How Elijah Darden Secured a Fully Funded Master of Philosophy in Population Health Sciences at the University of Cambridge Through the Gates Cambridge Scholarship

My name is Elijah Darden, a Gates-Cambridge Scholar who pursued a Master of Philosophy in Population Health Sciences at the University of Cambridge. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, I witnessed the health discrepancies of my family living in urban Illinois and rural Wisconsin. Combined with my family’s and personal genetic cancer syndrome, I was inspired to improve health equity across diverse populations. Thus, I pursued a degree in Population Health Sciences at Cambridge to gain the expertise to both do good and do well by improving health equity through research and tailored interventions in medical and community health education.

Gates Cambridge Scholarship Details

I received the Gates Cambridge Scholarship at the University of Cambridge. The scholarship covers the entire cost of tuition for my program, along with a stipend to cover additional educational expenses.

Educational Background

I hold a bachelor's degree in Psychological and Brain Sciences from Washington University in St. Louis, and I applied to the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship with a 3.99 GPA.

My educational background was multifaceted; I took diverse pre-medical coursework in addition to my psychological and brain sciences coursework, and I supplemented both with a music minor. From this interdisciplinary perspective, I was able to reflect on how these fields build upon each other and how theories within different fields agree with one another. This concept, called consilience, is a large part of my ethos as I navigate my world academically, and it prepared me well for a program that brings public health, epidemiology, and health data science together.

How Did You Prepare to Apply to the University of Cambridge?

How Did You Find Information About the Gates Cambridge Scholarship and the University of Cambridge?

I found information about these scholarships largely through the fellowship office at my undergraduate institution, but I also did quite a bit of my own research. I was able to talk to past scholars and look further into these scholarships online.

How Did You Prepare to Apply for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship?

I prepared for my application through a lot of reflection. I journaled about why I wanted to pursue this degree, reflected on the application questions, brainstormed, and wrote up bullet points and different anecdotes to write about. With time, I put together my narrative.

I looked at all of my activities, the work I had done previously, and my personal, familial, and lived experiences, and I looked for the intersection among all of these aspects of my story and how they coalesced to form my drive to pursue this particular degree, scholarship, and career path. That was very important for my primary application, but it was just as important for my interviews. Understanding myself in this way allowed me to articulate a clear vision for my future, my career, and the impact I wanted to leave on my communities. I knew I needed flexibility (my goals may change in some ways), and I also knew I had the paradigms available to me to be resilient in uncertainty and in deviations from my path. Importantly, I approached these applications with humility. I was applying because I was missing a piece of the puzzle; I did not yet have the expertise I needed to both mean well and do well for my communities.

How Is Your Experience at the University of Cambridge?

The University of Cambridge is an incredible international community, and one of the best aspects of the program was getting to interact with people from such a diverse array of backgrounds, both in their careers and in the lived experiences they brought to the table. The conversations we had were incredible, and hearing all of these perspectives was very influential.

Now that I am back in the US, those worldviews continue to shape the way I approach my training and my future practice as a physician and public health professional.

What Did You Pursue After the Gates Cambridge Scholarship?

After the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, I am continuing my medical degree at Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, where I am also contributing to population health research.

What Do You Think Made Your Application Stand Out?

I believe my application stood out because I understood my own narrative so thoroughly. My work as an EMT, my experience with melanoma pancreatic cancer syndrome, and the differences I saw between my family's health outcomes in rural Wisconsin and my own in suburban Chicago all pointed toward the same goal, and I was able to articulate how they came together into a clear vision for the impact I wanted to have. I also approached the application with humility, naming the gap in my expertise that this degree would fill so that my future work could both mean well and do well for my communities.

What Advice Would You Give Those Looking to Apply for a Similar Scholarship?

For everyone applying to the scholarship, reflection is key. Have a vision for your future, even if you acknowledge that your vision might change, and have humility about where your gaps are.

Take the time to lay out your entire path up until this point so you can plan for how this opportunity will affect it in the future. Additionally, think about the communities and individuals you want to help and what you want to do for society, as the Gates Cambridge Scholarship focuses heavily on leadership and impact. Really think about what you want to leave behind as you move through your life and your career.