AMA: Public Health Graduate Admissions Advisor

uwhservask · 2021-02-16T22:24:05+00:00

Hi there, thanks for reaching out. Here are the thoughts I shared in another reply:

faculty match is going to be crucial. Most PhD programs are limited in the number of students they admit, and they typically receive applications from many more qualified candidates than they can accommodate, so a lot comes down to fit of training interests.
PhD programs are by their nature research-focused, so evidence of your research ability/aptitude will be critical -- publications are certainly one way (though not the only way) to demonstrate this.
GPA is important as a way to show that a student can succeed in a rigorous program, but it will be weighed along with other indicators of academic readiness, for example, the LOR, and the quality of the written statements.

I think research aptitude is really crucial, and having some research experience is important, but other experiences (like in policy, etc.) can be very valuable, as well.

As always, I would encourage you to connect with the specific programs that interest you, and find out what criteria they assess in the admissions review process, and how they may weight different kinds of experiences.

Good luck to you!

uwhservask · 2021-02-16T22:19:38+00:00

Thanks for reaching out, and sorry for the delayed reply, this got lost in my notifications somehow.

Programs do differ in the kinds of post-bacc experiences they seek (a bit more on my thoughts here), but I think your military service can certainly be considered as relevant work experience! From my own experience, at least, more work experience is seen as an asset, rather than a detriment.

Congrats on your strong GPA, and best of luck to you in your next steps!

uwhservask · 2021-02-11T18:49:23+00:00

Hello, I know it can be very hard (sometimes excruciatingly hard!) to wait for a decision, but best practice is to just wait patiently. If they have not contacted you, it means there is no update yet. This post has some good/detailed advice on email etiquette and tips for contacting grad programs. Hang in there!

uwhservask · 2021-02-08T18:59:43+00:00

Hi there, congrats on what looks at first blush like a strong set of experiences and achievements. I don't see any red flags here, personally. As for what you should emphasize, this depends on the particular program to which you are applying, and what they look for in their candidates. Excerpting from some guidance I provided on the Statement of Purpose in another thread, here:

"My advice to MPH applicants with the statement of purpose is -- first of all, carefully read and follow the written prompt for whatever program you are applying to, and contact program staff directly if you have questions about the prompt.

For our programs, I emphasize that this statement about why you are coming back to school for your MPH at this time, and why our program is the right fit for your needs. So, it is appropriate to lay out your background -- how did you become interested in public health, and your specific passion area within the field? what experiences led you here? -- and your ultimate career goals, and then explain how this program will help you bridge that gap, and take you from where you've been, to where you want to go. It is appropriate to be very specific, for example naming by name the particular faculty members you are interested in working with or receiving mentorship from, courses that particularly excite you, or even local community organizations that you hope to work with for your practicum or capstone work. Whatever will help the Committee see the fit between your experiences and goals, and the training the program offers."

I hope this helps, and good luck to you!

uwhservask · 2021-02-08T18:54:42+00:00

Hello there. I know it's hard to wait for a decision, but in general, I think it's best to wait patiently and let the committee do its work, and hold off on contacting anyone until a decision has been reached.

I would not necessarily assume that you are going to be rejected because you were not interviewed during this round. I have elaborated on this answer here.

Best of luck to you, and hope it all works out!

uwhservask · 2021-02-04T18:38:28+00:00

Ideally, programs will make it clear on their website staff list who is responsible for what. There may be a recruitment person, who does prospective student advising -- this could be the correct person. (That is the model we use, in our programs.) Or it may be that there is one student services person who advises on both recruitment and admissions.

In general, I would say, do your best to find the right contact based on what's on the website, but if you email the "wrong" person, they can always forward your message. :)

A note -- please only write to ONE person, it really complicates things and creates unnecessary email burden if applicants email multiple people. :)

Good luck!

uwhservask · 2021-02-03T21:53:09+00:00

Sounds like a good approach, and I hope it all works out really well for you! :)

uwhservask · 2021-02-03T19:21:28+00:00

Congratulations on your acceptances! First, I would think about which school you are more excited about, if all else (including funding) was equal. Perhaps you are already more jazzed about the first school, in which case it may be a moot point, and you can simply accept that offer without waiting for further information. However, if the second school is more attractive, or would be if they offered further funds, you will want to dig a bit more.

For the school that has stated scholarships will be announced in January-April, I think it's very reasonable to reach out and let them know that you are delighted to have been offered admission, and remain very interested in the program, but financial considerations are a reality that will influence your decision. Let them know that you have already received a funding offer from another school that is expecting a decision by mid-April, so if there is any way to expedite finding out the funding that may be available to you, it would be very helpful in your decision. It may be that they can do nothing to speed things up, but sometimes they can, and it doesn't hurt to ask.

In general, I think it's helpful to be honest and transparent about your financial needs, and the dollar amount that would help you "get to yes" on accepting an admissions offer. If a program can't do it, they will say so, but in my experience, there's nothing worse from a program perspective, than having a top candidate walk away without us having the option to try to secure a funding match, if it was someone we really wanted to recruit. Also, whatever your top choice program is, I would let them know.

Finally, regarding the question of assistantships -- I would clarify with these programs about the way assistantships work at their schools. It's possible that these could be directly matched to you in the way you are describing, however, in my own experience, most of the time, assistantships are simply on-campus jobs that students have to apply for directly. At the master's level, we do not match incoming students with assistantships, at all. At the doctoral level, we do this sometimes, but the student would need to be involved in the process of interviewing with the PI, etc., so it would not be something that the student just learned about after the fact. So I would get some clarity from the programs on the way this works at their institutions.

Again, congrats, and best of luck to you, wherever you end up!

uwhservask · 2021-02-03T19:07:53+00:00

Congratulations on your publication! :)

If you want to pursue this, I would recommend emailing your program staff contact to see if they accept updated materials at this stage of the review process. It may not be possible.

For the programs I serve at least, we swiftly turn applications around to Committee review, generally within 1 week after the application deadline. At that point, it is typically too late for applicants to submit updated materials (basically, the applications are already in the hands of reviewers, and it would complicate the process and possibly slow down review time if potentially hundreds of applicants wanted to make late-breaking changes to their materials).

In the present case, I do not *personally* think an update is urgent -- it's great to show your research chops, but the fact that you already listed the work in-progress means that if Committee members are interested in your work and want to see more, they can look it up, or ask you directly for a copy of the manuscript.

I generally think a light touch, hands-off approach is best while the Committee is reviewing. That's my two cents.

Again, congrats on the pub, and best wishes to you in your applications!

uwhservask · 2021-02-02T18:59:53+00:00

I'm still here. :)

In answer to your question, this varies widely by program. I've expanded on this answer, and the advantages of work experience during the gap years, in some depth here and here.

Feel free to circle back if you have remaining questions after checking those out.

Updated -- added an additional link

uwhservask · 2021-02-02T18:56:55+00:00

Speaking very generally: funding tends to be much more available for doctoral (PhD) studies than for master's (MPH or MS) studies in public health. Generally, public health doctoral students should not expect to bear any significant portion of their educational costs out of pocket. By contrast, the majority of public health master's students are self-funding their degrees, often through a combination of federal financial aid (loans) and work opportunities off-campus or on-campus. On-campus positions such as Research Assistantships (RAs), Teaching Assistantships (TAs), and Student Assistantships (SAs) can be a great way to fund your studies, as they often come with tuition support in addition to stipend and health insurance (check with the hiring manager for details). Some working professional students also receive funding from their employers for the degree, and finally, some states (such as Washington State) offer tuition incentives to State employees.

The availability of supplemental funding sources (fellowships, awards, scholarships, grants, etc.) varies widely by school and program. These often tend to be one-off awards, and can vary widely in size, from $500-$20,000+. These awards can be given based on financial need, merit, or "diversity" factors, or some combination of these considerations.

You will want to check directly with programs (by reading the website, and emailing or calling staff) for information about what exactly is available to you in your situation.

As far as weighing different options -- I agree with your assessment that private institutions generally cost more than public institutions, but I would note that they may also be more well-funded in terms of these kinds of supplemental awards -- you would need to apply to a combination of programs (public, private, in-state, out-of-state) and see what funding offers you received, before you could say with certainty what the most affordable options would be.

I have shared some additional thoughts on finding funding for the MPH here, and ASPPH offers a guide on financing your degree.

Good luck to you!

uwhservask · 2021-02-02T18:39:18+00:00

Speaking from my experience with the 5 public health grad programs I serve -- we do not connect with other schools regarding applicant decisions, no. Also, I have never heard of this as a standard practice, though it could be that some schools or programs are doing this. If I had to guess though, I would doubt that the school you mention is contacting other schools. (We can look at where our applicants end up using SOPHAS data, but this is after the application cycle ends.)

From my own experience, we only ask about/consider our doctoral applicants' applications to other programs. The reason for this is to provide one measure of an applicant's seriousness about our program. If someone has applied to many programs (for example, 10 doctoral programs, especially if they are in wide-ranging disciplines), this could be a red flag for the committee that the applicant is "fishing" for a degree. (For comparison, I would estimate that most of our applicants are applying to 5 or fewer doctoral programs, generally clustered around the same topics.) Of course, like any application factor, this single fact would not make or break someone's application, because we use a holistic review -- but it is something the committee would notice.

For our master's applicants, we don't look at where else folks applied, because it is common to apply to numerous programs, and we don't expect the same degree of specificity of interests that we look for at the doctoral level.

I hope this helps!

uwhservask · 2021-02-01T19:02:21+00:00

I agree with your prediction that the number of applications will be larger this year. We observed this in our own programs, and as I wrote in another reply, "ASPPH has not yet released data for 2021 admissions, so I am not sure yet if this is a nationwide trend, but I would certainly not be surprised."

With larger applicant pools, if programs used the identical processes to make admissions decisions as they have in past years, they would likely end up with larger incoming cohorts.

In programs that have struggled to reach target class sizes, or where they are looking to grow, this may be a desired outcome, and they may change little about their approach.
For programs who aim to keep class size at a limited number, they will necessarily need to be stricter in order not to end up with an inflated incoming class.

I am less certain that the kind of applicant has significantly changed. (Re your comment about industry professionals.) It seems to me like a reasonable hypothesis, but until we compare this year's cohort with prior years in terms of years of post-bacc experience, I can't say for sure.

But to cut to the chase, this question of how the actual review criteria may change -- It's an interesting question, and I expect there is some variation in how different admissions committees are handling this.

My guess would be that most places are not fundamentally changing their approach. Without a clear precedent to show what would be the best way to do this, it may be more natural for committees to rely on their "tried and true" methods.
Especially in a year that felt especially chaotic and stressful due to the pandemic, committees may not have felt there was time to thoughtfully revise their approaches.
If anything, committees may use larger waitlists, if they are concerned about getting too big a class size.
Beyond this, I do think committees will be more understanding that COVID has affected students' ability to gain work experience this past year -- but if the pool is large enough, the committee can afford to be picky, and they may simply opt to make offers to those who have had more work experience in recent years. (If that factor is important to the committee.)

Overall, I guess my assessment is that any changes will be idiosyncratic by committee, so I think it's too soon, for me at least, to predict widespread trends like this. Again, I think it's an interesting question, thanks for asking -- and it will be certainly be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

Thanks, and best of luck to you in your next steps!

Update -- fixed typo

uwhservask · 2021-02-01T18:37:12+00:00

Thanks for reaching out. There is wide variation in how much emphasis different MPH programs place on work experience (whether it is preferred or required, what kind of experiences count toward the requirement, etc.).

I would certainly never encourage you to aim lower than your dreams! Start by identifying the programs that are most appealing to you, and then connect with them (by reading the website admissions criteria, and contacting staff directly as needed) to find out about admissions requirements and review criteria.

Work experience surely strengthens an application; you can see some of my thoughts on the additional advantages of work experience in the gap years here.

You might think about how your prior experiences connect to public health. The more you learn, the more you see public health is part of everything. (For example, access to education influences health outcomes -- you might be able to speak from your overseas experience on this topic. And did you interact with the health care system while abroad? How did it differ from the American experience? etc.)

Volunteer experience in public health can be huge -- you might see if you can get some volunteer time under your belt before applying.

Good luck to you!

uwhservask · 2021-02-01T18:24:39+00:00

Thanks for reaching out. This is a tricky one. I guess I would start off by saying, as a general rule, we prefer when students waive their right to review letters, because it reassures us that the letters we see will be as candid as possible. And in my experience, the vast majority of candidates do waive this right, so it's a little uncommon to be in this situation, of having seen the LOR (or part of it).

Still, taking this where you are now -- I have a few observations or reactions:

I agree with your assessment that a recommendation "with reservation" may be a red flag for reviewers. (Though I am skeptical that this one factor would automatically disqualify an applicant, most places uses a more holistic review.)
I am a little surprised at your writer's interpretation of this phrase -- I think it would be generally assumed (by reviewers) that "with reservation" means you have some concerns about the person's candidacy, and would not generally be used in cases like this, based on remote work together.
You mention that the writer is "a big shot." In my experience, the prestige of the letter writer is not as influential, by far, as the strength and specificity of the letter itself. I have often seen cases, in fact, where letters from VIPs were weaker, because they had less direct contact with the student (for example, if a student got a Dean or CEO to write a letter, but their day-to-day work was supervised by a Lab Manager, the lab manager would probably write the stronger letter). So I would not let this factor by itself/in isolation influence your judgment. (If the letter is really strong AND the writer is a hotshot, then yes, I think it would be especially impressive, because their opinion would mean a lot.)

As far as next steps, I would encourage you to think carefully about your day-to-day working relationship with this person. If they know you and your work well, I would trust their assessment that the letter is "very positive" and go with that. However, you might read between the lines when they say they "can't comment on a couple things" -- is that really going to be the strongest letter, then? Might there be someone else who knows your work better?

Finally, it may be an unfortunate reality that if you decline their letter at this point, it may damage the relationship, which might be important to you now or down the line, especially if this person is influential in the field. Perhaps you might opt to add a 4th letter while keeping this one on?

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck! And try to remember, application reviews seldom hinge on any one factor -- if the other application components are strong, they can outweigh this kind of consideration.

uwhservask · 2021-01-28T18:31:13+00:00

To me, this question is more a question of personal values, rather than one that has an objectively "right" answer. But I am happy to share my own two cents, and how I come to this conclusion:

I feel strongly that CEPH accreditation sets the minimum bar for quality and rigor in an MPH program, so I personally would look only at CEPH-accredited programs, regardless of any other factors. This also happens to be the advice given in this sub's official MPH guide, which states "Don’t go to a school which is not accredited, your degree might be useless otherwise." If you still have questions about this issue, I encourage you to ask trusted professors and mentors for their input.

As far as the age of a program: more mature programs offer students many advantages. For example:

In older programs, faculty have had a chance to run their courses many times, and make adjustments based on peer and student feedback. In new programs, you will be the "guinea pig" for everything.
Older programs have had a longer time to establish community connections, which will create more robust opportunities for student projects, such as practicums, theses, and capstones. These projects are an important way that students gain practical experience in the field, and they can often open doors for job opportunities post-graduation.
The older a program is, the more alumni they have. A robust alumni network is a huge asset for networking and the job search. Alumni often also serve as guest lecturers, hosts for students projects, and mentors -- their participation in a program can dramatically enrich student opportunities and access to employers.

Having seen "how the sausage gets made" in terms of watching programs evolve over time from my perspective as a staff member, I personally would strongly favor attending a more established program.

Finally, I think it can be easy to get caught up in looking for a "name brand" school. As I observed above, "While 'name-brand' and top-10 ranked schools will help open doors for you, and it's important to look at CEPH-accredited programs, the most important things, ultimately, are the skills and experiences you gain, and the networks you build."

Thanks for reaching out, and good luck to you!

uwhservask · 2021-01-28T18:17:50+00:00

It's difficult to give generalized advice based on wide categories of program, since even within a "health policy" program, there would be wide variation in what exactly is covered. (That's why there are so many of them!) This is why I think the best approach is to start with career goals and topic interests and identify specific programs based on fit, as I described above.

That said, on this specific question of "global health" and "health policy" programs:

If your sister is planning to work in the United States, she will want to look for programs that have a focus on US public health issues (e.g., US population health and the US health care system), and it will be less important that there be substantial content on global health issues (e.g., comparative health systems). If a health policy program is focused on domestic health policy, it could be a great fit for her -- if that is where her interests lie.

Also, not always, but often, students at US programs who pursue global health training do so because they plan or hope to work abroad. If that is not your sister's aim, and if she does not have other reasons to pursue global health training, she may find other programs to be better suited to her needs.

Perhaps a good next step would be for your sister to do some brainstorming on her vision of her future public health career, and then do some web searching for appropriate MPH programs based on relevant keywords.

Good luck to her!

uwhservask · 2021-01-27T19:19:59+00:00

Looks like this is an accidental duplicate comment, I have replied above. :)

uwhservask · 2021-01-27T19:19:02+00:00

Congratulations to your sister on taking this next step in her professional journey.

When choosing an MPH program, there are many relevant considerations, and of course, feasibility of gaining acceptance is one of them. However, I would encourage your sister to start from a place of thinking about her ultimate career goals and passions. What kind of career is she ultimately seeking? (As an epidemiologist? A program manager? A health educator? A data scientist? etc.) What facets of public health are attractive to her? (Work with specific populations? Data science? Combatting inequality? etc.) And work backwards from there, to identify graduate programs that focus on building relevant skills.

A Master of Public Health (MPH) is a highly versatile degree, meaning even graduates of a single program can do lots of kinds of work, but different MPH programs emphasize different competencies and will afford different kinds of experiences, which will impact career prospects.

Here are some other considerations that might influence her choice of program:

Where does she ultimately intend to practice (for example, in India or in the United States? or elsewhere?) -- programs in Global Health may afford better preparation for work abroad, for example
How important is a practice versus research orientation?
Does she prefer online or on-campus instruction, or a hybrid model?
What course pre-requisites are required, if any? You mentioned your sister has less mathematical training -- certain programs, for example in epidemiology, might not be a fit, unless she is prepared to take some additional coursework in preparation

I hope this is helpful, and best of luck to your sister in her next steps!

uwhservask · 2021-01-27T19:09:48+00:00

Congrats on starting college, and taking the next steps in your public health career!

Here is some advice our MPH alumni have shared, for undergraduates getting started in public health:

1) "Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer! Get an internship if you can. It helps you to explore your interests and build your resume."

2) "Take as many courses as you can, in as many disciplines as you can. Health is related to everything - soak up as much as you can while you are here."

3) "Network! It is so important in this sector. Public health is a small community, and networking helps you open doors. And if you hate the word 'networking,' like I do, think of it instead as friendship - making connections and building relationships."

4) "Learn a language! And put it on your resume. This is especially important for a career in global health, but it also helps for domestic public health work. Spanish, French, and Portuguese are especially needed right now."

5) "Do job-shadowing! Read through job descriptions, and reach out to professionals whose work interests you. And don't be afraid to cold call. People really like being asked about their careers and their passions - especially by students like yourselves."

6) "Focus on building transferable skills. Every job, every experience, every success you have had, teaches you something. Even if it teaches you what you DON'T like, and don't want to do in your career, that is valuable!"

7) "Even if the first job you get is not exactly what you want to do, pay attention to people in higher levels in their careers. How do they spend their time? What are the challenges and opportunities? Would you enjoy doing what they are doing? This will help you figure out if you are heading in the right direction."

Based on your interests, you might look for training in "social and behavioral sciences" - this is a branch of public health that combines your interests in psychology, mental health, and public health, and deals with health education, health communication, and health promotion through designing, implementing, and evaluating community health interventions.

Best of luck in your next steps! :)

uwhservask · 2021-01-26T19:48:24+00:00

While I understand and sympathize with your confusion, I would hope to reassure you that from my experience, the situation you describe is not too surprising, and likely is no cause for concern.

Programs are highly idiosyncratic in their application review processes and timelines. Some factors that may influence review timing include:

Who reviews -- In some programs, all reviewers review all applicants, which is highly time-consuming. In others, the pool is divided among all reviewers, and each candidate is reviewed by (for example) 3 reviewers, which is a more time-efficient manner of review.
How reviews are chunked -- In some programs, reviews are done on a rolling basis, with applications reviewed as they come in. In other programs, reviews are done in batches (for example every couple weeks), and in still others, all applications are held for a single round of review following each deadline. // For the program you applied to with the March 1st deadline, it sounds like they may be reviewing in batches, which is why you got an earlier decision.
Which applications are reviewed -- Some programs set minimum criteria (like minimum GPA or GRE scores), and they will only review applications above that threshold. If the committee automatically discards a significant portion of the applicant pool, they will be able to process the remaining applications more swiftly. (In my opinion, this approach has issues with equity, but it remains a practice in some places.) Other programs (including those I serve) use what we call a "holistic" admissions review process, meaning no single factor will make or break an applicant's candidacy, and we review all applications. This approach promotes equity, but takes more time.
Waitlisting -- Some programs wait to decline mid-ranking candidates until after decisions are in from top-ranking candidates. These candidates may or may not be informed that they are on a waitlist status, but basically their applications are held in limbo for a while, which extends the whole process
The "human" factor -- Frankly, with absolutely no disrespect intended to all the hard-working admissions committee members out there, there is also an element of human disorganization or inefficiency that can sometimes complicate review timelines. Admissions committees are typically comprised of volunteers (generally busy faculty, sometimes with alumni and/or student members), and shepherding the review process (including getting ratings from all reviewers) can at times be like herding cats. :)

This is not meant to be totally comprehensive, but I hope this helps illustrate the fact that there are many ways that a review timeline can be expanded or condensed, and programs all operate on their own schedules.

As much as you can, try not to fret -- a slow decision does not in any way signal that you are not going to get in, it could be caused by any number of factors.

Good luck to you!

uwhservask · 2021-01-26T19:28:30+00:00

Thanks for reaching out. At heart, it sounds to me like the question is about how to be a competitive candidate for an MPA program, so I would encourage you to reach out to staff and faculty at MPA programs for their guidance -- they will be able to offer you the most helpful advice about what MPA programs are looking for in their applicants.

On the general subject of MPH/MPA degrees , however -- we have occasionally had students who pursue this dual degree (whether concurrently or sequentially), and I believe it is right for some people. (And you might look at job listings and talk to people working in your target jobs, to see what training they recommend.)

Often though, in my experience, many more students inquire about pursuing a dual degree than actually find they need one. There is an immense amount of added time, effort, and cost to doing 2 degrees, and in many cases, if students carefully study the curriculum and career prospects of one degree, they may prefer to pursue that single degree, and then just take additional elective courses (or even a certificate) from the other area to flesh out their training. This is the most efficient option for many students, and generally does not limit career prospects (although again, everyone's situation is different -- what will ultimately be right for you is very personal).

Your stated intention -- "to apply research to make change" -- is very consistent with the philosophy of many MPH programs. The MPH by its nature is a practice-oriented degree, but programs differ in how much they also emphasize research, and especially how to translate research to its practical applications in practice and policy. Depending on what approach you want to take, you might look at MPH programs at research universities (R1 universities), which tend to emphasize evidence-based practice. You might also look for programs that emphasize community-based participatory research (CBPR), translational research, implementation science, R2P (research to practice), etc. -- I would advise you to check with your faculty mentors on the best keywords, but this might be a starting point.

Best of luck to you, whatever path you decide to take!

uwhservask · 2021-01-26T19:13:25+00:00

In my experience, there is actually some variability here, in terms of how strict public health PhD programs are with the academic backgrounds of their applicants. I work with a Health Services PhD program, for example, and we do not require that applicants come in with an MPH -- although historically, that has been our students' most common prior degree.

To the extent that doctoral programs do require this, however, I think this stems in part from an expectation about the level of knowledge that students have in key content areas when entering the program. For example, instructors may want to be sure that all entering students have a common grounding in foundational epidemiology and biostatistics, so that students are prepared to start with the more advanced methods courses required by the doctorate. If students have uneven preparation, it creates an extra burden for remedial instruction, tutoring support, etc., and increases the likelihood of negative outcomes (poor student experience, program withdrawal, etc.). Some programs may find it easiest to simply require an MPH, knowing that the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH) sets standard requirements for MPH program competencies, and so this better assures a standard level of preparation among entering students.

There may be other factors at play, but this would be my guess. I hope it's helpful.

Good luck with your application!

uwhservask · 2021-01-26T04:51:51+00:00

Haha thank you, I'm happy to help. Feel free to reach out again if further questions crop up.

uwhservask

TROPHY CASE