ridgey
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Posts posted by ridgey
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I've deferred enrolment till next year, and will be reapplying to try to get into a better programme. I also plan to be wandering aimlessly around the world from February till when I start school. This could obviously be hampered by having to give my passport to the US consulate for an unknown length of time.
There is information on the web for each consular branch worldwide, saying X days for an appointment and Y days to process applications, but it also says to allow for admininstrative procedures, and for this there is no estimate of timing.
How long did it take you to get your visa, from your appointment to when you got your passport back? How did that compare with advertised times?
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I'm going to be reapplying to PhD programmes later this year, and one of the major changes I'm making from my previous applications is to talk about my ideas for doctoral research in some detail in my SoP.
I'm having second thoughts about this approach, though, because - don't laugh - I'm worried somebody who reads my application might be intrigued by my research ideas, but not my application as a whole, and decide to do the research him/herself. So not only will I be rejected, but I'll have been "scooped".
How much detail are you going into in your applications?
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-Working on language skills
-Redoing SOP and really putting work into it.
-Retaking GRE (old scores 720v,730q,6w) to get quant up.
-Applying to schools not in the top-10.
I don't know much about your field, but it seems to me that outside of engineering and the like, your GRE should be fine.
Of course, I'm going to be a re-applicant, so my insight may be completely off :wink:
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Hi everyone! I really could use some advice.
I graduated last Fall from UCSD with my B.S. in Human Biology . Upon graduation, I turned down a pretty big corporate job (and sadly a nice paycheck) as an analyst to pursue my interests in health research. I now volunteer part time as a research assistant for a professor and her PhD students in a study on health risk factors in obese populations (I have to waitress in my free time to make ends meet). Despite the lack of pay, the work is very interesting and I enjoy it.
Anyway, I plan to apply to graduate school next year and focus on health promotion & behavioral science. My question is- will graduate schools look down on the fact that I'm not work a single full time paid position? I learn a lot through as an assistant and it relates very well to what I'd like to do in the future. Plus, I can get some great recommendations from the professor and her students. But still, I'm worried that schools might be looking for more "professional" experience.
If I could get a full-time paid position in public health, I would. Sadly those entry level opportunities are fairly nonexistent for students who don't have higher degrees.
Feedback/suggestions would be HIGHLY appreciated!!
If I were on an admissions committee, I would be impressed that someone was willing to work in the field for free. It demonstrates commitment to the field, which is absolutely essential.
Keep your ears open inthe department you're working in, and make sure you make small talk with the people from other groups over morning tea and lunch. It's very likely that someone has some (paid) short-term work - data entry/cleaning, recruiting for a study, etc. Don't quit your main project to do it - it sounds like your genuinely involved and contributing which will be valuable for your apps - but it might be a nice break from waitressing and will give you more exposure to the field as a whole.
Good luck!
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It is a bit of a blow to my ego to have to be reapplying - asking for rec's again etc.
I know what was wrong with my SoP and my writing sample; my GREs and GPA were fine. So I'm feeling pretty confident - overly so, in fact. Last time I was very optimistic, but not so confident. A big part of it is knowing the process, and knowing that the world won't end if I don't get the results I'm after.
At this point, there is only one school that is getting a second round.
So what about you?
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Backpacking through South America, volunteering in Central America, job hunting in London, and back to the application process.
Stupid lack of stupid funding for stupid visa requirements at stupid schools...
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Yale's distribution is usually one per department. Chronic Disease Epi had two, though.
And do you also happen to know how the applicants are distributed?
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I think the conditions where you get the "two year" rule exist so that people who get their training paid for with the intention that it will benefit their country actually do repay that investment.
Another difference: $20 US SEVIS fee.
I figure that if F-1 is the default, and I don't have any particular reason for wanting the J, I'll probably go for the F.
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On the paperwork I received from the university, it seems they generally issue F-1 visas, but if I'd prefer I can tick a box and have a J-1instead. The only major difference I've found is that J dependents can work while F dependents can't, but that's not an issue for me.
Are there any other reasons to go for the J over the F?
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Scopus claims to have 100% medline (i.e. pubmed) coverage - surely they couldn't claim it if it weren't the case.
At a job I had a couple of years ago, whenever we did SRs, we generally searched medline, embase, and depending on the topic - psychmed. I couldn't tell you whether we searched both embase and medline purely for methodological rigour or they brought up (substanitally) different articles, because I just used OVID and de-duped.
It surprises me that you have to worry about this though - surely your library will have already chosen which databases you have access to through your institution?
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After not getting a respone from emailing the programme co-ordinator, I emailed an admin assistant. I got a reply back saying that she thought results would be sent out a few days later. She must not have been sure, because she forwarded my email to someone in admissions at Steinhardt. I got an email back with a PDF of my rejection letter attached that had supposedly been sent a MONTH previously. The letter finally turned up at my house, having gone from NY to New Zealand via Zurich, according to the postmark.
Classy.
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The PhD is something you should feel absolutely certain about doing. It's not like undergrad (or even a MPH) where you can just coast through a lot of it. The results are entirely dependent upon your input. This is a marathon of an endeavor. Be sure you're prepared for it.
Yeah, and I do feel ready for it. I had a few years between undergrad and my MPH. I absolutely know I want to do a PhD. Just a matter of whether this is my best option.
But congratualtions to all of us - applications are behind us, and we are fortunate that Public Health is actually the best academic discipline in existence!
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I've been reading up on Amherst and surrounds, and getting more and more excited. Possibly because it's my only admission, but I'd rather think it's because the area is so darn cool.
I'm not ready to burst my bubble with the mundanity of finding somewhere to live just yet. I'll be the one running around frantically the day before classes start, screaming "does anyone need a roommate?"
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Just out of curiosity: I'm wondering how everyone did in the application game? It's about time that most of us have made final decisions on where to attend, I'm just kind of interest to know what the gamut is.
I got 5/6 rejections. One of those rejections (NYU) annoys me - the school barely even has a Public Health pogramme, and they consider me beneath them?!?!
I think that I shot myself in the foot with the majority of my applications. I wrote my SoPs and writing samples in the last couple of days bfore my application deadlines. One of my recommenders told me straight up that he'd be able to write a stronger letter in a year when I had finished chapters of my thesis he could base his comments on. Finishing my MPH thesis would also have upped my GPA.
My acceptance is at UMass. Not particularly prestigous; fortunately, I couldn't care less about rankings. The programme requires a minor in a non-PH department, which is perfect for me. They'll get back to me about funding in a couple of weeks.
I'm excited, but uncertain whether to take it. Part of me wonders what would happen if I reapplied to my favourite programmes, Hopkins and Columbia, in a year. The application would be stronger for the reasons above, but my interests would still be weird and I'd still be an international student. And I have seen a few jobs advertised recently that would be PERFECT for me, not to mention I have an actual job offer, albeit not so exciting. The thought of choosing to be poor for 5 or so more years is not pleasant. On the other hand, it would be harder to do after a few years with an actual income.
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When you look on the results page for April Steinhardt has all acceptances. Does that mean we're all in???? I hope so! Let's keep our fingers crossed and if we get in, we'll all meet for drinks first week of class!!!
Wouldn't that be nice!
I emailed the head of the programme I applied to about a week ago, and received...
...no answer. I told him I have a job offer that needs a response ASAP. I'm taking that as rejection - if they were even mildly interested in me they would have ANSWERED MY EMAIL! The website says all communication is via snail mail. If that's true, and they haven't already mailed my decision, I won't receive it in time to make a decision before April 15th (international + Easter weekend).
The other programme I'm waiting for answered my email and was honest that the decisions would be another couple of weeks. Fortunately my prespective employer has allowed me to take until I hear from that programme before I respond.
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That sucks! Has your status in AppyYourself changed at all? Do they definitely have your correct postal and email addresses?
Unfortunately, you are probably going to have to wait until they deign to tell you something.
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I'm still waiting on two, but at this stage of the game it can't be good news.
I knew, going in, that I'd be a stronger applicant if I waited a year. But I managed to convince myself that my brilliance would be apparent anyway. Plus, I'm generally impatient.
Certainly wasn't expecting 100% rejection.
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Has anyone heard from Columbia PhD programs yet? I emailed them a week ago asking when decisions will be made and they said within 2 weeks. I guess we'll hear next week.
Assuming, of course, thhat they tell us straight away...
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Not the bringer of bad news at all; I got my rejection from Yale near the start of the month.
I wish Columbia would get around to it - it doesn't matter in the scheme of things, I guess, since I can infer rejection from their silence. But I do like to have all my loose ends tied up.
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Grrr, I can't test the NetID thing because I'm an international and don't have an SS number. I'm not good at waiting patiently.
To the person who mentioned their friend got admitted to Public Health a few pages back, do you happen to know what degree that was for - MPH or PhD? Ta!
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It's not the embarassment per se that gets me, but the fact that I'll be asking at least a couple of them again in a year or two.
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Just wondering whether I'm the only one who flinches when reading comments about how useless adcoms must be for taking so long to notify, or schools are for their bureacracy, or whatever?
Yes, I understand the frustration, having heard back from only half the programmes I applied to.
Yes, I too paid the outrageous application fees (outrageous because application to PhD programmes is free in most of the world). Sure, there is probably room for more efficiency and transparency in the process.
But, seriously, life lesson: the world does NOT revolve around you. Shockingly, university departments have other things going on than just doing grad apps.
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I noted somewhere around here that I heard from them in February. The coordinator sent my application to another department because she felt my application would be a better fit there rather than in the five Social Sciences offered with the SMS degree. My acceptance will be dependent on whether the advisor she identified from the other school decides to take me on or not.
At this point I am not too worried about it. I think I am in enough of a bind having to choose between JHSPH and WWS, both offering very nice packages and potential projects that I am really interested in.
And don't worry ridgey, you will hear from them as soon as the economic crisis lightens up enough for them to buy a calling card.
Is your app still within Mailman? Or did it go to another non- public health department? Not that it's any of my business, at all, but others' good news is a welcome distraction!
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@ FSIA and ridgey: Have either of you heard "anything" from Columbia SMS? I just can't believe the odds of all three of us applicants on the same forum being rejected by the program.
Well, I have excellent odds of rejection this year it seems - I'm at 3.5 so far (the 0.5 being Columbia, based on their silence). And the odds of rejection overall are pretty good, when they admit ~7%. Sorry, I seem to be very negative today!
But no, I've heard nothing. There has been a PhD admit and a DrPH waitlist on the board that I've noticed. My officemate has a theory that they haven't called me yet because they can't figure out how to dial internationally. Ha!
Good to know I'm in such good company in receiving Columbia's deafening silence.
Statment of Purpose
in Applications
Posted
Not exactly what you're after, but the members of the applyingtograd community at livejournal often post their SoPs and other people make suggestions as to how they can improve. So you can see lots of examples. And you'll quickly get an idea of what is considered a good and a bad SoP for different fields - make sure you read the comments too!
I think there is an example essay on the website of Berkeley's grad school. It is super intimidating to read though- don't feel liek yours has to be that good - it's clearly up there because it's excceptional.