). Harvard was my dream before this application cycle but honestly I like Hopkins better in it's flexibility in curriculum and larger cohort experience - but it's hard to say no to Harvard!
 
Does anyone have an email for Brown to see if I can appeal for aid? There was no mention of it in my acceptance letter.
Also if there was no mention of aid in the acceptance letter, there is no merit aid and there will only be loans offered through the FA office 🙁
 
For those choosing between Yale SBS and Columbia SMS (or just the two schools in general) and have chosen Yale, what tipped the scale for you? I'm hearing mostly funding reasons and the friendliness of the admin, but what else? I've heard mostly about their Epi and HPM programs, so it's hard for me to make a judgment based on what SBS offers. I'm itching to find out more about the SBS department!
 
Alright, I think I have a plan going forward. I'm going to appeal to JHU, specifically with Emory's offer since it's the best. If JHU can give me half of what Emory gave me, then there's a 99% chance that's where I'll be headed 🙂 If they can't give me anything, then I will still be EXTREMELY thrilled to go to Emory. Truly blessed to be in a position where I don't have any bad options. I've been so overwhelmed with emotion for the past 72 hours. Can't even think straight at work lol.
 
I attended both of the admitted students' days. They were on March 4th and March 5th. I'm not sure why you might not have gotten those invitations, but they sent out an email not too long ago about accessing the recordings on Canvas. The link is Canvas Login but you need to sign in with your UW NetId.
Awesome thank you! I was able to login and access the recordings!
 
Has anyone gotten a response from GW aid appeal? They had told me closer to April 15th but I know some people in here were told differently
they said no aid for me i asked again
 
to be clear it’s JHU mph program thats ranked right not msph?
 
Has anyone gotten a response from GW aid appeal? They had told me closer to April 15th but I know some people in here were told differently
yes, I got a response on Monday. But they told me when I appealed I would hear by Monday. So if you were told April 15th that is probably true. They have been telling different people different things! I hope you get the aid you want, they didn't give me a lot so I will be declining my offer soon 🙂
 
After many months of waiting and waiting. I decided to officially commit to UCLA Community Health Sciences. Which makes me a double bruin!! 😀

Although I haven't received final financial offers from others schools such as UNC, Rutgers, Emory, Brown or Boston U. I believe UCLA is the best fit for me because of proximity ( I live in LA), Tuition price (in state + Tuition remission if I work), and unforeseen family health complications. I want to thank everyone for their support during this cycle and with that being said I am officially done!! I got into 7 of the 8 schools I applied to with 1 waitlist (Columbia). I only dreamed of graduating high school and to be here in this position is so unbelievable.. Goodluck to all you brilliant souls!! I'm sure we will cross paths in the future <3 Also shout to all the first generation, low income, BIPOC students. y'all are DOING IT!!!!! 😍
 
For those choosing between Yale SBS and Columbia SMS (or just the two schools in general) and have chosen Yale, what tipped the scale for you? I'm hearing mostly funding reasons and the friendliness of the admin, but what else? I've heard mostly about their Epi and HPM programs, so it's hard for me to make a judgment based on what SBS offers. I'm itching to find out more about the SBS department!
I'm in the same boat-- what pushed me to Yale is the following
1) Faculty who work in maternal mental health who told me that I could be involved in their research
2) The flexibility of SBS --> close to 9 elective course units meaning I could tailor the degree to my own
 
Has anyone gotten a response from GW aid appeal? They had told me closer to April 15th but I know some people in here were told differently
I was told I'd hear back closer to April 15th too. I'm a littleee on edge hahah I wish I could just find out sooner
 
I've been off this forum because I was honestly super sad about getting rejected from Harvard and needed some time. But, I really do think everything happens for a reason, and am feeling much better! It would've been nice since I've lived in Boston for 10 years, but, sigh, it's ok.

I'm heavily leaning toward Yale since Columbia and JHU hasn't given me any money :/ I've also heard amazing things about Yale's program and have heard not-so-great things about Columbia from former students.

For Yale, I am thinking about changing my concentration from SBS to Health Management (during one of the admitted students events they made it seem like it was easy to do so?). Has anyone changed concentrations at Yale? Also, I read on the forum that Yale's health management concentration isn't CAHME accredited? I spoke to a former health management track public health student (at UCLA) and she told me that she hasn't even heard of that accreditation. How important is that?

Also (I know sorry for so many questions) I'm thinking about applying to the dual MPH/MBA program at Yale if I do go there! Anyone here doing that? Again, from the admitted students events, they made it seem like there was a good possibility of being accepted.
Hey! I can't speak much on Yale other than that my significant other went there for undergrad and would recommend it to every person he can haha. I was wondering what kind of "not-so-great" things you've heard about Columbia, though? I'm curious to know since I'm strongly considering taking myself off the waitlist.
 
You should’ve received a scholarship email like a day or so after your acceptance to Brown. I’m surprised you haven’t heard.
I am too! I do know there was an issue with my FAFSA and they didn't get it until like mid-February? End of February? So I guess it makes sense that I haven't heard from them yet. I'm going to give it another week and then email to ask.
 
Hey! I can't speak much on Yale other than that my significant other went there for undergrad and would recommend it to every person he can haha. I was wondering what kind of "not-so-great" things you've heard about Columbia, though? I'm curious to know since I'm strongly considering taking myself off the waitlist.
Thank you! That still helps haha.

I spoke to two people, one current student and one former student. The former student said that she chose Columbia to be in the city and their Global Health program. The program had a 6-month placement so that's why she chose Columbia but said that if I'm "just trying to do an MPH then there's nothing amazing about the Columbia program and it is super expensive" and to "not worry about the ratings" (something I had asked her about).

The current student said that Columbia is "being really staunchy with their money [and that they are] right now striking tuition increases and the graduate student worker union is also striking to get better benefits" she also said that it has been tough but that she chose Columbia because of the network and also after hearing Dr. Bob Fillilove speak at admitted students day. She also said that career services also spoke and that she thought their "resources were outstanding compared to [her] other options"
 
Anyone stuck between Berkeley Epi/biostats and Columbia epi? Columbia has always been my dream school but Berkeley's program is so small (25ish students) that I am strongly considering it now. Any thoughts?
 
Anyone stuck between Berkeley Epi/biostats and Columbia epi? Columbia has always been my dream school but Berkeley's program is so small (25ish students) that I am strongly considering it now. Any thoughts?
I went to Berkeley for undergrad and majored in public health - worked very closely with a lot of profs and grad students **in epi. Happy to answer berk questions or tell you the pros I experienced if you want 🙂
 
Does anyone know who I should email to get a status update on my application to UNC's MPH in the Health Equity, Social Science, and Human Rights concentration?
 
also, has anyone spoke to a Yale alum about job opportunities. Specifically, how well can we be paid there to accommodate for living expenses/rent?
do you mean salary during school or post grad?
During school the students I have conversed with mentioned a range of $14-$22 an hour at 10-20 hours a week.
Post-grad they have metric on the website but the website kinda sucks as it only gives the range of the lowest and highest paid students with no mention of median or average.
 
if anyone is looking to appeal their financial aid package at brown, this is the email i received after checking if it was possible:
" If you want to appeal your aid decision, you can send an appeal with any new information not reflected in your FAFSA data to the Graduate Financial Aid Office at [email protected]. The MPH Program only has small scholarships for higher need students so the scholarship would not increase by more than 5% even if the appeal changes your aid need designation."
Do you think this is who I should email with regards to merit-based financial aid appeals too? Or is this just for need-based appeals?
 
If anyone is still waiting on USC, this is the reply I received from admissions today:

"Thank you for your inquiry.

We have completed our academic evaluation of your application and notified your intended graduate department. Because of the varied factors involved in the graduate department review process, we cannot give you an estimate of when you might expect the decision.

Please make sure that you have completed all of your application requirements as outlined here. For more information, or to check the status of your application, you should contact the Master of Public Health program via email at [email protected].

We appreciate your patience and cooperation. Thank you again for your interest in the University of Southern California."

.... April 15th is less than a month away hahahaah
 
Public Health in the news!

Interesting bits:
Brown University’s public health school, for example, last week said applications for its MPH program had jumped 116% from this point last year, and were up 187% among Black candidates and 137% among Latino candidates.
--
A study published last month, for example, found that the number of open jobs for people with public health training increased from an eight-month period before the pandemic compared to the first eight months of the pandemic. But hiring among nonprofits and academia was down, while the private sector — like drug and insurance companies — were increasingly searching for talent.

“I now have graduates who are working as consultants for TV and movie productions to make sure people are following the right protocols,” said Heather Krasna, an author of the study and the assistant dean of career services at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. “That definitely was not a job not long ago.”
 
Less than a month from decisions and still haven't heard from UCLA's Epi program. Has anyone been able to get through to them?
I emailed 3 separate so far in the past month couldn’t get through to anyone :/
 
Also! I got an email from USC responding to my email about the status of my application and she said it’s under review and I should hear back within two weeks!! Hoping it’s the same for everyone else 🙂
 
Would Yale consider an appeal for a higher scholarship? I've never done this before so I'm quite nervous about it...I'm already so grateful for the amount I received (Horstmann), but it'd really help if I could bring the total degree cost down more :/
Hi! Not sure if you’ve asked yet, but I appealed and Jen Farkas said in the sweetest way possible that Yale does not reconsider scholarship even in compelling cases. She said she’d work with me as much as I need to figure out loans and on campus employment to alleviate some of the costs though. JEN is so great 🙂 but I don’t think you can appeal scholarship. Let me know if you somehow manage though!!
 
I've been off this forum because I was honestly super sad about getting rejected from Harvard and needed some time. But, I really do think everything happens for a reason, and am feeling much better! It would've been nice since I've lived in Boston for 10 years, but, sigh, it's ok.

I'm heavily leaning toward Yale since Columbia and JHU hasn't given me any money :/ I've also heard amazing things about Yale's program and have heard not-so-great things about Columbia from former students.

For Yale, I am thinking about changing my concentration from SBS to Health Management (during one of the admitted students events they made it seem like it was easy to do so?). Has anyone changed concentrations at Yale? Also, I read on the forum that Yale's health management concentration isn't CAHME accredited? I spoke to a former health management track public health student (at UCLA) and she told me that she hasn't even heard of that accreditation. How important is that?

Also (I know sorry for so many questions) I'm thinking about applying to the dual MPH/MBA program at Yale if I do go there! Anyone here doing that? Again, from the admitted students events, they made it seem like there was a good possibility of being accepted.
Hi! I just emailed admissions about changing from health policy to health management and apparently since the management programs is so intertwined with the school of management, you need to put your application back under review and send a new personal statement. So you might not get admitted. I’m not sure what this means for keeping the program you’ve got, but I’m probably not going to risk it and instead take some of the management concentration courses as electives (this is allowed, thankfully!)
 
Well, after waiting for ten weeks for my decision, I was finally rejected by Emory. The rejection letter I got felt so incomplete, like they were in a hurry to write it—Anyways, now to wait for the remaining three schools I have yet to hear back from.
 
Less than a month from decisions and still haven't heard from UCLA's Epi program. Has anyone been able to get through to them?
I emailed them a few days ago and never heard back but I got accepted into the MS Epi program last night so don't give up hope!
 
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