gnarls_barkley

Generally speaking, going into a completely unfunded PhD is a very, very bad idea.

I would just thank them and say you're very interested, but would like some time to think about it. They're not naive, and know you've probably applied elsewhere. In the meantime, you could call the other programs and ask for a timeline of when they expect to release decisions.

Your application won't be fully complete until it changes to 'Verified.' That will happen after SOPHAS verifies your transcripts - probably a couple weeks.

I agree with this above post. You could mention to your top choice that you're still interested, despite the wait list, but don't mention other offers. You could also ask for a general timeline of when you may find out a final decision. If it's going to be awhile (beyond April 15), you may risk losing any funding offers you have from the other schools.

They probably have a certain number of seats they are looking to fill each year. If admitted students are accepting their offers, the school may send out more rejections, based on some sort of ranking/order. If students are declining/not deciding on their admission offers, they may hold onto applications before sending out rejections. Think of it as an informal wait list.

That's insane. I would have to question a program that is so far out of the normal admissions timeline.

I applied for the social epidemiology track and am interested in nutritional factors associated with cancer. I know the application deadline was just on 2/15. It may take them a bit assess the applicant pool, so hopefully we should hear final decisions in the next couple weeks. Good luck!

I'm still waiting on Minnesota Epi, after receiving that same message several weeks ago. Not sure if that's a good or bad sign at this point...

It does make sense, to an extent. The top tier schools know they are not going to have any issues attracting quality students. They may be less likely to offer upfront funding, as students may be more willing to take the funding 'leap' I mentioned. This is opposed to lower ranked schools, which may try to lure top admitted students with RA/fellowship positions.

That's really surprising. I figured a school with UW's 'prestige' would be able to offer some sort of funding. It seems like students are required to take somewhat of a leap of faith, and assume they will get taken on as an RA by someone.

Hi all, Looking for a bit of feedback on a couple offers I've received from PhD programs in a health science-related field. One offer will provide full support (NIH training grant) for my duration and some additional mentoring/training. The other is from a more 'prestigious' program, but only for a 1 year RA position with subsequent years *usually* getting funded. The program in question is still very solid, but not quite at the level of the other (think top ~20 vs top ~10, in terms of US News, NIH funding, etc). My question: aside from the obvious benefits of a higher stipend and more research freedom, are there non-financial benefits to fellowships in academia? In particular, would it carry additional weight when looking for post-doc positions, faculty positions etc? Basically trying to figure out if the trade-off of a lower ranked school with a fellowship is worth passing over a higher ranked school, with so-so support.

Hi all, Looking for a bit of feedback on a couple offers I've received from SPH PhD programs. One offer will provide full support (NIH training grant) for my duration. The other is from a more 'prestigious' program, but only for a 1 year RA position with subsequent years *usually* getting funded. The program in question is still very solid, but not quite at the level of the other (think top ~20 vs top ~10, in terms of US News, NIH funding, etc). My question: aside from the obvious benefits of a higher stipend and more research freedom, are there non-financial benefits to fellowships in academia? In particular, for post-doc positions, faculty positions, etc. Basically trying to figure out if the trade-off of a lower ranked school with a fellowship is worth passing over a higher ranked school, with so-so support.

Ha, I was hoping to hear something Friday, but don't want to be that overeager person emailing admissions right away.

Has anyone heard from Minnesota Epi PhD?

I would guess half? Maybe even closer to 2/3. Got a rejection from Pitt today. I think things will start picking up the next couple weeks.

Sounds like a pretty shady move to bypass the traditional April 15 deadline. I'm also somewhat worried about the funding situation. I've gotten enough advice from faculty about funding that I will likely decline any acceptances that don't offer a reasonable package. Not worth the time investment, given the competitive market for new PhD grads.

Awesome job with the chart, it's really helpful! If you don't mind me asking - why did you turn down your acceptances last year?

I think we'll start seeing more news toward the end of the month. I applied for the Minnesota priority deadline (12/1) and got an email shortly after, stating they hope to have decisions by the end of January. Although that may vary, based on how quickly they can find a faculty match. From this thread:

Haven't seen an official thread for the Fall 2015 Epidemiology PhD cycle, so here we go. Where's everyone applying? I've seen a few results start to trickle in on the results page. I've applied to Minnesota, Maryland, Texas, UIC, and Pitt. Heard back from Minnesota last week, regarding the first round - application made it through admissions committee, but acceptance is dependent on finding a faculty match. Last year's thread here: Some of the discussion on funding (or lack thereof) makes me a bit nervous.