XXXXXXphd2021
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Everything posted by XXXXXXphd2021
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Starting a thread for the 2022 Fall PhD in social work/social welfare. I applied to four programs UCBerkeley, WUSTL, Chicago and Columbia. WashU MSW alumni working at WashU School of Medicine, feel free to ask me anything about the WashU program. For those who also applied to UCBerkeley - does your application says awaiting GRE Score Report? GRE is optional and I do not plan to send in my score electronically. I am not sure if this 'awaiting' is because I reported my GRE score in the application (can't remember) or everyone's application is like this. No replies from the admission office yet, just wondering!
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Don't lose hope! I am not sure if they have sent out all the interviews yet. From last few years results for some years they even did multiple invite batches end Jan, Feb and March. kinda weird.
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Biomedical Sciences PhD Applicants (Fall 2022)
XXXXXXphd2021 replied to pathoscientist's topic in Life Sciences
Probably me with the population health track. Received an email invite today. The interview dates are Jan 10 (welcome session) + Jan 11/14 (faulty interviews). I do not know if they've sent out all interviews, the schedule seems very generic for everyone. Also an email interview today from WUSTL DBBS Biomedical Informatics and Data Sciences program. -
Just got an email invite from NYU Vilcek Population Health. Virtual two half days in early/mid Jan. This year's forum is so quite compared to last year.
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Me: "no need to overthinking it!" Also me: overthinking everything
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I wrote the program director with an one-sentence email, a few hours later the decision was rendered on the portal. (I'm not sure if it's because of my email pushing or they're gonna do it anyways.) Applicants do it all the time so no need to overthinking it .
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it would not hurt to ask about your position on the waitlist. I didn't ask for the 'position' for mine, as my target program is small, every student's funding mechanism is different, so I doubt that they have a strict waitlist ranking tbh. But every program is different, if I were waitlisted by some other programs, I might reach out to program director/administrator and ask about positions and how many ppl were taken off from waitlist on average. (I also think info. from gradcafe might be even more helpful as programs usually approach it in a formal way.)
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If they extend the 415 deadline then those on the waitlists would even hear later, this will just become a vicious cycle lol.
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There are too many factors weighing in, e.g. other faculty has higher priority this cycle in taking on students, one specific student with similar interests and very strong connections is also applying, etc. etc. etc. If you really want to work with the POIs and do not plan to commit to other programs this cycle, why not? I will def reapply next cycle, if my international status isn't a concern I wish I could even try a third year, because it is really hard for me to find a matched program. But next cycle I'm expanding my selections, I'm waitlisted by my top program this cycle (more like an 'honorable mention' type of waitlist), but I wouldn't even count to get an interview next yr.
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Congratulations! Did you receive any info on its funding? (Already thinking about picking programs for next cycle lmao)
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Whether funding would be an issue for international students largely depends on the funding mechanism of each program. We do not qualify for the majority of the NIH training grant, other than 99/00 mechanism for dissertation and beyond which is very competitive because it's potentially a six yearish grant. That said, many programs (more private universities vs. public) have dedicated funding mechanisms for all students, and international student status don't matter that much (for those who qualify for NIH fellowship they may be at an advantage but might not influence the admission decision). But it is not just the funding mechanism for PhD/DrPH admission would play a role here. For example, international students don't qualify for many federal internships, fellowships, or positions in the U.S. (NIH, CDC etc.), and many companies will straight reject applicants that need visa sponsorship at the screening stage, so our job aspects are limited here. For DrPH then your past leadership experiences would really need to be highlighted and convincing, because programs also need to consider the job aspects and placements of incoming students, especially if the cohort is relatively small.
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I'm a Wuhan native, the COVID-19 outbreaks really influenced my decision to apply to UCSF, which is the only epi program that I applied to, as I have never identified/envisioned myself as an epidemiologist. It was very heart breaking to see how things evolved in the U.S. (I sent out email warnings to our university in Jan 2020 about potential community spread of COVID). I also saw the lack of translation (all aspects, from language, messages, to implementation) in the process and started to see the connection between my work in implementation science to all aspects in epidemiology. The UCSF system asks applicants to separate their research summary, statement of purpose (very short, 300ish words), and personal statement, so I have enough space in the personal statement to reflect and articulate why I want to contribute but also have a statement with concise language in academic writing (v.s. Harvard I only have 1000 words so not at an advantage with my research experiences scattered across disciplines). Interestingly even based on the materials they ask, I could tell which school is a better fit for me (I would be excited to work with POIs at both schools), which is an unexpected yet interesting observation that I had in this process.
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I'm in a similar boat. This is my test the water year and turns out water is boiling ?
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I booked a trip to Hawaii in early March, I thought it would be either for celebration or for healing. Now that I am waitlisted, I guess it's for both LOL. I know travel/vacation is discouraged but I am vaccinated and this is much needed.
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This year it's not just public health apps are up, many fields' apps are up (data science, clinical psy etc.). I read a whole thread of twitter discussions on this, which is quite interesting, some POIs said they have never seen this before, not even during the 2008s (and the 2008s apps were for sure up as well). It's definitely a combination of different things. From what I read, potential of economic recession (reduced opportunity cost for getting an advanced degree), increased interests in some fields e.g. public health, waiving GRE and no requirement for site visits for interviews (as some applicants might need to pay out of pocket e.g. for med schools), and ppl staying at home bc of covid lol. Also there are programs that don't really have as much a huge increase in apps. I know one of a great program still requires GRE (also not in a big city) and didn't have huge bump in epi apps.
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One of the reason of schools getting so many applications is also the removal of GRE requirement (also reduced application related cost), which is a trend even before COVID, COVID just expedited the process. Not sure if it will be waived for next year, but likely? I probably would reapply next year unless I'm off my waitlist, will expand my location and program choices to get the net bigger.
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Received reply from the director, it's more about able/unable to secure funding for me, which comes no surprise as I'm an international student. I don't have my hopes up as other domestic students declining offers are probably not that relevant to my funding mechanism. Really love the program. Willing to reapply next year. After that reply I feel much better ?
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Hi, I was wondering how did program let you know you are waitlisted? Is it a generic email/change of status in the portal or more personalized?
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Waitlisted by UCSF. Heartbreaking ? I know there's still a chance, I know.
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Great idea! The 2020 thread has a compiled list of funding for different schools, and that certainly helped me decide on programs to apply to, unfortunately that whole thread is gone. Re. preferences for internal applicants, because the committee might already know you and your advisor wants to continue working with you, that will give you some leverage in a lot of programs if not all of them. Harvard PHS enrolls 40ish applicants/yr, on average if I remember it correctly about 12 of them had Harvard masters (source: info session), which isn't that bad (given that they have so many master students). Sometimes it really depends on luck and the applicant pool, e.g. if the POI has a student/staff who worked with them for years is applying this cycle, the chance of me getting accepted might be very slim, but next year it might be a different story. Re. reaching out to faculty, it might not help but would never hurt unless it specifically stated somewhere that do not do so. At least some POIs will let you know if they are not taking advisees, then that helps save some application fees :).
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My friend is at UNC Biostats, she said RAships are easy to get, speaking from her & her cohort's experiences.
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Did anyone also interview with UCSF epi? There was a missing component for one of my interviews so I did a make up interview. The original email said the make up could be scheduled this week or next, I ended up grabbing a last minute spot last week. I am not sure if this has happened to multiple candidates, if so the decisions could potentially be released after next week if they are still doing more interviews?
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Congratulations!!!! Sounds like a very interesting career path! I would definitely want to be your classmate!!!!?
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Some of us are international students, I need to attend an university with international recognition otherwise many people would perceive me as a rich kid going to a random school if I decide to return to my home country. I might be less competitive compared to someone who went to a local but reputable university in my home country, and it is not about skillsets or training. Of course, this is an over-generalization but I'm sure many international students would resonate with me. Also by the time I graduate from my PhD, I will be over the age limit for some universities' post doc positions back in my country (cut-off age limit for many positions are 35, ageism is real and clearly stated in recruitment postings), which does not help at all. And oftentimes it's not up to me if I need to return to my country or not due to visa constraints. I know you are just trolling. But still offering my perspectives and experiences. There are many less overall ranked university that have great programs and great mentors, but unfortunately I can't pick them. It is actually my loss and very unfortunate.
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For me I would probably still take the interviews. I take interviews as opportunities to learn, to take career advice, and to interact and make connections (so, it's not a waste of their efforts/time - unless they themselves feel it's an obligation and not interested in knowing more about me as a person). Programs are fully aware that students might choose other schools, so they invite more people to interviews than what they could offer admissions. If you decide not to attend after getting accepted/interviewed, there would probably already be someone who has gone through the interview process to take the spot.
