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Morning Gradcafers. Just a quick update to let you know that I was admitted to UCLA. I woke up this morning to an email telling me to check my decision status on the website. The letter is from the dean of the graduate division and references information I should have received from the school of public health. It also says that the SPH will tell me about funding. I'm seriously hoping this isn't a Vassar computer glitch since I haven't heard anything yet from the SPH. For now it's exciting to receive an offer of admission!

I know I'm applying to an entirely different field (though I was a Soc undergrad a long time ago) but I had a very similar experience with a professor at Berkeley. I wrote to a member of the core faculty and 2 months later, after I had already submitted my application, she wrote back and was very apologetic for not responding sooner. She further said that I was "still in the mix and a strong candidate." Of course this communication made my head spin. Why would a professor reach out during this time? Clearly they know potential candidates are going to get their hopes up and they would want to avoid sending unrealistic messages. I posted my experience on gradcafe and a few people thought it sounded like an unofficial acceptance. I also work full-time for a university doing research and my PI also thought it was very positive. I wasn't ready to get too excited yet. This was in mid-January. Then Friday I received an email from the director of admissions to ask about my residency status (I live in NY but would be eligible for in state tuition because I attended high school in CA). Again, why would they care if they weren't going to admit me? Did this have something to do with potential funding I wondered. I'm telling you this long story because I want you to know that others are out there experiencing the same thing. I don't know about you but I'd almost rather the silence than this. I wish you the best of luck with this school. The waiting is nearly over.

Ampere, you are exactly right that they aren't looking for a commitment but rather just assessing my interest. Thanks for your feedback. I will say though, unless you've gotten into your "dream" school with full funding and a generous stipend for 5 years, who would make a decision before all offers are on the table? So, I'm not sure these general inquiries get genuine & honest responses from prospective students. And, Italophile, I sort of thought that too...

I know I've seen inquiries like this before so I'm wondering if I can solicit some advice too. I just came home to the following email from a school. "I am writing to let you know you are one of our top candidates and we think you would be a good fit with our program. However, we have to limit our incoming class to five or six students so if possible, please let me know if you have accepted or are planning on accepting elsewhere else. This helps us move more quickly in our decision making process." At this point I haven't received any acceptances or rejections from any of the schools I've applied to. I'm certainly not ready to commit to anything. Any thoughts on how I should respond beyond saying that I have yet to be accepted, I remain interested, but of course my final decision will depend on a number of factors including any financial or fellowship offers?

I don't know if there are any other Berkeley DrPH applicants out there but I had an email exchange with the director of admissions today and she said "we'll send decisions within the next 2-3 weeks but sooner if possible". She wrote to me to ask about my residency status. A strange question, right?

Just for a little fun while we all wait. http://publichealthryangosling.tumblr.com/

AMAZING!!! Did you update the results section yesterday? I sorta suspected those were you. I know I don't know you but I'm so excited for you. Any word from any of your other schools?

I don't consider myself to have a very good vocabulary. I didn't read a lot growing up and I think that matters. Yet, I scored well on the verbal section without ever (not kidding) studying a single vocabulary list. The 90th percentile is 162. I'm not saying I did things the best way but I really focused on the reading sections. If you master those you'll be in a great position and I don't think most people pay enough attention to those portions of the test. Then studying vocabulary will be icing on the cake and get you well into the 90's. That's my two cents for the verbal section. Good luck.

MPH, MPP, and MPA programs tend to be very applied. I'd argue that the best candidates are those with some relevant work experience. PhD programs, on the other hand, are more academic and one can more easily transition from undergrad directly into a graduate program. With that said, it's difficult to comment on a person's chances of being admitted as that is very school-specific and depends a lot on your statement of purpose and letters of recommendation. In response to the comment above about compatibility of research, I disagree. I'd say that's certainly true for PhD programs but not an MPH necessarily. I think admission committees are looking for a demonstrated commitment to the field and what they have done to be ready for the program/will do following the program. The vast majority of MPH folks will never do independent research.

ME: "Maybe if I get into Berkeley I won't go. I don't really want to leave NY." FRIEND: "You're not serious, are you?" ME: "No. Well...maybe. I don't want to go. But I can't not go." Note to all: After thinking and planning and working on this for years, I can't believe the crazy thoughts that are going through my head right now. This process freaking SUCKS!!! I mean, who am I to turn down Berkeley?

CameraMan that is wonderful news. Congrats! You must be so excited. What's your research interest?

"You're a gifted administrator. If you don't get in we should come up with a plan B for you. Perhaps running a department?" Great, are you telling me I'm not smart enough to do the research but I can manage the research others do? Excellent.

I don't know why I'm replying to this discussion but I feel compelled to state the obvious. Why worry about the cost of food? I mean, when contemplating what school to go to the cost of housing will certainly be the biggest factor. If one selects a school in NYC or Los Angeles or San Francisco it's going to be quite expensive as opposed to going to school in Nebraska or Ohio. Food expenses are a sunk cost. You have to eat no matter where you are. But you don't have to pay more than $1000 a month in rent in many cities. I'm just saying...

I've worked for a professor for over 5 years now and feel that I can help ease your concern a little. 1. Professors understand that research often moves slowly. And that sometimes issues come up that one cannot predict that result in delayed projects. The fact that you've worked for this person for 2 years and he/she moved you to ANOTHER project says a lot. I'm sure they could have just said they don't need you but instead trusted you to work on a different project. 2. I often serve as that middle person you spoke about. That means that I give my boss a lot of feedback on the person(s) reporting to me. Just because you have less interaction with the professor that you are working for than you'd like, and that is ideal, doesn't mean they don't know about you and your capabilities. If I were to give you any sort of advice I would suggest making sure you are doing the very best job you can do, and ask that middle person for feedback on your work. Make sure that person knows that you are a hard worker, smart, detail oriented (you wouldn't believe how many people aren't) and willing to do whatever is necessary to make the project a success. Team players really stand out. My guess is that if the person supervising you hasn't been giving regular updates about you (and that would be weird) that come letter time the professor will seek out this information from your supervisor. And honestly, professors deal with hundreds of students throughout their career. I feel certain they are able to quickly assess a person based on all of their experience.

I went to NYU Wagner after 6 or 7 years working in policy (CA State Legislature as a Legislative Aide & and for a national advocacy organization). In my opinion, MPA programs make more sense for people that have more experience so that what you are learning can be applied. I recommend that you consider working for at least a couple years before applying to schools. You will get so much more out of the program and you will be a better peer to the other students. It would also improve your chances of being admitted considering your GRE and GPA are likely at the lower end of most applicants. Good luck whatever you decide.

Not that I know of. Yesterday I looked at the results section for the last couple years, focusing on schools that I applied to including Columbia, and it seems that it's a bit early to hear about admissions. And most of the schools I've applied to also do not do interviews. It's hard not to be anxious but I think we won't hear about admissions for a bit. Note that I did not apply to the big schools like Hopkins, Emory, UNC, Yale, Harvard, or Michigan due to their geographic locations instead opting for NY or CA schools only.

At Berkeley I actually applied to the DrPH program. For various reasons I've decided to do a mix of PhD in Community Health Sciences-type programs and DrPH in my applications. Also, I see that you applied to Wagner. I went there for my graduate program and currently work with some Wagner faculty. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Congrats to epi19. That is so exciting! Did you add your you acceptance to the results survey? If not, you should. I have a question for the group. Today I got an unexpected email from a professor at Berkeley. It was in response to an email from me 2 months ago looking to touch base with faculty and learn more about the program. She apologized for not responding sooner and said a couple of interesting things. First, she said, "Our final meeting -- for making firm decisions regarding offers for admission -- will take place on 1/27/12. You are still in the mix and a strong candidate. It's great you contacted X professor and I'll be sure and let the committee know that." And then she went on to say that she would be happy to talk to me (per my original request) but could we do it after the decisions were made. Why would she want to talk to me then? She closed with, "I look forward to talking with you and to meeting you." I wish this email never came because it's gotten my hopes up. Curious what others out there think.

Thanks DeeLovely79 and twizzler86! I really appreciate the support and advice. Don't get too excited about this conversation though. It is not in response to my application. Applications for Claremont are not due until Feb. 5th and I haven't submitted mine yet. This conversation was initiated by me and is exactly what both of you did in the past in terms of reaching out prior to applying. I'm just late in this process. The director of the program is the person I would want to work with as his research is similar to my interests and my previous research experience.

I want to second that. Congrats on the phone interview and good luck in the in person interview. I'm having an informal discussion with the director of Claremont's Health Promotion Sciences program next Thursday. Has anyone had any of those types of conversations? I'm curious about the types of things they ask and what folks have done to prepare. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I don't know the answer to your question regarding downside of having a dual MPA MBA degree. However, I can tell you that NYU does have such a program between Wagner and Stern.

I know it is not standard, and not even appropriate, to have a cumulative percentile for GRE but the USC appliation asks for this. Does anyone know how to calculate appropriately? I did call ETS and they said they don't do that (of course) and the woman on the phone claimed that the verbal and quant scores were on different scales with verbal being out of 170 and quant topping off at 166. Curious. Any ideas out there? I'm probably just going to leave blank as that seems most appropriate.

I just wanted to jump into this conversation and say that I live in Brooklyn and had a job in Hamilton, NJ for 2 years. Hamilton is on the same train line but further than New Brunswick. If you live on the west side of Manhattan it isn't too terrible to take NJ Transit from Penn Station to New Brunswick every day. Yes, it's relatively expensive but you should look into student passes and buying a monthly pass (both will be cheaper than purchasing one way tickets). All that is to say it is doable but expensive. On the plus side you can study on the train though!

I only want to live in CA or NY because I feel like I'm too old to move somewhere random. Therefore my schools are: 1. NYU Steinhardt 2. Columbia - Sociomedical Sciences 3. Graduate Center 4. UCLA - Community Health Sciences 5. Berkeley 6. Claremont 7. USC 8. Rutgers 9. UI Chicago (just cause it's a relatively good city and required no extra work.) I'm only about 50% done with applications. I can't wait for this to be over. Good luck!

I'm looking for feedback about my chances for admission to PhD programs in community health science type programs and how to sell myself in my SoP. Undergrad GPA: 3.26 UCSB Graduate GPA (I have a MPA): 3.82 NYU GRE: Q: 156 revised (90%) = 720 old version V: 164 revised (74%) = 640 old version AW: 5.0 (87%) I should have 3 great letters of rec. I have worked for a professor doing research since I was in my graduate program (2003). I have managed many large-scale research and evaluation projects and participated in all aspects of the work including design, data collection, interviewing, analysis, and writing. I've also published and presented at conferences including APHA. The prof I work for has allowed me to do whatever I want. I'm going back to school though so I can be a colleague and work on projects I want rather than what she is funded to do. My issue is that all advice (and it makes perfect sense) is that you have to be the right fit for a school. However, I don't have a strong preference as to my content area. I just love to do research and can get excited about many topics. I've done research/evaluations on obesity/diabetes prevention and health services. Though I'm more interested in other topics including substance abuse, tobacco control, reproductive health, violence prevention, and obesity. What I really like to do is to figure out the most rigorous design possible given the limitations of an applied setting, I like figuring out data collection methodologies, and I like being in the field to see the real world. I guess my question is, how should I sell myself to schools in my SoP?