u/Willing-Travel-249

Hi all! I am planning to apply to MPH programs for Fall 2027 and looking for current students to give feedback on each of these programs. I will be applying to the health policy concentration at each: NYU, Columbia, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Harvard, Penn.

For context, I already have a BSPH from a great public health school and have been working in health and human services government consulting for about 5 years. From this program, I hope to build upon my work and gain connections in the field. Since I already have a BSPH and strong work experience, I want the program to be rigorous. I am not getting an MPH just to put it on my resume. I am also a bit skeptical of part-time and online programs, so I am ideally looking for a program in which most students on full-time, in-person.

I finally took the GRE today after about 2.5 months of studying and I am so relieved to be done. I used the GregMat I'm Overwhelmed Plan, but also used videos from GMAT ninja (highly recommend) for difficult quant concepts. I used the Brainscape flashcards for vocab because the GregMat vocab mountain just does not work for my brain. Thanks for all the tips and tricks throughout the process!

Hi! I'm traveling to San Juan in a few weeks and would love to snorkel while I am there. Is snorkeling possible in August or will the water not allow enough visibility due to rainy weather? Additionally, do we need to go to vieques or culebra or is there good snorkeling in San Juan? I'd of course love to go to the islands, but we will not have a car so the logistics might be challenging. Thanks!

Hi all! I am planning to apply to grad school in early November to give myself the best shot at scholarships/fellowships. I took a practice test about 2 weeks ago and got a 311. I am hoping to get a 325 and I am using the GregMat 'I'm Overwhelmed' plan because I have a full-time job. Should I take the GRE in early September or mid October? Taking it in early september would give me time to take it again if needed, but taking it in October would give me more time to study off the bat. I'd obviously prefer to not pay the $250 twice, if possible. I'm worried that if I wait until late August/ early September to decide, there may not be availability at testing centers. I live in NYC so it can be quite busy.

Hi everyone! Can I keep oysters cool and safe in a cooler without drainage? I was thinking of keeping the ice in their bags at the bottom of the cooler and placing the oysters on top in an unsealed Tupperware container with a wet towel over top.

For context, I'm hoping to serve oysters at a birthday party that I am hosting at the park. It will likely be fairly hot on the day. This means I would need to have the oysters unshucked on ice for probably about a two hours as I travel there and wait for guests to arrive. I expect they will be eaten very quickly once they are shucked.

Alternatively, could I use ice packs instead of ice to avoid water?

Thanks!

Hi everyone! I am thinking about applying for Master's programs that would start in fall 2027 and would love your thoughts. I have a BSPH and have been working on public sector consulting for the past 4 years. I have gotten great experience working with State and local governments to build HHS programs like Medicaid and behavioral health systems. Although I like my job, I want to pivot away from consulting. I'd rather be conducting the work myself (rather than supporting it as a consultant), would like to make more of an impact on the world, and would like to support international efforts as well as domestic (I'm in the US). Therefore, I am thinking about going to do a Master's program to learn more about public policy, international affairs, and find new connections in these spaces. I live in NYC so I am considering the MIA or MPA at Columbia and the MPA or MA in IR at NYU. I am also looking at schools in California or abroad in Europe. Below are a few questions I'd appreciate your thoughts on:

1. Do you have any thoughts on MPA vs MIA vs MA in IR?

2. Is funding typically available at US schools for Master's programs? I am concerned that I may need to go abroad to ensure this doesn't required hundreds of thousands of dollars of loans.

3. Do I need to take the GRE? I took math courses in school and do quantitative work at my job.

Hi! I'm having trouble accurately determining how many calories I burn in a day in order to figure out my calorie deficit. I recently did an InBody scan at the gym and it told me my BMR is 1300; however, I have a Whoop which tells me that I regularly only burn 1400 calories in a day even with 10K steps and strength training. I am aware that the Whoop is likely inaccurate, but how do I get an accurate read? What do you base your calorie deficit on?

Hi! I recently did an InBody scan at my gym and was told that my BMR is 1300; however, I find that my Whoop often says I only burn about 1400 calories in a day, even with 10000 steps and strength training. I was originally believing the Whoop calorie tracking to be accurate, but now I'm realizing that it doesn't know anything about my body composition besides my weight and height. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is Whoop calorie tracking accurate or is the InBody more accurate? Thanks!