Worth going to USC for its MHA Program?

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi Guys,</p>

<p>So I haven't personally found a thread on here that is asking the same question(s) I have, so here it goes:</p>

<p>Background:
I just got into USC's Masters of Health Administration (MHA) program this past week however their classes begin in 3 weeks (August 26). Time is of the essence so I have to decide by this weekend so I can get a move on everything.
I also just started a new job about 7 weeks ago at Bloom Energy (energy industry) as an Operations Admin. within Supply Chain Management, however I am on contract (no guarantee as to when it will be terminated or what the opportunity is for me to become a full benefit employee). At the moment I am not quite sure if this is a field I'd like to stick to or not, the opportunity came so I took it. I am currently residing in the Bay Area, so I would also have to consider living expenses, etc. if I did attend USC.</p>

<p>Questions:
Can anybody tell me the pros or cons to enrolling into the MHA program at USC, either by experience, research or what you've heard?</p>

<p>I do understand that it is accredited by CAHME, and ranked 36 - does this help or hurt me post graduation in any way?</p>

<p>Is the high tuition worth the investment? Examples?</p>

<p>Likelihood of getting a job right out after graduation? (I know there's a 1000 hour residency requirement which I feel definitely helps).</p>

<p>Starting salary after graduation?</p>

<p>I eventually want to do a Masters/MBA anyways, however would it be worth waiting another year to reapply to a wider variety of colleges? (I only applied to and got into USC's MHA and CSULB's MSHCA - late applicant). For what reasons?</p>

<p>How is the healthcare sector growing and would you consider this a field worth going into? I'm putting more emphasis into Operations & Management.</p>

<p>I'm trying to weight out if it is more beneficial to invest the next 2 years in this program with hopes of getting a much higher salary out of college so I can pay it back or if I should stick to my current job. I would be more willing to stick to my current job if I was working as a permanent employee with full benefits and regular salary as opposed to my contractor making money off of me. However I am getting cut short with my earnings and I'm not sure what direction the current job is taking me.</p>

<p>Any information would be greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>One of my friends graduated from USC for MHA degree. I believe she works at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles as administrator. She was interning at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and now she works there. I think the starting is somewhere around $70K or more. I am also planning to apply for MHA as well for USC for Fall 2014. </p>

<p>USC Trojan network is awesome because several of my friends got hired immediately after graduating from USC. It’s a great network especially if you’re gonna reside in So. Cal. Hope that helps!</p>

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<p>Hey Josh! I appreciate your feedback! I’m planning on sending in my intent to enroll right now, but that definitely did help. Good luck applying yourself!</p>

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<p>I just want to comment that making $70,000 may not be enough to pay off $100K+ worth of loans. And that’s just from the MHA; that’s not counting whatever you have from undergrad.</p>

<p>However, with MHA and related programs there’s often no choice but to borrow a lot of money because these programs are rarely funded and usually cost that much. And since the only way to become a hospital administrator is to get a master’s degree (there’s only so far you can go with a bachelor’s degree), it may be worth it. Just know that you may struggle for a time with repaying the loans, unless they are all federal and you use IBR.</p>

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<p>Hi Juillet! Thanks for the info! I appreciate it. I was def wondering how long it’d take to pay back the loans as well <em>sigh</em></p>

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Hi afsheen408, congratulations on getting in to USC’s MHA program. That’s awesome.

Would you mind if I asked what you applied with? Your GPA, GRE scores, EC’s or any volunteer/research work? I am currently a junior and hope to apply to USC next year for their MHA program and I’m super nervous about getting in. Right now, my cumulative GPA is 3.13 and hope to increase it as I just transferred and started the actual B.S. Health Admin classes. Also, when did you apply and how long did it take for them to get back to you?

Thanks so much and once again, congratulations!

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You may have better luck if you PM them, @uscprospective.

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@juillet Thanks, but I realized they were inactive on the site for quite some time and I was unable to delete the comment. :frowning: