UW or JHU?

[kancha]

I got into the COPHP (Community Oriented Public Health Practice) MPH program at University of Washington, and into the MHS program in the department of Global Epi. Disease and Control at Johns Hopkins. Neither have offered any TA or RA positions, however, JHU says I can most certainly get a TA/RA position my second year. I am positive about getting some kind of aid from UW. I still have to hear back from Harvard and Yale.

BUT I have to let UW know of my decision by the end of February (4 days from now!!). Anybody, any suggestions? Anybody in either programs, could you please speak of their merits/demerits? Thanks a lot!

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[saha612]

I got into the COPHP (Community Oriented Public Health Practice) MPH program at University of Washington

I have to let UW know of my decision by the end of February (4 days from now!!)

Really? That seems really soon- their deadline was just Jan 15th. Eek, I hope not because I haven't heard back yet!

What do you think of that program? I applied, and am considering it because I live in Seattle, but when I sat in on a class I had mixed feelings. I'm more interested in Global Health and it seems really broad

 

[UnsunnedSnow]

After sitting in on a class, I also had mixed feelings- I was a little underwhelmed by the PBL process and discussions that day but that may have just been due to the day I happened to visit. I think the program may also strike some as too general but you'd certainly come out with a very practical skill set and great networking in the Seattle area. The certificate programs offered and electives are another huge bonus for this program. Downsides, for me, were the difficulty of presenting biostats and epi materials in this learning format and faculty interests not matching well to my own. From my interview, I felt that faculty make a sincere committment to improving upon the program annually and are extremely adaptive, which is great and you'd be unlikely to find that in larger programs.

Since the classes are so small and entirely seminar-based I'd contemplate what your preferred learning style is- hard to think of another program as unique in this regard as COPHP. Good luck on making a tough decision in a short period of time!

 

[saha612]

I think underwhelmed is the word I would pick too.. I was really excited about the concept, but in person, it seemed really slow.

Even though there's a certificate option, I think it might be better to do a whole program that I'm interested in. I wish I qualified for the Global Health program. It would be really hard for my family to relocate..

Also, I was surprised, but it didn't seem like they networked as much as I expected. Almost everyone does their fieldwork at the Dept of Health, but anything else, students have to set up themselves. Seems a shame since there's so many opportunities in Seattle. They did tell me this may change in the future, though.

Good luck making your decision too! I would love to hear what you decide and why.

After sitting in on a class, I also had mixed feelings- I was a little underwhelmed by the PBL process and discussions that day but that may have just been due to the day I happened to visit. I think the program may also strike some as too general but you'd certainly come out with a very practical skill set and great networking in the Seattle area. The certificate programs offered and electives are another huge bonus for this program. Downsides, for me, were the difficulty of presenting biostats and epi materials in this learning format and faculty interests not matching well to my own. From my interview, I felt that faculty make a sincere committment to improving upon the program annually and are extremely adaptive, which is great and you'd be unlikely to find that in larger programs.

Since the classes are so small and entirely seminar-based I'd contemplate what your preferred learning style is- hard to think of another program as unique in this regard as COPHP. Good luck on making a tough decision in a short period of time!