The All-Encompassing, "What are my chances" thread!

[songbird25]

Hey everyone,
I am an undergraduate student pursuing my degree in Health Management online through Northeastern University. I would like to one day get my MPH in Health Policy and Management, but since I'm taking my classes online I'm confused about what I'll do about my letters of recommendation. I plan to participate in a summer research opportunity where I will work with a professor at Rutgers University, and I also will pursue other relevant internships, but I think any letters from my NU professors will be weak. How important are academic vs. professional letters for this type of degree program? I'll appreciate any feedback at all. Thanks so much.
If it helps, I'm a diligent student with a >3.7 gpa and I plan to do my best in my coursework and in my professional experiences.

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[Chirpychippy]

Hi songbird,

I applied for HPM programs for the Fall 2011 admissions cycle and I had two letters from professors and one from previous work experience (from 3 years ago). In the end, I think it is always good to have balance. In your case, since you will be fresh out of school, it may be good to try to get 2 academic and 1 professional letter. Ultimately, however, I think the most important factors are that the recommender knows you well, that he/she can speak to your interest in the field of public health, and that he/she can speak to skills that you have which will translate well to graduate school (writing, group work, etc). It's important that your recommender have some authority when they write the letter, in the sense that they actually know you and are not someone who you have met with or worked with only for a very fleeting period.

So, I think you should ideally try to get some mix of academic/professional recs, but focus more on what each person will be able to say rather than title or position. Two of my recommenders had nothing to do with the field of public health.

 

[latvia]

Dear all,

Over the last year, I have settled on applying to an MPH in Epi, with an intent to continue on to a Ph.D, since my goal is to do epi research (mostly genetic, or chronic diseases). I've worked in a epi/WHO sponsored lab for the last 2.5 years and it has cemented my feelings towards this career.

I recently graduated and am taking the GRE next month (taking the new formatted one, will this be an issue?). my gpa was a 3.4, double major molecular bio and french lit from Berkeley.

I've been looking at several schools, but I was hoping some people can give me a better idea of what programs exist for this track? I saw that Yale had a chronic disease track, but are they any others? and what would my chances at any top program?

appreciate any feedback!

 

[dawgfan11]

2.5 years in a lab will definitely help your chances. I would recommend highlighting them in your PS.

As for schools- I may be biased because I'm planning on attending Yale in the Chronic Disease track. But, there program is great if you want a research-heavy (as in biostatistical and epi methods) foundation, which will be great if you want to pursue a PhD.

As for other programs, Emory, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Berkeley, and UMich are the top tier for epi.

The second tier (which I would recommend applying to as back-up) includes GWU, Pitt, Ohio State, U Washington, and Boston U.

I've heard great things about the Epi programs at these schools.

Hope this helps!

 

[ayaya]

If you're interested in Epi, then I would suggest looking into Harvard. I'm currently a second year master's student in epidemiology. They have a great epidemiology department, conducting some of the world's cutting edge research in genetic epi and chronic diseases. Once you are finished with the master's you can apply to their doctoral program as an internal applicant. Hope that helps

 

[jspadafi]

I am a Senior at Arizona State completing my BS in Molecular Biosciences and Biotechnology with a Minor in Anthropology and will be applying to master's program in epidemiology and was wondering how competitive I would be at some prospective schools. My GPA is 3.50, GRE 1200 (700Q, 500V), lab research experience, and coursework in Calculus, Biometry, Computer science, and Immuniology in addition to my major. The schools are as follows:
*Boston University
*Emory
*Harvard
*Ohio State
*University of Maryland
*University of Michigan
*UNC Chapel Hill
*University of South Carolina
*Yale

 

[Dx253]

I apologize for not being able to directly answer your question asked but I do know from experience, that you can email your prospective schools admissions department and they will likely be able to answer this. I did this when I was trying to answer the exact question (different track). To my surprise I had the 7 schools get back to me all within a week or so. With the most up-to-date admissions information.

Hope this helps. Take care and good luck!

 

[Veggie Monster]

I apologize for not being able to directly answer your question asked but I do know from experience, that you can email your prospective schools admissions department and they will likely be able to answer this. I did this when I was trying to answer the exact question (different track). To my surprise I had the 7 schools get back to me all within a week or so. With the most up-to-date admissions information.

Hope this helps. Take care and good luck!

what type of response did you receive from the respective schools, dx?

 

[Dx253]

I asked what their latest admission stats they had for the degree I'm interested in. For most they gave me 2009 stats but if I remember correctly JHU had last years stats. All I did was call or find the admissions persons contact info on the website, then shoot them an email with my question. Simple as that. All of them were very helpful and quickly responded.

 

[Dx253]

what type of response did you receive from the respective schools, dx?

This is what I received from JHSPH on the MSPH in Health Policy a few months ago

"In answer to your questions: there is no "typical" # of applicants that we tend to receive, it varies greatly by year. Given that, last year we received 76 applications, admitted 32 and yielded 21 students. We look at each application in its entirety but "on average" we like to see a minimum of a 3.3 GPA (we tend to see 3.6 and above) and a minimum GPA score of 50% on each section (we tend to get most applicants with 70% or higher on each section)."

I received similar responses from all of the schools I contacted. Short, sweet and to the point.

 

[Escherichiacola]

We look at each application in its entirety but “on average” we like to see a minimum of a 3.3 GPA (we tend to see 3.6 and above) and a minimum GPA score of 50% on each section (we tend to get most applicants with 70% or higher on each section)."

Did s/he mean GRE score instead of GPA score of 50% on each section? Just wanted to make sure I'm not missing something!

 

[Wickel]

This is what I received from JHSPH on the MSPH in Health Policy a few months ago

"In answer to your questions: there is no “typical” # of applicants that we tend to receive, it varies greatly by year. Given that, last year we received 76 applications, admitted 32 and yielded 21 students. We look at each application in its entirety but “on average” we like to see a minimum of a 3.3 GPA (we tend to see 3.6 and above) and a minimum GPA score of 50% on each section (we tend to get most applicants with 70% or higher on each section)."

I received similar responses from all of the schools I contacted. Short, sweet and to the point.

Thank you for this! I've been wondering much of this information myself.

 

[Dx253]

Did s/he mean GRE score instead of GPA score of 50% on each section? Just wanted to make sure I'm not missing something!

Yes, that is what she meant.

 

[Dx253]

Thank you for this! I've been wondering much of this information myself.

No problem! I'm glad I could help.

 

[Escherichiacola]

Yes, that is what she meant.

Thank you very much for the good info!

 

[Crajee]

Hey there,

I am a fourth year medical student in the UK, and as part of my degree (Liverpool), we can do a Master's after our fourth year, when we have our medical finals. (Our degree is done a little differently from other med schools in the country in that we have our finals in MSIV and we have a year of "internship" in MSV, meaning we have a UG degree 'in our hands' by the end of MSIV... thereby allowing us to apply to Master's programmes to do between MSIV and MSV)

I am very new to the field of public/global health, and I have attended talks held in London by the Royal Society of Medicine on this field and I think this is something I want to pursue as a career. I don't want to lose hold of my clinical skills as a doctor, but I am determined to find a way to balance individual-level and population-level healthcare in my future career.

Why America? This may (and probably will) sound like a silly reason to some but - I want to see America and I want to get out of England for a while if I can. That's not really a reason to base the choice of location of an expensive MPH on, but I feel that in addition to wanting to pursue the career, I also want to enjoy a new place as much as I can (my other passion is travelling). My long-term plans/dreams/hopes/ideas are to work for or set up my own NGO, and as well as being a clinical doctor, help set up camps/clinics/assist in organisation of the local area of healthcare to help people access and use healthcare the best they can. Being originally from India and having seen this kind of stuff first-hand, I find it frustrating that although health care is or can be available, people from both giving and receiving parties are not making the full use of services, and I would like to work in bridging the gap in the future.

However, since I only found out about MPH and global health, etc. during the course of MSIII, I have not really had a chance to do much or get out and see much in terms of internships/research/placements/volunteering. My question therefore is one that probably most education forums hate - what are my chances of getting in?

I am a strictly average student (who has done exam resits in medical school, not in all of them but certainly some of them), averaging at around 65% if I were to put a mark to it. I have no research experience/work experience in this field. I have done two special study modules (one-month-long modules writing 3000 words for internal marking, not published) on domestic violence in Pakistani women in a small town in England and the impact of Bollywood films on HIV/AIDS education (the two subject titles which I chose by myself), which helped me think about issues on a population/global perspective, but I have no formal qualifications out of it. I am also a UK med student doing her first-time UG, so I have no UG pre-med either, which I guess US applicants would have (I'm 21). I am considering doing some form of distance learning courses on statistics, epidemiology etc. as although my med school teaches us some of it, there is not a lot of it currently.

To be fair, I have not really had the chance to do anything much outside of my normal medical school work as I have only just found out about these things. But that's not really an excuse, I am just stating facts. lol. How difficult is it to get into an MPH program in the US? I am not even thinking of the top ten/Ivy League schools... unless by some miracle people tell me they might be willing to give me a chance (this sounds incredibly petty/childish of me (trust me I am not!) but I am also an ethnic minority - being Indian by origin - and I am also deaf/hearing impaired and I have heard that sometimes that can work to my advantage? Not that I am 'playing the deaf card', but I would still like to know the reality - I know some schools have mentioned they give some priority to ethnic minorities, etc.?), which I highly doubt as I am sure there will be those far more qualified than I am. I would just like to get into a school that will accept me, is not in the middle of nowhere (as I am currently from 'the middle of nowhere' and I would really like to see 'somewhere'!), and has a decent emphasis on global health as that is what I think I am interested in.

If anyone knows any UK med students who have done this, or anyone with little work experience/academic achievement in terms of research, etc. in this field - or if anyone knows anything that can help me make my decision - I would be so grateful.

Thanks for taking the time out to read this long-a $ s post. lol.

Crajee

ETA: Whoops, it asterisked out the A word

 

[songbird25]

Thanks so much for your reply--the info was really helpful.

 

[latvia]

Thanks for the help!

Yea, the more I look at things, the better of a fit Yale is for me, though now I suppose I have to work on the PS and letters of recs...

 

[Borks]

I am a Senior at Arizona State completing my BS in Molecular Biosciences and Biotechnology with a Minor in Anthropology and will be applying to master's program in epidemiology and was wondering how competitive I would be at some prospective schools. My GPA is 3.50, GRE 1200 (700Q, 500V), lab research experience, and coursework in Calculus, Biometry, Computer science, and Immuniology in addition to my major. The schools are as follows:
*Boston University
*Emory
*Harvard
*Ohio State
*University of Maryland
*University of Michigan
*UNC Chapel Hill
*University of South Carolina
*Yale

There are a lot of good schools on the list, and you are a competitive candidate so I could see you gettting into one of the top ten schools. As you are a solid candidate, you would benefit the best from a school with a solid reputation, and which has a good reputation for nuturing students and helping them achieve their career goals. So for some, like Univ. of South Carolina, I don't know if they have a strong reputation in what you're going into, same thing with Ohio State.

Likewise, with BU the math is a little bit complicated. BU is located in Boston, which is very expensive in terms of living expenses. Plus, the tuition is very high, UNLESS you get some sort of a merit award. Given that BU doesn't have a cut off gpa, as they recommend above 3.0, and given your great ECs and such, I would wager that you are a better than average applicant, and would probably make a better than average student, at least in terms of what you bring to the school. On a sour note, I haven't heard good things about the quality of education at BU.

So, for example, if I was you applying for BU, I would ask about merit awards and scholarships, as why would you pay $$$ to a school which is not as good as some others you can get into? Of course, if you have a fiance, or family, in MA then it might pay to go this route, but you will have a lot of loans.

In the end, each school has its specific plus and minuses within a given tier, I would advise you to go for the top tier, such as the UNC's of the world, and perhaps add some safety schools after doing your due deligence.

 

[remonde]

I have a gap year between my senior year and the year that I plan to matriculate into medical school; therefore, this program sounded like an extremely great deal to pursue! If you are not familiar with it, Click Here and read the part under "Master of Health Science (MHS)"

I was just wondering how competitive is this program? What are the average MCAT/GRE scores, and GPAs that actually participate in this program? Or better yet, how do my stats stack up to previous applicants regardless of that fact that I have yet to take the MCAT? I can't seem to find any statistics on this program anywhere! (haven't looked really far though lol)

Stats
Science GPA: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.9
Research Assistant in a Molecular Neuroscience lab (2 years)
Organic chemistry teaching assistant (3 semesters)
Lead tutor in a CRLA recognized organization (1 year)
Hospital volunteering in a cardiac institute (2 years)
Shadowing and clinic experiences with disadvantaged clinics
Will be taking the MCAT in January 2012.

 

[Porcupine]

Hi all,

I'm one of the international students applying to Fall 2011 MPH. Since I am not so confident in my profile, I am thinking of a program ranked 20-40 such as MPH in Missouri university. But when I checked the accredited progs in CEPH, Missouri wasn't listed, actually only a handful of universities are listed in CEPH.

So guys, please give some advise about quality, employment opportunities, experience and knowledge gained in non-accredited progs (those ranked 30-40).

Btw, my stats:
GPA: 3.3/4.0; Singapore university, bachelor in life sciences
TOEFL: 106
2 years of research in epi
Two voluntary field trips, each last several days though
GRE: gonna take GRE next week

All comments, suggestions are welcomed!!!

 

[Veggie Monster]

Hi all,

I'm one of the international students applying to Fall 2011 MPH. Since I am not so confident in my profile, I am thinking of a program ranked 20-40 such as MPH in Missouri university. But when I checked the accredited progs in CEPH, Missouri wasn't listed, actually only a handful of universities are listed in CEPH.

So guys, please give some advise about quality, employment opportunities, experience and knowledge gained in non-accredited progs (those ranked 30-40).

Btw, my stats:
GPA: 3.3/4.0; Singapore university, bachelor in life sciences
TOEFL: 106
2 years of research in epi
Two voluntary field trips, each last several days though
GRE: gonna take GRE next week

All comments, suggestions are welcomed!!!

did you mean NSU?

 

[Porcupine]

What did you refer to as "NSU"?

 

[codym]

Did you mean Missouri State University in Springfield, MO? If so, then no, they are not accredited by CEPH. The only CEPH accredited programs in the state of Missouri are the University of Missouri - Columbia and Saint Louis University (SLU).

U of Missouri offers a general degree with a focus on policy. SLU actually offers concentration areas (i.e. Biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, etc).

Personally, I would not attend a program that hasn't received accreditation from CEPH.

Hope this helps! Good luck with your search.

Hi all,

I'm one of the international students applying to Fall 2011 MPH. Since I am not so confident in my profile, I am thinking of a program ranked 20-40 such as MPH in Missouri university. But when I checked the accredited progs in CEPH, Missouri wasn't listed, actually only a handful of universities are listed in CEPH.

So guys, please give some advise about quality, employment opportunities, experience and knowledge gained in non-accredited progs (those ranked 30-40).

Btw, my stats:
GPA: 3.3/4.0; Singapore university, bachelor in life sciences
TOEFL: 106
2 years of research in epi
Two voluntary field trips, each last several days though
GRE: gonna take GRE next week

All comments, suggestions are welcomed!!!

 

[Veggie Monster]

national singapore university?

i've never head of singapore university.

 

[Porcupine]

Did you mean Missouri State University in Springfield, MO? If so, then no, they are not accredited by CEPH. The only CEPH accredited programs in the state of Missouri are the University of Missouri - Columbia and Saint Louis University (SLU).

U of Missouri offers a general degree with a focus on policy. SLU actually offers concentration areas (i.e. Biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, etc).

Personally, I would not attend a program that hasn't received accreditation from CEPH.

Hope this helps! Good luck with your search.

That's definitely help.
By the way, something confused me. I am interested in Uni of Missouri and MPH/MS in Epi, however only Health policy concentration are accredited in Uni of Missouri. So....is it "safe" to go for a non-accredited prog in an accredited uni?

Please enlighten me...

 

[Porcupine]

national singapore university?

i've never head of singapore university.

No such "singapore uni" . I graduated from Nanyang Technological University (one of three public uni in Singapore, just like National University of Singapore (NUS) & Singapore Management Uni (SMU) )

Do you have any idea about accreditation and how the admission committees look at degrees from Singapore

 

[Veggie Monster]

1) you should apply to a higher ranked program that is ALSO accredited.
2) just the fact that you made it to Nanyang Technological University is a monumental achievement. i know about the education system in singapore. going to uni in s'pore isn't like going to uni in the US.
3) take the GRE and let us know what you got so we can help you choose a good grad school. o, tell us the percentile!

 

[MolBio]

Hi all,

I'm one of the international students applying to Fall 2011 MPH. Since I am not so confident in my profile, I am thinking of a program ranked 20-40 such as MPH in Missouri university. But when I checked the accredited progs in CEPH, Missouri wasn't listed, actually only a handful of universities are listed in CEPH.

So guys, please give some advise about quality, employment opportunities, experience and knowledge gained in non-accredited progs (those ranked 30-40).

Btw, my stats:
GPA: 3.3/4.0; Singapore university, bachelor in life sciences
TOEFL: 106
2 years of research in epi
Two voluntary field trips, each last several days though
GRE: gonna take GRE next week

All comments, suggestions are welcomed!!!

I wouldn't apply to non-accredtied programs. For the very top PH schools they usually only take international students with a clinical degree like MBBS, MD, DVM, DDS. But, assuming you do well on the GRE, I would definitely apply to a few higher ranked universities. I think your biggest hurdle will be to get funding, not to be acceptance per se. If you can pay for an entire MPH on your own, you should be fine.

 

[codym]

Like everyone else has stated, it's best to attend a CEPH accredited program. Schools that receive CEPH accreditation have to meet a set of minimum standards. This is good for you, the student, because it ensures that you will receive a quality education.

That's definitely help.
By the way, something confused me. I am interested in Uni of Missouri and MPH/MS in Epi, however only Health policy concentration are accredited in Uni of Missouri. So....is it "safe" to go for a non-accredited prog in an accredited uni?

Please enlighten me...

 

[Jamiefrances]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the Application process for MPH and I'm not sure if I'm competitive enough to apply this year. I apologize if I ask anything stupid out of naivety.

I have a poor GPA (about a 3) from my University and a decent GPA (3.8) from the community college I took all of my core classes at. (I only took my upper level science classes at the University, and took pretty much everything else at the CC. I have an associates from there.)

I just took my GRE and got a 670 in Verbal and a 540 in Quantitative. I think that retaking the GRE in November could really boost my score if I study harder for Quantitative.

My Letters of Recommendations would likely be from: 2 from my employers and 1 from my Lab professor. I know that this is probably going to weaken an already weak application, but I just haven't had time to really bond with anyone else between taking 20 hours, working 20 hours, and working in the lab 9 hours a week...

I have 1 year of research experience in a Neuroscience Lab, and have been volunteering continuously at various organizations since I started college in 2009. I am also a member of a pre-professional health related honour society that tracks my volunteering hours (If that helps)

I wanted to apply to places like SUNY Downstate, BU, etc, but I'm not sure if I'm even moderately competitive because I had previously planned to apply for PhD programs before deciding that was not the route for me.

Thanks!

 

[Porcupine]

@ Veggie Monster: thanks for your advise and encouragement. My GRE test is coming very soon and I will come back w my GRE score for more advise
@ MolBio: yup, you're right. My biggest hurdle is to get funding. I think 10 out of 10 people from the states (profs, MPH/DrPH students) told me to forget about getting tuition fee waiver if I take MPH in the US. I don't say I am discouraged but rather I need to find a way out such as applying for a loan, getting MPH in Europe where funding is more generous, etc..
I knew that theoretically, some MPH progs offer graduation assistantship but not sure how it is in realistic sense

@ codym: thanks a lot! I think I will go for a CEPH accredited prog then

 

[Crajee]

*bump*

... no pearls of wisdom anyone? Pretty please?

 

[Veggie Monster]

*bump*

... no pearls of wisdom anyone? Pretty please?

Check your inbox in a few hours. I'm gonna PM you.

 

[Porcupine]

Hi Jamiefrances, here is my 2 cents

I think that your profile is unique (almost perfect GRE verbal score, and very intensive voluntary experience) and I don't say it is non-competitive. So my advise is:
- Yup, study GRE to boost your Quantitative score
- Choose the "right university": your profile may not fit in UW & Yale 'cause they are demanding about quantitative and research experience. Choose a program that emphasizes on qualitative, voluntary experience, perhaps?

Good luck

 

[Member32223]

Good luck with your application!

 

[AztecTurtle]

Anyone happen to have any insight on how poor performance during medical school would affect an application to an MPH program?

Undergraduate went well. Solid 3.8ish GPA, decent standardized test scores, public health extra-curriculars, etc. Probably would have had a strong application at the time I graduated.

Medical school hasn't gone as well. Haven't failed any courses, but class rank is on the low end. What kind of programs could I reasonably hope to get in? Can I fall back on my undergraduate performance or is that no longer relevant?

And what if I fail Step 1, would the MPH programs I apply to even know? Would it matter to them?

I really wanted to get an MPH, but I fear I may have greatly hurt my chances during medical school. Probably an uncommon situation, but I'd appreciate any feedback.

 

[Veggie Monster]

Anyone happen to have any insight on how poor performance during medical school would affect an application to an MPH program?

Undergraduate went well. Solid 3.8ish GPA, decent standardized test scores, public health extra-curriculars, etc. Probably would have had a strong application at the time I graduated.

Medical school hasn't gone as well. Haven't failed any courses, but class rank is on the low end. What kind of programs could I reasonably hope to get in? Can I fall back on my undergraduate performance or is that no longer relevant?

And what if I fail Step 1, would the MPH programs I apply to even know? Would it matter to them?

I really wanted to get an MPH, but I fear I may have greatly hurt my chances during medical school. Probably an uncommon situation, but I'd appreciate any feedback.

first, what is your true motive of pursuing an MPH degree?

my friend was in a similar situation as you are in. she wasn't doing so well in her studies at medical school. she decided to take a year long hiatus from medical school to figure out whether pursuing allopathic medicine was really her passion. at the end she decided to continue medical school and she is currently doing well.

perhaps you should consider taking a break to think if medicine is really for you.

also, when applying to MPH programs you are required to send in all your transcripts from each college and/or university you have attended. hint: med school is part of a university.

 

[OneDay81]

I am wondering what sort of stats and experience people who apply for environmental health concentrations usually have.

I took the GRE back in May and got 570V, 710Q, 4.0. I retook it last Friday and I expect my writing score to go up since I actually put some effort into it this time, and the estimate that the computer gave me based on the old scoring system was 640-740V, 700-800Q (I am hoping for the equivalent of the high end of both scores, obviously).

My B.S. was in Sports and Health Sciences, Sports Medicine concentration, and I graduated with a 3.8. However, I think my overall GPA is about a 3.3.

I've been serving in the Coast Guard as a marine mechanic for the past seven years, so I don't have any experience in public health. I have participated in search and rescue activities as well as environmental stewardship (oil spills, etc), and I am an EMT. I served overseas for a year so I also have experience living in and working with other cultures. I also have a lot of work experience in veterinary care and agriculture.

I kept debating about whether to pursue human medicine, veterinary medicine, or wildlife management and I think environmental health will be the perfect field for me, especially if I can get into a "One Health" focused program like UFL. I suppose I'm just looking for some words and of encouragement and some insight into what sort of people are usually accepted into these programs.

 

[werd814]

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/departments/environmental-health/student-profile/

^^^-- You may find the first student profile on this page particularly interesting.

http://ehs.sph.berkeley.edu/prospective/backgrounds.htm

http://sph.berkeley.edu/students/degrees/areas/ehs1.php

^--( There are various admissions stats scattered about this page).

... sorry to regurgitate stats for non-UFL schools. These were just the quickest ones for me to find-- and you reminded me of that HSPH student profile. I bet UFL has a similar page worth checking out.

In my experience, your expected new GRE scores and GPA are about average for EHS applicants to top-tier schools (GPA on the low end of average), but your experience (and potential recommendations?) will probably be super helpful. EHS programs look for both qualified and seriously-interested students whose backgrounds demonstrate some sort of drive and/or potential for doing good work in this field.

I'd suppose that if you sent out some apps to "top" and "middle" tier schools, that you'd stand a good shot at getting into a good deal of them, including UF.

Hope it all works out for you!

werd

 

[OneDay81]

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/departments/environmental-health/student-profile/

^^^-- You may find the first student profile on this page particularly interesting.

Wow! Thanks for showing me that! Letters of recommendation are one thing that has me worried, because although I have been in for seven years I've moved and transferred frequently so I have only worked with the same group of people on average about 2-2 1/2 years at a time. I haven't worked with the supervisor who knows me best since 2007, but I will see if he will write one for me anyway. Academic letters are another issue, since a lot of my recent coursework has been through distance learning so I don't have any "relationships" with any professors. I am going to ask my current Epidemiology professor and another current professor to write one for me, but they will be rather superficial recommendations, no doubt. I guess I will just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best!

 

[Crajee]

Hi!

Thanks ever so much, but I haven't found anything in my inbox? Do I need to have made certain posts before I can receive inbox messages or something?

Thanks

 

[Jamiefrances]

Thanks, you guys!

I just bought a Quantitative book to help me bring that score up a bit, and I paid to re-take the GRE in November. I'm aiming for a 100 point increase. (I think I can do it, I mean, I struggled with fractions, even, and could use --and benefit from-- a lot of help) My biggest fear is the low GPA getting me automatically denied... I'm trying to add more volunteering hours, and have come from a 'disadvantaged background' and had some health, personal, and monetary problems during most of my undergraduate career which I plan to mention in the personal statement, so I'm really hoping I will get in to at least one school!

Thanks for the good luck wishes and advice :]

 

[prodigious]

i am not sure about the new pattern but for the old pattern NOVAS GRE is really helpful for people who have trouble with maths.. i used and was very helpful...

 

[Jamiefrances]

That is actually the book I have ordered! (I do believe it has been redone for the new GRE, too.)

Thanks!

 

[ebp]

Thanks, you guys!

I just bought a Quantitative book to help me bring that score up a bit, and I paid to re-take the GRE in November. I'm aiming for a 100 point increase. (I think I can do it, I mean, I struggled with fractions, even, and could use --and benefit from-- a lot of help) My biggest fear is the low GPA getting me automatically denied... I'm trying to add more volunteering hours, and have come from a 'disadvantaged background' and had some health, personal, and monetary problems during most of my undergraduate career which I plan to mention in the personal statement, so I'm really hoping I will get in to at least one school!

Thanks for the good luck wishes and advice :]

I obviously can't guarantee you'll get into a school. That being said, if it makes you feel any better, I had only a slightly higher quant score and a slightly lower GPA, and I got into schools. Granted, I might be a bit older because I have about 6 years of post undergrad work experience (about 3 1/2 directly related to my master's program). Still, regardless of how much you increase your quant score, emphasize your activities outside of school and talk to your references about what you would like them to emphasize. Your grades and scores are important (to some schools more than others) but public health schools also seem to like to see a diverse applicant pool and students with experience other than just school. The cream of the crop schools might be a bit of a reach, but there are lots of good programs out there.

Basically, don't beat yourself up over your scores. I'm sure you'll get into some good programs. Good luck!

 

[Jamiefrances]

Yeah, I am finishing my Undergraduate degree in three years, so I might be a bit young, but I would be 22 by the time the fall 2012 semester starts, so I don't really have any related work experience besides my one year of research. My job, which I have held since I started college is in our admissions office as a student worker. On the SAT I was able to get a 800 Verbal (I don't think I could do that on the GRE, but if I look at vocab I might be able to get a 700) but my math score was only about a 600 or so, so I've never been that great at math. I am hoping to raise the Quantitative score though, even though it's not my forte, and if I can get over a 600 or up to a 640 that might be enough to help.

I have a lot of varied volunteering, but nothing exactly long term and continuous because it's through a volunteering honour society (and I have no car) I have known my work references for over two years and have also scheduled time with them to talk about my aspirations and goals so they know who I am as a person before writing the letters. I was hoping to aim for some of the reach schools, but I will certainly be satisfied with an an acceptance from any of my selected schools.

Are there any schools you'd recommend? I'm mostly interested in Infectious Disease Epidemiology programs, and trying to stay in the North East.

Congratulations on your own acceptances. Thanks for the advice.

 

[AztecTurtle]

It was always my intent to get involved in public health as a physician. I'd like to get the MPH for some formal training and protected research time. I've considered getting one during residency or skipping it all together, but I think a year off to pursue one during medical school is the best fit at this time.

 

[GeneMD2B]

Hi AztecTurtle,

I am currently a doctoral candidate in a school of public health (among other things), and my impression is that many MPH programs work hard to be inclusive, and hence are often not particularly difficult to get accepted into.

Of course there are exceptions. I think it is unlikely that you will have trouble finding a program that you can get into.

You might, however, consider doing it as part of training in a preventive medicine residency. Typically you get paid for it, instead of having to pay. Like MPH programs, residencies in preventive medicine are not particularly competitive, but they often have great people involved with them.

I hope this helps some.

 

[pororo]

Hi. I want to study MPH in fall 2012, but I still cannot decide which program I should apply.
I am very interested in both programs, but obviously I need to make a decision asap and have very little resources to do so.
A reason why I am leaning more towards Health Poilcy is because I do like stat, but it is not my favorite subject in the world..

Also, I wrote my GRE a month ago and my expected scores (shown at the end of the test) was 800 Q and 450 V. I am planning to write it again next month, but I am still uncertain about how the V section would go. Would I be considered competitive with V of 500-550, or is this not enough?

Any recommendations and thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thank you