katalytik

Someone on the results section the Health Policy program at Harvard invited their interviewees............. I have not heard. Nothing else I can report.

Did you get invited for the masters or the phd? I think it may be different for the two programs........

Im applying to 3 schools listed in health policy. So there are several of us! cool......

I only applied to a handful because they are the only ones doing the work I am interested in. The rest of the peer level schools are just not making many strides in this space and don't have faculty with any real experience or strengths. If I don't get into any, I'll just stay at my job.......totally fine with me.

If you don't know them, then I would not do this. It is exactly as you said.......presumptuous. If you run into them by accident (or plan to run into them "by accident"), then maybe.......if you can do it in a subtle manner.

And YES I believe in meritocracy. Isn't that what got the US far ahead? People get rewarded for their work. What a concept.

Someone mentioned here that, its just tough luck.........and live with it. I don't think so, because policy can make changes. The goals of government is not to put in loopholes, but to provide solid policy that benefits its people, not harms them. I am against AA because of its policy problems, where socioeconomic status is trumped by race. Skin color should never be an issue, and it is sad that to this day we will focus on color. How does anyone expect to get past this when we keep bringing it up as even relevant, and have idiotic policies that support such color-based approaches to "help" people. How about we just focus on poor socioeconomic areas and get them up to speed, early on in their life. Head Start seems to suck, but it is a goods start. I think low socioeconomic status is what keeps people down, not race. Someone needs to blind our politicians to our color and have them focus on specifics about how to improve the livelihood and educational opportunities of poorer America -- whether it is Asian, Black, White, Pink, Blue or Polka Dot.

As mentioned earlier, I am also a minority. But why am I not given the same chances as other minorities (e.g. African American, Hispanic, Native Americans)? I am subject to the same expectations at best with others who are NOT considered minorities. Culturally, (not based on race) Asians are expected to be good at education. So because Asians expected to work hard, we should not be given minority status? That is hard to make sense of. Finally, when is the time that we say there is no more need for equal opportunity? Who decides that? I think the emphasis to equalize inequalities should (as mentioned earlier by somone) be at a younger age. There are also many people who may be Caucasian and have worked their butt off to get to graduate school. So we do not value that? There are Caucasians who have the same socioeconomic problems as do the affirmative action minorities, but we seem to over look that. Ultimately the policy has major holes and needs to be corrected. I do not see how someone's skin color or background should trump someone who has worked hard to achieve what they have.

Did you apply for the DSc degree at Harvard?

I've only done a phone interview, but I am sure you will hear soon. I was so tired of the app process, and now the waiting. If you are interested in specific programs, and the cost is not high for you, then it may not hurt to add more apps..........that is if the process hasn't made you frustrated.

Lets add you to our small club!

I was actually asked this question directly in my interview. I said I have applied to other schools, but I picked one thing that this school was the best at and then let them know that is why I would come to their school.

I am myself a minority, but not a "minority" in quota-driven schools. I am Asian, but this does not help me in anyway.........in many places there are "too many of us". My view is to let students enter purely based on merit, not based on some skin color or ethnicity (unless a private scholarship or fellowship expects this). I live the life of a minority, but I do not want any special treatment. I just don't want to be kicked out because there are quotas against having too many Asians. Compare me fairly with everyone else and if I pass the bar, then let me in! Regarding GREs, I as a minority, do not agree that they are so ethnically biased that a person's score will be affected significantly. I was not born in the US, but came here to study and grew up here. Having taken these sorts of tests from a young age, and being different culturally and racially.........I am not sure they are that ethnically biased that scores are going to be off in any significant manner. Sure, there may be things that would be affected by how one grows up, but hard work can overcome a lot. Granted you can simply dump my point saying that it is an anecdote and not any real evidence. How much can ethnicity play a role when there are countless examples of students who work their butt off raise their scores 100-200 points or even more than that? Furthermore, how do you argue when foreign candidates do extremely well simply by taking GRE prep courses and memorize words? I myself memorized words - words that I may not have ever seen or ever use.

Some people here are saying that it does not matter at the grad level in terms of admissions, but I think affirmative action is still in place. Why would grad school admissions be any different than undergrad or applying for a fellowship or even a job? It's the law in the US, and it does matter. But this does bring a lot of heated debate. I am also not providing an opinion of whether I agree or disagree, but it does matter.......

stayin far away from this one!

Lemme give you guys an example. The New England Journal of Medicine is arguably the most well-known medical journal in the world, and it has acceptance rates of papers into the low single digits in terms of percentages. However, the editorial board is made up of several Ivy school people! And I am sure that not every Ivy-sourced paper is published, but it seems these guys know each other. Also, I have read many papers in there that are not at all impressive in terms of moving the field forward, but were done by professors who are known. I am sure the known profs know how to write for these journals, but the fundamental points were not that impressive actually. Had I written an opinion piece and submitted it, it probably would have been dumped. however, stick one of the known prof names on it.......it magically seems to float on clouds and get published into such journals. some of my previous faculty were very blunt and told me that get some names that are known and you can then establish a name for yourself.

You know, from what I have seen with research, it seems the department name matters a lot. By this I mean, getting into the top journals, having people work with you, etc. No matter how good a person is, it is a lot easier to that from a brand name department/school. In my field anyway, even if you have a great idea for research, who you associate with will get it into top journals. There seems to be a "network" of respected professors, and once they put their name on an even "average" paper, it will go into the top top journals. I am in a field that is "hot" right now, and I have my own ideas. But I think that will not matter until these journals are introduced to me by well-known professors who have published in those journals. This is why I am leaning towards trying to get into a "brand name" school so that i can get some publications in some top journals, even if the financial aid is not that great. I hope they provide, but having thought about it, it seems the brand name can affect my research career. It can put me on fast track. But I want to know others' opinions. any thoughts?

I'm applying for a PhD, but in health policy. I guess you are doing public policy?

Mine are pretty much all in Feb. Good luck to everyone! we all just need one......

I think connecting with them is ok if it is done without being pushy. We should really understand that they are in a tough position, and may not be able to do anything. Furthermore, we can never be sure how they think about our work etc. So having said that, I think it is fine to connect but it depends on how strong your relationship is with that person. If it is pretty superficial (meeting a couple of times), then I would be more careful and likely not get in touch. If you are in a working relationship, then I don't see anything wrong about connecting.

I think all interviewer opinions will be taken into account, but only the adcomm member will be the one with the vote. So yes, that person is likely more influential in making a decision. As far as I know, the committee has to agree on who to offer the admissions to, and the rest of the people only have input into that committee.

You may want to contact your dept. to discuss this issue and send them an unofficial score in the meantime.

You know, i don't know anyone on this forum who applied there. Where else besides Berkley did you apply?

This is exactly what I have seen even though no one openly states work experience, or masters required. I think with the economy doing badly, we have a lot of people with more degrees and more work experience applying to PhD programs. The programs I think like this because they can contribute their experience to the program and also may be more focused. Whatever it is, I'm seeing the same trend at the programs I applied to.

I have to agree with this because it's an unfair question from the outset. They know we need to spread our eggs around, and don't have any idea of where we are going. So to put us in a position like that is completely unfair. I am not sure what I will do, but I have a feeling that I will be asked this question in my interview......need to figure out what I will say, but this thread is helpful in that process.