Statement of Purpose & Personal Statement: Reading Berkeley Masters of Public Health Essays & Tips 

C

A

Resume! Grad school resumes are a bit different than job application resumes. I’m thinking they may be underrated in the application process, but what do you think?

PhD SOP

D) Resume and CV

Thank you! Make sure to subscribe and if you are on my email list you will be the first to know about new resources. landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/i0p4x3

Thanks for your encouragement! It gives me courage to do more!

Thanks for the acknowledgment. It encourages me to keep going with more videos.

Awesome! If you want to pay it forward and share your essays on this channel email me at lauren@laurenvaldez.com

Wonderful! Glad to help. Make sure to subscribe and if you are on my email list you will be the first to know about new resources. landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/i0p4x3

You are welcome!

Good luck!! Thank you! Make sure to subscribe and if you are on my email list you will be the first to know about new resources. landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/i0p4x3

You are welcome. I read a lot of essays and people are often afraid to put in their opinions and beliefs so it comes off as bland, sounding like everyone else. I also struggled with this and eventually, I recorded myself talking and that helped me improve my essay to sound more like myself and less like someone trying to be smart and impressive. In this video, I talk about some of those writing techniques ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yKxqsaTd8hM.html

You are welcome!

Thanks! I'm glad it helped

You are so welcome! Thank you for watching! Make sure to subscribe and if you are on my email list you will be the first to know about new resources. landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/i0p4x3

You are so welcome! Thank you for watching! Make sure to subscribe and if you are on my email list you will be the first to know about new resources. landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/i0p4x3

I'm on maternity leave so my office hours are on pause until late Nov or early Dec. If you sign up for my email list, you will be notified when office hours resume. landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/i0p4x3

You are welcome!

You are welcome. Thanks for the acknowledgement. It motivates me to keep creating.

For real, thanks a lot! Planning to have a office hour with you after I finished my SOP😊

Which course

Congrats! That's awesome to hear. Part of my mission is to provide as many free resources as possible for those who can't afford private sessions. Would you be willing to share your essay on my youtube channel anonymously? If so, please email me at lauren@laurenvaldez.com

Thanks for the encouragement! It keeps me motivated to do more.

Thank you! It’s nerve wracking posting things and not being sure if it will be helpful or confusing. You are giving me courage to keep going

@@laurenvaldez4 Keep going, Lauren! :)

Best of luck with the application

Yay! Yes speak your truth. If you water your message down, you won't stand out from the pack and just seem basic. It might be too much for some schools, but the right school is the one who values you for living your truth.

did you get in?

Congrats! I'm glad you found the videos helpful! Part of my mission is to provide as many free resources as possible for those who can't afford private sessions. Would you be willing to share your essay on my youtube channel anonymously? Additionally, if you are not comfortable with that option, would you be willing to share you final essay as an example for our team/students on good essays (this would not be shared on youtube). If so, please email me at lauren@laurenvaldez.com

@@LaurenValdezabsolutely, just sent it to your email. :)

You are welcome!

Glad you found it helpful. I have a lot more essay review videos.

You are so welcome!

You are welcome!

Thank you! Make sure to subscribe and if you are on my email list you will be the first to know about new resources. [landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/i0p4x3](landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/i0p4x3)

It's hard to say without the context. You can come to my office hours where I can review your paragraph and give you feedback. www.laurenlunavaldez.com/events

I'm not sure what IMG stands for. Is that international medical graduate?

Lauren Valdez Yes! Exactly. I assumed it was a common phrase. From limited research, I’ve gathered that an MD/MPH degrees are a thing. But I haven’t read any mention of International Medical Graduates going into an MPH program. It’s difficult picking an area of concentration when broad scope of public health is applicable to almost all parts of medicine.

Yes Pedro is close! I went to South Shores elementary school there! I will probably open up office hours in the summertime where I do feedback. If you are on my newsletter you will get emails about the dates and sign ups.

Noted. You are welcome! I am back from family leave now. You can go to Laurenvaldez.com to book me for office hours! Make sure to subscribe and if you are on my email list you will be the first to know about new resources. landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/i0p4x3

I have a few videos where I read some examples of previous students on my channel. Here's one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hFc-MawCIDI.html Make sure to subscribe and if you are on my email list you will be the first to know about new resources. landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/i0p4x3

Yes that's a great idea

Consider from their perspective that they are really busy. Instead, summarize your interest in their work and add a brief few sentences about your work and ask for a conversation.

I'm not totally clear on what you mean by "reflective" versus "thematic." You always want to answer the questions they give you and you want to be reflective on your experiences and what you've achieved, learned, etc. Between the SOP and Personal statement you are discussing "why you want to go to the MPH." While the SOP is focused specifically on the MPH and the program, a personal statement might discuss personal qualities or experiences that aren't totally relevant to just an MPH but show your character, leadership, values, and who you are as a person. Hope that helps.

That's a great point and something many people experience. Many schools ask for people to describe adversity in their personal statements or in a diversity statement which is a good place to describe having to work hard during school. Instead of focusing on external experiences, you can talk about the skills you developed and projects you worked on during school. For example, you can talk about a class project or paper your wrote and what you learned from that experience. The other thing to consider is that most MPH applicants are a 3-5 years out of undergrad and you often need that much time to develop enough experience to be a qualified candidate for an MPH program. In the time after undergrad finding a job in the field is a way you can build that experience while working towards applying for an advanced degree.

@@LaurenValdez oh okay I guess that it more in the US ? I am only applying to Berkeley in the US, but like since I want to do a PhD and I know what I want to do, I don’t know why I would wait so much time. Do you know if I’m expected to have so much experience in Canada or the UK ?

@@lorenavidal4651 I'm not sure about programs outside of the US

A tip I got is to only apply to one program, then your first semester after being enrolled you apply to the other. For me, I was stronger in planning so applied there. Then I applied for the following year to public health. Almost everyone in the dual program did this and made their application stronger by taken a relevant course their first semester to boost their profile for applying to the other department

While the statement of purpose highlights the goals and experiences related to the research area you plan to pursue, your personal statement (also called a history or diversity statement) is an opportunity for the review committee to learn about the unique qualities and perspectives you'll bring to the program.

500 words is a lot harder to write. Instead of storytelling its more like a cover letter. I have one example that I want to make into a video next.

@@LaurenValdez COLOMBIA, YALE, and HARVARD all of them in my case asked for essays with a 500, 400, or even 300 word limit. ( I am applying for a master of architecture) . thank you so much for your time and effort, I literally studied almost all of your content. you helped a lot

My office hours are currently on hold while I'm on maternity leave. If you sign up for my email list you will get notified when my office hours resume which will likely be in Nov/Dec

Also here is the link to sign up for my email list landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/i0p4x3

Short essays are definitely harder. Each word needs to provide value and be making a case for you. Come to office hours and I can give you feedback. In the group I give lots of feedback on what to cut and you will see themes of when students are overly wordy.

Also here is the link for office hours www.laurenlunavaldez.com/events

Lauren Valdez are there other hours? I work 9-6 Mondays through Fridays and 8-12 on Saturdays. Thank you for reaching back out to me so quickly.

@@truthbetold7464 Next Wed is week is 6:30 PM PST

@@LaurenValdez The link did not work. I'm interested in your office hours. Where can I sign up?

If they don't mention a standard to follow, then either works.

I'm not sure off the top of my head, but if you download the sample essays in the description link, the word counts are listed there

I'm not sure. I think the limit was 2-pages.

Yes you can find details here laurenvaldez.ticketspice.com/private-essay-review

It's very common for people to go into an MPH program with a background that is not in public health. I suggest you just make a case for why you want to switch to public health.

You don’t need to have a noble reason, but you probably have something that motivates you. Talk about why you are interested in the career, show your curiosity for the topic.

Generally yes, but refer to the specific prompt of the school

thanks!

which essay?