Seeing as this seems to be the most effective mode of communication between me and the people who care about me (sorry Mom), I've decided to list the choices I'm considering for grad school. Mind you, this is for a masters in public health (MPH), for which there are only between 20-30 accredited schools in the whole country. Here goes.
1) University of Louisville
Louisville, KY
My first pick and still my favorite-- also one of the cheaper options, and the only school I've actually been able to visit. That only helped. It's a fledgling school, only having been accredited a few years ago, and began within the past ten years. The health science campus is in the downtown area, and everything I'll need will be within a two-block radius. Magical. Being on the demographic fence between "rural" and "urban", the type of practical experience I'd end up doing would be exactly what I'm looking for. And it's in Kentucky, which is probably one of my favorite states of the Union. If you don't get it, just google "Kentucky", and you'll set the first photo you see as your wallpaper. I guarantee it. All I'd have to do is get reacquainted with the dialect (as well as keep my Spartan pride undercover) and UL would make this 1.5 years very tolerable.
2) Saint Louis University
St. Louis, MO
I was skeptical of this joint at first. On the website (www.asph.org), SLU sounds like every other public health school. However, I noticed that they don't charge extra for Missouri non-residents... which made it worth checking into. I finally got my requested information yesterday. Lo and behold, they're Jesuits. That makes SLU the only Christian school on the list, but more importantly, the smallest. It's probably the priciest option (at about $40k for the whole deal right now), but not by very much. Besides, they offer more joint-degrees than I've seen anywhere else, as well as a very unique specialization: biosecurity and disaster preparedness. Very Jesuit, and an exploding field... but probably not my bag, to be honest. But who knows...
3) University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
Yikes. I never dreamed I would even think about gracing such soiled grass with my righteous footsteps. However, U of M is the only college in Michigan that is accredited by the CEPH, and that's a huge deal for me. Plus, they have a slew of specialization options. I'm talking about options like hospital and molecular epidemiology (studying how diseases dare spread in the cleanest places on the planet) or industrial hygiene (studying how we can prevent job-site body destruction) And like a big ol' blue-and-maize cherry on top, there's their world-renowned research facilities (which would normally go without saying, but that's a big deal, too). Since I get a shrunk-down Michigan resident rate, U of M is ironically the bargain of the day. So, if I don't mind a couple more years of lame weather, and have the hutzpah to actually submit my application into an inevitable contestant field of certified-genius wunderkinder and only-childs, Michigan could turn my MPH slingshot into a dang trebuchet.
4) University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY
Neither does UK charge much extra for out of state residents-- they try to make up for the difference with endowment. Kentucky mainly specializes in rural, community health. It's not something I'm opposed to... just not something I'd choose over UL or SLU. Plus, this place is in Kentucky, too. Ka-ching.
5) Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Say what? James, aren't you a Spartan fan? Why isn't this choice on top?
Not accredited, online program.
That should be all I have to say about that.
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So, why does swine flu (H1N1) matter?
It's new. Every new disease should be treated with incredible caution. Notable cross-special pandemics would include malaria, AIDS, smallpox, and the bubonic plague-- all of those are or were really bad for us.
But isn't it just the flu?
The irony. Consider this: when was the last time you had the flu? And I'm talking about the real flu... not the "I-threw-up-twice-this-morning-and-I-have-a-headache-so-WebMD-said-I-have-the-flu" flu. It's debilitating, it's potentially life-threatening, and highly contagious. One things we know for sure about H1N1 is that it can be passed during a period of up to eight days-- one of those days comes before symptoms appear. That's right, you can get people sick before you even know that you're sick, yourself.
How could it ever affect me if so few have it?
Don't know. That's probably the scariest part of H1N1-- we just don't know much about it yet. We do know that it has components of human, avian, and swine flu in the same package. But we have no vaccine, no unique diagnostic methods, and no way of pinning down exactly how it's mutating (something for which influenza is notorious). Just keep the coughing to yourself and be clean, though, and you should do all right.
Why are people freaking out and ruining my TRAVEL PLANS???
Glad you asked. That's an attempt to keep narrow-minded tourists from escalating a situation that could have been a lot worse than it is. Americans can't go to Mexico, and Europeans are staying away from the whole danged continent. By cordoning it off, it's possible to stop it from becoming a second kind of flu to worry about. Just ask a doctor-- one flu is plenty.
1 comment:
James- Where is it that God wants you to be?
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