Ehphd

I received a first (unofficial) acceptance email from a PI at UCLA Epi I interviewed with. Was informed that official letters will come in in a month. I hope they do more reviewing cycles during the upcoming month and send out positive news for those still waiting! Looking back at my applications and ~20 PIs I mentioned, 5 of them I heard back from weren't hiring (limited funding, affiliation with other departments)/on a Sabbatical. It is my bad that I didn't reach out prior to the application, but I feel like luck (something that I am not in control of) plays a huge role in PhD applications. I was on a letting-go phase where I gave up on all applications due to only 1 interview invite and 2 rejections so far (former post of "rejection=redirection" was something I was telling myself..). So I am pleasantly surprised to have found that one person I had a fitting 'situation' with. I guess what I want to say is an iteration of what others have been saying: so many uncontrollable factors play a role, so don't be easily disheartened..! I am sure we will be able to connect in one way or another within the field of public health. My deepest respect to fellow future-researchers!

rejection=redirection, friend

UCLA is driving me crazy.. I got contacted by another PI that I didn't write in my SOP (little research fit). Having only contacted by UCLA so far, I am trying to be proactive with all the interview opportunities I can get. However, it is so difficult to make a choice between: Research for 4~5 years in a field I am not super enthusiastic about (little research fit) VS No-funding offer for the 1st year, but in a field that I like (It seems like have to pay $15K~30K/year after speaking to the financial advisor.) Any advice who was contacted by PIs not referenced in SOP??

What is his initials? I heard one of my PI written on SOP is on Sabbatical which was not on the website, so maybe that’s the reason…? Interviews seemed like it is really up to the professors. For some schools they have less say to the admissions, and some seems like they recommend students to the committee.

I am not sure about the interview invites, but I heard that the faculties will vote on Thursday.

T Thank you so much for your considerate answers! I carefully read them all. 1) Actually this is because my application has to be transferred. She is a professor affiliated with two departments but her funding source seems to be tied to one dept. She said the faculty will vote on Thursday, so they need time to read my application. Tbh, I was a bit surprised to hear about such flimsy(?) process. But it is not like my acceptance on Monday is a binding acception. She needs an agreement to push my application forward. 2) I guess I lost hope cuz I didn't get any invites to interviews so far. And after reading back my SOP again + talking to 1 PI, I think I get why. Research fit seems key, but my research interest displayed on the SOP seems a bit too broad. But you are right, I might say yes on Monday, but us both knowing that this is not a conventional offer, I would be able to communicate later IF I get a better offer or if I can't find external source. I got the impression that it doesn't matter to her if I come in this year or next year. It seemed like she wasn't planning on receiving one this year. But thank you all again, I should really think about it today.

I heard that one PI already made an offer to another student, and the other I heard is on Sabbatical (which was not on the website.) I appreciate your advice that I shouldn't rely on PI's words. I guess I am doing a wishful thinking here, cuz she said "two generous" projects..? Actually I was curious how PhD transfer works, would they understand if they are running low in funding and not see it as a 'betrayal'?? I really learned a lot from this whole PhD application, that it is really about the fit with the PI and how much funding they are holding. About WES: they made a mistake on the evaluation of my transcript grading 3.5 instead of 3.7. Plus they were impossible to reach when I wanted to report the case. Actually, another UC school's Admin Office I applied to helped me out file a challenge by directly contacting them. Eventually, it took 3 months for them to evaluate, way beyond the application deadline, ONLY TO RECIEVE ANOTHER MISTAKE! (I gave up fixing the mistake after the first challenge - too much hassle, so my evaluation is still not accurate). Before the evaluation, they made 2 unreasonable rejections on the post mails my unis sent. I know it's unreasonable cuz the office sent me photo proofs and didn't change anything differently when requested to send it again. I honestly want to sue WES and feel like my $200 is stolen, but I don't think I got rejections cuz of 0.1 GPA. Still, it gave me a hell lot of stress.

Seeking for advice on the PhD no-funding offer from a UC school. I did my interview with the PI and she said that there will be two projects with generous fundings from next year, so she asked if I can bring in an external package to survive for the 1st year. She said she could offer 20hr TA/RA jobs in the meantime (she was confident about next year's funding), but that wouldn't be enough to cover all my expenses in CA (international tuition fee+living). She said applying next year is also an option, but I am in the older range and would like to start my PhD as soon as possible. I think this will be my only offer for this cycle, so I am swaying if it is worth loaning $40~50K and survive for the 1st year or if I should re-try next year. For now, I really don't want to go through this hellish application process again. I had problems with WES, home GRE, and paid a huge amount of application fee this cycle. Could somebody give advice about life in LA with a $40~50K loan, if it's worth it? (+ little attention from PI as she already has 12 students supervising: 3 post docs, 4 PhD students, 4 PhD candidates). I need to give her a response by Monday.

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Has anyone tried reaching out directly to Adcomm members (chairs, directors, deans mentioned on the website who are not your PIs) about the interviews instead of the Admissions Office when there is no response? Would this be considered out of the blue..?

Wow thanks for the explanation in detail! I guess it makes sense for a public uni to have tighter budgets smh..

Ah okay, may I ask how it works? Like, did the manager specify PI you will be talking to, or were there slots you could choose?

I received an unconventional email from PI at Stanford Epi to discuss further research fit, so *I should* request Adcomm to schedule an interview (?). I thought applicants get a scheduled interview invite from the faculty, not the other way around, so yet another confusing email...!

Wow okay, so they do send out unfunded positions... This is so new to me ? I thought I read $3000~3500 stipend from some other schools I applied to, so I guess I assumed this was the norm...! Fingers crossed that we could all hear from well-funded programs soon!!

Right, thank you for your kind advices! It really helps :-) Just to clarify one more point, "they typically help students apply for funding": Is this expected to happen after the acceptance and before the Fall semester? I mean, I can't just fly out and expect help from the department waiting for the funding while being in LA.. I am so confused with scholarships' timeline, I mean, I still don't get how securing a funding prior to an application works, and that's why I missed out on FullBright. I know it is a competitive scholarship, but in a million cases, if one ends up getting accepted to no where, does it end up being ghost money?