01-24-2009, 04:40 AM
Atleast i thought i should do my part for people here ,, who need help for MPH........ask me anything on my email and i shall be more than happy to help,,,,,,,please dont post your questions here,,,,,,,and if you want post them in step 3 forums as i shall be visiting mainly step 3 forums.......now coz thats the last of all of my endeavors remaining nowwwwwwww.
1. Did u do GRE to apply for MPH?
Yes, I did GRE for MPH
2. Which program did u do ur MPH from?
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg
website : www.usm.edu
3.Whats the tutuion fees and living cost for 1 yr,if starts from fall 2009?(in ur program and in any East coast program if u know any suitable less costly MPH prog in East coast)
well no MPH program can be done in 1 year, it takes atleast 1 and half years and maximum 2 and half years, for which you usually get a visa of 5 years (in most cases). I personally did my MPH in 2 years with all my USMLE exams. The cost at my university is at present 6500 dollars per semester but i personally paid it just for the first semester as for the rest of my semester i had funding from the university in the form of either a research assistant or graduate assistant, so i did not have to pay the ways, but just work for them 20 hours a week in addition to 12 hours of courses per week and got paid 700 to 800 dollars per month as a stipend for my work. The cost of other universities depends on their course work reputation and accredition , standards etc.........The range is from 3000 to 15000 dollars ........
4. Do I have to pay the full yrs tutuion fee before starting?
You have the option of paying the fees either full before the semester starts or you can pay it in two halfs, first half before u start the semester and the other half at the middle of the semester.
5. Usually how many semesters(of how many months) are there and how many credit hrs in each semester?
You have to mandatorily enroll for 9 credit hours as an international student, however if you get a graduate/research or tuition assistantship like i had you can finish your course work earlier as you have to mandatorily take 12 credit hours. The number of semester depends on the course work or the credit hours, my university had 45 which is the least of all universities i suppose, however for other universities it again depends on which university you opt for.
6. How is the subject matter? can anyone prepare for CS and Step 3 with the course curriculum?
This again depends on which university you go to.........My emphasis area was Epidemiology and Biostatistics and trust me it was easier than taking a bite of a piece of cake............
7. Any scholarship available for tution fees and stipend if any?
Yes, most universities have scholarships with either partial or full tuition waivers, again they give first preference to the American graduate students and then based on contacts or references or good work skills to us........About stipend i have already answered it earlier.
8. Any opportunity to work parttime and if so,how much per hr? what type of work?
All Universities have part time jobs , which depends on the number of hours you enroll for course work,
For Spring and Fall Semester, its mandatory to enroll for 9 credit hours, so you cannot work more than 20 hours part time per week
For Summer semester, its an optional semester, so you can either opt out totally to take ur cs or step 3 or can also do off campus/illegal job at a motel or laundry or gas station provided its owned by desis as americans would not allow you to work as you are considered illegal and might get caught by INS and trust me you dont want to be in that position and get deported to your home country and never be able to come back here........Anyways, so for summer you can also officially work 40 hours per week if you dont enroll for any courses. If you enroll for 9 credit hours which is the maximum that you can, you can still work 20 hours per week, with 6 credit hours ( only for summer semester) you can work 25 to 30 hours per week and with 3 credit hours ( only for the summer semester ) you can work for 30 to 35 hours per week.
Remember this, very very important, if you enroll for three semester consecutively, that means fall, spring and summer one after the other continuosly, INS ( Immigration National Services ) gives you the liberty to take the next semester as an official break ( which i personally did to take my step 2 ck exam or most people go to their home country also to give their exam or stay in US and work part time and then study for their exam ) and then you can re-enroll again after that break into your program
9. On campus or Off campus housing,which one is better?
On campus is expensive, but you get more chances of having american friends which has its pros and cons. Most desis, i mean international students stay off campus as its cheaper and believe me its more fun too coz i have lived that way..........
Also, remember this, people always say that you can get in trouble if the INS comes to know that you are living off campus etc,........but its a total false thing..........you can live wherever you want provided you pay your rental and other bills monthly........hahahah
10.What about the reference letters and personal statement? do u have any sample/guide for writing those?
yes, i have my own, but am sorry, i wont be able to share them as of now,,,,,,,,,however i can provide them to you next year once i get into residency........I hope you understand...........
11. Whats the program length?
I have already answered that to you,,,,,,my MPH was for 2 and half years long , which i completed in 2 years.
12. Can I get any job if i finish the course? if so,what job it is,whats the possibility of getting a job any is it paid at all?
well the answer to first part of the question is yes you can definitely get jobs, this is my personal experience, i got it very easily, whether its my good luck or my hard efforts and determination....But yes if think and believe in getting a job you definitely get one,,,,,,,,,,as i also got approved for my H1 B yesterday and plan to get it in the next 3 months before my OPT ( F1 Optional Practical Training Visa) visa ends in May.........So, yes just like USMLE everything is doable, just needs constant and persistant efforts and proper planning well ahead of time and being flexible in your approach in the sense having back ups if a plan doesnt go the way you want it to and be ready to shift gears when needed.......( if you get the gist of what i am trying to say am sure nothing is impossible in any corner of the world, let me put it the UNIVERSE) thats a lot of optimistic talk, but coming back to earth,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ground zero.............the job that you get is mainly either a researcher or clinical researcher or clinical research coordinator or study coordinator which pay usually about 40K to 50K per year based on median salary in US, which is definitely not bad in the sense it in addition to pay gives you clinical research experience, clinical experience of dealing with patients and doing some procedures which depends on your supervisor again and also can fetch you a very good Letter of Recommendation for Residency Application.
About getting admission for MPH, you need to check the website of your selected universities, where you plan to get admission to as their dates for international applicants change every year, so you need to check the current dates and make sure you apply with all your materials in time before their deadlines and also have enough time to go for the visa................
Thanks a lot,
Please feel free to ask me if u have any other questions.,
Dr Kinjal Desai
drkinjaldesai
1. Did u do GRE to apply for MPH?
Yes, I did GRE for MPH
2. Which program did u do ur MPH from?
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg
website : www.usm.edu
3.Whats the tutuion fees and living cost for 1 yr,if starts from fall 2009?(in ur program and in any East coast program if u know any suitable less costly MPH prog in East coast)
well no MPH program can be done in 1 year, it takes atleast 1 and half years and maximum 2 and half years, for which you usually get a visa of 5 years (in most cases). I personally did my MPH in 2 years with all my USMLE exams. The cost at my university is at present 6500 dollars per semester but i personally paid it just for the first semester as for the rest of my semester i had funding from the university in the form of either a research assistant or graduate assistant, so i did not have to pay the ways, but just work for them 20 hours a week in addition to 12 hours of courses per week and got paid 700 to 800 dollars per month as a stipend for my work. The cost of other universities depends on their course work reputation and accredition , standards etc.........The range is from 3000 to 15000 dollars ........
4. Do I have to pay the full yrs tutuion fee before starting?
You have the option of paying the fees either full before the semester starts or you can pay it in two halfs, first half before u start the semester and the other half at the middle of the semester.
5. Usually how many semesters(of how many months) are there and how many credit hrs in each semester?
You have to mandatorily enroll for 9 credit hours as an international student, however if you get a graduate/research or tuition assistantship like i had you can finish your course work earlier as you have to mandatorily take 12 credit hours. The number of semester depends on the course work or the credit hours, my university had 45 which is the least of all universities i suppose, however for other universities it again depends on which university you opt for.
6. How is the subject matter? can anyone prepare for CS and Step 3 with the course curriculum?
This again depends on which university you go to.........My emphasis area was Epidemiology and Biostatistics and trust me it was easier than taking a bite of a piece of cake............
7. Any scholarship available for tution fees and stipend if any?
Yes, most universities have scholarships with either partial or full tuition waivers, again they give first preference to the American graduate students and then based on contacts or references or good work skills to us........About stipend i have already answered it earlier.
8. Any opportunity to work parttime and if so,how much per hr? what type of work?
All Universities have part time jobs , which depends on the number of hours you enroll for course work,
For Spring and Fall Semester, its mandatory to enroll for 9 credit hours, so you cannot work more than 20 hours part time per week
For Summer semester, its an optional semester, so you can either opt out totally to take ur cs or step 3 or can also do off campus/illegal job at a motel or laundry or gas station provided its owned by desis as americans would not allow you to work as you are considered illegal and might get caught by INS and trust me you dont want to be in that position and get deported to your home country and never be able to come back here........Anyways, so for summer you can also officially work 40 hours per week if you dont enroll for any courses. If you enroll for 9 credit hours which is the maximum that you can, you can still work 20 hours per week, with 6 credit hours ( only for summer semester) you can work 25 to 30 hours per week and with 3 credit hours ( only for the summer semester ) you can work for 30 to 35 hours per week.
Remember this, very very important, if you enroll for three semester consecutively, that means fall, spring and summer one after the other continuosly, INS ( Immigration National Services ) gives you the liberty to take the next semester as an official break ( which i personally did to take my step 2 ck exam or most people go to their home country also to give their exam or stay in US and work part time and then study for their exam ) and then you can re-enroll again after that break into your program
9. On campus or Off campus housing,which one is better?
On campus is expensive, but you get more chances of having american friends which has its pros and cons. Most desis, i mean international students stay off campus as its cheaper and believe me its more fun too coz i have lived that way..........
Also, remember this, people always say that you can get in trouble if the INS comes to know that you are living off campus etc,........but its a total false thing..........you can live wherever you want provided you pay your rental and other bills monthly........hahahah
10.What about the reference letters and personal statement? do u have any sample/guide for writing those?
yes, i have my own, but am sorry, i wont be able to share them as of now,,,,,,,,,however i can provide them to you next year once i get into residency........I hope you understand...........
11. Whats the program length?
I have already answered that to you,,,,,,my MPH was for 2 and half years long , which i completed in 2 years.
12. Can I get any job if i finish the course? if so,what job it is,whats the possibility of getting a job any is it paid at all?
well the answer to first part of the question is yes you can definitely get jobs, this is my personal experience, i got it very easily, whether its my good luck or my hard efforts and determination....But yes if think and believe in getting a job you definitely get one,,,,,,,,,,as i also got approved for my H1 B yesterday and plan to get it in the next 3 months before my OPT ( F1 Optional Practical Training Visa) visa ends in May.........So, yes just like USMLE everything is doable, just needs constant and persistant efforts and proper planning well ahead of time and being flexible in your approach in the sense having back ups if a plan doesnt go the way you want it to and be ready to shift gears when needed.......( if you get the gist of what i am trying to say am sure nothing is impossible in any corner of the world, let me put it the UNIVERSE) thats a lot of optimistic talk, but coming back to earth,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ground zero.............the job that you get is mainly either a researcher or clinical researcher or clinical research coordinator or study coordinator which pay usually about 40K to 50K per year based on median salary in US, which is definitely not bad in the sense it in addition to pay gives you clinical research experience, clinical experience of dealing with patients and doing some procedures which depends on your supervisor again and also can fetch you a very good Letter of Recommendation for Residency Application.
About getting admission for MPH, you need to check the website of your selected universities, where you plan to get admission to as their dates for international applicants change every year, so you need to check the current dates and make sure you apply with all your materials in time before their deadlines and also have enough time to go for the visa................
Thanks a lot,
Please feel free to ask me if u have any other questions.,
Dr Kinjal Desai
drkinjaldesai