<p>Hi,
I was wondering if anyone could give me some input on my chances of getting into an MPH program for Fall, 2009.</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<p>3.3 GPA from McGill University (majored in biomedical sciences and international development studies), during university i worked as a program coordinator for a non profit organization that deals with senior isolation for two years, i am currently starting an internship at the iowa college of public health center on aging
- I have not taken my GREs yet, but I am averaging about a 600 on verbal and 650 in math</p>
<p>The schools that I want to apply to (ranking in order):
1. Columbia
2. Yale
3. Boston University
4. University of Iowa</p>
<p>I want to apply into the Aging and Public Health course</p>
<p>Any feedback is appreciated (especially on how to strengthen my application)
Thanks!</p>
<p>Careful on where you submit applications to, many require that you have been in the field for awhile before accepting you. It sounds like your experience qualifies you. Also, be careful to note the differences between an MPH and an MSPH as at some institutions, an MPH is a post doctoral degree and you would need a PhD/MD/DVM/DDS etc to apply for it.</p>
<p>I can't speak to the specific area of specialization that you are interested in, but I know in epidemiology and biostats some of the top schools are U of North Carolina, U of Michigan, Johns Hopkins and Harvard.</p>
<p>I can't imagine your grades and scores being as important for this type of program as your experience and career direction. All in all, I would say that you probably will not have problems with acceptance.</p>
<p>If you are interested in strengthening your application, I would say that experience of exactly the nature you are getting would be beneficial. Program coordinator, internships in practices. Maybe some research experience would be advantageous if you are looking at all at PhD programs in public health.</p>
<p>Something else that may be worth looking at, would be MPH/MSW programs. This training prepares you for more than an MPH alone, particularly if you are interested in specializing in a certain subset of patient care.</p>
<p>You likely don't have enough work experience to be competitive at those schools just yet, but with another year or two under your belt, your application will be much better.
MPH programs are like MPA programs in that they look for their applicants to have about 2-3 years of work experiences in health related areas. So if you continue to work in health related fields, as you're doing now, you're application will be strong in a year or two.</p>
<p>As far as your stats go, 3.3 is maybe just below the median at most of these schools but not enough that anyone will care. McGill is also a grade deflator (I know this because I'm a Montrealer) which most of these schools will probably be aware of already when reviewing your application.</p>
<p>So my advice overall: Save the application money and work for another year or two. Your chances will be better and you'll be a stronger hire once you graduate from the MHP as well.</p>
<p>Have you also thought about Social Work (MSW)? There are plenty of social work schools with Aging/Geriatic programs. It depends on whether you want to do interpersonal intervention (micro) or administration/evaluation (macro). The MSW/MPH (if you want to pursue a dual degree) sounds perfect for you. Here is an example: U-M-SSW:</a> Social Work and Public Health</p>
<p>I'm going to be the contrarian here and say go for it if you want to apply and start your MPH after your B.S. With your background you have a shot. My D went directly from her undergrad to her MPH with pretty similar stats and background.</p>
<p>I'm going to go ahead and respectfully disagree with dudedad for two reasons:</p>
<p>1) The types of schools you will almost certainly not accept you with your stats and your work experience. They will likely accept you with a few more years of work experience but the fact of the matter is that a few internships here and there isn't enough WE for places like Yale or Columbia.</p>
<p>2) You will be a much more impressive hire if you have a few years of prior work experience in the field. Companies and agencies that hire from MPH or MPA/MPP programs prefer students with pre-graduate school work experience. You will drastically increase your chances of finding a good job if you have a few years of work experience under your belt.</p>
<p>I would also add that once you graduate from a professional master's program, the work experience really helps to land a job that pays significantly more (not entry-level).</p>
<p>It's also worth noting that professional masters degrees are meant to help you further specialize in your given field, not break into it. I know a number of people who have gone straight from UG to masters programs and their subsequent job search upon graduation is significantly tougher than those who have several years of relevant work experience beforehand.</p>
<p>You may draw your own conclusions sd1986, but FWIW D was accepted into three of USNews rated top 10 MPH programs. Every one of her roommates also went directly into the MPH from undergrad, and yes, after graduating in Spring 2008 all are working. Either way good luck with your pursuit.</p>
<p>As dudedad wrote, you will ultimately make your own conclusions regarding your academic future. I would, however, urge you to contact some health professionals who have gone the MPH route to ask them what they think of your situation and specifically to ask how valuable they see pre-graduate work experience as being. Their advice may not be as credible as dudedad's, whose daughter and all her roommates, from what he writes, cleaned up on admissions from top ten MPH programs with no relevant work experience and mediocre grades, but I suggest you seek it nonetheless.</p>
<p>I can add one more data point to the pot. One of my coworkers who had one and a half years of lab tech (research experience), mediocre grades and no relevant public health (certainly not program coordinator or internships or anything) experience was accepted to nearly all of the MPH programs she applied to. She ended up going to NYU.</p>
<p>If I wanted to, I could apply right now for social work and get in easily here (have the relevant coursework and work experience) but the MBA is holding me back. I rather do both degrees in 3 years than 4 years separately.</p>
<p>for places like harvard, johns hopkins, and unc chapel hill, a previous graduate degree and/or years of work experience is required.</p>
<p>for places like yale, they will welcome you with open arms even without the work experience. so since you have it, i certainly hope that you still apply before the deadline!</p>
<p>and I say this as "potential competition." Apply apply apply!</p>
<p>I disagree with jmleadpope, actually. I am currently at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health now, in the Ph.D program (sociomedical sciences/psychology) I don't have any full-time work experience; I had research experience for two and a half years in undergrad. I had excellent GRE scores, but my GPA was a 3.4. I was accepted to Columbia's MPH program (I applied to the MPH and Ph.D simultaneously), as well as Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Emory. I was offered a 1/2 tuition scholarship at Emory and I'm currently on fellowship at Columbia.</p>
<p>In addition to that, I have a lot of friends in the master's program. Most of us are 25 or under and have 1-2 years of work experience -- actually, the older adults who have more work experience are rarer here. I also have a friend from undergrad who went to BU's MPH program straight from undergrad.</p>
<p>Work experience is NOT required for any of the schools that were listed -- Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Chapel Hill, Columbia, Michigan, BU, Yale Minnesota, Emory -- all of them accept people straight out of undergrad and with 1-2 years of work experience. The numbers will fluctuate based on institutional culture, but I will tell you that right now there are tons of people at Mailman who have only a year of work experience (not tons who came straight out of undergrad, but many with a year or two).</p>
<p>In addition, most schools have separate MPH tracks for people who are post-doctoral and people who are not. All of the schools to which you are applying offer the MPH for pre-doctoral applicants; for example, Columbia has a 2-year MPH program for pre-doctoral folks and a 1-year General Public Health MPH for those who already have a doctoral degree. At BU it's called an MPH and at Yale it is also an MPH. Not entirely certain about Iowa but I'm fairly sure they offer an MPH, too. Usually the distinction between MSPH and MPH is that an MSPH is a research-oriented degree, whereas the MPH is the practice degree.</p>
<p>i'm new to the forum and couldn't figure out how to post a new topic so i'm just responding to this thread with a new question.</p>
<p>does anyone know how competitive it is to get the sommers scholar award at JHP? i looked at the profiles of the students who received it in the MPH program and they don't seem totally off the charts accomplished.</p>
<p>i think i have a decent shot at getting in to JHP but i won't be able to afford it unless i get some serious financial aid. </p>
<p>any body know which programs offer the best aid packages if any?</p>
<p>so, i’m getting my applications ready to send in and i need a safety school. my gpa is 3.45 and gres v-550 q-720, i majored in communications in undergrad. i have some work experience, which is good, but i just want to apply to a safety school, preferably in the northeast or california. any suggestions?</p>
<p>You should have made a new thread instead of reviving a 2 year-old one.</p>
<p>You didn’t list your PH concentration, nor what your work experience involves, nor what other schools you’ve applied to. These information will help us gauge what schools to recommend.</p>