Hi all! I have the ultimate "What are my chances" question. Apologies in advance. I didn't want to include this on the 2019 accepted/wait listed thread because I felt like I would be clogging it up too much. This is better I think.
I really hope that through answers for this, a lot of prospective epi students will get an idea of a lot of the programs.
I honestly, humbly ask that you answer all the questions (most are just YES/NO). This would be of such tremendous help for me.
My stats:
Undergrad School: Nationally recognized university (will graduate April 2019)
Undergrad GPA: 7.35/10.00 (I have been told that after WES evaluation, this equates to approximately 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, and will be considerable higher if only the last 60 credit hours are taken into account)
Major: Biotechnology
GRE: V: 155, Q: 155 W: 4.0 (Havn't taken it yet -- but these are conservative estimates based on diagnostic tests)
Experience/Research (please, be brief):
- summer internship at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology working on gut microbiome related research
-semester long project work based on herbal medicine
- summer internship at National Institute of Epidemiology
- currently working on final year project on transcriptome analysis (dealing with environmental science/ bacteria) (got funding for this from my college!!!)
LOR: one from mentor at my internship (at Nat'l Institute of Epi), one from a biopharmaceuticals professor who I took 1 class with (or maybe an LOR from my mentor from my other internship instead), and one from my PI (for both projects, and is my faculty advisor as well)
Interests: MPH in Epi
Other Important: I suppose I'll be applying as an international student, even though I have US Citizenship, but it's possible I may be considered domestic. Will be emailing schools to figure that out. Also, my undergrad math scores kinda suck. A lot. It's because of my move from U.S. to India (where math is wayyyyyyyy more rigorous), so even though I took AP math and did great in high school, my college math grades are terrible. I will try to make up for that with 160+ in quant in GRE, and am also taking Coursera for biostat taught by Johns Hopkins. Still, not sure how this will affect my acceptances since epi is heavily quant. I know I will survive, but will the colleges? That's the big question.
SCHOOL THAT I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT:
Please let me know if each of these schools are reach, safety, or normal according to my stats, as well as if it makes sense to even apply when my focus is on practical epi rather than research (I’m really not fond of extensive lab work).
Please also note that I would try to get in as many biostat classes as possible, and certificate in biostat, where offered.
I am lucky enough to have no debt from undergrad, so while tuition does play a part, it won’t be a huge table turner for me. Similarly, location matters to me when it comes to job opportunities and networking, but not for my own comfort – after going to India for my undergrad after having lived my whole life in US, location really isn’t something I am too picky over.
These are the 2 places I am definitely applying to, regardless of whether it’s unattainable or not. Still I would like your thoughts based on my stats and whether I have even a slight chance of admit.
1. Emory MPH Epi
2. Columbia MPH Epi
Brown:
a) Reach/Normal/Safety? If reach, do I even have a shot?
b) Caters to/ is considered “strong” in practical epi more than research based epi?
c) I hear about Brown sometimes, but not a lot of people are applying here and I’ve heard next to no mention about its Epi program – do you have any insights to offer? Is it well known for epidemiology in the first place?
d) It’s in Rhode Island – is that beneficial at all to getting good work? It certainly is not like Emory (CDC) or Columbia (NY opportunities) but the fact that it is Ivy League has to mean something…right?
University of Minnesota:
a) Reach/Normal/Safety? If reach, do I even have a shot?
b) Caters to/ is considered “strong” in practical epi more than research based epi?
c) Is it well known for epidemiology in the first place? I haven’t seen many references in SDN about UMinn’s epi program.
d) Not such an amazing location in public health hub, but the fact that it’s top 10 in ranking has to mean something, right?
University of Washington:
a) Reach/Normal/Safety? If reach, do I even have a shot?
b) Caters to/ is considered “strong” in practical epi more than research based epi?
c) I HAVE heard about epi here – correct me if I’m wrong, but one of the best epi programs is here, right?
d) Worried about location again – how are opportunities for work?
Tulane:
a) I think I’m correct in assuming this is a reach school for me? If so, what are my chances – do I have a shot or should I save myself money and not apply?
b) If I’m not wrong, I think Tulane has great practical epi program as well, right?
George Washington University:
a) Reach/Normal/Safety? If reach, do I even have a shot?
b) I’m really rooting for this one, since I’ve heard their epi program is good, and especially because it’s in D.C. area and job opportunities are abundant. Your thoughts on these matters?
UC-Berkeley:
a) I know 100% this is a very large reach for me, so if you think I don’t have a chance at all, please let me know. (I want to get into the Epi/Biostats program, not the Infectious disease and vaccinology track because… research.)
b) BUT. Do you think IDV would offer more of an opportunity to go into pharmacoepidemiology? If yes… I would consider it.
UCLA:
a) I know this is a far reach too. Do I even have a shot?
b) I hope I am also right in stating that UCLA has a fantastic epi program that’s more practical than research?
BU:
a) Would this be a safe school for me? So many people get into BU to the point where I assume it’s very easy to get into, but that may be because all those applicants are well qualified. Thoughts?
b) I believe epi is quite good here also?
Drexel:
a) Would this be a safe school for me? So many people get into here to the point where I assume it’s very easy to get into, but that may be because all those applicants are well qualified. Thoughts?
b) Is epi good here? Not much info on this.
UPenn/Univ of Iowa/Univ of Maryland
a) Should I consider these? Haven’t read much about them. If I should consider them, for any reason that you think, would they be safe schools?
SDSU/Univ of Massachusetts/ Colorado School of Public Health
a) Should I consider these? Contrary to the above, I HAVE read a bit about them, which leads me to my next question: would these be “safe” schools for me, and are their epi programs good?
UPitt/UT Houston/USF/USC
a) Should I consider these? Again, I HAVE read a bit about them and these schools seem to be ranked higher than the previous schools I had grouped together (above) which leads me to my next question: would these be “attainable” schools for me, and are their epi programs good?
NYU:
a) It seems to me like this is an off-brand Columbia. Same outside opportunities but the branding that Columbia has isn’t there. Would this be an attainable school for me?
b) This doesn’t make the ranking list but a lot of people seem to apply for it. Does it have a practical epi program?
UNC-Chapel Hill/UMichigan
a) From my understanding, these are both super-reach schools and I already think I shouldn’t be wasting time and money on them, what do you think?
U of Illinos-Chicago (UIC):
a) This seems to be one of the good yet underrated epi programs – is this true? Not too “mainstream” popular among applicants but great education, or so I’ve heard.
b) Reach/Attainable?
Yale:
a) I know there are 2 epi streams, one is chronic disease epi and the other is focused on microbiology and definitely lab work. Not sure if chronic disease epi is also heavy lab focused. I also think that having a focus on chronic disease epi from the get go will narrow down options when it comes to jobs. What your opinion on Yale’s epi?
b) Reach/attainable (I only dare say that it may be attainable since not many regard Yale highly for MPH)