jordanami

I am also wondering what schools people have heard from. I heard from The University of Arizona last week, their app deadline was Jan 2nd. I'm waiting on UC Denver and U of South Carolina, but I only submitted my app to them in early Feb., so I expect that will be another few weeks at least. It is hard to get a clear idea of how long to expect to wait, even on here. Haven't figured out how to access last year's data yet.

Yes, it depends on the program. In my area (public health) interviews are pretty rare, most schools don't do them at all.

Having sported this style myself for several years, I can tell you that the answer is yes, and no. Most did not mind, but one in particular did, and I think it cost me a little bit in the grading. So, older and wiser, I dress better. But, you know, to each their own.

I see a lot of posts on the results board saying that they received their answer after an email request. I can't imagine that a dept. is going to change their decision in response to a polite email after a reasonable amount of time.

There is a formula for calculating your student debt/expected salary ratio. You can probably Google it, but they recommend $80,000 salary to meet $40,000 in debt. Of course, if nothing else will satisfy you, that is what you'll want to do, but if you might be happy with something else, you may want to avoid the debt. There must be some less expensive option available to you (?).

Community and behavioral health DrPH for me. Did you apply to an infectious disease program with them?

Just wondering if anyone has experience in waiting for a decision from any rolling admissions programs, like University of Pittsburgh, or programs with soft deadlines, like University of South Carolina. My SC app was submitted in early February, and I'm just thinking of applying to U Pitt now. I'm getting a little frustrated/worried that I haven't received a response from any of the other programs I've applied to yet. The first program I applied to, submitted 1/3, said they planned to have an admissions decision by the first week of March, but I haven't heard yet, and an email to the department yesterday still has not been returned.... I'm starting to feel like I need to put a couple more apps out there just in case. Also, if anyone has any experience with receiving/not receiving funding when applying a little later in the season, I'm curious about that as well. Thanks!

Was told we would be receiving admissions decisions the first week of March. I emailed yesterday afternoon and still have not received a response. That's not really right is it?

I had some transcripts take over a month to arrive.... some take longer than that to be processed. I've just come to the realization that there is only so much about this process that I can control, the rest is up to.... well, let's hope it's fate and destiny more than human error:).

Sounds like public health could be a good fit for you. I am working on my MPH through an online program designed for working professionals finishing grad school part time. There are a lot of similar programs available in pub health, lots of people work and finish school at the same time. I'm not sure that you really need to choose an area of specialization right now. You may want to look into a general MPH program to see what you like best. Good luck!

You are smart, it has taken me 8 years of dithering around, trying to force myself to endure unsatisfying positions, to realize I really just need a doctorate in order to be able to do anything fun.

It is true, it is better that he said no. I had one say no to me too, but the others were very enthusiastic. I have had friends who have been stuck with bad letters though... one who applied to 27 schools before he was accepted (ugh). His stats were really good, but this one prof said he didn't think he had the drive necessary for med school. He is very laid back, but I don't think that is a bad quality in a Dr. We don't need to believe anyone's opinion of us, as long as we are honest with ourselves.

I am doing that too. And also obsessively checking this site, and researching schools with later application dates in case the first few don't come through. And I am also behind on my master's work, which is a lot more immediately pressing. But it is fun to dream...

I will say that I am frustrated that a school I applied to for a Jan 1st deadline sent an email telling me to expect a decision the first week of March and I still do not have a decision in my inbox. I guess next Monday is still a part of the first week of March, but I would like it if they had a little more sensitivity to the fact that we're all anxious, sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for these decisions. It would have been better if they had told me to expect mid-March and the surprised me with some early news-especially good news!

I did the same thing, went back and took some classes non-degree status just for the ref's since I had been out of school for so long. I could not even find the profs I had worked with when I went back to look for them 5 years later, people move around so much in academia. The classes I took were University classes, one grad level, but the situation is similar. I haven't heard back from any of the schools I've applied to yet, but I think I will be fine with the references I have. I have been telling my younger sister, who has just graduated and is going to take some time off, to get some references on file with her school. Even though those are not worth much, I think if she goes back a couple years later to contact some of her old profs they will remember her better if they have written a letter for her before, they may even still have it on file. And some schools will accepts those filed letters too. If I had it to do over again, that is what I would have done. But, as it happened, things are working out for me, sometimes the windier path gives life its flavor. Good luck in your new program!

If you're reading horoscopes, try Rob Breszny, he's my favorite.

My best friend from high school went to SUNY Albany for biomedical research, PhD. She works at NIH now, it seems like she's doing really well. Good luck!

Hi everyone, I'm just wondering who has heard and from which schools. I am having a hard time with the suspense. My first school said I will hear from them "the first week of March" and it is getting harder and harder to wait. Also, does anyone have any info about the likelihood of receiving funding if applying after the priority deadline. My stats are pretty good, 1500, 4.0 grad, 3.3 UG, so I think I might be a good candidate for funding, but I missed a couple of priority deadlines. I'm wondering if I should apply anyway, just in case. I really want to go to a school with some funding, so if there is no chance I might get it, I tend to think I don't even want to spend the money on the app fee, but I just have the feeling those might be somewhat soft deadlines. Thanks for your help!

I would only apply to the PhD and hope that if they don't accept you into the doctoral they will refer your app to the master's. I think it wouldn't look right to apply to both, and I think a lot will suggest that you apply to the MPH if they don't think you're quite ready for the PhD. Also, MPH deadlines are later so you can always try a few PhD and if they don't work out, then throw your name into the hat for some master's. I'm only applying to PhD and DrPH but I have a small secondary list of schools with March/April deadlines that I will apply to if my first round doesn't come back positive. You need to sift through their requirements carefully. I don't have an MPH yet either and I know it is tricky to figure out which schools will accept without a master's and which won't. It seems to me like I looked into a few of the schools you've mentioned here and they do not accept without, so you may want to double check. Also, if you don't succeed with these, you might want to try University of South Carolina, most of their doc programs will accept without a master's and they have "soft" admissions deadlines. They are also decently ranked. Good luck!

DrPH actually may be more competitive for admissions without a master's. I am applying to DrPH programs halfway through an MPH program and am finding that there are a lot more PhD programs that I could apply to than DrPH. For DrPH they tend to place more value on work experience than PhD, and in most cases they like to see post-master's work experience in a management role. For me, I want to teach and I want to develop/run public health intervention programs, so DrPH is the right choice. You can look at the federal jobs website to see what jobs are out there. I also check idealist.org for pub health jobs. There are jobs out there, but it might be smart to consider the jobs that are available before you choose your specialty. For example, it looks to me like there are a lot of jobs for people working with HIV/AIDS right now. I'm planning to move into health education/maternal child, so I may try to get some HIV/AIDS experience during my practicum to make myself more marketable for those HIV prevention jobs.

In my program we talk a lot about differences in health states based on income. There are also social justice issues to consider. People with less social power tend to suffer more from things like environmental contaminants- polluting factories in poorer neighborhoods, lower housing quality, residential pesticide exposure, etc. Does that help>

Great reputation. Just be prepared for a very high cost of living in the SF Bay area. You can look at cost of living calculators and also craigslist for under the housing rentals section to see about housing costs. That will be the biggest expense.

I think I would contact as well. Depending on the personality of the department you're applying to (casual, helpful, etc.), I might also ask where I sat on the wait list, because if you're near the top, you'll probably get in.