UNC v Columbia v Emory

[violanotte12]

I'm trying to decide on programs for infectious disease epidemiology for next year and have narrowed my choices down to the following...

UNC MSPH/PhD (RA position pays tuition & stipend)
Columbia MPH (full time job pays part-time tuition, but 3 yrs to complete)
Emory MSPH

I've already decided against Johns Hopkins, Yale, U Michigan, and U Washington.

I've taken quite a few elective courses at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and really want strong methods training. I'd eventually like to work for a major city health dept or the CDC doing disease surveillance and outbreak investigations. I do aim to get a PhD before going into the work force. Any opinions on which of the above is the strongest program?

Thanks!

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[Chulito]

I unfortunately have nothing of any value to offer you, but I am curious to know why you haven't appeared to at least consider Berkeley. Just out of curiosity.

 

[AgentSik007]

I unfortunately have nothing of any value to offer you, but I am curious to know why you haven't appeared to at least consider Berkeley. Just out of curiosity.

I think it's obvious, its because the East Coast rocks!

 

[Chulito]

I think it's obvious, its because the East Coast rocks!

Oh please, that **** is the past, tired and crass. West Coast rocks!


But seriously, Violanotte (sei italiana?) has eliminated Hopkins and Yale, so clearly good school + east coast =/= good enough. I notice that Harvard wasn't considered either. Emory is hardly coastal, but they are in the running. The only west-coast elimination mentioned was UW (and I do take umbrage at that, by the way ). What about Berkeley? Are you trying to focus more on domestic issues and less on international public health, OP? That doesn't explain all of your choices, but some of them. I'm just anxious to know what your criteria are.

 

[violanotte12]

I don't mean to offend west coast people, but I'm from outside NYC and would like to stay on the east coast, if possible. (I'm not italian, I just love Italy) My decision not to apply to Berkeley really came down to a matter of practicality...I had already applied to 8 schools and Berkeley required an additional essay and I knew that if I got into any of the east coast schools I wouldn't go to Berkeley. I also knew that my PhD chances were slim there, and I would only go out there if I was fully funded, so it really came down to a rough cost-benefit analysis.

My reasons for eliminating the other schools are:
Hopkins - I go here for undergrad as a PH major, so I've taken nearly a year's worth of graduate coursework here already
Harvard - my one rejection...
Yale - too small a program and I know the Yale name doesn't carry as much weight in the public health field as one may think...also their EMD program is too lab-based for me
UW - west coast, don't have time to visit
UMich - I just wasn't impressed with the program when I visited


I chose Hopkins for undergrad because it gave me that gut feeling of "I need to be here for the next four years" and I think it was certainly the right choice - and I got a similar feeling at UNC (which is odd because I was leaning towards a more metropolitan setting). Also, I will come out of UNC in 6 yrs with a masters and a PhD and hardly any debt. Emory is in the running because of their CDC connections. Columbia is still up there because of this wonderful job offer that will pay my tuition and give me enough to live on in NYC. The job, though, isn't exactly what I want to be doing long-term, but the networking potentials are fantastic (it's with the Columbia Center for PH Preparedness).

While I'm leaning strongly towards UNC because of the research they offer and little financial burden, I am just trying to figure out which school will give me the best methodological training...

thanks for your help!

 

[Chulito]

I will say that I got a fantastic feeling at UNC during my four days in Chapel Hill, from the school itself, from the med students, from the PH students, etc.; there was a general feeling in the air of collaboration and cooperation between the two schools and those involved with them. This was important to me. I also wanted PH schools with strong interests in domestic PH and public policy (rather than an overwhelming focus on international issues), and med schools whose clinical programs were as strong as their research programs. In the end, UNC, UCSF (with the Berkeley connection) and UW were my own top three schools this year as I applied to med school with an MD/MPH in mind. Before UW accepted me, I was planning to go UNC, and was thrilled about it. Alas, UCSF kicked me to the curb after what I thought was a lovely interview, so the choice was not mine to make there. Once UW accepted me, however, I weighed my options and my goals, and decided to stay here in Seattle rather than move to Chapel Hill. It was a tough decision, however.

I know that this cannot possibly be very helpful to you in your own decision-making process, but there you have a little piece of me anyway.

In bocca al lupo!