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ianmleavitt

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Everything posted by ianmleavitt

  1. ianmleavitt
    Had two interviews via Skype last Thursday and Friday. I'm expecting they'll send out acceptances/rejections some time during the week of the 18th-24th. Perhaps sooner though!
  2. ianmleavitt
    Always fun to get it over with, that's for sure! How many people were on the other side of the screen? I'm interviewing for their PhD program on Monday and wondering how many faces to expect...
  3. ianmleavitt
    It was my first one with Harvard this afternoon. Apparently, my microphone would just stop transmitting. Had to play the "hang up and call back" game a few times!
  4. ianmleavitt
    Here's to technology issues during Skype interviews! Thankfully we worked it out, but never a fun moment (or two, in my case).
  5. ianmleavitt
    Skype interview request just came through for the Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health program at George Washington University. 3 interviews over 5 days should prove fun! Now just waiting to hear anything at all from UNC's Health Behavior program...
  6. ianmleavitt
    One is with a POI I identified in my SOP. The other has research interests that are moderately in line with my own, but is not somebody I had previously identified. Glad I'm not the only one!
  7. ianmleavitt
    Just got an email from Harvard's PHS program asking me to do a second Skype interview with a different individual the day after my first interview next week. The way I'm looking at it, it's double the opportunity to impress and find out more in-depth details about the program and individual research interests. Has anyone else who applied to Harvard's PHS program had a similar request?
  8. ianmleavitt
    @jjyyg Not who you quoted, but my interview is with my POI that I mentioned in my statement of purpose. For what it's worth, I both emailed and spoke with him over the phone before submitting my application to ensure he would have funding and that I felt the match would be good. Had you spoken to any of your POIs prior to applying? Does the interviewer have any research interests that match up with you at all? Perhaps they are part of the AdComm...
  9. ianmleavitt
    Are you looking at an MPH, PhD, or DrPH? There are some programs that are MPH to PhD programs, more specifically designed for people who haven't completed much employment or coursework in public health previously. That may be your best bet. Having an MA in an unrelated field doesn't reflect poorly, whatsoever...if anything, I would say it is a benefit. You've shown that you are strongly capable of graduate level work (given your GPA and GRE scores), which any admissions committee surely wouldn't be upset about.
  10. ianmleavitt
    Just received the invitation myself for a Skype interview over the next two weeks for Harvard's PHS program, concentrated in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Already had a half hour phone discussion back in November with my POI, so looking to expand on that more! Good luck to you!
  11. ianmleavitt
    Congrats! I'm still waiting to hear back from that program at UNC. As for the interview: Sell yourself! Why are you a good match for the program, and why is the program a good match for you? Why do you want to do a PhD? I put a few links below that may help as well... https://www.reddit.com/r/gradadmissions/comments/4binyr/list_of_questions_i_created_for_my_visits/?st=jc6ol952&sh=4a366feb https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/99845-interview-prep/?tab=comments#comment-1058533641 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vP09ltqHSCJNgqcB0NmIGRsW1LjkM_6W_uVehDYeuBk/edit I would think that the strong majority of programs do interviews of some type, whether it be in person or over the phone/Skype. After all, you can only get so much of a feel for a student from what they wrote down and submitted. Perhaps lesser caliber programs don't do interviews as often, but I'd think even then you might find a 50-50 split.
  12. ianmleavitt
    Double post, but just received an email that I've been invited for an on-campus visit at WashU for their Public Health Sciences program! Now that's how you start a weekend!
  13. ianmleavitt
    Oh goodness, I didn't even record the video; I did the text entry option. I found it a little bit ridiculous they even wanted a video (and also don't have a laptop with a camera). Perhaps why they didn't move on with me...
  14. ianmleavitt
    Got my first rejection! Emory just emailed it out for the Behavioral Sciences and Health Education program.
  15. ianmleavitt
    To your first point, I wouldn't say so. Don't go overthinking the process; Historically (from last year's data), Epidemiology programs don't start sending PhD interview notifications until the tail end of this week, at the very earliest. Sure, there are two Epidemiology interview postings in the Results section already this year, but those are the outliers to the norm. Adcomms have changed over time, seemingly. No longer do they have to meet with stacks of papers to go over each student (though, some still may). As most everything seems to be submitted electronically, packets can be reviewed at each committee member's own pace (should they not meet together for each review process). I've heard of some adcomms that let individual reviewers make decisions, while others still centralize everything. While the following link is regarding MS programs, the author states that much could be extrapolated to the PhD process as well: https://www-cs.stanford.edu/~rkarthik/DAGAP.pdf Also, there was a book published within the past few years titled Inside Graduate Admissions: Merit, Diversity and Faculty Gatekeeping...if you really want to dive down the rabbit hole. Remember a few things: For programs that you applied to with a December 1st deadline, schools need to let you know before April 15th if you've been accepted (at least, I believe this holds true). That's more than 3 months away! Historical data can only predict so much, so sit back, relax, and breathe. For the time being, everything is out of your hands. Also, not everyone who hears from programs posts on the forums/results/visits this website. So, there may be three or four people who have heard from the Harvard Epidemiology program rather than the one individual currently listed, but we'll never know. You'll drive yourself crazy if you try to keep tabs on every single person passing through the gates, so to speak.
  16. ianmleavitt
    You can search past results here: https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/ There's a search bar at the top where you can type in both your school and program to find more information on past years.
  17. ianmleavitt
    Looks like, based off of results from past years, you'll hear back (potentially) about interviews from UNC in late January/early February, Brown in mid/late January, and Tulane in late January. I'm paying attention to a slightly different track (health behavior) from UNC, but I'm not expecting anything until late January. They're just getting back from winter break, so their adcomms are starting their sorting process (I would assume).
  18. ianmleavitt
    Not sure how it is for Epi, but I know for Health Behavior that it's possible candidates may be asked to do a Skype interview.
  19. ianmleavitt
    I would just try to stay on top of current research being published in the field that you are interested, and perhaps take a free online class or two to brush up on topics you may be rusty on. Beyond that, there isn't much you can do aside from what you've already mentioned.
  20. ianmleavitt
    Congratulations on that! I had thought about applying to both European and Canadian programs as well, but ultimately decided that I have a significant number of reasons to stay here in the States. Just hit the last submit button on my applications this morning. Now, we wait.
  21. ianmleavitt
    I personally am cautious to this approach, as one of the most important things when you're deciding on your program is faculty match for your future research. I wouldn't want to feel as if I'm applying just "with the hope that someone will accept me." Do you feel as if you have gotten good feedback from the programs/potential mentors that you have contacted? I suppose another way to state it is, are there any programs to which you are applying that if you were rejected, you would say "oh well, there wasn't really a good faculty match there?" If so, I wouldn't even bother applying...wasted time/effort/money to do that to yourself!
  22. ianmleavitt
    I broke my research topics down into their five distinct categories, which all relate to one another in some semblance. For each topic, I'm providing 3-4 sentences on why it is important, what direction I'd like to go with the research, and/or what background I already have in the area and how I'd like that to grow further. I then finish it all off with a research narrative (of sorts), demonstrating how the topics are all intertwined and important to one another.
  23. ianmleavitt
    Delayed response, given you posted back in July, but...I think it's going to be hit or miss depending on the caliber of the program and that of the other students applying. Obviously, having research experience gives a leg up because it shows someone is truly interested and that they are at least moderately capable of handling research work. You'll just need to justify within your statement of purpose why, without research experience, you are still a great match for their program and that they should want you. Focus on any experience even slightly relatable to research work, or pieces of past jobs that are similar to what you would be doing in your research. Also, you say you're in your second year of your MPH right now. Use this time to get some research experience...any at all. Maybe your mentor or one of your professors is working on some research right now? See if you can get involved, even minimally. Perhaps you'll be included on the groundwork side, or helping with writing an abstract.
  24. ianmleavitt
    Have two phone calls scheduled for further talks myself after some soft reminders, so I'm in agreement with you1 As for funding, I'm not 100% familiar with all of the programs that you're applying to, but I feel as if most would guarantee funding for at least the first two years, if not all four. After all, any program worth its weight won't burden you down with loans or leave you hanging in the breeze. Probably the best way to look at programs (which I've seen elsewhere on these boards) is which of the programs will fully fund you and is the best fit? That's your top choice. I'm impressed you've already gotten your applications in! I'm still slogging through mine.
  25. ianmleavitt
    Typically, most programs will stipulate if you need to reach out beforehand or not. Even if they don't require it, most will still recommend you do so. After all, you don't want to end up at a program where you don't have a good mentor match. I've gotten a few responses so far, still waiting on some. If you don't hear back, it's okay to send a small note off about 2-3 weeks later. Professors are often busy and miss/forget about some emails.
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