spatial_epi
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Posts posted by spatial_epi
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23 minutes ago, Scallionboi said:
Great insight--helps ground things. I really appreciate you sharing your perspective. Time to schedule a 100 more meetings with various people haha. Best of luck with your choosing as well! It has been a wild year for this whole process.
I know right...the decision process feels even more involved than the application process! Then again maybe I've blocked the trauma of applications from my mind.
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9 hours ago, Scallionboi said:
After stalking this thread the whole application season, I thought I should finally join in with my own question--for those who have options, what is pushing you in a particular direction for your final decision? Is it an exceptional research fit + mentor match? Finances? Location? Course quality? Reputation of program?
Not being able to visit has definitely thrown me for a loop. I thought there would be one clear choice at the end of it all, but I keep going back and forth in my mind as every option has its pros, cons, and unique stressors and pulls.
Current status for reference (all PhDs):
Accepted:
- BU Epi (4 years guaranteed funding)
- UW Epi (nothing guaranteed but have an RAship lined up for several years + some extra departmental money)
- NYU GPH Epi (5 years guaranteed funding, bit low for NYC CoL)
- UCSF Epi (1 year guaranteed funding)
- NYU Med's Vilceck Institute Epi or Pop. Health (5 years guaranteed, highest stipend I've seen from a program. Obviously balanced with living in one of the most expensive cities)
Waitlisted:
- Brown Behavioral and Social Science
Feeling crazy lucky and privileged and trying to make my decisions ASAP to not hold up other people's options. I've been running around getting people's thoughts on their own academic journeys after making a chaotic spreadsheet which lists various pros/cons.
I'm struggling with this too, and I have fewer choices than you haha. From everything I hear from others/scouring the internet, it really comes down to what's important to you. Wherever you choose will determine a lot of things about your life for the next 4-5 years. That means location (climate, city), people (faculty, students), stress level (how supportive is the program, how good is the funding, is the environment collaborative or competitive), and probably lots of other things. I found this one article recommending a weighted grading rubric to help decide, which might at least be helpful in terms of organizing your thoughts: https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-simple-tool-that-will-help-you-pick-the-right-grad-school
A big thing that I hear from people who have gone through a PhD is that advisor match is REALLY important. You want to have an advisor who you mesh with, in terms of communication and mentorship style as well as research interests. Communication and mentorship style might even be more important, because that will determine how you work together day-to-day. If you can, try to talk to current students who work with your advisor match - they can tell you what working with this person is like. I also think it's fair to ask your advisor how they like to work with students (cadence of check-in meetings, hands-on vs. hands-off approach, etc.). Definitely try to have some face time with them if you haven't already, even if it's over zoom.
Also, I think it's important to keep top of mind WHY you are doing a PhD, and how well each program will help you meet your goals. If your goal is academia, does the program have a good track record of postdoc or faculty placements? If your goal is to work for the CDC, is the program supportive of going into that kind of work? How important is reputation for what you want to do afterwards?
You have lots of great options so in some ways, you can't go wrong here. At this point, it's just a matter of optimizing your happiness and what you want to get out of a PhD!
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32 minutes ago, srp10215 said:
Hi friends. If anyone is choosing between UNC HB, BU HSR, and/or Emory BSHES (all PhD), feel free to DM me and I can try and create a group! Would be great if we could bounce our thoughts off each other and start building community with potential cohortmates.
Would love to talk about UNC HB! Just messaged you
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Just now, phdhopeful14 said:
@PhDProgramSocialBehavior Out of curiosity - did you both get emails/do you know what date your acceptance letters were uploaded to the UNC portal? I still haven't gotten an email to check the portal despite my acceptance being posted yesterday ?
Not super worried, but would be comforting to hear directly from the school lol!Oh weird! I did get an email (yesterday) but it was SUPER generic, just that I should check the portal. And it looks like the update to the portal was also made yesterday.
Weirdly, what happened to you also happened to me with Johns Hopkins (wait-listed there), and I similarly felt weird about it until the program director reached out lol. Maybe the email doesn't get sent if you happen to check the portal first? Not sure how technically advanced these portal systems are ?
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1 hour ago, phdhopeful14 said:
Hi all - I just heard back, and was admitted to UNC's PhD program in Health Behavior (first and only acceptance)! I'm wishing you all the best as you begin to hear back!
21 minutes ago, PhDProgramSocialBehavior said:Me too! Did you get any funding information?
I got into UNC Health Behavior too!! Over the moon, but I didn't get any funding or advisor info...just a generic email and acceptance letter. Assuming those details will be sent soonish?
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First acceptance y'all! University of Minnesota Epi PhD program, social/behavioral epidemiology track
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Hi all, I've been lurking for about a month and finally decided to say hello. Here's what I've got so far:
- Rejected: Harvard PHS-SBS (did not interview), UW-Health Services (interviewed, but not surprised at the rejection as I don't think it was actually the best fit)
- Wait-listed: Johns Hopkins-SBS
- Interviewed and waiting: UCLA-CHS, UNC Chapel Hill-Health Behavior, CUNY-Epi
- No word: Columbia-Epi, Berkeley-Epi, NYU-SBS, Yale-SBS
And then I sort of have good news from the University of Minnesota Epi program. They don't seem to do interviews, but they're being really transparent about the process, which I love! They were the first school to contact me in January; they told me that I had moved on to the second stage and would now attempt to find an advisor and funding for me. They said they would let me know exactly what stage my application was in if/when I was curious. I reached out the other day and they told me I had an advisor match who was currently awaiting but optimistic about a grant decision. It's nice to be able to see into the process because I imagine similar things are happening with lots of folks on here at other schools - we just don't see it. Given that things could break down at any step of that process, it's good to remember that often these decisions are at the mercy of external factors. Just thought I'd share.
PhD/DrPH Applicants: Fall 2021
in Public Health Forum
Posted
For those in the decision-making process, I got what I thought was good advice today: Spend a day pretending that you have made your decision and accepted School A. The next day, pretend that you've made your decision for School B. Etc, etc. See how you feel each time.