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With the admission season ending for phd in public health and most of us having made a decision where we will spend the next few years, it's great time to review our career goals and write down smaller objectives and timelines for these years. If you have experience in public health already (whether at the master- or phd-level), can you share what it's like for you to work in various settings in this field--e.g. academia, non-profit, government, private etc.? Think this would be of interest to new and current students. Thank you! PS. My area is health policy and management. My ideal at this point will be academia, but I'm open to other options as I learn more about them.

I'm a bit late to commenting. My understanding is that you have to have confirmation from the first school to let go of your acceptance before you can accept the other one, if the new offer was received after April 15? I think this is in the Graduate Council Resolution. How did it go, if you don't mind sharing?

I recently got off the waitlist and got admitted. Can you share why? Thanks!

Hey thank you! I did a bit research and expect $1000 per year to be normal. What does PSI stand for btw?

Hi TakeruK, Thanks for your reply. Yeah I posted on the other thread to see what it would be like for American students in a similar situation. It seems, as international students, we sometime make premature assumptions about our rights too that may put us in a disadvantage. We are certainly not entitled to as many social benefits as an American student would, but you never know unless you try. For example, I got free health coverage (the White Card) when I was in California for a year for an unpaying internship while looking for a job. I applied around 2013-2014 right after everyone became obligated to have health insurance. I was planning to bank on not getting sick for a year, when I received the white card much to my pleasant surprise in my mail! That helped A LOT with managing meds etc. If I had to pay 250 dollars per month like your spouse did while on financial support by family... I just couldn't imagine that. However, I'm extremely doubtful if I will have similar luck in Tennessee , although I do plan to give it a shot at some point after relocating. Thanks for the names of insurance carriers you used and for your suggestion on getting fair treatment. Sounds stressful but good to know that there are stories of success!

I was wondering if anyone has experience with purchasing private or applying for public health insurance while on a GA-ship, if your assistant doesn't include it and you cannot get benefits by being on your parents' or your spouses' plan? For example, what type of insurance did you get or apply for? Was it good to use in your state? Thanks!

I was wondering if anyone can recommend an insurance provider that they had positive experience with? I am an international student and my GA benefits does not include health insurance. The university recommends International Student Protection, but it's extraordinarily expensive for someone on assistant-ship salary. I believe we are not limited to buying insurance targeting at international students and scholars unless we plan to travel outside the US regularly. For those who had positive experience with a certain type of insurance provider, can you share the name of the company and where were you when you filed claims with this company? I've heard that the well-known International Student Insurance (isoa.com) is pretty much a scam company that turn down most of the claims, although it's relatively inexpensive. I'm looking for honest insurance that willingly provides coverage as it purports to, even if the co-pay is slightly high. My location will be Tennessee. Thanks in advance for any input!

Hi Pancakeeater and everyone, If you are wondering about the PhD program at NYU, my understanding is that they interviewed everyone on campus (or via skype if in-person is not an option) on Feb 10. Person in charge of admissions informed me that they will release decisions around next week. Hope it helps. Best wishes for everyone!

Thanks everyone for sharing!

No, of course not, from what I experienced, they are not an "unethical" program. After all, ethics has such broad meaning!

Thank you. They didn't "condemn me" to be fair, but I wasn't sure about the meaning of the deadline in the big context of how offers with funding are usually done. It's more about me not wanting to leave an "unethical" impression. Thanks!

My thoughts exactly, just wondering the ethical aspect of it and hope it won't negatively impact others in major ways. Thank you!

BACKGROUND I received a lovely admission offer with financial support from a Public Health PhD program (I'll refer to it as X program) very early. However, X requires that I respond by date N in late February, while I'm still waiting to hear back from a few other programs. I have interviewed for some of the other programs. I don't expect to hear back from these programs by date N from what I recently learned. I have asked X to extend my deadline TWICE already before February. X specifically told me that they cannot wait until close to April 15 to hear from me because 1) they are competing with other programs for academically strong students and 2) I assume they need the spot for other candidates that come along later. I would like to attend X, if rejected by other better choices (there are about three of them), none of which has confirmed my status. All above programs are inside universities that signed the 415 resolution. DILEMA 1. I'm not leaning toward asking X to extend my timeline again since: 1) I already did it twice; 2) I don't know when I can get confirmation from other programs as many have delayed making a final decision this year due to unpredictability in funding; and 3) because of # 2), I don't feel I can think of a reasonable extended timeline to suggest except April 15, which they had said they couldn't agree to. 2. I'm thinking about accepting this offer. After all, I might have already been rejected by the other programs that I haven't heard from. But, can I possibly withdraw my acceptance if a better offer comes up elsewhere? I will send out notice asap of course if this happens. If this is ethically unpreferred, is it even acceptable under the 415 resolution? My admission letter at this point is from the department. It doesn't say that I cannot withdraw acceptance of the offer. It didn't attach the 415 resolution either. 3. Is it common for rolling-admission programs to have early deadlines? I'm having doubts regarding making the spot available for other candidates. They can always create a waitlist for later applicants and extend an offer provided that they are not admitted into better choices? I'm so lost right now. I would appreciate input!

BACKGROUND I received a lovely admission offer with financial support from a PhD program (I'll refer to it as X program) very early. However, X requires that I respond by date N in late February, while I'm still waiting to hear back from a few other programs. I have interviewed for some of the other programs. I don't expect to hear back from these programs by date N from what I recently learned. I have asked X to extend my deadline TWICE already before February. X specifically told me that they cannot wait until close to April 15 to hear from me because 1) they are competing with other programs for academically strong students and 2) I assume they need the spot for other candidates that come along later. I would like to attend X, if rejected by other better choices (there are about three of them), none of which has confirmed my status. All above programs are inside universities that signed the 415 resolution. DILEMA 1. I'm not leaning toward asking them to extend my timeline again since: 1) I already did it twice; 2) I don't know when I can get confirmation from other programs as many in my field have delayed making a final decision this year due to unpredictability in funding; and 3) because of # 2), I don't feel I can think of a reasonable extended timeline to suggest at this point except April 15, which they had said they couldn't agree to. 2. I'm thinking about accepting this offer. After all, I might have already been rejected by the other programs that I haven't heard from. But, can I possibly withdraw my acceptance if a better offer comes up elsewhere? I will send out notice asap of course if this happens. If this is ethically unpreferred, is it even acceptable under the 415 resolution? My admission letter at this point is from the department. It doesn't say that I cannot withdraw acceptance of the offer. It didn't attach the 415 resolution either. 3. Is it common for rolling-admission programs to have early deadlines? I'm having doubts regarding making the spot available for other candidates. They can always create a waitlist for later applicants and extend an offer provided that they are not admitted into better choices? I'm so lost right now. I would appreciate input!

Hi, I'm a PhD program applicant and I'm in a similar boat. But I thought the 415 resolution only pertains to financial offers? How about the admission part of it? I've been given different advice regarding the meaning of the current deadline. I'm so confused! Would appreciate help!