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'?

Hang in there! Does Columbia almost exclusively accept by phone? But yeah I'm not feeling too optimistic either. ARGH!

Has anyone applied to Columbia's Sociomedical Sciences Program? Anyone hear back from em?

I received the same "short waiting list"+MAPSS crap. :facepalm: Might as well have sent a standard rejection letter.

Ditto! :breathes a sigh of relief: I'm still waiting on all 4 of my PH programs and gradually losing all hope, optimism and sanity.

Anyone here apply to Yale's Chronic Disease Epidemiology program? I'm getting antsy waiting to hear back from em. BTW, is it common for everyone to get that "Deadline has Passed" message on their online app?

It's probably either the waitlist or a delayed rejection. I highly doubt that Northwestern does acceptances by rounds. (Ican't help the pessimism, I am feeling really bitter at the moment)

I hope the GRE really does matter in my case! It's one of the few things I have going for me since I have a GPA that is in the opposite end of the spectrum to my GRE score.

I don't understand why you are freaking out. A lot of people (me included) would love to be in your position of having 2 acceptances (to pretty decent programs no less) already in the bag. At least you have "something" to sate your grad ed appetite, a lot of us are still starving and salivating at the mere though of getting accepted "anywhere". Count your blessings!

Nope

True! But the OP's impatience is mitigated by the fact that international students are subjected to an incredibly loooong wait in receiving decision letters by departments who ONLY choose to inform via postal mail. Couple that with the erratic and sometimes incompetent postal system in certain Asian countries and the virtue of patience can readily transform into a bane. However, I agree about not jumping the gun. I would wait about 2 weeks (after making certain that at least some decisions have gone out) prior to contacting the department.