bcheese

Hi nertperson: I guess I didn't word it right. What I meant was, if I don't get into a good program/institution in the US, then it'd be better for me to stay in Canada. Thanks for the advice nertperson and LeNea! I'll be needing these 8 months left to beef up my CV. Hopefully I can get a couple of publications--at least submitted/in press--by the time the application deadlines come around. I'm just wondering if there are any other things I should do to to better prepare myself in these 8 months? Specifically whether or not I should get in touch with faculty members at schools I'm very interested in working with? Thanks very much!

Hi everyone, I am currently in the 1st year of MSc Epidemiology at a good, but not top-tier, research intensive Canadian university. I am very interested in pursuing my PhD in the United States. My current stats: -Undergraduate cumulative GPA: 3.68 (GPA of last two years: 3.96) -BSc degree in the biological sciences, but no thesis option (unfortunate) -One summer of NSERC funded undergraduate research -Current Master's funded by NSERC CGS -In addition to thesis work, I did four months of research on the side for current supervisor -No publications/abstracts/posters at the moment -Will take GRE general test in the summer At this point, it's pretty much "go big or go home" and the schools I will be applying to will be the top-tier ones, otherwise I'm going to stay in Canada. However, will I be competitive enough for, say, the Harvard HILS program (BBS or Public Health) and related fields at Stanford, Yale or WashU? As an extension to that question, will having external funding from Canada (e.g. NSERC doctoral award) and/or building a good rapport with a faculty that I want to study under at the school I'm applying to help increase my chances? Thank you for your advice and help! It is much appreciated. =]