Epidemiology19

I agree. Assuming that's ~$7500 per year, I know there are several schools that are in the low- to mid-thirties, with full tuition coverage and health insurance included. Hopefully we get a better idea of the funding soon to make a decision!

I’m eagerly awaiting funding info from UNC (epi) as well. Their funding seems to be lower than other schools and is a bit concerning to me. Anyone else feel this way?

I heard directly from my department as well. It sounds like they’re gradually churning them out, so there’s definitely still a lot of hope!

Congrats! Guess we’ll find out more soon. See you there as well!

Do folks remember if there’s a an accepted students day for Yale and what it entails? I thought I remembered them mentioning this being on 3/25. Trying to figure out my schedule for next month and when I can realistically make an informed decision.

I've been checking all day too! Guess it will be next week then. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Did you end up hearing back from Yale? I was hoping that they would send out the decisions today (I guess there's still some time)

I wasn't the person who posted, but I'm in epi and received an email directly from the school of public health. It was not a generic email, so maybe they're just gradually sending them out. Best of luck!

It may differ by department? I was admitted into epi and did not have an interview. However, I did visit the school myself and speak with faculty before applying

This is amazing! Thanks for sharing! I think the only other item that I have in my mental list is data availability. I’m particularly interested in using administrative datasets, so their availability through mentors is something I always keep an eye out for.

I definitely feel that way sometimes too! Just remember that there were probably hundreds of applicants and they chose you! Maybe it’s a matter of how to frame the email? For example- see if they can connect you with students so that they can share transition to a new city, current research projects, volunteer opportunities within the school, etc? And then of course mix in the hard-hitting questions once you get in touch with the students and feel them out

I have a lot of respect for international applicants. It must be difficult, but hopefully worth it in the end! Have you tried asking faculty to connect you with any of their current students? Faculty who I’ve asked have been really willing to share contact info of students so that they can talk about their experiences, and I’ve found their input to be insightful. I’ve actually crossed a school off my list because of the (extremely) honest feedback from a POI’s 2 current students. I find this to be an interesting topic. Aside from ranking & funding, what are some of the “softer” factors that others are considering? I’ve been keeping these types of things in mind: responsiveness of potential mentors, track record of their mentees, size of the cohort (and collaboration vs competition), encouragement for grant writing, location of the school, etc.

Couldn’t agree more. The methodology is a bit vague and seems very subjective. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/health-schools-methodology

I’d be curious to hear what other people think, but my personal opinion is that it doesn’t mean much on an individual level. Part of the reason is that we apply to specific departments within schools, and there isn’t a ranking for that. Additionally, as we all know, it’s very much about research fit for PhD programs. However, with that said, I think it can give a broad overall sense of how the program is perceived to others, and probably the types of resources that the school has In my case, I will likely turn down a highly ranked program (according to USN&WR) for a lower ranked one because of research and faculty fit.

What program are you asking about? If epi, I haven't heard back yet after interview day. Some of the current students said that they didn't hear back until early March during their application cycle.

I believe Yale said approx 2 weeks. Hang in there!

How are you planning on preparing for the faculty interviews? At other schools, it was pretty apparent that I was paired with faculty who have similar research interests. But at Yale, it seems like there’s a much broader range of faculty who I’m scheduled to speak with. Possibly individuals who are on the admissions committee?

Yea I wasn't expecting there to be that many faculty meetings! It's pretty impressive that they're doing so many individual meetings with prospective students though

Their PhD interview day (at least for chronic disease epi) is Feb 11th.

Congrats!!

It was a period of radio silence for me as well. My understanding is that they admit people by POI/research group, so I wouldn't stress about the different timelines of individuals' decisions. Best of luck!

Anyone receive funding info from UNC (epi)? I received my acceptance letter from the graduate school, and it said that funding info would be coming directly from the school

I second this. I sent thank you emails to professors and coordinators. I had a few situations where I was set up with specific students, so I sent emails to them as well. I figured it really couldn’t hurt and shows appreciation for the time that they spent talking with me. I received responses most-ish of the time after my email (acknowledging that they’ll look out for my application, think I’ll be a good fit, connecting me with other faculty, etc).

Anyone have insight (size, meetings, general mood, etc) on interview/visit days for Michigan and Emory? Especially Emory, since the schedule was more vague.

Thanks for the insight! I noticed the same thing about the timeline last year. Guess mid-January isn’t that far off at this point. Good luck to you!