PHD Applicants: Fall 2019

[SAHH]

Hello, 

I'm applying for PhD programs in Healthcare management and policy this cycle. I'm planning to take my GRE some time  at end of this month or early November but I thought i might get a head start with applications.  I have a few questions for you guys

1- how important is it to contact POI some schools actually discourage it on their websites stating that professor might be bust and would likely not reply 

2- how many schools should you apply to?

[ASA15]

Hi all!

Also applying- in the midst of completing apps now! I am applying epidemiology (mostly) and schools are: Havvard TH Chan, Yale, Columbia, JHU, BU, UNC, Michigan, Tulane (Tropical Medicine), Washington, and Emory (where I got my MPH).

I contacted POIs at all schools and got about a 50%ish response rate? But phone calls I was able to have were very useful in learning more about the programs, at least! Though I got mixed signals from different schools on how useful/recommended this was... I figured it at least wouldn't hurt!

Getting excited about this process, though ready to face a lot of rejections  Good luck everyone!

 

 

[sak91]

I am applying as well though I am not confident of my chances. I have a horrible undergraduate GPA (about a 2.6) but I did get my MPH and my GPA for that is a solid 3.8. I am going to apply to UMD, GW, and Hopkins (though this is a huge reach). I'm taking my GREs next month. I have solid experience and have published a handful of papers (no first author though). I've also presented at Academy Health conferences and APHA conference so that will hopefully help. Honestly I'll be shocked if I get in. I am just hoping that they see I am more than my undergrad grades. Do you think I should address the low GPA in my personal statement or just let it be? I did address it in my MPH application, which might have helped. Just not sure I should address it now since it is over 5 years ago at this point.

Edited October 22, 2018 by sak91

[movingon]

Hi all,

 

< 1 month now (HANG IN THERE!). This thread is not very active, as what I expected (compared to last year's one). I applied in 2016, when I was very lost and did not know what I was doing, nor what I liked. I chose 2 schools (randomly, I am not kidding) couple days before the deadline. Not surprisingly I got neither an offer, nor an interview. Last year (2017), I was still not sure if I was ready/qualified for a PhD; I was only sure that I was not that motivated enough to even start ONE application. 

 

Now it is 2018; the end of 2018. I re-tried GRE couple times this year: the last but one time, I almost vomitted after the test (I hate verbal!!!); the last time, I felt so relieved after the test, because I knew that I did not want to do it any more!!! Then, I am going to use the score from the last but one try, still the verbal is under 70% (YES, my verbal score is decreasing by time hahaha). I gave up (there is just something out there that I am not able to go through it). 

 

My background:

1. Demo: international applicant

2. Education: both BSc and MSc in Public Health

3. Work: one year full-time work experience as RA (not counting any experience as a student)

4. Publication: two 1st-author pubs, four 1st-author oral presents, one 1st-author poster presents (not counting any non 1st-author works)

5. Applying-to: four schools (all in US)

6. Recommenders: three, all professors

I was going to apply for 5 schools, but eventually my school list got cut down to 4. I have reached out all 4 schools, a total of 8 POIs; I got 4/8 replies (50%) from 3/4 schools (75%).  I have been very frustrated about: 1) my GRE; 2) my procrastination in SOP writing; 3) the lack of information of what a program wants, which might help 2); 4) the contacts of POIs wherein I found limited information.

 

This process is not easy; but I never knew it would be this tough. I wouldn't be surprised if I don't get into any of the schools, because 1) I am applying to a short list of schools and 2) there are so many applicants out there who have a very strong background. I also wouldn't be surprised if I really get into one of these programs, because I am trying my best in this cycle... So GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! 

 

[movingon]

On 10/17/2018 at 8:32 AM, ASA15 said:

I contacted POIs at all schools and got about a 50%ish response rate? But phone calls I was able to have were very useful in learning more about the programs, at least! Though I got mixed signals from different schools on how useful/recommended this was... I figured it at least wouldn't hurt!

 

I second this! I only had ONE phone call, which I am very grateful for and which was better than nothing. I don't know if that helps/hurts an application, which makes me very anxious (after the phone call). But I guess we'll see in not a short time...

[movingon]

On 10/22/2018 at 11:18 AM, sak91 said:

I am applying as well though I am not confident of my chances. I have a horrible undergraduate GPA (about a 2.6) but I did get my MPH and my GPA for that is a solid 3.8. I am going to apply to UMD, GW, and Hopkins (though this is a huge reach). I'm taking my GREs next month. I have solid experience and have published a handful of papers (no first author though). I've also presented at Academy Health conferences and APHA conference so that will hopefully help. Honestly I'll be shocked if I get in. I am just hoping that they see I am more than my undergrad grades. Do you think I should address the low GPA in my personal statement or just let it be? I did address it in my MPH application, which might have helped. Just not sure I should address it now since it is over 5 years ago at this point.

I would not address the low GPA in my SOP.

 

First, this is a PhD application, so I don't really think it is a "personal statement".

 

Second, I sent my SOP to couple friends, one feedback I really appreciate is that, they all seemed to be a bit confused about some of my writing (some comments like "could you explain this terminology/concept further?"), which is largely due to the fact that there is a word limit (e.g. 1000) on SOP. As a result, I would rather spend more words on something I want to say (my strength) rather than something that I am not good at. 

 

Hope this helps. 

Edited November 5, 2018 by movingon

[apex45]

Hey all, just checkin in. 

As of yesterday, I've sent all my applications. I'm applying to just 6 schools... think that's enough? I can't find any other places (1) with faculty that align with my interests and (2) in an area where I think I could live comfortably as a graduate student. 

It hasn't even been 24 hours, and I'm obsessively refreshing my email and checking old message boards here and elsewhere to try to determine when/if I'll hear back. Waiting season has always been the worst part of applications for me

[ianmleavitt]

On 11/20/2018 at 12:36 PM, apex45 said:

It hasn't even been 24 hours, and I'm obsessively refreshing my email and checking old message boards here and elsewhere to try to determine when/if I'll hear back. Waiting season has always been the worst part of applications for me

I had my first responses starting on January 13th of last year (and heard from 4 of 5 that I applied to by January 19th)...most admissions committees at top tier schools are likely not going to meet until after the holiday season. For Harvard (since I see that you applied), I was reached out to on January 17th about conducting a a video interview. 

Be patient! And here's hoping for good news come January!

[ASA15]

20 hours ago, ianmleavitt said:

I had my first responses starting on January 13th of last year (and heard from 4 of 5 that I applied to by January 19th)...most admissions committees at top tier schools are likely not going to meet until after the holiday season. For Harvard (since I see that you applied), I was reached out to on January 17th about conducting a a video interview. 

Be patient! And here's hoping for good news come January!

Thank you for this! I figured I wouldn't hear anything back until after the New Year, but glad to hear you'd heard back relatively quickly after that...Good to know for the most part I won't left hanging until late spring etc since I will most likely need to relocate and will have to figure stuff out!

 

[movingon]

Hi all,

 

I submitted all my applications, just now! Finally! 

 

Harvard: Population Health Sciences - Social and Behavior Sciences (Harvard - PHS-SBS)

UCLA: Environmental Health Sciences (UCLA - EHS)

USC: Health Behavior Research (USC - HBR)

USC: Population, Health and Place (USC - PHP)

 

3 schools, 4 programs ... we'll see how it goes  

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by movingon

[Zonaira_Khalid]

[EpiMexico]

Hi everyone!! Already applied, hate waiting for the response getting really crazy and looking at all the forums. I am really unsure I will get in since unfortunately I could not publish before applying Hope everything works out fine.  

Undergrad Institution: Private school in Mexico
Major(s): Medicine
Minor(s): n/a
GPA in Major: n/a
Overall GPA: n/a
Position in Class: 2° in class of 50 something
Type of Student: International female

Postgrad: Specialization in applied statistics in Mexico

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 164 (87%)
V: 164 (94%)
W: 3.5 (42%)


TOEFL Total: 115

Research Experience: 2 years as research assistant in largest mexican cohort and 6 month visiting appointment at HSPH

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Fulbright Scholarship for PhD studies, Mexicanos en Harvard Scholarship for visiting appointment stipend, 30% Scholarship from medical school


Applying to Where: (all for epidemiology) Harvard, UW, Boston U, Emory, UNC, and Vanderbilt.

[Pubhealth101]

Hi guys! 

This is my second time applying to Ph.D. programs - hopefully, something actually works out this yr! Last year, I only applied to 5 programs and only had an interview at Harvard but was then rejected. This yr I'm applied to 9 schools (yes, I think I'm crazy as well), see list below: 

• UCSF - Global Health Services
• University of Washington - Global Health - Implementation Sciences  
• Harvard - Global Health - Health Systems 
• Brown - Behavioral and Social Health Sciences 
• Yale - Social and Behavioral Sciences 
• Johns Hopkins - International Health - Health System 
• Columbia (ONLY DrPH program) - Global Health 
• University of Toronto - Social and Behavioral Health Sciences 
• McGill Univerity - Epi 

Yes, I know. It's a lot of programs but we will see. I was able to speak with at least 1 faculty from each program. I hope we can make this page more active like last yr! It really helped (even though I didn't get into anywhere it was helpful to know that people were going through the same thing!) 

 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Pubhealth101

[PhMe]

On 12/13/2018 at 5:16 PM, Pubhealth101 said:

Hi guys! 

This is my second time applying to Ph.D. programs - hopefully, something actually works out this yr! Last year, I only applied to 5 programs and only had an interview at Harvard but was then rejected. This yr I'm applied to 9 schools (yes, I think I'm crazy as well), see list below: 

• UCSF - Global Health Services
• University of Washington - Global Health - Implementation Sciences  
• Harvard - Global Health - Health Systems 
• Brown - Behavioral and Social Health Sciences 
• Yale - Social and Behavioral Sciences 
• Johns Hopkins - International Health - Health System 
• Columbia (ONLY DrPH program) - Global Health 
• University of Toronto - Social and Behavioral Health Sciences 
• McGill Univerity - Epi 

Yes, I know. It's a lot of programs but we will see. I was able to speak with at least 1 faculty from each program. I hope we can make this page more active like last yr! It really helped (even though I didn't get into anywhere it was helpful to know that people were going through the same thing!) 

 

You're not crazy! I applied to 13 schools last year as I really wanted to get in somewhere. I got accepted by 8 schools, and received funding commitments for the first year from 3 schools, and full funding from only 1 school, which I ended up attending. Never a bad idea to diversify your options!

[HPM2020]

Hi everyone

Can U give me a quick evaluation! ? and any suggestion to apply?!

Tnx

Undergrad 
Major(s): Economics
Overall GPA: 15.2 out of 20
Type of Student: International male

Grad 
Major(s): Health Economics
Overall GPA: 18.4 out of 20

TOEFL: 99

GRE Scores
Q: 157 
V: 150
W: 3.5


Research Experience: 1 year  in the field of health economics

Publication:  1 first author ( Q1 Journal) - 1 ISI (co-author) - 2 PubMed (co-author) -  1 first author (under review - Q1 journal) - 1 conference ( Vancouver oral presentation)
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Ranked 1st in Master - Ranked 9th in Master entrance exam
Applying to Where:  Michigan ( Health Management & Policy) - Washington ( Global Health) - Penn State ( Health Services) 
I lost the opportunity to apply through SOPHAS! ? 

Edited December 19, 2018 by sedaesokut

[ASA15]

FYI- Just heard back and got an interview with Michigan Epi! Doctoral day- Jan 24-25.

[Akee]

2 hours ago, ASA15 said:

FYI- Just heard back and got an interview with Michigan Epi! Doctoral day- Jan 24-25.

Yayyy, congrats on the interview!! 

[apex45]

2 hours ago, ASA15 said:

FYI- Just heard back and got an interview with Michigan Epi! Doctoral day- Jan 24-25.

Awesome! Does the email indicate if it's for Epi students only or all doctoral applicants? (Trying to determine if I've been silently rejected)

[ASA15]

2 hours ago, apex45 said:

Awesome! Does the email indicate if it's for Epi students only or all doctoral applicants? (Trying to determine if I've been silently rejected)

I think Epi department only (judging from the email subject)!

[apex45]

18 minutes ago, ASA15 said:

I think Epi department only (judging from the email subject)!

I will keep hope alive!! Michigan is one of my top choices. Good luck in advance for your interview day!

[epidjyaku]

On 12/21/2018 at 4:04 PM, ASA15 said:

FYI- Just heard back and got an interview with Michigan Epi! Doctoral day- Jan 24-25.

Congrats on the interview!

I am also invited to the interview at Michigan, and start to get nervous about it already since there will be a 3-faculty panel interview. Very curious as to what the questions could be, anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

[ehs_phd_18]

Hey all,

Applied to 6 programs this fall: UMD, Johns Hopkins (where I got my master's), UC Berkeley, UCLA, Columbia, Harvard. Top choices are Berkeley and UMD, if funding works out for the latter.

So far, I've got an interview request from Hopkins last week for Jan 31 - Feb 2. I consider my relationship with the department relatively strong, so I wasn't too surprised by the request. Am very nervous about the other schools, though.

As far as statistics go, I have a 3.8+ from undergrad and master's, 160Q/161V/5.0AW GRE, and all of my work experience post-grad has been outside of the US, but I am an American citizen.

My statistics look pretty good (maybe a low GRE Q?), but I'm still nervous about my chances. I don't have any academic publications, and have had very little luck (2/6) with contacting potentials. During the applications season, I was also going through several successive family emergencies, and wasn't really able to focus much on the quality of my application, either. So fingers crossed! Wishing everyone else the best of luck, as well.

[Loveleen]

Hello Everyone!!! I am an International Student from India willing to go to canada for MPH prog/

Anyone their with same course ..

i have 79% in Bpharm n 7.5 ielts.

i have applied in 

1 U O A

2 U O S

3 U O VIC 

4 LAKEHEAD UNI

5 UNIOF GUELPH

[Pubhealth101]

Happy New Year! 

Has anyone gotten interview invitations yet? If so, how are you planning to prepare? 

[ASA15]

1 hour ago, Pubhealth101 said:

Happy New Year! 

Has anyone gotten interview invitations yet? If so, how are you planning to prepare? 

I'm assuming it will be questions about the work I currently do/my experience, as well as what I hope to get out of a PhD so I wasn't planning on too much prep. Will likely refresh myself on the work of the professors ahead of time. Hoping these interviews are more conversation then hard interview.

Anyone else?