PhMe

You're not crazy! I applied to 13 schools last year as I really wanted to get in somewhere. I got accepted by 8 schools, and received funding commitments for the first year from 3 schools, and full funding from only 1 school, which I ended up attending. Never a bad idea to diversify your options!

You're not crazy! I applied to 13 schools last year as I really wanted to get in somewhere. I got accepted by 8 schools, and received funding commitments for the first year from 3 schools, and full funding from only 1 school, which I ended up attending. Never a bad idea to diversify your options!

My two cents:
The difference between a "top" and "OK" program can be a bit messy. US News rankings, based on a limited sample of academics' opinions about other programs will only get you so far. The amount of research output and citations also comes with its limitations. I don't know if there are rankings based on student perceptions for public health grad programs, but even those data would come with a certain degree of self-selection. My point is, for doctoral training, the totem pole is not so well defined, and who is to say that the ok program will not provide as good or better training than the top program. 
My approach is to see if the faculty are engaged in research that I like; if it seems well aligned with my interests. Then to see if there seems to be a good fit with a potential mentor at the school. Can u see yourself doing good work here? 
What are the red flags, and are they deal breakers? 
Finally, what is your level of acceptable risk with regard to funding? For me, I have a very low risk tolerance as I am an international student from a developing country who will be taking a dependant with me. I can't afford to move across the world on the hope of securing funding year to year, so full funding is my choice. Your level of acceptable risk could be different which should also be considered.
Good luck!

My two cents:
The difference between a "top" and "OK" program can be a bit messy. US News rankings, based on a limited sample of academics' opinions about other programs will only get you so far. The amount of research output and citations also comes with its limitations. I don't know if there are rankings based on student perceptions for public health grad programs, but even those data would come with a certain degree of self-selection. My point is, for doctoral training, the totem pole is not so well defined, and who is to say that the ok program will not provide as good or better training than the top program. 
My approach is to see if the faculty are engaged in research that I like; if it seems well aligned with my interests. Then to see if there seems to be a good fit with a potential mentor at the school. Can u see yourself doing good work here? 
What are the red flags, and are they deal breakers? 
Finally, what is your level of acceptable risk with regard to funding? For me, I have a very low risk tolerance as I am an international student from a developing country who will be taking a dependant with me. I can't afford to move across the world on the hope of securing funding year to year, so full funding is my choice. Your level of acceptable risk could be different which should also be considered.
Good luck!

My two cents:
The difference between a "top" and "OK" program can be a bit messy. US News rankings, based on a limited sample of academics' opinions about other programs will only get you so far. The amount of research output and citations also comes with its limitations. I don't know if there are rankings based on student perceptions for public health grad programs, but even those data would come with a certain degree of self-selection. My point is, for doctoral training, the totem pole is not so well defined, and who is to say that the ok program will not provide as good or better training than the top program. 
My approach is to see if the faculty are engaged in research that I like; if it seems well aligned with my interests. Then to see if there seems to be a good fit with a potential mentor at the school. Can u see yourself doing good work here? 
What are the red flags, and are they deal breakers? 
Finally, what is your level of acceptable risk with regard to funding? For me, I have a very low risk tolerance as I am an international student from a developing country who will be taking a dependant with me. I can't afford to move across the world on the hope of securing funding year to year, so full funding is my choice. Your level of acceptable risk could be different which should also be considered.
Good luck!

My two cents:
The difference between a "top" and "OK" program can be a bit messy. US News rankings, based on a limited sample of academics' opinions about other programs will only get you so far. The amount of research output and citations also comes with its limitations. I don't know if there are rankings based on student perceptions for public health grad programs, but even those data would come with a certain degree of self-selection. My point is, for doctoral training, the totem pole is not so well defined, and who is to say that the ok program will not provide as good or better training than the top program. 
My approach is to see if the faculty are engaged in research that I like; if it seems well aligned with my interests. Then to see if there seems to be a good fit with a potential mentor at the school. Can u see yourself doing good work here? 
What are the red flags, and are they deal breakers? 
Finally, what is your level of acceptable risk with regard to funding? For me, I have a very low risk tolerance as I am an international student from a developing country who will be taking a dependant with me. I can't afford to move across the world on the hope of securing funding year to year, so full funding is my choice. Your level of acceptable risk could be different which should also be considered.
Good luck!

Yup, I made a decision. I got accepted to 5 programs, and chose GWU based on faculty research fit and the fact that they provided full funding. Paid the deposit, created the email address, etc. It feels like a huge relief, after so much waiting and deliberation. Tulane was one I wish I hadn't applied to. I got in, but they offer absolutely NO funding, and I'm an international student which disqualifies me from any NIH grants. 

Don't be sorry; these are really important questions! From my own experience hunting for this information, there is no straight answer. Some federal funding mechanisms do not have a citizenship requirement, while others (like the T-32 grant) are restricted to US citizens and permanent residents. check out this page: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/who-is-eligible.htm
What I've found is that our best bet is to be funded through either scholarships or RA/TAships offered by the department or the institution. In some instances, the school will offer a tuition remission for in-state tuition, and if you are lucky, for out-of-state tuition, and then try to match you with a faculty member who has a grant which can cover you for a stipend and health insurance. There are also external scholarships/funding sources which a number of schools have links to. I have not had much success with these as they quite often have very specific eligibility requirements, but always something to look into to, whether you receive full funding or not in case you are eligible for them. I was told by a PI to look into getting funding from FHI360 and RTI (I didn't find it), while I've looked at the Agha Khan foundation 50% loan/50% grant program as well. If you find yourself eligible to apply for certain external funding opportunities, go for them!
Also, some university systems see us as cash cows, and getting funding there is difficult (as I have personally experienced): http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-uc-regents-tuition-20180315-story.html
All in all, I would say that maintaining communication with your POI and admissions coordinators are the key to knowing about what funding is available because they will likely be privileged with more insider information than we would.
Let me know your findings! good luck!

Yup, I made a decision. I got accepted to 5 programs, and chose GWU based on faculty research fit and the fact that they provided full funding. Paid the deposit, created the email address, etc. It feels like a huge relief, after so much waiting and deliberation. Tulane was one I wish I hadn't applied to. I got in, but they offer absolutely NO funding, and I'm an international student which disqualifies me from any NIH grants. 

Has anyone applied to the Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health at UCSD-SDSU? I've written to both admissions coordinators but have heard nothing. This program may also take longer since it involves two institutions. Anyone else apply to this and have any updates or thoughts?

The only program i’m waiting on now is Rutgers. 6/7 rejections so far. But surprisingly not crazily bummed. A good friend of mine in another field, applied to PhD programs 3 times. The last cycle she got an 8-year full funding package at an Ivy League! It was her dream program. So I like to think that things work out for a reason, and if you fail the first and even second time (like me) you try again, if this is something you really want!  

? in at Ha(r)va(r)d!?!!! Oh my...totally unexpected. This changes things...

I'm honestly in a strange daze right now. My official acceptance for Harvard's Population Health Sciences program came through a bit ago (Social and Behavioral Sciences concentration). I was not expecting this, at all.
Edit: Accidentally entered it under "Clinical And Population Health Research" on the Results page because there's a strange autocorrect system...

Can we agree to stop having people post questions on the results? 
It's rather annoying to check results and see "other" for someone just airing their concerns.

I was hoping for more updates today...

@HIVEpiHopeful I sent out a barrage of emails to coordinators, and from UNC Epi received: "Thank you for reaching out.  Some of the program areas conduct Skype or phone interviews with applicants, but not all do.   I can tell you that we are still in the midst of reviewing applications and making admission decisions.  We enter decisions as they are made, but many program areas wait to make some of their decisions until they have had a chance to review the entire pool of applicants.  We strive to all admissions decisions entered by March 1st and I foresee no reason why that would not be the case this year." [note that  I am applying for Chronic/CVD epi so infectious may be different]
 
Cheers to agonizing for many more days together!
 

GAH! HOW MUCH LONGER CAN THIS REALLY TAKE?! 

For those interested in JHU IH, I was accepted last week to the Nutrition track via email. Interviewed in early January with a professor in the Nutrition division and then mid January had a second interview with the head of the IH admissions committee. Last week, I received an email from my first interviewer informing me of my acceptance and that I should expect to receive an official letter with my financial package in 1 to 2 weeks. I am still waiting on the official letter, but my "mypath" portal status has changed to "accepted." Not sure if all the IH tracks have the same timeline (perhaps some tracks wait until a formal letter is ready). I hope this is helpful. Best of luck to everyone! 

Same here! got it this morning. Now, i feel stupid for spending so much time recording that video for the application!