PhD 2013 Doctoral Application Thread

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Happy to read all the good news. And feel for those on the 'other end'. This is my second go-round. My first PhD process resulted in 5 rejections, 0 acceptances, 0 waitlists. Just a bunch of no's.

This time is a bit different.
Good luck to everyone!!

-GWU (Accepted 1/22)
-UPitt (Accepted 1/24)
-BU (Accepted 3/1)
-Tulane (Interviewing)
-Yale
-Harvard (Accepted 2/15)

Heard back from SDSU/UCSD but still waiting to hear back from UCLA HPM. Anyone get news?

seems like this forum has been pretty quiet...has anyone gotten any news?

wait listed, rejected, accepted...anything?

Congratulations to those who received acceptances and good luck to the rest! Could all of you who have applied (and are waiting/accepted/reject) post your stats? GRE, GPA, work experience, publications and other relevant info? Good luck again!

The page has been pretty quiet.. no news is good news?

Southpaw12

-Grad GPA: 3.9

-GRE: V153/Q158/A 3.0 (timed writing part was obviously not my strength)

-Work experience: 4-5 years of work exp in the lab sciences. Grad research assistant for two projects. One uses both SAS/SPSS, the other is chemistry lab-work near publication.

-Aside from the 'near publication' above, no others.

-International internship experience in the field of my interest.

-Undergrad BS in chemistry.

-Teach lab courses to undergrads

*********

-GWU (Accepted 1/22)
-UPitt (Accepted 1/24)
-BU (Accepted 3/1)
-Tulane (Interviewed)
-Yale
-Harvard (Accepted 2/15)
-Drexel (Rejected 3/5)

Despite my pessimism regarding my applications, I did receive positive news today!

"We are pleased to inform you that the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health Admissions Committee has recommended to the School of Graduate Studies that you be admitted unconditionally to the DrPH program".

I have not made a decision on the offer yet, as I must await confirmation of funding, however this is good news and surely must reflect positively for all of the Student Doctor Network community that still awaits news of their applications.

Congrats Vayu!

Originally Posted by Vayu

Despite my pessimism regarding my applications, I did receive positive news today!

"We are pleased to inform you that the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health Admissions Committee has recommended to the School of Graduate Studies that you be admitted unconditionally to the DrPH program".

I have not made a decision on the offer yet, as I must await confirmation of funding, however this is good news and surely must reflect positively for all of the Student Doctor Network community that still awaits news of their applications.

Originally Posted by 707am

The page has been pretty quiet.. no news is good news?

Southpaw12

-Grad GPA: 3.9

-GRE: V153/Q158/A 3.0 (timed writing part was obviously not my strength)

-Work experience: 4-5 years of work exp in the lab sciences. Grad research assistant for two projects. One uses both SAS/SPSS, the other is chemistry lab-work near publication.

-Aside from the 'near publication' above, no others.

-International internship experience in the field of my interest.

-Undergrad BS in chemistry.

-Teach lab courses to undergrads

*********

-GWU (Accepted 1/22)
-UPitt (Accepted 1/24)
-BU (Accepted 3/1)
-Tulane (Interviewed)
-Yale
-Harvard (Accepted 2/15)
-Drexel (Rejected 3/5)

707am,

Thanks for your reply! Many congratulations on getting those acceptances! Have you made your decision yet?

My stats (and my misfortune is I took the GRE on 11/18/2012, got 155V 155Q but my scores got canceled :-( , so I retook the GRE again today after only 2 days' preparation):

GRE: V157 Q150 (I am hugely disappointed and in a quandary about what to do now)
Experience: Two years works experience, lots of research experience, trained and expertise in GIS, which I use in my research
Publications: 2
Fellowships: 2 (One at NIH, one under a former Surgeon General)
GPA: 3.67

Applied to: Berkeley, Yale, Pitt, Harvard, UIC
Rejected: Berkeley (yesterday via email)
Acceptances:

I'm in a real fix here, and really don't want to wait a whole year because of my quant score, so I guess I'll just stay positive for the next 2 weeks! Good luck!

Vayu: CONGRATULATIONS!

anyone admits to UCLA's CHS PhD, hanging out?

GRE: 161 V, 157 Q, 5.5 W
Experience: Three years research experience in infectious disease epi, immunology, vaccinology
Publications: 3, of which one is first author; 3 manuscripts in revision/preparation
GPA: 3.9 from Ivy League university

Applied to: Harvard (SD in infectious disease epi), UNC (PhD in epi), BU (PhD in epi)
Acceptances: UNC (2/16), BU (2/28)
Rejections:
Waiting: Harvard

No word on funding … does anyone have information about when Harvard is likely to send out admissions decisions? Their emails said through mid March, which we are rapidly approaching.

Congrats Vayu.

I heard back from Harvard on 2/15 (SD in Epi), and got a funding package a week later via email.
Hope that helps.

Some updates: In at Pitt (BCHS), UCLA (CHS), and wait listed at Michigan(HBHE)
Out at: Hopkins (HBS) and Emory (BSHE)

still waiting on a couple, is any one dealing with being wait listed? think there is a chance to actually get in?

good luck everyone!

Southpaw, With all your research experience I don't think your GRE scores will be too much of an issue. If your transcripts show that you did very well in a few biostats courses thats a great sign. It's the "package and fit" as they say.

Good Luck!

Denied at University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health DrPH in Behavioral and Community Health Sciences (previously posted).

Denied at Colorado School of Public Health, DrPH in Community and Behavior Health (new data).

Accepted at Eastern Tennessee State University, DrPH in Community Health (previously posted).

Accepted at University of Florida for College of Public Health and Health Professions, PhD in Dept. of Behavioral Science & Community Health (new data).

Lessons Learned: Applying to only one school last year (CSPH) resulted in a wait list with ultimate 100% failure rate which would have been repeated this year despite encouragement from faculty. Applying to 4 schools resulted in 50% failure and 50% acceptances. I strongly encourage everyone to apply to multiple schools in upcoming doctoral admission cycles.

Both schools in final consideration have expressed a "high probability" of full funding but have yet to issue formal offers. Of course I will wait to see whom will fund prior to selecting. If both offer funding I will make a choice based on strength of mentorship, geography, and consideration of the PhD vs DPH equivalency.

Thanks again and good luck to everyone still waiting to hear back!

congrats Vayu! I'm waiting for some funding information--I think its definitely true to apply multiple schools. hoping everyone gets some good offers!

Congrats to everyone thus far. If anyone needs any additional pointers on making a decision, I can definitely offer up my $0.02 on what I went through when I chose where to go.

Alright Stories, i'll take that $0.02

Jonu3, which schools are you waiting on for funding offers?

Originally Posted by Vayu

Alright Stories, i'll take that $0.02

Jonu3, which schools are you waiting on for funding offers?

Follow the most secure financial offer with a good fit for research. Find a fellowship if you can Once the offers come into play, I can make better judgement.

Also, I'd suggest you go with an advisor or mentor that has few students. That way you can get the attention you need. That's a very important aspect of training.

hey there all--just wanted to see if anyone on here got into UCLA's CHS program, I'd love to check in with any admits
thanks!

hey everyone, i haven't posted in awhile but wanted to offer an update on my apps - school/program details:

accepted: UIC (epi phd)
rejected: Harvard, Yale, UPitt & BU (all epi phd/scd)
waiting: SUNY-Albany

late last week I received a call from one of the epi professors (& soon to be advisor) at UIC offering details about their program and inquiring about my research interests. i'm glad it worked out this way since it makes my decision easier & they offer amazing funding packages (via fellowships/ta-ships) for >90% of their doctoral students (not sure about the other departments besides epi). i'm beyond excited to move to chicago since a lot of my family & friends are nearby!!! pm me if you have any specific q's

congrats nemo! with funding thats amazing. I got into a phd program finally but they may not have funding available

For applying to public health grad schools, do schools take your undergrad GPA or MPH GPA more into consideration?

Both probably come into consideration but your graduate work will be much more relevant. If there are inconsistencies in either, address them in the personal statement.

Thanks again to all of the prospective students for participating in this thread! Good luck with your choices, and remember to notify the schools you do not plan to attend for all of those still on waitlists. 4/15 is just around the corner.

If you did not get into your school of choice, there is always next year!

Originally Posted by Vayu

Thanks again to all of the prospective students for participating in this thread! Good luck with your choices, and remember to notify the schools you do not plan to attend for all of those still on waitlists. 4/15 is just around the corner.

If you did not get into your school of choice, there is always next year!

yes definitely--I know making a decision is hard. I'm on a couple wait lists and would love to find out either way as soon as possible!

Hi everyone,

I spoke to the admissions director at Harvard SPH-- I was competitive enough but not a good "match". Oh well. I also received an interview call from University of Pittsburgh (DrPH in Behavioral and Community Health Sciences), scheduled for next week. So relieved!

For those who have interviewed before, what is the process like? Any words of advice? Is the purpose of the interview to assess "fit" or academic preparation or both?

Sincerely appreciate all the help and encouragement from everyone on this forum!
Southpaw

Congrats, Southpaw!


Some basic questions they might ask:

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

How do your research interests and past work fit into our department?

What is it about this program specifically that made you apply?

Tell us about (x research paper you have done; x job you have held in the past) and what role you played/what you learned?

Give us an example of your greatest challenge and how you managed it?

Give us an example of your greatest achievement and how it has shaped your career path?

Do you work best alone or do you depend on a team?

************************************************** *****************************
Questions you need to ask:

"Thank you for your time today. I'd love to be a part of the program, and in the interest of planning for the future, can you discuss if the department provides funding to the students in the form of tuition waivers and stipends? Does being out of state (if relevant) change the waiver? Is funding on the table for current students being interviewed such as myself?"

"I am very interested in the DrPH program. Could you spend a moment discussing your graduates placement statistics and, beyond that, how you see the University and the dept. shaping leaders in public health for the future".

"Interviewer X, I am so happy you are on the line, I've been reading some of your work, and i'm very interested to know what current projects you will be working on and if there are student research opportunities on your upcoming projects"

*************************************************

I find my interviews go best when a conversational tone is taken. Go into it like you would going into a meeting where you plan to discuss your work with a close colleague. Try not to be too nervous and remember that a good conversation has a flow between the parties. Give someone a few seconds after they are done speaking to make sure they are done, and wait a few seconds after you finish so they know you have ended a point. If you are stumped on a question, tell a story that may seem unrelated and improvise to bring it back around to their question so you are not left with a break in the flow...

"Thats a very good question, and if I may i'd like to answer it in two parts: First, I wanted to share an experience about my career... second, and to answer your question more directly... I find it best to use goal setting and an open door policy to manage [topic] among [subjects] when developing and working toward our shared goals in public health".

Vayu: Thank you so much! That is very helpful! I am a bit nervous, but hoping all goes well. I'll let you know. Thank you again :-)