Visit Emory-Thoughts?

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Thanks for the shout out! Haha, I'll repost it here so people who are interested don't have to go look for it...I'd also love to hear what others thought!

Visit Emory was great! I'll do a little (or long) review for those who couldn't attend but want to know!

Thursday - we registered in the morning and received a bag full of information which included Emory stuff as well as information on apartments around the area. Then there were various tours available all day. I went on the 930 CDC tour, it was really great, we got to look around at the Global Health Odyssey Museum which had a temporary exhibit on Malaria, downstairs there is a permanent exhibit on the history of the CDC, it was really cool to see some of the history of how it got started and what has made it what it is today (the 1976 outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Philadelphia). They even gave you an opportunity to try on one of the lab suits (which I did and loved it).

After that were tours of residents, they went to three apartment complexes around school and did tours and gave info. There were also tours of the school itself including the new building.

In the afternoon they had a reception with (good) food and an opportunity for us to meet professors. They had tables with concentrations on them (Global Health, Epi, HPM, etc) and professors from those departments were floating near the tables with name tags and their department on them (very helpful). You were not limited to your department, but it was nice to know where to find people you were interested in talking to regardless of department.

Next was an SGA Mixer, more food and beer with current students set up at tables for student organizations. You could get info on everything from SGA to HOLA (student org for Latin American students) to the Peace Corps MI program.

Friday was the "main event" - the morning started with an awesome breakfast (I just want to keep pointing out the awesome food they were serving haha). We then did information sessions on:

- Snapshots on Financial Aid - representatives from the department explained loan options, options for repayment (as well as the loan forgiveness program for working for 10 years in public service), and grants/work study options. They also gave a timeline for when we should be able to view completed packages, they said they should start being available at the end of next week (April 1) and if your file is complete then you should hear well before any April 15 deadlines. - Something cool about Emory, Federal Work Study was taken away a few years ago, but the Dean said that it wasn't acceptable for students not to receive work study. He redid the budget so that the school itself pays for work study and it's called Practical Experience.

- Snapshots on Alumni - representative Alumni were there from the CDC, CARE, Georgia Office of Planning, Children's Healthcare, etc. One couldn't make it because she was called in to the CDC to respond to the issues in Japan (which was a cool indicator of the positions that RSPH alums hold). We were able to ask questions and hear about what they do and how they got there. They also talked about opportunities they took advantage of while at Rollins and how they feel about the loans they took out while there (ALL of them said they are happy to be paying their reasonable loan payments every month because their time at Emory is what got them where they are today).

- Snapshots on Career Services - this was cool because they opened up the information on alums outside the circle of the ones that were represented there. They gave us statistics and specific examples of where alums are employed, what they make, this also included statistics on people who have not found jobs. They told about the career services options and had a panel of current students talk about how it had helped them. They (career services) seemed very eager to work with and help students to meet their career goals. They offer services like resume critique, mock interviews, help with creating a CV, and many other things. They also have career fairs every semester and have an Employment Portal for students only where potential employers can post jobs for free - called Rollins Opportunity Link (ROL). - I thought the best part of this presentation was that they didn't just talk about 4 or 5 alumni doing amazing things, they gave info they received from over 200 alumni who responded to surveys they did. I know I've seen on this forum a few times that people complained that schools focused on the achievements of just a few elite alums, this was not the case at Emory. They were very candid about the opportunities available and the need to be pro-active in job searching, they are obviously very supportive of their students and will do whatever is in their power to help you.

- Snapshots on Information Services - told about all the new technology in the buildings including Class Capture which allows professors to video and post lectures within 10 minutes of the end of class. They also have large screens available in rooms and "lilly pad" study areas where you can hook up any laptop in order to work on group projects on a large screen. There are a lot of upgrades that I won't go into, but it was impressive, believe me.

We then had Department Meetings and lunch, I can only speak to Global Health on this, but it was awesome! We had lunch with the professors and then split up into concentrations - so it was me, about 15 other students, and all the professors of Infectious Disease. They told us about their projects and then asked us to talk about what we want to do. I had two professors come up to me afterwards to talk about options for me for my assistantship (that was part of my merit award) for next year that fit my interests. They seemed genuinely interested and we were allowed a couple of hours with them so it wasn't rushed at all, I felt like I got a lot from it. The professors seemed genuinely interested in the what the students had in mind for their future. This was especially impressive because not all of the people there will attend Emory so they had no reason to be too interested yet. A cynic might ask - "why not wait and see who will go there before investing time in listening and considering their interests?" - but this is not the way it was at the visit, the professors listened carefully to all students present and made helpful comments/suggestions.

Then came the Rollins Research and Opportunities Fair - you could view posters done by merit scholars on their research projects and they also had tables (numbered) set up around the two buildings where professors with research opportunities and organizations had set up their information and made themselves available to talk to students about opportunities for work study and collaboration. There was a book given to us with descriptions of each project ahead of time with their table number, so you could decide ahead of time what tables you wanted to visit and develop questions for the representatives. This was one of the most beneficial opportunities of the whole visit since it gave you insight into what you might actually do at Rollins next year.

After this I went to the Dean's house for the Merit Scholars dinner, but there was also a SGA Happy Hour for everyone at two pubs near school where they offered specials to the students all night. I wasn't there so I can't speak to it, but it was probably a lot of fun .

I didn't really have much of anything negative to say about the visit. All of the faculty, staff, and representative students were kind and helpful. They all seemed interested in what we wanted to do and how that fit in with Rollins. I thought it was great! I hope this helps anyone who wasn't able to come!
 
Awapi has done a pretty exhaustive review, so I am not going to write much.

This was not only my first visit to Emory, but to Atlanta. For me, the biggest take away was that people at Emory are very excited about what they do and want you as an incoming student to be as well. Current students, faculty... everyone is very passionate and the spirit of collaboration is very much palpable. Many of the students confirmed this feeling by speaking about it when I asked them about how they felt about their time at Emory. This may sound silly because you would hope that this is the way it is at every school. However, many of my colleagues could attest to not feeling that way about their grad school experience.

I really enjoyed the department lunch. A) I was impressed by the number of faculty that were actually present given the fact that many of these people spend much of their time abroad. B) The faculty is VERY approachable. I had a few in mind that I wanted to speak to because I really admire their work and was happy to see them present. They were genuinely interested in speaking to us about our interests and academic goals as well as how to achieve them. As Awapi said, most of the students present had yet to commit to Emory, so to take the time to give us this sort of attention was greatly appreciated. Many of them actively sought conversations with students rather than waiting to be approached. I too went to the GH lunch but was part of the Reproductive Health concentration group. Our session was rather informal; current students asked questions of the faculty present and afterward, a few stayed to have longer conversations. This was great. I liked that the GH department seems to be incredibly fluid about concentrations. During this break out session, a couple of the faculty members encouraged us to explore our interests and to not feel confined to our original concentration. While switching departments can come with a few hiccups, switching concentrations in the GH department is met with minimal difficulty because there is an understanding that people often find new passions when exposed to other dimensions of the massive global public health puzzle.

The Research and Opportunities Fair/Poster Presentation was also great. It was nice to see projects that other students had completed and to pick their brains about their experiences at Emory. This was especially good for someone like me who is still very new to the public health field and gave me an idea of what to expect. Some of the project coordinators that were looking for students accepted the resumes of incoming students as well, which was pretty neat.

Lastly, the accommodations that Emory made for us were lovely. The food was great. Many students offered their home to students visiting (the student I was matched with was a wonderful host and a wealth of information) and the coordinators of the event were eager to help if you had a problem. I had a problem that I needed assistance with and was promptly assisted.

My only negative is that the apartments they showed us were waaaay too expensive and not consistent with the typical cost of living in Atlanta. Many of the current students I spoke with stated that you can find much more affordable housing (and one is even offering her assistance in helping me find a cheaper place).

All in all, it was a good event. It couldn't have gone much better.
 
Wow! I didn't apply to Emory, but now I wish had just so I could have attended such a great open house...good food, drinks, fun events, and it sounds like they gave lots of helpful information. Good luck to all of you as you make your decisions!
 
I'd like to echo the sentiments of the Awapi and ReproHealth.

I was blown away by the hospitality of the students and faculty at Rollins. This event wasn't only put on by the staff/faculty at Rollins, you could definitely feel that the students felt like they had a stake in whether you decided to attend their school or not.

I stopped at least 5-6 different students from Wednesday through Friday, and all of them were eager to talk to me. I literally took 30-45 minutes out of their days, and they all shared their Facebook/e-mail information with me if I had further questions. You could tell that the students here were passionate and proud about their school. I went to the department meeting for HPM, so if anyone has any further questions about it, I can help answer.

I'll agree with ReproHealth, with some caveats.

I thought Campus Crossing was reasonable, given the amenities it had. Clairmont was ridiculously over the top, and Highlands was really expensive given it was. My host, and a few other students I spoke to, had their own 1 bedroom apartments for ~$650 or less.

I had essentially written off Emory before I decided to visit, but right now, Columbia is really going to have to impress me if they want me to attend. If they can't show me that their faculty, staff, AND students are as invested as Emory is, I can't see myself anywhere else.

I can see why Rollins' reputation has soared in such a short amount of time.

Edit: I was at the SGA Happy Hour, and confirm that it was a ton of fun 😀
 
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Russell88,

I couldn't make the Visit Emory Day and I was also admitted into the HPM department. Do you mind sharing what the HPM department had to say and your thoughts on it?

Thanks!
 
Also, did anyone hear a peep about the health services research track?
 
Emory has done a very good job of selling itself. The faculty seem to be very down to earth and very invested in their Master's students, which is very important to me. Current students and alumni were location-dropping all day long about where their experiences have taken them, so there's no doubt that if you want to do international work, Emory will make that happen.

I do have a few reservations. There aren't a lot of people at Emory working on obesity. I know infectious diseases are very sexy and in vogue, and it seems that a lot of faculty devote their time to studying ID.

Another is Atlanta. It's not a walking city (at least, not from what I've seen over the past few days) and I get most of my exercise from walking (I live in San Francisco, where that's pretty easy). I'm concerned about developing obesity myself (haha), and the combination of delicious Southern food and driving everywhere sounds like a terrible idea for obesity prevention.

I'm interested in hearing what you guys think.
 
I can only give my perspective about the HPM department meeting, so please take that with a grain of salt.

I was really impressed that the chair and so many other professors in HPM took their time to discuss their research interests, etc. with us prospectives. They really know and care about their students, and quite a few of them (including the ADAP - Assistant Director of Academic Programs? Basically your guidance counselor in your department) were available at events throughout the weekend, including the mixer.

They made themselves available, off the clock, and discussed subjects at length with students who may very well not end up there.

One thing that I was disappointed with was that many of the professors who attended the department meeting had strong research interests in mental health, but that could simply be a sampling issue. Many of them also worked together on research projects, so that also made things a little wonky/disproportionately favoring mental health research/topics.

I was hosted by a fellow HPM student, and he said the chair, Kenneth Thorpe, always takes time to meet with students. You can usually swing by his office and ask his secretary for 5-10 minutes of his time, and they'll usually do their best to oblige.

HPM, and all of the other departments have open door policies - if you want to talk with them and do research with them, they will take the time to talk to you and work something out. I think the reason that there are so many opportunities available at Emory is because the professors make themselves so available, and also because many of them also do consulting and other work at CDC on the side.

I had my reservations about Emory's HPM because I'm really interested in health economics, quality of care/outcomes, etc. and I didn't think that the CDC would give me the same opportunities as someone who is interested in infectious disease, HIV/AIDS, etc. I mean, just consider the name CDC.

I couldn't be more wrong - I met a few students who worked at CDC for the full 2 years, and you'd be surprised at the breadth of opportunities available there. Also, I've been working at a State Department of Public Health for the past 2 years or so, and it just killed all of my desire to work in the public sector...however, the people at CDC seem to be consummate professionals and you can feel how passionate they are about their work.

It's made me really consider working at CDC after graduating, to be frank.

With regard to the other prospectives who attended the HPM department meeting: I'll be honest, I wasn't impressed, but they were for personal reasons. Many of them are coming straight out of undergrad and brought their parents along to take notes for them throughout the presentations, and ask questions on their behalf while they skulked around.

That really disappointed me - I wanted the opportunity to talk to students who could share some interesting perspectives and experiences with me. The other prospectives I spoke to who DID take a few years out to really gain some hands-on experience in the field and really explore their interests were really great, amazing people.

Unfortunately, I don't think many of them will be attending Emory's HPM because they (like me, if I'm going to be honest) are caught on the whole Ivy League/brand name university thing.

I'm hoping that the students who end up matriculating to Emory's HPM will be more diverse, and impressive. After all, the current students I've met in both Policy and Management were all uniformly kind, intelligent, and funny people. I refuse to believe that this incoming class' HPM department is just going to be a collection of duds.

The vast majority of the department meeting was a Q&A session to current students, with the ADAP present to answer questions regarding the curriculum. She (Kathy? Cathy) is incredibly personable and involved with the students, and she REALLY knows her stuff. She knows how to tailor your classes to your interests, be they PhD, MD, JD, etc. or whether your interests are in health economics, mental health, maternal health, whatever.

There are literally 5-6 MSPH students in the class of '12, and I only met 1 MSPH prospective. The MSPH student who was present at the department panel didn't seem like she was interested in health services research (she was going into consulting), but she did say that half (3) of her fellow MSPH students were going to start PhD programs immediately after graduating.

The MSPH and MPH students in all the departments/tracks are very well integrated, and there seems to be considerable fluidity if you want to switch from one to the other. They take the same classes and everything, I think it's just that the MSPH students have to complete a thesis.

Many of the students present actually had consulting jobs at PWC lined up once they graduated, but that's because those are the students who showed up. The Career Services Department gave us a list of where many (2/3 is my best guess?) HPM students ended up after graduating: geographically, what company/organization, and their pay.

My whole experience at Visit Emory was overwhelmingly positive, and I don't think that anyone else would say otherwise. I just wish the people I had met in HPM were as impressive as those in the other tracks.
 
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mihyang said:
Emory has done a very good job of selling itself. The faculty seem to be very down to earth and very invested in their Master's students, which is very important to me. Current students and alumni were location-dropping all day long about where their experiences have taken them, so there's no doubt that if you want to do international work, Emory will make that happen.

I do have a few reservations. There aren't a lot of people at Emory working on obesity. I know infectious diseases are very sexy and in vogue, and it seems that a lot of faculty devote their time to studying ID.

Another is Atlanta. It's not a walking city (at least, not from what I've seen over the past few days) and I get most of my exercise from walking (I live in San Francisco, where that's pretty easy). I'm concerned about developing obesity myself (haha), and the combination of delicious Southern food and driving everywhere sounds like a terrible idea for obesity prevention.

I'm interested in hearing what you guys think.
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I was wondering if you remember the international work that was name-dropped. I'm having a hard time deciding between Emory and Columbia and international work is where I want to end up...
 
swaffles said:
I was wondering if you remember the international work that was name-dropped. I'm having a hard time deciding between Emory and Columbia and international work is where I want to end up...
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I don't remember exactly, because there were so many of them naming specific countries that they traveled to during their MPH. My impression was that going abroad is typical of most of the GLEPI MPH candidates.

One of the alums spoke to the strength of Emory's Global program over Columbia's. She didn't give concrete examples, except to say that she knew some people in the GH program at Columbia, and that it was a mess. But take that with a grain of salt, of course (Emory students are very proud of their school). I also got to hear what other schools the current students and alums turned down in favor of Emory, and they are the same top 10 schools most people are agonizing over.

I hope that helps! I am deciding between Emory, Columbia and Harvard, but have only gone to Emory's visit day so far. I think I will have a very good idea of where to go by the time I get back from NYC.
 
Swaffles-are you interested in countries students are doing work or specific organizations?
 
Russell88 said:
With regard to the other prospectives who attended the HPM department meeting: I'll be honest, I wasn't impressed, but they were for personal reasons. Many of them are coming straight out of undergrad and brought their parents along to take notes for them throughout the presentations, and ask questions on their behalf while they skulked around.

That really disappointed me - I wanted the opportunity to talk to students who could share some interesting perspectives and experiences with me. The other prospectives I spoke to who DID take a few years out to really gain some hands-on experience in the field and really explore their interests were really great, amazing people.
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Russell, this is something that another GH student brought up to me while we were there (I am also a little older - 27 - with experience after school) and I also noticed the high number of recent grads/current undergrads. I just wanted to throw in my thought process:

Visit Emory was a great experience, but it was 2 week days in Atlanta which, honestly, is most convenient for recent grads without full-time jobs or current undergrads who can skip a couple of days of class or who are on spring break. It is much more difficult for people who are working full-time to take the time off/travel to Atlanta for the visit, especially if they live far away. I was able to come because I am a recently returned Peace Corps volunteer and am working as a substitute teacher to fill the time/gain experience working with children before grad school. If this had been 3 years ago, before Peace Corps when I was a working full-time in a very demanding job, there would have been NO WAY that I would have been able to come, it wouldn't have been worth the 2 weeks it would have taken me to catch up on everything that wasn't done while I was gone. Although many people may not have to take 2 weeks to catch up on work, a lot of people only get 10 days of vacation a year and may have not wanted to use 2 or 3 (depending on travel) to visit a school, especially if they know they are definitely going to go there. Although I think students straight out of undergrad can add a different point of view and some diversity, I agree that I would hope that the majority of the class would have a little more experience. I think, from the reason I listed above and from the example of the current students, that the ratio of experienced students to "straight-out-of-undergrad" (I use quotes because I mean the stereotypical ones, not the ones who have gained experience during or right after school) students will me much higher in our matriculated class than what was represented at Visit Emory. Also though, I met a lot of interesting people with cool life stories at Visit Emory, but they were a little harder to find because they tended to be the less social ones (at least in my experience). One of the people I connected with the most was actually only 22, she's been living out of the country working at an NGO for the last year since she graduated from undergrad so she's definitely had some experience, but she's still in that "younger" group of prospective students. I think there were definitely some people there that were perhaps "duds" (haha), but I think a lot of those younger students will have a lot to offer once they bloom a little 🙂. However, I still don't think that they will make up the majority of the Rollins class of 2013.
 
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JMM051 said:
Swaffles-are you interested in countries students are doing work or specific organizations?
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I want to work for an international health organization, like WHO, UNHCR, UNICEF, - something along that line. I've always liked to study health topics and a few years ago, I did a final exam report on the UN Millennium Goals and I was hooked on international org work ever since. Did a bunch of research, read up on it, volunteered at those types of orgs, etc. Did most everything short of going abroad to volunteer.

My issue is that I got into a great program at Emory (Global Epi) but I had thought, ever since I decided to do public health, that I would do a masters in international relations as well - something Emory doesn't have spelled out. Columbia has it but I don't have admissions to the Global Health track (don't have enough health/intl experience). There's no guarantee that I'll get into the international studies program at Columbia so I can't make any safe bets on it.

Sorry for repeating this problem all over the forums - maybe someone in the same predicament will catch one of these posts.
 
Awapi, I have no doubt you're right. That hadn't occurred to me at all, for some reason. I was just so pleasantly surprised with Visit Emory because I had written off the school in favor of Columbia before going.

Just the notion that there are outstanding prospectives out there who are going to blow off Emory, like I almost did, because it's not named Harvard or Columbia, etc. just makes me really sad. I haven't even decided to go to the school yet, but I find myself advocating for the school just because they've completely sold me on just how great their program is.

I don't mean to trash recent grads or current undergrads in any way, I was just underwhelmed by the ones I had met in my department meeting. I had hoped that other people would have cultivated a more thorough understanding of exactly what they wanted to do.

The student I stayed with during Visit Emory was a 28 year old international student who graduated with his PharmD. He just really impressed upon me how much of a difference a few years can make in maturity and figuring your life out, so to speak. It was really eye-opening for me.

I also think you're quite fortunate though - all of the GH people I met during the weekend were complete rockstars. Almost makes me want to switch departments if I go to Emory.
 
swaffles said:
I was wondering if you remember the international work that was name-dropped. I'm having a hard time deciding between Emory and Columbia and international work is where I want to end up...
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I just realized you probably meant work work and not global field experience...anyhoo, I was able to talk to a few former students working internationally...I was assigned a student mentor, he's been out of Emory for a couple of years and works for the CDC where he is based domestically but travels out of the country on occasion (but all his work done in the states is focused on international topics)...there was a rep for the panel who also works for the CDC in Epi who has been there for almost 10 years, he said that he travels about 25% of the year and this year has worked in Rwanda, South Africa, and Mexico...They also had an alum from CARE who works in children's nutrition, I think she graduated in 2008, she spends significant time abroad and just got back from Indonesia not long before Visit Emory. The Career Services rep said that they have a significant number of alums working abroad and that's why you didn't see them on the panel, because they are out of the country 🙂.

I asked my student mentor about others in his class working internationally (since that's what I want to do). He graduated in 2008 and said that all of his friends were able to find work abroad who wanted to work outside of the US (he said a lot of people opted for domestically based work that allowed them to travel a week or so a month outside of the country, but that some did want to do internationally based work). He name dropped the CDC (of course), The Carter Foundation, CARE, and USAID (I'm 99% sure of this one).

There is also an organization headed by a professor at Emory called Rwanda Zambia HIV Research Group, who takes volunteers and interns from the students at Rollins. I was told by other professors (and it was stated on their website) that many interns move right into a fellowship in one of these countries which can lead to permanent employment. This is just one example, but it seems that there are a lot of opportunities to make your Global Field Experience/Work Study turn into a permanent position abroad if you want it.

JMM may have more info, but since you would be in Global Epi I thought I could share what was told to me by the Global Health/Global Epi people I spoke with.

I wouldn't think that you would need a degree in international Affairs to work in public health. I guess it depends on what you specifically want to do, but no one I've talked to seemed to have trouble coming out of an MPH...Emory does allow you to take classes within the block tuition from other graduate schools on campus (undergrad is also free but just for knowledge, but graduate courses taken from other departments - like the business or medical school - count as electives). I don't know how it works, but they also told us we were allowed to take classes at other universities in Atlanta like Georgia Tech. So you could always supplement with courses outside of PH if you felt it necessary.

Of course everyone is different and maybe Emory is not for you, but I think there are more opportunities there than you may think. Good luck with your decision, I know it's a tough one when you're trying to plan out your future!!
 
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Hi all!
I am so excited about Emory and I am kind of sad I missed such an awesome day.
Did any get information on looking for apartments or houses in Atlanta? Any body suggest places to look for room mates or where the best source for finding affordable, safe places to live?
Also information on public transportation? I am not planning on having a car but I've heard the public transport isn't reliable. Any body hear anything?

Thanks! Can't wait to see everyone in the fall!
 
FulaGirl15 said:
Hi all!
I am so excited about Emory and I am kind of sad I missed such an awesome day.
Did any get information on looking for apartments or houses in Atlanta? Any body suggest places to look for room mates or where the best source for finding affordable, safe places to live?
Also information on public transportation? I am not planning on having a car but I've heard the public transport isn't reliable. Any body hear anything?

Thanks! Can't wait to see everyone in the fall!
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Hey! So, Emory has a free shuttle called the Cliff Shuttle which I have been told is very reliable. I am not going to have a car so I only looked at apartments on the Cliff Shuttle route (within a couple of miles of school). Here are some of the apartments on that route that I didn't see on these forums or on the websites very often (with the exception of Post Briarcliff which is always on there, but I just add it to give a reference point):

Post Briarcliff - this is a more expensive, upscale apartment complex, lots of amenities. One bedrooms run around 900 but are really big...two bedrooms are probably relatively cheaper with a roommate. The place is REALLY nice and backs up to a Whole Foods and shopping center that you could easily walk to.

Sloan Square - this is right across from Post Briarcliff on LaVista road, it's really nice and clean and the staff was very helpful. It doesn't have as many flashy amenities as Post Briarcliff, but it's much cheaper. One bedrooms were in the 700 range and I think 2 bedrooms started at 800 something. When I asked about the Cliff Shuttle the staff member was very familiar with it and told me what time residents are at the road for it, she said she'd never heard anyone complain about it being unreliable and sees the residents get picked up everyday at the same time (within reason due to traffic).

The Park at Briarcliff - I had trouble finding info about this one online, they were foreclosed on in 2009 (I think) and opened under new management. It's a really BIG apartment complex with 4 entrances onto the main road (to give you an idea of size). It's on the outer edge of the Cliff shuttle (the executive route) but the shuttle stops right in front of the apartment complex. The apartments don't look super nice from the outside, but they all seem to have been redone on the inside and are really nice and also very cheap. A one bedroom here was in the 600's and I think 2 bedrooms started in the 700's. It's not a swanky as the others so it depends on what you are looking for.

The Preserve - Right across from the Park at Briarcliff, really small apartment complex (only 6 buildings) but really nice with a lot of amenities (it reminded me of Post Briarcliff but without the price tag). One Bedrooms here were in the 700's for the biggest one and I think 2 bedrooms started in the 800's.

The Clifton Apartments - this is where I ended up signing a lease, it's only 1 mile from RSPH and the apartments have a lot of character (every one of them have a fireplace, built in book shelves and a washer and dryer in the apartment). The one bedroom is pricey, but they have specials on two bedrooms right now for $999, they let us lock in at the current price by submitting a deposit. Just one to think about.

I know some current students told me to use Craigslist and the link found on RSPH's website for off-campus housing, sometimes people advertise houses on there for rent or even open spots in a house (I looked at it and saw a couple that said "female roommate needed in 4br/3ba house" or something of that nature. They also had ones for male students, haha.

Current students can give you more of an idea on how to find roommates and maybe alternative housing (like renting houses) but this is what I saw when I was driving around for 2 days before Visit Emory began.

The student mentor I mentioned before lives in Midtown and is a huge fan of the Marta system, he's been in Atlanta for 5-ish years so he has had plenty of time to figure out the routes, but the Marta does run through Emory and I saw a bunch of people getting on the Marta buses going downtown, etc. in the morning when I was looking at apartments!

Good luck!!
 
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Awapi - Thank you so much for the information on the apartments. I didn't get a chance to attend Visit Emory and was concerned about the housing situation if I do choose to attend Emory. Did they mention the availability for each apartment complex or was it a general tour of the area?
 
daZ3d said:
Awapi - Thank you so much for the information on the apartments. I didn't get a chance to attend Visit Emory and was concerned about the housing situation if I do choose to attend Emory. Did they mention the availability for each apartment complex or was it a general tour of the area?
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Hey daZ3d! I didn't go on the housing tour that Emory provided, they only visited 3 complexes (time constraints with other activities throughout the day). I actually came down 2 days early and followed up on apartments I had found that were on the Cliff Shuttle route. I did ask about availability though while I was doing my own "tour". Post Briarcliff has a long waiting list for July and August but told us we would 99% get an apartment if we got on the waiting list which is still open (I guess they close it once they get so many people on it for a certain month). None of the others had a waiting list yet. We reserved an apartment at The Clifton Apts, but they told us we were guaranteed one because we reserved one (again, I guess the don't let more than a set number of people reserve them). The Park would be the one that I would not worry about at all, they have like 1,000 units and run at about 90% occupancy (according to the staff member we were talking to) so it seems like they "always" have an apartment available.

I would say that your options will be more limited as time goes on and waitlists are developed, but I'm sure you could find something no matter what. There were also more apartments around that were walkable or bikeable distance from RSPH, but I only listed those that I hadn't really seen on many lists/posts to give people a few more options they might not come in contact with if they don't visit (so you could find more options by looking at the list in the accepted students packet or by looking online). I'm sure you'll find something even if you wait until last minute, it may just not be your top choice!
 
Thanks for sharing that information. Well, I will be deciding where to attend in the next 2 weeks as perhaps many of us are. I am mainly concerned about apartments along the bus route as that will be my main source of transportation between the apartments and the campus. Also, I need a parking spot as more than I likely I will be bringing my car with me to Emory. Do you know anything of the parking situations at the apartments you visited?
 
Thank you Mihyang, JMMO51, and Awapi for all your advice! I'm going to see if Emory has a second visit day or perhaps let me have a tour and get a ticket to go down there - to resolve this for myself once and for all. I couldn't go on the actual date because of work =(
 
daZ3d said:
Thanks for sharing that information. Well, I will be deciding where to attend in the next 2 weeks as perhaps many of us are. I am mainly concerned about apartments along the bus route as that will be my main source of transportation between the apartments and the campus. Also, I need a parking spot as more than I likely I will be bringing my car with me to Emory. Do you know anything of the parking situations at the apartments you visited?
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I can help out a little bit; I went on the housing tour. The three complexes we visited were Campus Crossings at Briarcliff, 2924 Clairmont, and Highland Lake.

All of the complexes we visited were mega-complexes with 400+ residents, and both Campus Crossings and 2924 Clairmont had dedicated parking garages. There seemed to be a lot of parking in all three complexes, and I think the expectation is that everyone will have a car.

I'll let you know ahead of time that the parking in the Briarcliff area seems to be pretty scarce. For example, Campus Crossings charges its residents 55 dollars per month to park in an overflow lot, and 65 dollars a month to park in its multi-level garage.

I thought Campus Crossings was the best value of the 3 we had visited, because it's very near campus/the shuttle, the apartments come furnished, etc. It's also only open to graduate students at Emory, or people who can prove they're affiliated with Emory (fellows, etc.), so I think it's a really safe area.

It's a little on the pricey side, but if you get a 3 bedroom or a 2 bedroom, they can do a roommate matching for you.

I wouldn't recommend Highland Lake because it's very expensive for not very many amenities, but the Highland "Area" seems to be very popular among students.

Basically, if you don't have time to check out Emory and you just want a safe bet - I would go with Campus Crossings (they don't allow pets, though).

Swaffles: I'm sure they'll accommodate you, and you too, will fall under their spell.
 
Just a heads up on the Clifton apt's regarding the Cliff Shuttle. That particular stop is the last one before campus on the Executive Park line. Last semester (I have not ridden the bus much this semester) the bus would often have to pass by that stop because the bus was so full. That was only really a problem for the first two buses (730 and 810). Just wanted to let you know in case it happens again (so you know what's going on!)
 
At the apartments we visited there was plenty of parking, the lots at all those I listed weren't even 25% full during the day while we were there (so if you weren't driving much you shouldn't have trouble holding a spot). At a couple of the complexes, The Preserve and The Park for sure that I remember, they specifically said that they had ample parking for everyone to have a car per tenant in each building and still have spaces left over within the area around the building. My husband and I will be sharing a car so we did ask about parking (he'll be using it for work and I'll be shuttling or walking to school).

I'm sure that if one of your neighbors has a party or something it would be a different story and you might have trouble, but it seems like normally you would not have anything to worry about.

I don't know if it was mentioned earlier (maybe it was) but Campus Crossings is also furnished, so even thought it's a little pricier, you don't have to buy or haul stuff down. Russell88 - I was wondering what the furniture and stuff was like in there (just out of curiosity)? Did you guys get to see into one of the units on the tour? I always wondered if it looked like a dorm room or if it had a little more of a homey feel to it! Thanks in advance 🙂

JMM - Thanks for the heads up! I'm hoping to walk it most days unless the weather is really bad since it's only one mile, if it passes me by then the Wesley Woods shuttle (I think it's the A line) stops by about 100 yards around the corner, or my husband can take me if all else fails, haha. Thanks for the warning, I would definitely wonder why it passed me by if I were standing by the road waiting for it 🙂
 
Yeah, we looked at the models. It's pretty hard to tell what comes with the furnished place, and what stuff is their own little knick-knacks they have to lure you in.

They provide beds, a sofa, and a dining table, desks, and I think that's it. All utilities except for electricity are included. I think they already have internet and basic cable for you. They're LEED certified...gold? or something, so all the electricity in the building is renewable...meaning it costs about 20 bucks a person for electricity, on average.

The units at campus crossing are quite nice - not like a dorm room at all. They're pretty darn impressive. Don't you have a brochure somewhere in the Emory blue backpack? I don't know if I still have mine.
 
Russell88 said:
Don't you have a brochure somewhere in the Emory blue backpack? I don't know if I still have mine.
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I do have the brochure, but I didn't see it in person, I know from looking at other apartments and from advertisements in general that people tend to use their absolute best for pictures and that's not always what you get at all. I was just wondering what someone who had looked at them thought and figured it might be beneficial for anyone considering Campus Crossings who weren't able to visit. Thanks!
 
does anyone know if MPH students can take courses at other schools/programs? Would we be able to substitute it as an approved elective course if appropriate? Would this be fairly easy or would it be a paperwork nightmare?

I've heard briefly on another thread that you can take foreign languages classes during your second year (possibly for free but wasn't sure)?
 
Awapi said:
I do have the brochure, but I didn't see it in person, I know from looking at other apartments and from advertisements in general that people tend to use their absolute best for pictures and that's not always what you get at all. I was just wondering what someone who had looked at them thought and figured it might be beneficial for anyone considering Campus Crossings who weren't able to visit. Thanks!
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I realize my comment might have come off as snarky, sorry! We didn't get to see an empty model, so I can't really comment about that.

I know each of the bedrooms has their own bathroom, and (this seems to be a Georgia thing?) the walk-in closets are inside the bathrooms. The bedrooms are reasonably roomy, and they entire living area is carpeted, minus the entrance and kitchen area.

Let me know if you have any other questions, and I'll see if I can recall. I just went through my pictures of the trip, and I only have one picture of Campus Crossings. Unfortunately, it's a picture of their flat screen TVs outside by the pool - so you can watch TV while you swim.

I only took that picture because I thought it was over the top and crazy.
 
lepursuit said:
does anyone know if MPH students can take courses at other schools/programs? Would we be able to substitute it as an approved elective course if appropriate? Would this be fairly easy or would it be a paperwork nightmare?

I've heard briefly on another thread that you can take foreign languages classes during your second year (possibly for free but wasn't sure)?
Click to expand...

You can take courses at the other schools/programs. As far as how easy or hard it is...I'm not sure. Contact your department's ADAP to ask, imo.
 
lepursuit said:
does anyone know if MPH students can take courses at other schools/programs? Would we be able to substitute it as an approved elective course if appropriate? Would this be fairly easy or would it be a paperwork nightmare?

I've heard briefly on another thread that you can take foreign languages classes during your second year (possibly for free but wasn't sure)?
Click to expand...


At Emory you definitely can take classes in other schools. You can take up to 16 credits *18 if the ADAP overloads you.* I have friends that take classes at other schools and have heard of other students taking language classes.
 
Hey guys! I'm currently a student at Emory and will be joining y'all for MPH year. I can tell you that those 3 complexes are close, but by NO means the best or cheapest places to live near campus. They are all great if you have no car, but there are so many other wonderful options all well within a close distance to school. Many of us live in Virginia Highlands, Decatur, Midtown, Inman Park, Candler Park, and Druid Hills. I would say for medical school they showed us pretty much the same places. A lot of people lived in those apartments for a year and then got out. Feel free to PM me if you want more specifics on places to live!
 
As for the apartments and their bus stops, does anyone know the order of the bus route? The reason I'm asking is that I don't want to end up being the last stop on the route and not being able to get on because it is already full. So, if anyone can provide me this information, it'll be immensely helpful.
 
daZ3d said:
As for the apartments and their bus stops, does anyone know the order of the bus route? The reason I'm asking is that I don't want to end up being the last stop on the route and not being able to get on because it is already full. So, if anyone can provide me this information, it'll be immensely helpful.
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http://transportation.emory.edu/docs/transportation/Exec_Pk.pdf

This is the executive route which goes by all the apartments I talked about, you'll see The Preserve, The Park Apartments, and Post Briarcliff named on the stops. Sloan Square would be at the same stop as Post Briarcliff and the Clifton Apartments would be at the Marcus Institute (it's across the street). Hampton Hall Apartments are also on the route by name, we went to look at them and they were really sketchy (or at least our experience was sketchy, no offense if someone lives there and loves it, I can only judge off the one 30 minute visit I made) - but they are also very very cheap (for the area) so if you are looking for really really cheap and are willing to go a little sketchy then that's an option I didn't mention before.

The Clifton Apartments are the last stop (apartment wise), but around the corner (just a few hundred yards) is the Wesley Woods A route:

http://transportation.emory.edu/transportation/cliff/A_route.html

It's not ideal because it's a little but of a walk, but Wesley Woods is the first stop so you would likely get on. I don't think any of the other apartments are within walking distance of a second shuttle, but the others are closer to the beginning of the route so you probably wouldn't have much trouble getting on.

This was the only route I found that ran right in front of apartment buildings, someone might have more info about another shuttle that I didn't check out or the one that runs from Campus Crossings (like if it stops by any other complexes in the area).

Good luck!
 
Awapi said:
This was the only route I found that ran right in front of apartment buildings, someone might have more info about another shuttle that I didn't check out or the one that runs from Campus Crossings (like if it stops by any other complexes in the area).
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Hello,

I stayed with a graduate student at Campus Crossings on Wednesday night/Thursday night.

The shuttle stopped right in front of Campus Crossings on both Thursday and Friday morning. Apparently the shuttle that I took was "smaller" than the one that normally runs during the week, but it seemed big enough.

I took the ~7:30am shuttle on Thursday morning to campus because my graduate student said it wouldn't be as crowded as the other two(?) buses before 8am. There were about 15 students waiting in line for this shuttle, but I am pretty sure that there were only 1-2 students already on the shuttle when I boarded. There were still a few seats open when everyone had boarded.

I took the ~7:20am shuttle on Friday morning, and there were only a handful of students waiting in line when it arrived. The shuttle was much less crowded since it was pretty early (to be expected since classes start at 8).

For both Thursday and Friday morning, the ride was approximately 5 minutes to the Rollins SPH stop. I think Campus Crossings is either the last or one of the last apartment stops before it hits campus. The driver asked if anyone needed to get off at the CDC, but I continued on to the Rollins SPH stop. It dropped me off RIGHT in front of the two main buildings, which was very convenient.

Note: On both Thursday and Friday, I walked back to Campus Crossing with the graduate student I was staying with. It was about a 20 minute walk, with the shortcut she had through some scenic wilderness-y area (it was all paved though), at the end of which we hit Kroger (grocery store) and continued on to the apartment. The reason we walked back instead of taking the shuttle was because it takes just as long to walk as it does to wait for the shuttle, since Campus Crossing is the one of the last stops on the way home from school. It's not a bad walk at all (just one hill).

Note: The parking structure by the Rollins SPH has FREE parking after 4pm. One thing to consider when looking at apartments is that if you plan to commute by car, the graduate students told me that the parking permit can be fairly pricey ($630? $660? per semester). We took advantage of the free parking on Thursday evening, and there seemed to be enough spaces (not sure about during the day though).

Sorry if this isn't the most accurate account, but I hope it helps a little.
 
It's 600 something per year, not per semester. There are always enough spots to park as well. Many/most people in Campus Crossings take the shuttle/walk to and from campus. Hope that helps to clarify!
 
Hey guys! I randomly found this link today and thought it might be helpful to some:

http://www.apartmentguide.com/neighborhoods/Georgia/Atlanta/Clifton-Community/

This search for the "Clifton Community" is a list of apartments that "provides an abundance of housing options around Emory University, perfect for off-campus student housing."

Next to each apartment complex is a mileage that I believe is from Emory (I saw several of these places on my drive around looking for apartments and I would say that the mile(s) listed are pretty accurate to the distance they are from Emory).

Anyway, I know that I had looked online for apartments near Emory but rarely got a list this thorough. Obviously the ones closes to campus are a little pricey, but some a few spaces down the list are very reasonable, if you have a car or are bringing a bike then a mile or two wouldn't be bad at all! Virginia Highlands and Toco Hills (two areas mentioned on here and at Visit Emory) are on there several times.

I'm sure everyone knows how to search the internet 🙂 But just in case you guys hadn't stumbled across this I thought it might help someone!
 
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Awapi- that's a great list you found. Just wanted to throw a warning out there that some of those pictures of the complexes they list are not real. The only reason I know this is because the picture they show of my complex is definitely not my complex at all. Which is sort of creepy.
 
Hi all! Wanted to share my experiences from Visit Emory.

For those of you wait-listed, I hope this is helpful because I will not be going there (sadly), which hopefully means that someone who really wants to go will be able to attend.

Almost every experience I had at Visit Emory was positive. The reason I'm going to another school has more to do with my personal goals and interests and less to do with Emory or Atlanta itself. They have great opportunities in global health, but unfortunately, that's not my forte.

First of all, everyone was friendly and spirited. I had lively conversations with everyone I met, and people went out of their way to introduce themselves and answer questions. All of the events were fun - I went to the SGA mixer, Happy Hour, and various receptions. Students seemed genuinely happy there and had few negatives to report. Lots of diversity of life experiences and cultures.

Secondly, the facilities are AMAZING. Brand new, with lots of areas to sit, chat, and/or study. Technology in classrooms. Bike racks and lockers for commuting students.

I also loved their attention to the career services, alumni panel, and financial aid seminars. They really met the needs of people like myself who don't know a lot about these things and need to be walked through all the details.

I loved Atlanta, even though it was my first time visiting, and I do really hope to go back for an internship or work experience one day.

Some drawbacks to the program:
It's huge. I felt a little like they are a public health factory for the CDC. The size might be a positive for some people though.

The department meeting was the low point for me. The faculty barely introduced themselves and then left. Many of them are young, which is great (you don't want to work with an older fac member who is busy all the time), but the interests just didn't match up well for me. The program staff led the meeting, and they moderated the student panel (unlike other schools where the staff leave the room). So, I felt like I was getting "approved" answers, and not truly honest answers. I got the impression that they were a little condescending to admitted students who were just out of undergrad. I also didn't like that the capstone course was only a semester long.

The other low point for me was the class I attended. They were doing group presentations, and I was not all that impressed. (Granted, though, I've been working for 3-4 years and my supervisors have very high standards for presentations.) I also heard from a current student who also worked for 3-4 years that she felt, especially the first semester, that she felt "old" and "overexperienced" compared to her classmates.

So, even though I thought it fell short for me in the academic sense, I loved Atlanta, and thought the social atmosphere was amazing, and that there are wonderful opportunities there. I wish you all the best!
 
Please PM me if you're interested in an apartment at Campus Crossings Briarcliff. I'm hoping to transfer my lease to someone (one room in a 2BD/2BA apartment) because I unexpectedly won't be able to stay next year. My rent is probably lower than what you'll get as a new lease because I've lived here a few years ($680 + $50 for reserved parking in the garage).
 
Hi! I have committed to attend Emory in the fall. Although it would be great to have my own place, financial restrictions have rendered me looking for a (female) roommate. If you find yourself in a similar predicament, please let me know by PM and we can assess our compatibility! I look forward to hearing from you!🙂
 
Has anyone been accepted to Emory after the Visit Day passed?
 
I think there are a few of us, thefauzzie. I was accepted last week. Are you planning on trying to visit this month?
 
Hey Kadawmi. Im still waiting to hear back from them. I was curious as to whether or not people still get accepted after the Visit day or Admitted Students day.
 
Russell88 said:
Just the notion that there are outstanding prospectives out there who are going to blow off Emory, like I almost did, because it's not named Harvard or Columbia, etc. just makes me really sad. I haven't even decided to go to the school yet, but I find myself advocating for the school just because they've completely sold me on just how great their program is.




Unfortunately I couldn't make it to "Visit Emory", but all the posts from all of you have been really helpful in making my decision.... Thank you all for that!

After a couple of sleepless nights, finally made my decision and Emory it is!!!! 🙂 I turned down Yale to get into Emory for HPM!!!! The curriculum of Emory and the opportunities it provides impressed me over the Ivy league "brand"... Felt that my career needs would be better met in Emory.
Russell, what did you decide??? Emory or Columbia??? It's great to know that you have worked in the state public health department. Well I'm an international student with an MD and a bit of experience, I think there will be a great amount of interaction. I'm totally excited and looking forward to meet everyone in the fall.....
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bj81 said:
Russell88 said:
Just the notion that there are outstanding prospectives out there who are going to blow off Emory, like I almost did, because it's not named Harvard or Columbia, etc. just makes me really sad. I haven't even decided to go to the school yet, but I find myself advocating for the school just because they've completely sold me on just how great their program is.




Unfortunately I couldn't make it to "Visit Emory", but all the posts from all of you have been really helpful in making my decision.... Thank you all for that!

After a couple of sleepless nights, finally made my decision and Emory it is!!!! 🙂 I turned down Yale to get into Emory for HPM!!!! The curriculum of Emory and the opportunities it provides impressed me over the Ivy league "brand"... Felt that my career needs would be better met in Emory.
Russell, what did you decide??? Emory or Columbia??? It's great to know that you have worked in the state public health department. Well I'm an international student with an MD and a bit of experience, I think there will be a great amount of interaction. I'm totally excited and looking forward to meet everyone in the fall.....
Click to expand...

Congratulations! I don't think you'll be disappointed with Emory's HPM program.

I haven't decided yet, and I don't think I'll be making a decision until next week at the earliest. It'll probably be the deadline on May 1st, to be honest.
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Awapi,

Im currently a 3rd year PCV in West Africa. And have been friendly "stalking" haha your comments/input.

Im extremely interested in Emory bc of the 1. GH program 2. Proximity to my home state (FL) 3. Lower cost of living/tuition 4. PC Fellows program 5. 6. 7. etc etc..

You mentioned you recieved a merit scholarship.. was it the PC fellowship? How soon did you send in your apps? Im kind of worried bc I wont be finished with my service until Nov. and the soonest I can take my GREs is Oct 22 (which means schools wont recieve them until Dec-ish)... I know the cut off date is in January but do merit awards given on a first come basis too???? Financial aid is a big issue for me, but Im a good test taker so Im hoping for some sort of merit based financial help :xf::xf::xf:

What concentration are you in?? Any insider info about the Reproductive Health faculty/meeting from the Visit Emory day????
 
WAfricaGBV said:
Awapi,

Im currently a 3rd year PCV in West Africa. And have been friendly "stalking" haha your comments/input.

You mentioned you recieved a merit scholarship.. was it the PC fellowship? How soon did you send in your apps? Im kind of worried bc I wont be finished with my service until Nov. and the soonest I can take my GREs is Oct 22 (which means schools wont recieve them until Dec-ish)... I know the cut off date is in January but do merit awards given on a first come basis too???? Financial aid is a big issue for me, but Im a good test taker so Im hoping for some sort of merit based financial help :xf::xf::xf:

What concentration are you in?? Any insider info about the Reproductive Health faculty/meeting from the Visit Emory day????
Click to expand...

Congrats on your service! What part of W Africa are you in? There is a user on here who is a third year in Senegal who will be attending Emory next year, small world 🙂

I sent in my application early, (completed in September/October, since my COS was October I had to get it done early or wait until really close to the deadline), I was able to take the GRE September 10, so I wasn't too far ahead of you!

I actually just received a straight merit scholarship, however, I was told that the RPCV Fellows scholarships were created from/modeled after merit scholarships (i.e. they took a handful of merit scholarships or created similar scholarships and renamed them to create a program for RPCVs, which I think is a great idea!). So if you were offered either one then you'd probably get about the same amount of funding. The biggest difference (as I understand it) between the two is that the Fellows "earn" part of their scholarship by developing the Masters International weekly programs for people planning to do PC at the end of their grad studies and participate throughout the semester in it, whereas I will be doing an assistantship with a professor. I plan on participating in the MI program as well and helping out as an "RPCV mentor" but I won't be getting "paid" for it, haha 🙂.

Anyone who submits their application before the deadline (like Jan 10 right?) is considered equally for these scholarships, not on first come, first serve basis. As I understand it each department reviews the applications received before the deadline and offer up a set number of their "top applicants" and then a committee decides on the finalists and ultimately the recipients of the merit awards (I'm not sure how the RPCV Fellows recipients are chosen). So even if you can't take the GRE until October you should be fine! Also, SOPHAS will send your application to them before they receive your GRE score (as long as you have 2 letters of recommendation and all your transcripts it can be considered complete - in fact, mine was sent without my GRE scores, they got to the schools about a week after my application). So you can submit earlier if you want to get your info to them!

I'm in Infectious Disease, but I actually did a lot of hanging around Dr Rochat who is a big Repro Health professor and who has an active project called the GEMMA (Global Elimination of Maternal Mortality due to Abortion) Fund, it's a really large project and he seems to have a lot of student opportunities. I'm also pretty sure he has students working on the project in Africa as well as South/Central America...it seems like a very stable project that will be around for several years to come. There's also work being done on repro health education for at-risk people in Atlanta, MSM projects, something called Girls OnGuard which addresses promoting vaccination for HPV in young underserved females, Text4Baby which is a project on "free mobile information service designed to promote healthy birth outcomes among underserved populations", Mother to fetus HIV transmission projects (teaching about treatment and how to keep from infecting the baby through breastfeeding), there were a lot more too, it seems like Repro health is an important part of the Rollins projects/curriculum. Dr Rochat is also beyond awesome, I'm not even in repro health and he still made time to sit down and talk with me on my individual visit and also more than once during Visit Emory.

If you have any other questions or want to know more specifics then feel free to private message me!
 
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Im in Burkina Faso W. Africa and yes it truly is a smaller world, made even smaller with these boards hehe

Thanks for sharing your experience that makes me feel better! While stalking all the threads Ive seen people applying super early in Sept/Oct and it got me worried about my GRE scores coming in too late.. I plan on doing what you said tho, sending everything else in early.

Dr. Rochat is one of the primary reasons why Im attracted to Emory's program. I currently work for Marie Stopes International (www.mariestopes.org) an INGO that addresses reproductive health, family planning, and specifically GEMMA! I feel like its a perfect fit. Its also encouraging to know that he and all the other faculty are very open to student exchanges and collaboration..

How exciting for you and everyone else who will be starting in just a few months!! I hope to be in your position this time next year!

Awapi said:
Congrats on your service! What part of W Africa are you in? There is a user on here who is a third year in Senegal who will be attending Emory next year, small world 🙂

I sent in my application early, (completed in September/October, since my COS was October I had to get it done early or wait until really close to the deadline), I was able to take the GRE September 10, so I wasn't too far ahead of you!

I actually just received a straight merit scholarship, however, I was told that the RPCV Fellows scholarships were created from/modeled after merit scholarships (i.e. they took a handful of merit scholarships or created similar scholarships and renamed them to create a program for RPCVs, which I think is a great idea!). So if you were offered either one then you'd probably get about the same amount of funding. The biggest difference (as I understand it) between the two is that the Fellows "earn" part of their scholarship by developing the Masters International weekly programs for people planning to do PC at the end of their grad studies and participate throughout the semester in it, whereas I will be doing an assistantship with a professor. I plan on participating in the MI program as well and helping out as an "RPCV mentor" but I won't be getting "paid" for it, haha 🙂.

Anyone who submits their application before the deadline (like Jan 10 right?) is considered equally for these scholarships, not on first come, first serve basis. As I understand it each department reviews the applications received before the deadline and offer up a set number of their "top applicants" and then a committee decides on the finalists and ultimately the recipients of the merit awards (I'm not sure how the RPCV Fellows recipients are chosen). So even if you can't take the GRE until October you should be fine! Also, SOPHAS will send your application to them before they receive your GRE score (as long as you have 2 letters of recommendation and all your transcripts it can be considered complete - in fact, mine was sent without my GRE scores, they got to the schools about a week after my application). So you can submit earlier if you want to get your info to them!

I'm in Infectious Disease, but I actually did a lot of hanging around Dr Rochat who is a big Repro Health professor and who has an active project called the GEMMA (Global Elimination of Maternal Mortality due to Abortion) Fund, it's a really large project and he seems to have a lot of student opportunities. I'm also pretty sure he has students working on the project in Africa as well as South/Central America...it seems like a very stable project that will be around for several years to come. There's also work being done on repro health education for at-risk people in Atlanta, MSM projects, something called Girls OnGuard which addresses promoting vaccination for HPV in young underserved females, Text4Baby which is a project on "free mobile information service designed to promote healthy birth outcomes among underserved populations", Mother to fetus HIV transmission projects (teaching about treatment and how to keep from infecting the baby through breastfeeding), there were a lot more too, it seems like Repro health is an important part of the Rollins projects/curriculum. Dr Rochat is also beyond awesome, I'm not even in repro health and he still made time to sit down and talk with me on my individual visit and also more than once during Visit Emory.

If you have any other questions or want to know more specifics then feel free to private message me!
Click to expand...
 
Thank you Russell! Definitely looking forward to it.... Well Good Luck with your decision making and hopefully see you in fall! 🙂
 
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