Jump to content

Epi_2016

Members
  • Posts

    10
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Application Season
    2016 Fall
  • Program
    Epi

Recent Profile Visitors

1,239 profile views

Epi_2016's Achievements

Decaf

Decaf (2/10)

2

Reputation

  1. I mostly meant during the school year (thus the time commitment issue) at the university or in collaboration with other universities/institutions. Summer is a whole different ballgame, but there should be plenty of opportunities then as well. (And all the free time in the world to take advantage of them!)
  2. My only suggestion is that unless the early course load at UW is lighter than ours, 20 hours per week ends up being a lot (if it's a strict requirement). My program only allows our RAs to require 15 hours per week until core coursework is done; however, one person in my program had a funding mishap and got a late RA with an outside funding source that demanded a strict 20 hr minimum per week. They ended up incredibly stressed out and unable to take on the opportunities for outside research that many of the rest of us could. Ultimately, I think the fact that it's not guaranteed and it requires you to have a strict hour minimum is going to make your first year more stressful than it could be. (Then again, I think my school takes a really fantastic interest in the mental and physical health of its grad students in a way that most don't, so 20+ hours could be standard elsewhere.) With regard to transparency in funding, a lot of the money that goes towards funding RA positions is independent of the program. I didn't know if my advisor would receive the grant I'm funded under until the July before my first semester. That does make things pretty difficult, but there should be resources at your schools to help you find a position. For example, we have a portal that matches up students with professors based on experience and interests that you can access as soon as you accept your offer. I don't think most people needed to do mass emailing unless they waited until the last minute (or unless their funding fell through abruptly). Maybe UW has something similar?
  3. It's spring break, so that might affect their availability.
  4. It does feel slightly strange to list people that you've never met, but I had spent so much time reading the pubs of the faculty members I identified as aligning with my research interests that I found we had a lot to discuss when I did meet them for interviews. Showing interest in your application for the research of specific faculty seems like a pretty reasonable way to express why you chose to apply to that school and that program. @themmases I can't tell if you're suggesting not to identify faculty members of interest for the UNC application or not, but I had the completely opposite experience. One of the faculty members that I identified in my personal statement reached out to me for an interview and was a wonderful advocate and resource during the application process (and is now my adviser). I think she's a large part of both why I was extended an offer and why I accepted it. My interests didn't align with many faculty members, but it only takes one. (Sorry if I misunderstood your sentiment!) This is really the best advice. Different programs operate differently, and while many faculty may not want to be bothered by the hundreds of potential applicants, some applications may require that you contact POIs. Another consideration is that a PI taking students may be dependent on whether grants come through, and they may not know that during the application process.
  5. If you want to use a Mac for mol epi, you'll have to either use a virtual machine program (more convenient, but I don't know what your comfort level or proficiency is with computers) or dual boot Windows to be able to use SAS, which will be absolutely necessary. I agree with a numeric keypad making things a lot easier, but I've gotten by with using something like this keypad. It's a not terribly bulky or inconvenient fix. So basically, a higher-end mac is totally doable if that's the brand you prefer, but you will have to make adjustments.
  6. This is exactly what I did. I made an excel sheet with a 8 or so factors that I found important (finances/funding, location, prestige, etc.) and assigned each factor a multiplier, then gave each an score based on how I felt they all matched up (the best school getting a 10, and the rest graded lower relative to the top choice), and then let excel total the weighted scores up for me. In my case, the two schools that I was leaning towards ended up being almost tied and I feel like there is some standard deviation in arbitrarily assigning values, so the totals themselves didn't clinch it. But since I was a little disappointed at seeing which one had technically won (by one point), I realized which program I wanted. Soooo...ultimately it kinda worked? Alternatively, just choose one factor that is the MOST important to you. I think geography or finances matter the most, but I guess it's different for everyone.
  7. Congrats! Are you out-of-state? From what I've learned in the past few weeks, that usually actually makes funding easier! I'm local, so barring some major disaster, I'll be attending. (One important funding note -- today is the last day to submit training grants, so if you were accepted to the CV, environmental, infectious disease, occupational, pharmacoepi, or reproductive tracks, you probably want to apply for training grants today. If you were accepted to the cancer or genetic tracks, you have my empathy.)
  8. It looks like most people who replied in the results section from previous years got emails about their rejections. I don't know if everyone else had similar experiences, but a member of the faculty did email me to have a sort of quasi-interview over the phone (which ended up being in-person because I'm local) a few weeks before I received my acceptance. That might have been pretty specific to my circumstances, though. No news can definitely be good news, but it doesn't hurt to call or email the coordinator and do a friendly check in. Good luck to you!
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use