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Hey epidemic! I'm so glad to hear that things are falling into place. I hope it all works out for you with Pittsburgh! I finally decided on Harvard. It was my first choice from the start and I received funding...it just took me a while to work through some concerns that I had and to feel comfortable and happy with my decision. Good luck in the fall!

Hi sudzie88. Congrats on your acceptance to HSPH! I'm considering attending (but for epi); however, I have some major reservations about the school. I'm not sure of how familiar you are with the school or if there are major variations across programs, but if you have any insight into the faculty (although it may not apply to epi specifically), I am interested in the availability of faculty and research opportunities and the overall relationship between doctoral students and faculty. I know this will differ drastically from one professor to another, but HSPH is such a large place and I'm coming from a somewhat smaller school, so I'm definitely concerned about being lost in the crowd or having less flexibility in pursuing my research interests within some of the huge cohorts that HSPH has. Thank you in advance (even if you are completely unable to answer my questions).

Hi epidemic. The funding source for each department is going to be different, so the funding available to students will vary from one department to the next and each department seems to function independently. Also, across schools, there is variation in funding. Some schools guarantee funding for all accepted students while others (quite a lot) do not. A lot of the funding comes from NIH training grants which may require US citizenship. There may be more ways to be funded if you're a US citizen, but there still aren't any guarantees. There may be fewer GSR positions available to you at Pittsburgh, but I'd definitely suggest speaking with as many people as possible to see if anyone does have a position for an international student. If you wait until next year and reapply hoping for funding, you may just end up in the same situation. Good luck!

Hi epidemic. I'm having a very difficult time deciding on where to go, so my decision changes from day to day. Today I'm deciding between Harvard and BU, but still considering JHSPH. I've been talking to as many professors and students as I can to help me decide. I'll let you know when I make a decision. Please keep me updated as you try to get at GSR position. The funding that comes along with the GSR position is part of the reason why still haven't totally ruled out Pitt. Good luck!

Hi XOwlfan. Glad to hear that you finally got your funding info. That's similar to what I was offered as well, so JHSPH isn't ranked very high on my list. Good luck wherever you go!

Hi epidemic. I saw that you were accepted to Pittsburgh, which is a great school and one that I am considering as well. I don't think that the GSR positions are limited to US citizens, so you could definitely try to get one of those positions. I would recommend e-mailing the contact person for the area that you are interested in working in and seeing if they have any openings rather than waiting for someone to contact you (it seems like the system is in a bit of a transition right now). I spoke with the Epi Program Administrator about this and she was very friendly and helpful. Good luck!

Hello. I noticed someone posted an acceptance to the epi PhD program at BUSPH on the results board. I was accepted as well and it is a very small program, so I wanted to say hello. If you're out there, I'd love to chat.

I heard that this year there were a lot more applications and a lot of strong applications, so don't feel bad....especially with the other 2 acceptances! I'm not a big fan of stats (i.e. GPAs and GREs...I don't like being defined by a number, whether it's good or bad), plus I'm not sure how much the GREs are weighted (I did very well on math, but my verbal scores were rather pathetic and that didn't seem to matter). I think it's the other stuff (i.e. research and other experience) that matters more and I can't really list it all out...it's more of a narrative. In general though, I've been working in research, at some capacity, for the past 7 years. I've written and presented a number of abstracts and I've published (1 as first author). I'm currently finishing up my MPH in epi and I've had opportunities to tutor and TA and I was awarded a grant to work on a summer research project. I also absolutely love epi theory/methods (not a stat, but a feeling that I hope came through in my application). I don't know what goes into the decision-making process, but sometimes you're just not a good fit for school...it really stinks, but that's ok. Go to a school that you want that wants you right back. Best of luck on making a decision on where to attend (I'm finding the process excruciatingly difficult).

Hi XOwlfan. I agree that the Sommer Scholars website is a little unclear for doctoral applicants. I only received a tuition scholarship (with potential for increase in %), but I wasn't really expecting to receive a stipend. My area of interest is uncommon and not studied on a grand scale (i.e. no training grants). It seems like funding varies from one department to another. I'm sure you'll receive your funding info soon.

Hi XOwlfan. I cannot speak for HBS, but for epi the funding information was in the acceptance letter. I don't know if this is true across departments, but according to the HBS web page, funding information should be included in the letter. I'd suggest just calling and asking when that information will be made available. I'm sure there is a lot of paperwork that needs to be completed prior to sending out the official letter, so it could just take some time. I know absolutely nothing about the Sommer Scholars program. According to the web page (again), doctoral students are nominated for the scholarship after completing one full academic year at the Bloomberg School, so it seems like you're not eligible until after you're already a student at the school, but I have no idea. Sorry I can't be of much help other than regurgitating what is online.

Hi epidemic. Sorry to hear about the rejection. Good luck with your other school applications. Epi_man, the interview was the first week of February. Also, my online status was recently updated as well. Good luck!

Hi epidemic. I received my acceptance letter via e-mail about 2-3 weeks after an interview. I didn't see any status change on the application site. The decisions seem to be rolling out rather slowly, so hang in there.