Are you thinking about applying to a university to earn your Masters degree in public health? If so, there are many excellent programs from which to choose. However, the application process for each individual school is different. By the time you apply for several different schools, you could have spent weeks doing it.
That is where (SOPHAS) The Centralized Application Service for Public Health comes into play. SOPHAS ia a very convenient service that allows you to apply to many of the top public health programs in the country with one online application.
Even though you can apply to several universities at once, the institutions cannot see which others to which you applied. Remember that SOPHAS does NOT administer the admissions processes, only the application.
You could get an offer of admission from more than one university. If you are, you have to decide which to attend, but the universities will not know if you are accepted at another program.
You can apply to several schools with SOPHAS at once. But if you decide to add another school to the existing application, you can do so, if it is in the same application year.
Reasonable Fees
This unique service charges you per university that you apply to on a sliding scale:
One school: $120
Two schools: $165
Three schools: $210
Four schools: $255
Five schools: $300
For students who show a financial need, SOPHAS has a fee waiver program that is available on a first come/first serve basis. If the waiver is approved, you will not even need to pay for submitting your applications to several universities.
Your application is considered active until the last day of each application cycle – August 5. At that point, SOPHAS is shut down for about four weeks. Most application information is not carried over into the next cycle.
Application Checklist
To apply to SOPHAS, you need the following:
Three recommenders
All US coursework taken
All official GRE, PCAT and MCAT scores
CV or resume
Statement of purpose/objective
Official transcripts
Enter all universities you have attended
Re-Application Process
If you submit an application at the end of the application cycle, you will have the chance to carry over most application information into the next application cycle. You should remember that you will still need to resubmit your CV, reference letters, and statement of purpose/objectives. You also would need to pay a new application fee, if it was not waived.
References are not carried over because the participating universities do not accept references turned in during the previous application cycle.
For aspiring public health students who want to be able to easily apply to several universities in a very time and cost effective fashion, it really is hard to beat SOPHAS. Be sure to review the dozens of participating universities, then apply with SOPHAS today.
