Post-It Poet

Congratulations! I will be visiting next week. If you have any questions about the city of St. Louis, or general WUSTL questions, feel free to ask me!

That's the department I applied to as well, and I have not heard a word, and I haven't seen any change in my application status either. I haven't seen anyone post results from that department.

I have an MFA in poetry and did 1-1/2 years of a Creative Writing PhD program (University of Missouri) before I realized that while I love writing (and still write poetry!), I didn't want a career in literature. I caught the public health bug and ended up going back for an MPH, and now I am applying to PhD programs for Public Health! One of the things I love about writing is that you can still publish and have a successful writing career without having to be in the academy. I know that doesn't have any relevance to your situation, but I wanted to say good luck! When I was in the PhD program, it was wonderful to have the extra time to write and work on my manuscript, post-MFA.

Oh, so sorry, MammaD. Thats a bummer.

This makes me feel better about checking on the weekends! And I'm with you. I just want all my options known so I can make an informed decision.

I'm coming into this topic a bit late, and perhaps you have already gotten some acceptance notices. But I wanted to assure you that being older and having a unique background can work to your advantage if you want it to! I was 32 when I applied to MPH programs. I'm currently finishing my MPH and will be starting a PhD at 34, which seems to be somewhat normal in this area. I know in some fields (hard sciences, math, etc.) youth can be a bit more revered, but I think in Public Health it's different. I actually have an undergraduate degree in English and an MFA in Creative Writing! I spent my 20s doing everything from journalism to copywriting to editing to marketing to teaching undergraduate literature! In fact, I was 1-1/2 years into a PhD in Literature when I caught the public health bug, dropped out of my PhD program and started looking at MPH programs! I was fortunate that I have strong math skills as well as writing skills, so my GRE scores were strong in qual. and quant. But in addition to that, I have led an interesting life, and was able to spin my life story as an advantage in the public health academic world! I stressed that I am a strong writer (which the sciences always need!), that I worked for 6 months with HIV children in South Africa (during my MFA), that I had volunteer work with homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters and a couple VA Hospitals. And I showed that I was (am) 100% dedicated to public health. I think my enthusiasm and excitement for the field comes from having worked in other fields and finally found what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. And it shows. I've had numerous professors from various schools I have interviewed with tell me that my passion for public health is inspiring and motivating. I guess the bottom line is to sell your strengths. Obviously something brought you to this field. People love an interesting story, so own it! And good luck!

Do you want to know how obsessive I am? I keep checking my status on UNC and Pitt, even though it's the weekend. Seriously? Because I'm sure that the faculty at UNC and Pitt have nothing better to do on the weekend than sit around and look at my application to update it. Also, why do I bother to check when I know that any change in my status will trigger a notification email to my normal email address? Such. A. Dork.

Have you gone to visit? I know it's not always financially feasible to do so, but if you can at all afford it, I would highly recommend it! I'm actually applying to PhD programs, not MSWs, but I got invited to interview at WUSTL next week (squee!!!), and I went to visit in fall before I applied. I was fortunate to be able to visit five of my top schools, and I was amazed at how much of a sense of a place you can get by visiting. What looks good on paper (and even the phone) can be very different in person. It's also a good idea to check out a city and see if it's a place you would want to live. That's not to say WashU isn't the place for you! I loved my visit. I was really impressed with the faculty and the students, and am very excited to go to my interview and meet my future cohort and other professors! (And I love St. Louis, so that part is a no-brainer for me. But it's not for everyone, of course.) I'm personally interested in WashU because, although I'm actually in public health, they are doing amazing public health-related social work research, which has great appeal to me. The Brown School's reputation is amazing as well. (And the funding for the PhD program is better than any of the public health PhD programs I have applied to!) And finances are important as well. If they offered you money, that's always good, of course! And cost of living is quite low in St. Louis compared to some of the other places you are applying. Good luck! I hope you make a decision you are happy with. (And if you have any questions about the city of St. Louis, just ask! I've spent a lot of time there!)

This cracks me up. I keep checking my application on UNC's website, obsessively looking for the tiniest update or status change.

It's not actually an odd question to be asked where else you applied. Even when I was researching programs and talking to potential advisors and program directors on the phone/in person last fall, nearly every single one asked me where else I was applying. I think part of it is curiousity on their part, but part is also because they know that getting into a PhD program is part luck (and right place, right time) and they just assume you will be applying to multiple places! I mean, you can be the best candidate out there, but if the person you want to work with at the top school isn't taking on new students, or there just happens to be a glut of students already doing that research at a certain university so they decide to take on a student doing something different in order to appear more well-rounded, then you might not get in. I'm amazed at the process. When I went through this last time (in English Literature), I got into a couple of my top choices/highly ranked programs and not a couple of the lower ranked. Even if you do your homework (no pun intended!) it can be a bit of a crap shoot. Of course, that's probably wh it's so stressful and anxiety-inducing! They might also want to see how you handle awkward and unexpected questions, because it's a good way to see how you might respond when put on the spot in class or at a conference!

Congratulations, SimonettaSeeker! No new news for me.

I was just wondering this as well. One of my programs specifically says that we won't hear until late February-early March, so I don't want to bother them. But one of them I turned in on December 1, so it's been 2-1/2 months. Fortunately, no one in my concentration has been posting acceptances from that school (UNC, for the behavioral health track). I'm thinking I will email. The administrative assistant is probably getting lots of calls, and I'm thinking she might at least appreciate an email, which she can respond to when she has time. Maybe try an email first, and if you don't hear back in a few days, then try calling.

Congratulations! How exciting! It's so nice to get that first positive response, because at least you know you got in, even if it's not your top choice!

I know what you mean! I was so choosy about where I applied, trying to get the perfect fit, but now the longer I wait, the less I'm sure I even want to go to some of these places. (Of course, maybe that's just my mind's way of psyching myself out so I'm not disappointed if I don't get in!) Good luck! Hopefully we will all get some responses this week!

Congratulations to those of you who have received acceptances in the last couple days! How exciting! Waiting for answers totally blows. I am obsessed with checking my online applications to look for any changes or updates. Hope more of us get the responses we've been waiting for this week!

I know it's a different field, but way back when I was doing the Literature thing, I was waitlisted to my top choice PhD program, and I ended up getting in! I was the first choice on the waitlist, and someone took a different offer. Just remember that even though it's your first choice, some of the people who got the offer might have a different program they want more and are waiting to hear back from! I know the wait is horrible, but just hang in there!

I'm right there with you. The whole thing is dreadful. And I've done this way too many times before! (In my former life I was in Literature and did a Master's in that, then part of a PhD program before I realized I didn't want to be in that field! So I've done this twice in the humanities, once for my MPH and now this round. Ugh. I can't even tell you how much I hate this. In fact, I kind of with WashU just accepted or rejected. I hate the vist/ interview...or maybe I just hate having to wait until the end of February to do it. I'd rather just know one way or the other, you know?

It's funny, because I'm super jealous of you for this! I grew up in the Midwest (and live in Ohio currently, and have also lived in a few other states as well as Europe and Africa), but I spent most of my 20s out in the Southwest (Vegas and Phoenix). I am a sunshine girl at heart! I miss the desert so much! I almost applied to ASU's program...I really, really wanted to, but in the end, even though it broke my heart to come to this conclusion, I realized that the program just wasn't a good fit for me. It's definitely very different living in the desert. I never thought I would end up there. I loved the PacNW and green! But I ended up loving the desert. It's beautiful in a very different way. The desert mountains at sunset are breathtaking. In my experience, most of my friends either really loved it or really hated it. And it's really, really hot in the summer, but people just work around it, just like Midwesterners work around cold and snow in the winter. However, the rest of the year the weather is amazing, so if you like hiking or climbing, you are in for a treat! Also, the road trip opportunities are great, since you will be about 4-6 hours from Vegas, San Diego and LA! Additionally, you will probably be so busy that it won't really matter! It's much more important that you have a good fit with the program, potential advisor(s) and your cohort! (Not to mention the obvious that you will probably get more offers from elsewhere since it's still early!)

Thanks! I think the tough part after hearing acceptances is finding the motivation to finish my MPH requirements! I'm finishing up my practice placement and working on my CE (finishing this summer). I just want to be done and move on to the PhD!!!

I've been lurking on this thread for ages. (Sorry!) I've applied to four PhD programs for Health Promotion/Education/Behavior tracks, which I arrived at from an initial list of 26 programs and after visiting 6 schools. It's really important to me to get a good fit with an advisor/mentor and also with the school in general. Added to that, my husband just finished his PhD, so I'm applying to schools that look like they'd be good places (or other local universities) for him to find a post doc (he is not in public health). Anyway, I applied to UNC, U Pitt, UT Houston and Washington University in St. Louis. WashU is actually a Social Work PhD, but their public health graduate program is housed in the School of Social Work, so their research has strong public health leanings and they tend to accept a few MPH grads each year along with MSWs. Additionally it's ranked #1 and has the best funding of any of these programs! I visited all these schools and met with potential advisors at each place. My personal ranking for where I'd like to go is a first place tie between WashU and UT Houston, followed by U Pitt and then UNC. So far I have heard back from WashU and UT Houston. I got accepted to UT Houston with a scholarship and an offer for a research assistantship with my first choice advisor, which is great! At this point she is my first choice of people to work with at any of the schools. I also just heard on Friday from WashU and am invited to the visitation/interview day at the end of February. I got my application in really late to Pitt (in time for the deadline, but pretty late to SOPHAS for Pitt), so I'm not sure if/when I will hear from them. Haven't heard a word from UNC, but I don't think any of the health behavior applicants have heard from them so far. My understanding is that they kind of work on a one-at-a-time acceptance. I guess it doesn't really matter at this point if I get into Pitt or UNC since I am already in one of my top choices and have good prospects for the other. But I did want to give an update to all of you so you have an idea of other schools that have/have not gotten decisions out. Good luck to all of you! It's such a nerve-wracking and exciting time! Now my husband needs to start looking seriously at post doc opportunities in Houston and (maybe) St. Louis.

I have an MPH and am applying to (mainly) public health PhD programs, but I also applied to Washington University's social work PhD program because of its public health research/academics. I got an email from them today inviting me to come interview at the end of February! Other than that, I haven't heard from any other schools, and don't really expect to until the end of February or sometime in March.