General SOPHAS/HAMPCAS Required Application Items and Confusion

[jellybean2]

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this is the wrong place, but I'm very confused about the application process.

I was in some old threads here and I became under the impression that there's a general common SOP (where you don't mention the school names) AND school-specific SOP. Is this incorrect? Because I don't see this in SOPHAS... I'm applying to MHA programs if that matters, fall 2021.

Can someone verify my understanding below for which application items need to be catered to the school vs. general? And if it differs in SOPHAS vs. HAMPCAS? I'll need to use both for my applications.

• Recommendations: Letter (general and DOES NOT mention schools by name, just opinion on my suitability for healthcare management and policy programs, overall). Same letter is visible to all schools.
  • Is there also a supplementary form/questionnaire they need to fill out and grade us on? I vaguely remember seeing one online.
• SOP/Personal statement: School-specific only, each school has their own prompts and word limits.
  • No other schools will be able to see your statements for the other schools.
  • There's no requirement for a general essay - I couldn't find one in SOPHAS/HAMPCAS.

Also:

• What belongs in my Experiences section vs. Resume/CV? Wouldn't my Experiences just be my most relevant work/healthcare/volunteering experiences taken from my resume?
• What's the difference between the 2 questions - "Are you applying for financial aid?" and "Do you want to be considered for financial assistance?" Does answering "yes" preclude me as an international student from getting accepted (to a U.S. school)? And also take me out of being considered for scholarships/GA/RA opportunities?
• GRE score - I submitted the scores at the end of my exam to SOPHAS/HAMPCAS, but I'm unable to see the official scores when I log in. Is it because I haven't started an application for the schools I'm applying for yet (as fall 2021 application cycle won't start until mid-August 2020)? Since every school has their own SOPHAS code for GRE scores to be sent to?

Thanks in advance!

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[vzr05]

Hey!

I can answer some or all of your questions in relation to SOPHAS:

Your assumption about recommendation letters is correct.

SOPHAS does not have a general SOP, it is specific to each school and you will see their prompts when you are able to add them to SOPHAS after the application opens in mid-August. That being said, many ask for similar SOPs so you can craft yours in a way that you only need to tweak it depending on the school and how they phrase their questions. This is what I did, there were only 2 schools where I had to write a separate statement because of things like word count or the question was too specific to fit my "general" statement.

I would double check with both SOPHAS and your schools that your GRE scores are received once the application cycle officially opens, I believe I sent my scores straight to the schools with their specific codes.

I don't want to speak on the financial aid questions because I am not an international student and don't want to give you false information.

Good luck with the cycle!!! Hope some of these responses were helpful.