Aeternalis

Hello Astronautka, FWIW, I myself -- having applied to doctoral medical soc/public health programs -- had a VERY similar profile to yours and applied to some of the same programs (JHU, Columbia, UPenn, Vanderbilt) and was fortunate to have been accepted by all of them. However, you have to take the forum's proferred advice with a grain of salt, some might denigrate your chances and other extol them (based on their own experiences). Ultimately, there area quite a few intangibles (SoP, research interests/fit/experience, Writing Sample) in this whole process which is a whole lot more arbitrary than many might think.

As djd suggested I hope you have already emailed them back asking for clarification and stating the fact that you have already been offered admission, perhaps also mentioning somone with whom you have had contact within the department as a reference. However do not wait for a reply, as soon as the work day on Monday begins, "call" up the department (not the admissions office), explain the situation to them and express your concerns, be polite certainly but be sure to convey to them the gravity of your situation. All this could possibly be an administrative lapse but it is best not to take any chances. So do not tarry! Hope everything works out, best of luck to you!

Thank you FSIA! That seems like really sound advice to me. Hope everything works out for you too.

Thanks ridgey! I log into the ApplyYourself website multiple times a day just to make certain despite knowing that the website emails you in case of a status change. Likewise, I have also made certain that my contact information is correct. I KNOW that the most I can hope for is a waitlist at this stage, perhaps the dept. chooses not to inform their waitlisted students. On the other hand if it is a rejection and my status update is simply in limbo on account of some admin tardiness somewhere down the line I am going to be LIVID! You're right though. I guess I can't do anything but wait (and hope)!

:roll: lulz! Easy to say with 5 acceptances in the bag! It's easier to commisserate with people who had to suffer through a plethora of rejections before having finally having had the lone solace of their one acceptance. And only those who went through the whole process for naught truly deserve kudos for having the fortitude, will and desire to go through it all again. I for one wouldn't have.

Hi there! I am still waiting on Columbia SMS! It's certainly taking a toll on my patience especially since I'm holding out on making a final decision on accepting an offer from another grad program until I hear back, since it is my first choice. The grad school is no help and the coordinator doesn't seem to be answering any calls. Anyone else in the same predicament? Any suggestions?

Thank you very much FSIA. I really appreciate your support! Hope you get that fellowship. Hopkins was one of my top choices, unfortunately I'm currently waitlisted at HBS. Hang in there ridgey! I have a feeling we'll hear "something" (good I hope) from Columbia next week.

@ 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.

Thanks ewurgler! I think you have a pretty good chance of getting accepted off of the waitlist. Best of luck and congrats on having been accepted to two awesome programs!

Thank you very much ec86. However I just got accepted to one of my top choices in another field so I definitely won't need to apply elsewhere now!

OMG! I'm in too!!!!!! I still have yet to get over this wonderful shock! Penn is among my top choices and yes there is a VERY high likelihood that I will accept.

Does anyone know of any (relativey) good PH PhD programs (preferably with Social/Behavioral emphasis) with late deadlines (april or so) which offer funding. I unfortunately rather optimistically only applied to 4 PH programs and am now regretting it. As of now I have been waitlisted at one school, rejected by another, and 2 left with results pending.

Anybody know if the SMS program has a fixed quota for the seperate streams or do they consider applications wholistically regardless of concentration? If the former,that would perhaps explain why some indviduals have already been accepted/rejected/waitlisted while others have yet to receive an answer.

Aye! Whatever the outcome I just hope they let us know sooner rather than later. Thanks for the info FSIA.

That is really unfortunate since their program was by far my top choice and the best fit for me. Did she provide a specific number perhaps? How many is 'few'?