Yale Vs UMass,UAB

[ankursegon]

I need some advice from u guys.I am an international medical graduate planning on doing a one year prohram in MPH.I have been accepted at Yale(Chronic disease epidemiology),Univ of Alabama(birmingham) and U of Massachusetts(Amherst).I am trying to compare the cost benefit ratio of these three places.None are offering me any aid,so thats not an issue.Yale will turn out to be costlier by atleast 15000-20000$.Now,the usnews rankings rate yale to be only one place above UAB.What i want to know is this-is it worthwhile spending more money on Yale keeping in view the employment opportunities after an MPH in epidemiology?I mean,is a yale label significantly more likely to affect my career opportunities vis a vis UAB or U Mass?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

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[rite1]

I think your choice of schools should take into account where you want to work or settle after obtaining your MPH. I was accepted to the dual major program (Epidemiology and International Health) at UAB in 2002, but I am attending the University of South Florida now. UAB is a highly regarded university in the south, possibly as much or even more than Yale. Future employers may view the university you obtained your MPH from in a positive or negative way. Keep that in mind. Personally, I feel that you cannot go wrong with any of the schools. Also, it depends on where you thrive the most locationwise. I suggest you visit both schools if it is possible, take in the atmosphere, and base your decision on that if other priorites are ranked the same among the schools.

 

[ankursegon]

That was most helpful.Since i cannot visit any of the schools till i get a visa(and that cant happen without an I-20 which has to be from the univ i decide to attend),i have been going through a lot of material on both the schools and their sorroundings.I was coming to the same conclusion.Your post has reinforced my decision to go to UAB.Thanks.

 

[thepinkposner]

Personally I would save the money. We are talking about the Yale MPH program, not the Yale Law School. Further, their facilities are just terrible. That said, I know nothing about the other schools you mention. I would assume that people in the field would know how and where Yale stands as far as their MPH is concerned... so going elsewhere should not hurt you.

 

[Doctor&Geek]

That was most helpful.Since i cannot visit any of the schools till i get a visa(and that cant happen without an I-20 which has to be from the univ i decide to attend),i have been going through a lot of material on both the schools and their sorroundings.I was coming to the same conclusion.Your post has reinforced my decision to go to UAB.Thanks.

Welcome!

 

[ankursegon]

Thanks JPaikman.Since i posted this,another "complication" has arisen.I have recieved an offer of a tuition waiver from UMass.I know UAB is a better school than UMass for PH,but by how far?The tuition waiver is important to me,but no so much that i cant do without it.Then there is the matter of living costs.Any international grad on this forum can tell me the average monthly cost of living at UMass?Also,U Mass says that they dont have assistantships for first year students.Whats the on campus job scnario like? The US news survey ranks UMass at 18 and UAB at 15.I'll ask the same question as i did for Yale and UAB:is there a substantial difference in my market value as an MPH graduate w.r.t. to studying at UMass and UAB?

 

[umasskid]

Im only an undergrad here at Umass, but Ive taken a few classes with some MPH faculty here, even a grad class in public health ethics. I can tell you that the faculty Ive met are extremely well-regarded in their specialities, and are also very down to earth. You could easily work in the amherst area, and the cost of living is pretty low in western mass. I hope this helps

 

[ankursegon]

Thanks.That did help.Any further contributions?

 

[DrLady]

thepinkposner,
so you are saying that Yale MPH program isn't as great? I have applied to the International Health program in Yale and from what I read,they give wonderful opportunities to students such as summer internships and it sounds quite exciting but I read in your post that their facilities are not quite good. You did your mph at yale?

 

[umasskid]

ankursegon,
I don't have many more contributions other than to say again that everyone here is accomplished. You can check out Dr. Paula Stamps online. She is a fabulous person and is well known for her work in nurse satisfaction. She created a set of criteria for evaluating nurse satisfaction, and it is one of the more widely ones used in all research. Im almost sure she is also working on one for physician satisfaction in the near future. Other than this, I know several people who are in the program, and have managaed to secure very bright futures for themselves in healthcare administration, policy, and also medicine and other health professions. Again, you can't beat the price of Umass, and the atmosphere in amherst/northampton is very cultural and diverse.

 

[ankursegon]

To Dr Lady
I havent been to yale.The comments u r reffering to about the facilities and all r from other people on the forum i whom i asked for an opinion.I ahve heard only good things about the international health program at yale.I am interested in epidemiology,and was admitted to their chronic disease epid program.U Mass is definitely not better than Yale,while UAB may be comparable(in epid).I am looking at U Mass only becos of the financial advantage.Thats why i have been looking for opinions on the degree of difference between U Mass and UAB,as both r within my financial reach.

To UMass kid
Thanks again.

 

[umasskid]

ankursergon,
This is just my personal opinion. Yale may be ranked higher than Umass, but I don't trust rankings. When it comes to your success, I think it's what you make of it. Personally, the prospect of living in New Haven for even a month would bother me. Umass has culture, comfortable living, and excellent faculty. If Umass was bottom of the barrel I'd say just go to Yale, but in reality I dont feel the differences in rankings will be apparent in your educational experience at either school, and certainly don't think the tuition difference will be worth it. If you're motivated and show interest, then you'll have more opportunities to publish, get involved with research, and get you rname out there. These are the real things Ph.D programs, health professional schools, and even employers are looking for. Again, I might be biased because I'm at Umass. Why don't you check out each school for a weekend and see how you like the atmosphere. I'm sure the faculty here would be glad to meet with you and chat about the program. I wouldn't choose UMass just for the money or Yale just for the percieved quality. Enough rambling for now. Good luck with your decision, you probably can't go horribly wrong either way.

 

[rite1]

Excellent point, umasskid! Your school experience and success is what you make of it. I totally agree.

 

[DrLady]

Hi Ankursegon,
Thanks for the reply. Yale does sound amazing, though!


I have an acceptance to University of Michigan's program, but I was wondering which one is better: Yale's or U of Mich's public health programs in Global Health? Does anyone know? I haven't heard back from yale, but was just wondering how the programs compare to one another.

 

[dawkapte]

I have been reading through this thread just now and am trying to answer the same questions as ankursegon.
I ahve been accepted into 6 schools so far for the MPH course (mostly IH)- JH, Harvard, Michigan, Columbia, Yale, Pittsburgh. I am hoping to get admits from Iowa and St Louis also (and probably Alabama). Unfortunately none of them are talking about aid / waivers or assistantships.
I am a post grad doctor from India and have been working with the WHO in India for the past 4.5 years.
I have been looking at the costs of these schools and it is clear that I do need some help financially if I am to attend. So, I am now thinking - should I go for the reputed schools - with higher costs - so I have to borrow heavily, or should I go for the lower ones - cheaper - but which I could manage wihtout too much financial burden. I am not sure if taking a loan of about $50k would be a good idea - esp since I plan to work outside USA mostly in IH after MPH - where the pay may not be so godly.
The deadlines for communicating acceptance to schools are 3 days away.
And I am still thinking...

 

[bocai]

I graduated in 03 from the global health dept at Yale EPH ... personally, I loved it, but I know that others in my dept had issues with the training they received (felt it wasn't worth the money compared to columbia or Hopkins)... I perfered a multidisciplinary approach and freedom to take classes in the law school, school of management (business) and international relations -- all of which were encouraged from all sides and pretty easy to do ... a tremendous amount of freedom to tailor your education, but if you want conventional training in specific areas -- maternal child health, or healthcare econ in developing nations for starters -- I would recommend considering another school ... as for the rep, the Yale name is tough to beat, and still has a great public health rep for whatever you want to do -- better than UNC or UAB if you want to do work at CDC?, maybe not ... but as I found, with Yale, it was all about the connections and networks that you establish

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions ...

 

[Trisomy13]

I finished in 2001 from the Epi of Microbial Disease program and thought it was well worth the time and money, if I had wanted to go further in that field (I ended up going into pharmaceuticals and now med school). The facilities leave something to be desired in terms of computer lab space and study space, but the classrooms are fine. I can't stress enough that the faculty is outstanding, and draws on the various schools on campus (including med, law, and business). If you are interested in a project outside of the department, you can find someone in another school who will likely work with you. The summer internship program is an excellent way to apply the material, but in the end it is what you make of it. Quite a few of us went abroad to developing countries, paid for by the university. And, as another poster stated, the connections available through the faculty are there for the taking, and you can find yourself meeting some good people to know. I found myself on a riverboat in Russia with the Surgeon General and the head of NIDA during my summer internship...

Now just weigh that against actually having to live in New Haven for two years (ugh).

 

[premonition]

I finished in 2001 from the Epi of Microbial Disease program and thought it was well worth the time and money, if I had wanted to go further in that field (I ended up going into pharmaceuticals and now med school). The facilities leave something to be desired in terms of computer lab space and study space, but the classrooms are fine. I can't stress enough that the faculty is outstanding, and draws on the various schools on campus (including med, law, and business). If you are interested in a project outside of the department, you can find someone in another school who will likely work with you. The summer internship program is an excellent way to apply the material, but in the end it is what you make of it. Quite a few of us went abroad to developing countries, paid for by the university. And, as another poster stated, the connections available through the faculty are there for the taking, and you can find yourself meeting some good people to know. I found myself on a riverboat in Russia with the Surgeon General and the head of NIDA during my summer internship...

Now just weigh that against actually having to live in New Haven for two years (ugh).

Hye there Friends!
This forum and the posts contained herein are thought provoking indeed!
Could someone post the official US News rankings in here?
It would be a great help for newbies like me.

 

[ben_loper]

Can some of the poeple accepted to best schools, or yale alum, or thinking they are getting into the best schools, post some real gpa stats, and gre, thanks