edge2125

Thanks for your reply. I received an e-mail from the OSFS a few days after the acceptance e-mail as well. However, they weren't able to offer me any aid (I'd be an international student and am therefore ineligible for the various loans administered by the OSFS). According to the academic coordinator, that e-mail is preliminary: decisions are still being made, by both the department and OSFS, regarding various other awards, so there may still be some hope. Like you, I'm not optimistic, but there's nothing much to do but wait and see. I don’t think that it’s worth enrolling without funding, but I’m holding off on a final decision until I’ve visited and got all the relevant information. The School of Public Health in Toronto seems well-regarded locally and nationally. Many of the faculty come from the various research hospitals and centres in the Toronto area, and many graduates find research jobs in these same institutions. I'm not sure of its reputation internationally, but I'm pretty sure it's not in the same league as the better known American schools. I think the Epi department is considered to be pretty solid though. Complaints I've heard specific to Epi courses relate to lack of electives and a lack of rigour in some areas (e.g. biostats). I didn’t actually take any Epi courses at the school, so I can’t vouch for this. On the plus side, they do appear to offer full-funding + stipend for all doctoral students. The amount is relatively meagre, once you subtract tuition, but it's better than nothing, and international students do get a little bit more. There's a report of a survey of students regarding their experience at the school at http://www.sph.utoronto.ca/phssa/, which you might find useful, although it is a couple of years old. Regarding Ph.D decisions, I think they're generally expected starting mid to late March, so you may not have too much longer to wait! Good luck.

I don't really know, to be honest. I think, obviously, it is better to have heard something than to have not heard at all, but if they're still sending out both acceptances and rejections, then there's still hope, isn't there? Some decisions might just take longer than others, for any number of reasons. Good luck - I hope things work out for you. Hey laeldo, Congrats on your acceptance. If you don't mind me asking, did you actually get a financial offer/scholarship from the department or from the Financial Services Office? I haven't received any news on funding yet. I'm attempting to stay optimistic though, given that decisions are apparently still being made. However, my interests are in the area of substance use and psychiatric epi, which I fear might also be relatively impoverished areas at HSPH. And despite the allure of Harvard, I'm not sure I'll accept the offer, unless the funding is at least decent. I applied to University of Toronto as well - I have some knowledge of the school, so if you have any questions about them, I may be able to help. Good luck with your other schools!

It might take a while; I think decisions are sent out in batches, but I might be wrong. Perhaps you can e-mail the schools you applied to if you're getting anxious. I was accepted at both Hopkins and Berkeley. It was Michigan that I was referring to with the end of February thing. Congrats! I was accepted as well over the weekend. I was wondering about this as well - according to the academic coordinator, funding details will be provided over the next few weeks.

I'm applying for doctoral Epidemiology programs starting in Fall 2010 as well. I've heard from Hopkins and Berkeley, but not from Harvard or Michigan. Seems like not many have heard from Harvard (on this board at least). Anyone have any news from Michigan? According to an e-mail I had from them last month, they hoped to send out their initial offers by the end of February.