publichealthhbadv

Ditto above... if you are applying to multiple institutions in the US, definitely complete the SOPHAS app. I don't think you will have a choice for most public health programs in the US.

Hi all, I applied last year and found this forum extremely useful, although I didn’t make many contributions to it. I vowed that if I got admission, I would give back this year. I thought I would share my thoughts and experience with the process in case it helps those of you currently applying or thinking about it. Last year, I applied to 8 programs (nearly all top ranked public health schools), interviewed with 4 schools, and was admitted by 2. One of my main takeaways from the process is that the most important factor in admission is narrative (although you might also note that I benefited by casting a wide net; you never know who will find your application appealing)! You must identify the common thread in your studies, work, research, and tie it all together into a story that demonstrates a logical transition/progression. If you are hoping to shift from what you did before to what you want to study going forward, the application and interview are not the time to make that known. Although plenty of people change paths during their PhD studies, schools are looking for people with direction, so if you provide evidence that you have too many interests or hope to shift focus, it will put you at a disadvantage (in my opinion). Programs will try to classify you based on topic of past research; embrace your category (for now)! Maybe this is obvious to you, but to me it wasn’t (at first). I wanted to pursue a PhD to develop my own area of expertise and research questions, which were not necessarily perfectly aligned with my work experience. So, I would recommend trying to show general area cohesion across all parts of the admission process: in your statement of purpose, in identifying faculty with whom you would be interested in working, and during your interview. I only contacted faculty at one school in advance of the application, and in my case, I think it hurt me for admission to that school, but helped me with admission to others. The faculty members who I spoke with gave me direction (including that I needed to show more focus with my interests), which I applied to other schools, but I think it hurt me for that school. Be careful in who you pick to talk with first (unless you feel highly confident that you have it all together)! Although I did not reach out to faculty at most of the programs, I did a significant amount of research to identify faculty at each school with whom I would be interested in working, and I included a paragraph in the statement for each school detailing who those people were and why. I typically identified three faculty members for each school (because I didn’t know who would have time/space for taking on another advisee, if my application/narrative would be appealing to that person, etc). The schools that I didn’t receive interviews from were also those that I did not feel a strong match with faculty or had trouble seamlessly tying them to my narrative, so I probably would have been better off to just recognize that and skip those programs. Be sure to follow up and follow up again if it is taking longer than anticipated for a decision. I sent thank you emails after each interview and was told I would hear back within X weeks. I only received admission to one program within the time frame they had specified at interview. The other three programs took far longer to release a decision after interview than they had specified. For two of the three, I did nothing and just waited. The third program that was taking longer, I emailed, let them know I was still very interested in their program and was waiting to hear from them before accepting another program. This offer turned into an acceptance. The other two that I did not email turned into rejections. I chose not to email them because after interview, I had already received admission to what I thought was my dream, perfect program. At that point, I wanted these two programs to reject me. I didn’t want to mislead them by inquiring about my status and feigning interest. I also didn’t want to insult the program by withdrawing my application after interview but before receiving their decision (I’m not sure if this would be taken as an insult, but it seemed wrong to me). I might have been rejected by these schools anyway, but to be on the safe side, if a school that you are very interested in is taking a long time to decide, I would recommend reaching out to let them know you remain highly interested. If their program is your top choice, you should let them know that. However, I would be cautious in wording because what you think is your top choice may change (and you also don’t want to seem desperate or pushy)! Ultimately, I decided to turn down my dream, perfect program in a top ranked public health school to go to a small, relatively new public health program at Washington University in St. Louis. This was the last program to which I applied because I didn’t even know it existed until in my paranoid state of wondering whether I had cast the net wide enough, I read through from A to Z the entire list of accredited public health programs to determine whether I should add more. Previously, I had explored programs based on rankings of schools of public health, and that is how I missed the program at WashU, which provides 100% full funding (tuition and stipend) and is housed in an awesome institution. You wouldn’t come across the program in the rankings because WashU doesn’t currently have a school of public health. Because the program is still growing, lots of resources are being devoted to its growth, making it an ideal time for you as a student to benefit. I completed my MPH at a top ranked public health school, which was awesome, but I also feel ecstatic over the rigor of WashU’s program and quality of research opportunities here. If you haven’t considered it, I highly recommend checking it out. Some logistics stuff… I didn’t submit my initial SOPHAS application until pretty late… 11/28/2016. So, if you’re rushing to get stuff together, it won’t necessarily hurt you. I was extremely careful in entering my courses, etc, to make sure there wouldn’t be delays with verification. I also filled in all the sections even if they weren’t required. I detailed every relevant experience with an explanation and what I learned from each one. I hope these notes help! I know the application process is so excruciating, but it will soon pay off! Good luck to you all!