Which 8 schools to apply to? MPH in EPI, need your help

[cutiepie83]

Hey everyone,

After getting great responses from various people in this forum about the MPH program (with epidemiology focus) offered in different schools, I've taken all comments into consideration, and assessed the schools, the types of programs they offer, and my chance of being admitted. I've finaly cut my list down to the ones I'm officially considering, and have until Monday to send the recommendation forms to my professors. So I was hoping if you guys can help me with my selection, I need to cut it down to 8 schools:

My CGPA is 3.01 (like that .01 really matters )
GRE: I haven't done the test yet, but in a worse case scenario, I'm probably expecting somewhere around Q740 and V370 (Its not that great, but to honest, I only have 3 weeks to study for it since it had been only recent that I've decided to not delay this any longer)
Experience: volunteered in a cancer centre, in a hospital, and in a dental clinic, as well as worked in a pharmaceutical company.

All I need to know if any of the schools below are WAYYYY out of my league, and with this data, I'm going to do a statistical analysis, and assess which schools fall withing 2 standard deviations of my likeliness being accepted providing the distribution is normal ( sorry I'm just being silly)

Please type in - YES beside the school I should apply to and NO next to the ones I may have no chance to being admitted, thanks you.

Boston University (uhoh!, I will be calling them tomorrow, if they're snotty, this one's DEFINATELY cut)
California State - Fresno
Columbia State
California State University at San Diego
Drexel University
University of Minnesota
University of Kentucky
University of New Jersey
University of Albany - SUNY
University of Alabama- at Birn...
University of Buffalo
University of Iowa
University of Pittsburg
University of Southern Cali-Kerk
Michigan State


THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING, if I only knew how to create a poll in here this would've been so much easier... Lets see how it goes .
Thanks again

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[fantasty]

I'm not going to say where you SHOULDN'T apply (honestly, it's so hard to tell who gets into a particular program). But, I'll give you some "Yes"'s for places that I say go for (places with good "Reputation-to-Accessibility" ratio). Plus, if anything within geographic proximity I would put into the "definite apply" category.

Boston University
California State - Fresno
Columbia State
California State University at San Diego - Yes
Drexel University
University of Minnesota - Yes
University of New Jersey
University of Albany - SUNY - Yes
University of Alabama- at Birn... - Yes
University of Buffalo - Yes
University of Iowa - Yes (Go Hawkeyes!)
University of Pittsburgh - Yes
University of Southern Cali-Kerk - Yes
Michigan State

Anyway - that's just my $0.02 this random evening - I probably wouldn't make any life decisions based on input from people like me

 

[uhoh!]

several points, not all of them relevant to this topic..
My CGPA is 3.01 (like that .01 really matters )
don't be too hard on yourself..everyone takes the ratings/CGPA stuff with a pinch of salt,anyway. just because someone was really good at taking exams doesn't automatically make them the best candidates..
GRE: I haven't done the test yet, but in a worse case scenario, I'm probably expecting somewhere around Q740 and V370
why,oh!why, do people pay soooo much attention to what they get on stupid practice/mock tests! a friend of mine got really depressed(then drunk )over a test which predicted a score of 1100 for him. he went on to get 1500 on the GRE. so much for the accuracy of these "simulated" tests.
all you need to do(since you got 3 WHOLE weeks, and a good Quant score) is go through word lists(maybe Barrons or something) and try doing lots of practice questions..not to be a downer, but (1) the actual exam is much,much easier than most practice tests out there , and (2) it is supposed to be an aptitude test, where sudden intense studying will not pump your score up by a whole bunch. maybe the studying will help you feel more confident, i don't know. just don't kill yourself over projected scores, and prepare to the best of what you can. see which types of Qs get your score down(it was the comprehension section for me), then work more on these..i know trying to learn wordlists is a pain, but i think it helped me...
Experience: volunteered in a cancer centre, in a hospital, and in a dental clinic, as well as worked in a pharmaceutical company.
more than most of the people in school with me now! you have been around and seen a lot. now back yourself, and give the entire app process your best shot.

one word of advice..since you have got it down to these places, you must justify your choice of that univ in each personal statement. as in, why are they the best fit for you and vice versa. also, if some of the univs are close to where you are, go visit them. tell them you are interested. try fixing an app with the prof whose work interests you the most..you know, show them you really want to be there..

And now for the univs you mentioned..

Please type in - YES beside the school I should apply to and NO next to the ones I may have no chance to being admitted, thanks you.
seriously, the admission criteria are so seemingly arbitrary sometimes, i wouldn't seriously tell anyone to not apply anywhere. but,since you ask, i will tell you where i considered applying to, or i did apply to..

Boston University (uhoh!, I will be calling them tomorrow, if they're snotty, this one's DEFINATELY cut) as namazu might put it, that should "definitely" be a criteria for any of the progs you are calling/contacting. you want "good" vibes from the programs..
California State - Fresno??
Columbia State??
California State University at San Diego??
Drexel University - yes. i did.
University of Minnesota- yes
University of Kentucky ??
University of New Jersey ??
University of Albany - SUNY - yes.i did.
University of Alabama- at Birn... yes. i did.
University of Buffalo yes
University of Iowa ??
University of Pittsburg yes. i did.
University of Southern Cali-Kerk ??
Michigan State ??

Another long $0.02 from me..
as always, take whatever i tell you with a pinch of salt. the places i liked might not suit you, and vice versa. as with dante201, don't make life-altering decisions based solely on what i say. i know i wouldn't!

 

[namazu]

Hey, there, "uhoh!", "you" aren't making "fun" of my "excessive" "use" of "quotation marks", now are you?

 

[uhoh!]

Hey, there, "uhoh!", "you" aren't making "fun" of my "excessive" "use" of "quotation marks", now are you?

no, silly! i took the experiAnce in quotation marks as gentle sarcasm on your part..the subtle, Jane-Austin/Saki variety of wit i appreciate!


and cutiepie83(!!), where are you finally applying to? keep us posted..re-experiencing last year's admission-stress adrenaline-rush vicariously through you!

 

[cutiepie83]

I'm still working on analyzing this lacking data with n=2... but because its a rather small to work with, I was hoping that a few more can respond

We'll I'm still debating, and working on my letter of intent, who knew writing about yourself can be SO HARD!

Actually, I feel like I should write about my entire life story, I think collectively it could really answer their questions. I've had so many different and significant experiences with life itself, how in the world am I going to cut it down into 3 pages..

But anyways, I'm not sure which schools I will cut from the list, I guess I'll put all the schools that you guys rooted for in a hat and pick the top 8 . and if they ask me why I chose them instead of all the other schools, I'll tell them I used an SRS

 

[uhoh!]

I guess I'll put all the schools that you guys rooted for in a hat and pick the top 8 . and if they asked me why I chose them instead of all the other schools, I'll tell them I used SRS

and why not..it should be as good as taking advice from strangers online!
about the statement of purpose..write everything that you want to put in there, i mean your complete life history,ambitions, trials&tribulations, whatever..then keep it aside and look at it again in 1-2 days. you will know right away what you want to edit out..after you are done with all your editing, show it to someone who knows you..and edit again! believe me, the 4-5 page letter of intent has a mysterious way of somehow shrinking down to 1.5 pages!

 

[Adcadet]

I'm a U of Minnesota grad (MPH in epidemiology, graduated in 2003) and was generally happy with my program and very happy to have done it. I'm pretty clueless about what it takes to be considered competitive at the UofM or any SPH, but I'm happy to answer questions about the U of MN.

 

[hwong14]

Boston University (uhoh!, I will be calling them tomorrow, if they're snotty, this one's DEFINATELY cut)
California State - Fresno
Columbia State
California State University at San Diego
Drexel University - YES, you should have no problem getting in. I went there, can answer Q's if you like. Their lack of selectivity at this point is because they are relatively new, but their epi program is strong and they give you lots of real-world experiences
University of Minnesota
University of Kentucky
University of New Jersey
University of Albany - SUNY
University of Alabama- at Birn...
University of Buffalo
University of Iowa
University of Pittsburg
University of Southern Cali-Kerk
Michigan State

Another new school is University of Louisville - very new, from what I understand, but if you're really worried you won't get in other places, it might be a good gamble.

 

[eram]

Drexel University - YES, you should have no problem getting in. I went there, can answer Q's if you like. Their lack of selectivity at this point is because they are relatively new, but their epi program is strong and they give you lots of real-world experiences

A current student here - also willing to answer any questions^^

 

[Faraaz23]

I just wanted to let you know to apply, you may surprise yourself! Last year, I applied (close to the deadlines, some documents got to the schools after deadlines even) to MPH programs. I applied to programs with the intended major of Health Management. I had a 3.4 gpa at time of application, GRE was V470 M690. I didn't think I had much of a chance at Emory, and Columbia University i filled out with the same attitude that people go buy a Powerball lotto ticket (wow, maybe for a few minutes I could dream if that I actually got in...) Well, turns out I got into both schools. I actually only submitted a few parts of the Saint Louis University application (which was also my undergrad) and I dropped it after I recieved my Columbia admission. Over the summer in June, the admissions director from SLU called me... and even with my incomplete application... was telling me he'd really like me to attend SLU MPH and was basically offering me a spot over the phone. My point is, there are other factors besides GPA and GRE. Many programs may not even look at GRE closely if the student has strong merit in other areas. I had very very strong recommendations and what I thought was an excellent essay, and an undergraduate major that gave me a good background for a MPH degree. My GRE scores were far below of what i'd think a "typical Ivy-leaguer" would be... but I still got in. I am in no way trying to brag, I'm just trying to show you that I thought I was a poor candidate (cuz i've had a D and 4-5 C's in science classes on my transcript, as well as Vebral scores below the 50th percentile) Don't sell yourself short though, I wouldn't say any of those schools are out of your league. So take a chance and good luck!!!!