MPH SDSU MPH Fall 2014

[ABaconBit]

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Hello Everyone,
I noticed that no one has started a thread for those who have accepted (or are still deciding) on San Diego State University's MPH Program. I thought that I'd open up this forum for any discussions/questions about SDSU's MPH Program. If you've been accepted, intend to matriculate, or have any questions, this is the forum for you. Also, if you're currently in SDSU's MPH programs, please feel free to use this forum to provide us any insight on your thoughts about the program and your experiences. I would definitely like to know more.

Also, if you have been accepted, please feel free to indicate your concentration within the program.

I'll get started: Health Promotion and Behavioral Science

Best wishes for those of you who are still waiting and many congratulations for those of you who have been accepted! Go Aztecs!

 

[KCC1223]

Just got accepted into SDSU's epi program today! I am actually debating between USC or SDSU. So I am curious to know why you decided to go to SDSU? 🙂

 

[Akmush]

Hello Everyone,
I noticed that no one has started a thread for those who have accepted (or are still deciding) on San Diego State University's MPH Program. I thought that I'd open up this forum for any discussions/questions about SDSU's MPH Program. If you've been accepted, intend to matriculate, or have any questions, this is the forum for you. Also, if you're currently in SDSU's MPH programs, please feel free to use this forum to provide us any insight on your thoughts about the program and your experiences. I would definitely like to know more.

Also, if you have been accepted, please feel free to indicate your concentration within the program.

I'll get started: Health Promotion and Behavioral Science

Best wishes for those of you who are still waiting and many congratulations for those of you who have been accepted! Go Aztecs!

I got accepted to the joint MPH in Health promotion and behavioral science / MA in Latin American Studies. I was also accepted into a MHS in social factors in Health at Johns Hopkins. I'm torn between the two!

 

[ABaconBit]

Just got accepted into SDSU's epi program today! I am actually debating between USC or SDSU. So I am curious to know why you decided to go to SDSU? 🙂

Congratulations! Must be exciting to have the opportunity to go to two great institutions. Well, there were a number of factors that influenced my decision to go to SDSU. Finances played a large role to attend SDSU. I'm a San Diego native, but I did my undergraduate studies at UCLA. As the application season came up, I decided on enrolling in schools within the Southern California area (to stay close to home). I ended up only applying to 3 schools (UCLA, UCI, and SDSU) and was accepted at UCI and SDSU. While UCI did seem REALLY appealing, the financial package did not compare to the financial package offered by SDSU. The cost of living in the Orange County area was too much for my current financial situation, so SDSU was overall, financially feasible.

While "name recognition" (CSU versus UC) could have played a part of my decision (it was very tough), what ultimately attracted me to SDSU was the opportunity to apply my Masters studies immediately to my home community. As a native San Diegan, the large diversity within San Diego's population seems like a great basis for research (especially for the communities that I would like to examine in more detail). Los Angeles and Orange County also provide great opportunities for research, but I think that opportunity to truly personalize my graduate studies played the largest factor in my decision to choose SDSU. SDSU has also been around since the late 1970s, early 1980s, so I could not let that opportunity to work with a firmly established program go.

As idealistic as it may sound, I honestly want to involve myself in an occupation that allows me to continually give back to the community I grew up in. While I could definitely go to a different institution to obtain the knowledge and skills to give back to San Diego, why not learn and act now? 🙂

As a number of people have told me, it's ultimately up to you to choose where you pursue your graduate studies. Choose the institution that provides you with a positive educational experience, but more importantly, choose the institution that fits your educational and personal goals and allows you to become the person you want to be. In my case, SDSU provides that opportunity, but I am very confident that with whatever institution you choose, it will definitely be an amazing experience for you!

 

[KCC1223]

Congratulations! Must be exciting to have the opportunity to go to two great institutions. Well, there were a number of factors that influenced my decision to go to SDSU. Finances played a large role to attend SDSU. I'm a San Diego native, but I did my undergraduate studies at UCLA. As the application season came up, I decided on enrolling in schools within the Southern California area (to stay close to home). I ended up only applying to 3 schools (UCLA, UCI, and SDSU) and was accepted at UCI and SDSU. While UCI did seem REALLY appealing, the financial package did not compare to the financial package offered by SDSU. The cost of living in the Orange County area was too much for my current financial situation, so SDSU was overall, financially feasible.

While "name recognition" (CSU versus UC) could have played a part of my decision (it was very tough), what ultimately attracted me to SDSU was the opportunity to apply my Masters studies immediately to my home community. As a native San Diegan, the large diversity within San Diego's population seems like a great basis for research (especially for the communities that I would like to examine in more detail). Los Angeles and Orange County also provide great opportunities for research, but I think that opportunity to truly personalize my graduate studies played the largest factor in my decision to choose SDSU. SDSU has also been around since the late 1970s, early 1980s, so I could not let that opportunity to work with a firmly established program go.

As idealistic as it may sound, I honestly want to involve myself in an occupation that allows me to continually give back to the community I grew up in. While I could definitely go to a different institution to obtain the knowledge and skills to give back to San Diego, why not learn and act now? 🙂

As a number of people have told me, it's ultimately up to you to choose where you pursue your graduate studies. Choose the institution that provides you with a positive educational experience, but more importantly, choose the institution that fits your educational and personal goals and allows you to become the person you want to be. In my case, SDSU provides that opportunity, but I am very confident that with whatever institution you choose, it will definitely be an amazing experience for you!

Thank you for such a detailed response! I really appreciate it 🙂 Best luck to you!!

 

[NakMuay33]

I got my acceptance letter on Friday (dated April 7th) and mailed my intent to enroll today. My concentration is epidemiology.

I only applied to SDSU, and my final decision for that was based on the affordability of the tuition. I know I will receive a good education there and I will be able to avoid a large amount of debt in the process.

To reply to "ABaconBit," what financial package did SDSU offer you? Did you have to apply for scholarships?

Also, if anyone has insight into the graduate assistantship program, I would greatly appreciate any information.

 

[ABaconBit]

I got my acceptance letter on Friday (dated April 7th) and mailed my intent to enroll today. My concentration is epidemiology.

I only applied to SDSU, and my final decision for that was based on the affordability of the tuition. I know I will receive a good education there and I will be able to avoid a large amount of debt in the process.

To reply to "ABaconBit," what financial package did SDSU offer you? Did you have to apply for scholarships?

Also, if anyone has insight into the graduate assistantship program, I would greatly appreciate any information.

Congratulations to you, NakMuay33! SDSU offered me a financial package based on my completed FAFSA. It offered me a grant in addition to some loans. I plan on commuting to campus, so tuition is my only major financial concern. I also checked SDSU's website for some scholarships for graduate students, but the deadline was past the due date for applications. I'm certain that the scholarships are for continuing graduate students, but there are a good number of scholarships that are more than enough to help cover at least part of the cost. I'll link the scholarships I found right here.

Based on the scholarships I found, the application dates open up during August, so I would definitely apply this summer (before classes start).

I also have the same question on the graduate assistantship program. I was thinking of joining to offset the remaining cost after grants. I know that the teaching assistantships are only offered for doctoral students, but would they make exceptions?

Also, I feel that this is a very general question for everyone, but can I choose to accept grants and not loans in a financial package?

Best of luck to everyone still waiting!

 

[EpiEnthusiast]

Congratulations to you, NakMuay33! SDSU offered me a financial package based on my completed FAFSA. It offered me a grant in addition to some loans. I plan on commuting to campus, so tuition is my only major financial concern. I also checked SDSU's website for some scholarships for graduate students, but the deadline was past the due date for applications. I'm certain that the scholarships are for continuing graduate students, but there are a good number of scholarships that are more than enough to help cover at least part of the cost. I'll link the scholarships I found right here.

Based on the scholarships I found, the application dates open up during August, so I would definitely apply this summer (before classes start).

I also have the same question on the graduate assistantship program. I was thinking of joining to offset the remaining cost after grants. I know that the teaching assistantships are only offered for doctoral students, but would they make exceptions?

Also, I feel that this is a very general question for everyone, but can I choose to accept grants and not loans in a financial package?

Best of luck to everyone still waiting!

Congrats to you all on your acceptances! ABaconBit - did SDSU disclose the financial package they were offering to you in your Acceptance letter? Or is this something you were notified of after you submitted your intent to enroll? I am curious, because my acceptance letter did not mention anything about financial aid. I did submit my FAFSA application a bit after the deadline, so I'm wondering if this affected my financial aid offerings in any way.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ABaconBit]

Congrats to you all on your acceptances! ABaconBit - did SDSU disclose the financial package they were offering to you in your Acceptance letter? Or is this something you were notified of after you submitted your intent to enroll? I am curious, because my acceptance letter did not mention anything about financial aid. I did submit my FAFSA application a bit after the deadline, so I'm wondering if this affected my financial aid offerings in any way.

Thanks in advance!

Congrats to you as well, EpiEnthusiast! In regards to my financial package, SDSU did not inform me of my financial package in my acceptance letter. However, after I turned in my acceptance postcard, SDSU later emailed me about a couple weeks later with information about financial rewards. I also submitted my FAFSA application after the March 3rd deadline, but according to SDSU, I submitted my FAFSA "on time." I don't believe that my financial package was affected and I was pretty surprised that I was able to obtain some financial support. I think you may be fine, EpiEnthusiast. I would wait a couple days for SDSU to email you about financial aid packages. I was actually pretty worried that SDSU didn't receive my intent to enroll as the April 15th deadline was approaching (I've had horrific snail mail experiences), but after calling the admissions office (a week before the deadline), they confirmed that they received my intent to enroll and the financial package email came a day later. I hope this helps and again, congratulations!

 

[deleted462159]

I'm finishing up my MPH in health management and policy this semester. I chose SDSU because I wanted to stay in California (I'm from Orange County) and the tuition was much cheaper than the UCs and LLU. The grant(s) I received covered most of tuition as well. I ended up paying $1,500 in tuition per year, let's say $2k including books/parking/etc.

 

[KCC1223]

I'm finishing up my MPH in health management and policy this semester. I chose SDSU because I wanted to stay in California (I'm from Orange County) and the tuition was much cheaper than the UCs and LLU. The grant(s) I received covered most of tuition as well. I ended up paying $1,500 in tuition per year, let's say $2k including books/parking/etc.

Hello,
I am planning to attend SDSU for Epi this Fall and I have a couple of questions regarding to the program. How is the class size and if the professors are usually approachable? Do MPH students get to conduct research with faculty members? If I don't speak Spanish, does it put me in a disadvantage when applying for internships/jobs around the areas? The reason I ask this is because many job postings seem to require or prefer candidates who can speak Spanish.... Any information would be great! I am from OC too and I am really debating if I should go to USC or SDSU... of course SDSU is more financially practical for me....

 

[Shab23]

Hi fellow Aztecs!

I got accepted for the MPH program in Epi/Biostats. I am not 100% set on attending, but am pretty positive that I will be going to SDSU this fall. I am not from Southern Cali so I will most likely be living on-campus. Does anyone else plan on living on-campus, or have lived on-campus before? It would be nice to know how it is and maybe find some potential roommates/housemates.

Cheers

 

[ABaconBit]

Happy Thursday Everyone! SDSU's Schedule of Classes for Fall 2014 was released yesterday. Under the "Search Criteria," our department is "P H." It will link you directly to the available classes for our program. Check it out and start planning your classes/schedule for the Fall. Only about 3 more months. It's starting to feel a little more real now!

 

[KCC1223]

Happy Thursday Everyone! SDSU's Schedule of Classes for Fall 2014 was released yesterday. Under the "Search Criteria," our department is "P H." It will link you directly to the available classes for our program. Check it out and start planning your classes/schedule for the Fall. Only about 3 more months. It's starting to feel a little more real now!

I have my tentative schedule ready! I am planning to take 15 units. Not sure if it's wise but we'll see! Now I just need to find a place to stay 🙂

 

[kkphilli7]

Hi guys,

So I'm about to graduate from UCI and I was wondering how likely you think it would be that I get into SDSU with my stats? I'm taking a year off to build my resume, but I also have no idea what to do. please help! I really want to get my MPH

cumulative GPA: 3.1 (had a rough year with Ochem and transferred out of bio to public health)
major/minor: public health and film and media studies
involved in: public health brigades, medical brigades, global health research, your basic sorority stuff, water polo club (vice president), recreation summer swim program instructor, lifeguard and first aid certified, studied abroad for public health in Bali, interned with the number one NGO in all of Bali for a summer, have 5 certificates from the Bali Institute for global Renewal
----still need to take the GRE, may also do peace corps or americorps