Stories

Interesting. When I had my interview day at Yale, several of the current students were married. Go figure.

Keep in mind by taking a spot in a program that you know you probably won't be enrolling in, you're screwing other folks on the waitlist. So it's not just you and the university/department you're screwing.

Your Master's is only a stepping stone, right? Go for the cheaper option. Who cares where your stepping stone degree came from? Is it really going to make or break your PhD apps? No. The point of doing this is to improve your chances of getting into a PhD program, and if the one you can do at SFSU is in your field and not some random unaffiliated field, it'll improve your standing in that field for future applications.

That's a big misconception. Yes, being a full-time PhD student is a lengthy process, but it's a marathon, not a sprint. You pace yourself so that you don't get overwhelmed and do good work. Is city important? Of course. If your happiness and overall work ethic is significantly worse in the "lesser" environment, you should definitely go for the environment where you can be sane, happy, and productive.

If you have the right mindset and good ideas, it won't matter which undergrad you're coming from. Those intangible qualities that grad programs look for shine through in interviews and applications, regardless of your undergrad institution.

Since it's a state school, you can gain state residency in your 2nd year. So you're only looking at super expensive costs that 1st year, anyway. Go for the new program. It's always nice to get in with other people and gain perspective.

It's generally frowned upon to leave a PhD program unless you have an understanding with the department that this is your intention. And if you enroll at your undergrad institution and you plan to reapply to schools while doing the PhD at your undergrad, who is going write your recommendations?

This. Very few in sciences go straight into a tenure track position from grad school.

Bingo. My profile is limited to ONLY my friends. The way it should be. Employers, students, and lurkers can't lurk that way. Yes, I did join my (second) grad school's network

Mine functions transparently. All the funding is provided to Yale and then it works as if Yale is paying me my stipend and tuition. The only difference is that I have advisers in two places (Yale and the NCI) and I'll physically be doing my dissertation work at the NCI.

The PI I worked with while I was at BU was married to another academic. The woman i worked with at BU got her doctorate at Harvard, and her husband got his doctorate at BU, he now is a professor at Harvard

Prestigious? If you mean a degree that will be more recognized by the lay-person, it's the PhD, no doubt. If you're even having the PhD vs. DrPH debate, you're probably thinking you want to do more practical applications of public health rather than strict research, right? Figure out a little bit more what you want to do and then this will be an easy question to answer Research = PhD Practice = DrPH

Getting a MA/MS in Geography will boost your chances of getting into a PhD program. It will also enhance your geography knowledge so that you can hone your research interests. I had a 2.9 uGPA and got into my MPH program (at Boston U.). I had a 3.5 gGPA and got into my PhD program (at Yale U.). GPA is only a small part of your package.

Yep. You have to use some of your discretionary funds to pay for school, so partially funded + stipend hits it on the dot.

Well, PhD life isn't exactly lined with money, so I think you'll generally find most PhDs to be very level headed. Most folks with PhDs are generally interested in advancing the field, which is the key part of everything.

1.) Will you be able to improve your application next year? If you can't improve it, don't waste your money reapplying and go to school now. 2.) Who cares what other people think? Are YOU okay with going to this school? If you're not then don't bother. 3.) Not to be an ass about it, but no matter how good your undergrad GPA was, no matter how great your GRE scores are, no matter what you've published and have done, you are not guaranteed acceptance anywhere. Everyone that applies to PhD programs are going to be super qualified. You'll be 1 of 400 applicants with similar qualifications, this is even more true of "elite" level schools.

One thing to keep in mind is that various schools are known for having low GPAs amongst their studentss. My undergrad institution falls into this category (Boston University). Also, all the schools I applied to that had "GPA requirements" said that the cutoff was more of a recommendation rather than a strict cutoff. Obviously, if you've got research experience (which nearly all PhD applicants do) and a clear objective, you shouldn't have any problems.

It's not unheard of for folks to rescind their decisions at schools they've already committed to. If you do get into your top choice, just call up the department and admissions office at the school you've accepted enrollment and let them know you've had a change of heart. They should let you out of the commitment to attending.

I had a low undergrad GPA (2.85), an average master's grad GPA (3.45), and average GRE scores (520V, 730Q, 5A). I got into several schools. My master's IS the same field as my PhD, and my undergrad is a related discipline (Biology). There is no undergraduate programs in my field, so that might be why my undergrad GPA isn't a huge predictor of acceptance into schools. I had no idea what my shots of getting in to any schools were. So I applied liberally. I don't know if I compensated for anything on my application, but here's what I did apply with. A clear purpose and knowledge of what I wanted to pursue and why. Why school X was a great fit for me and what I could bring to it. Extensive research experience dating back to undergrad and two years of full-time RA as a MPH student.

I'm a power user and overall computer junkie so keep that in mind. If you're looking for solid build quality, go for a Lenovo. They break the bank and are boring as nails to look at, but they are solid (think Toyota or Honda). If you want something with design flair, great hardware for the price, go for a ASUS. They don't have much of a reputation yet and some would say they look silly, but they pack a lot of performance for the price (think Mitsubishi). If you want something that's very mainstream without many frills, reasonably priced, and fairly reliable, get a Dell (think Hyundai). HP, Gateway, and Toshiba are other mainstream companies which don't really stand out in any way. HP offers many different SKUs so you can get pretty much what you want, but their reliability and build quality leave something to be desired. Toshiba is kind of, meh, all the way around. Gateway makes a few great gaming laptops (their FX series), but their mainstream laptops are a bit big and unwieldy compared to the competition. That's my $.2

If it's that important, CALL. Email is super casual, anyway.

That many scams? Please do tell.

I'm a pragmatic person. So my vote is for the professional degree in the MPA. Just my $.2

This is especially true of the sciences where very few PhD graduates land a TT position immediately. Almost all of them will do postdocs.

Buyer's remorse. Remember, in the end, you will really make or break the experience. Go in with a smile and good attitude and you'll be great