PhD/DrPH Applicants: Fall 2021

[phdorbust21]

1 minute ago, DarkPassenger said:

For sure! My reasoning:

1. The pandemic really sucks. It has a taken a toll on my mental health (and for so many others). Deferring would allow me to clear my head by possibly taking some time off.

2. I want things to go back to normal (although no guarantee) so I can get the most out of my university experience. If I begin Fall 2022 instead of 2021, it is likely that classes will be in-person or things will be almost back to normal (big assumption, but that is my hope). I want to be able to meet my classmates, professors, engage in other activities. I don't want to end up paying tons of money for me to just sit at home and attend online classes (even if it would only be for the first year).

3. Costs. I'm a CDN applicant, and thus, funding/scholarship opportunities are limited for me. A deferral would allow me to continue working and save up money so I am more financially comfortable, while also allowing me to apply more broadly for scholarships I am eligible for.

Just my thoughts. Would love to hear yours as well.

 

Everything you said resonates with me!

I'm from California but all the programs I applied to are on the east coast. The idea of moving across the country in the middle of a pandemic to a city where I don't know anyone is daunting. I'm guessing many, if not all, classes will be virtual in the fall and opportunities to engage with my peers and advisor(s) will be greatly limited. Also, my parents are both immunocompromised and I'm constantly worried about them getting sick. I would feel much better about moving away once COVID transmission is no longer off the charts. I also love my current job and there are some projects coming down the pike that I would want to be involved with, at least for a bit.

But I haven't gotten in anywhere yet, so this may all be moot! 

[Littlefastpenguin]

10 minutes ago, Leget said:

Epid or CHHB?

Epid

[DarkPassenger]

4 minutes ago, phdorbust21 said:

Everything you said resonates with me!

I'm from California but all the programs I applied to are on the east coast. The idea of moving across the country in the middle of a pandemic to a city where I don't know anyone is daunting. I'm guessing many, if not all, classes will be virtual in the fall and opportunities to engage with my peers and advisor(s) will be greatly limited. Also, my parents are both immunocompromised and I'm constantly worried about them getting sick. I would feel much better about moving away once COVID transmission is no longer off the charts. I also love my current job and there are some projects coming down the pike that I would want to be involved with, at least for a bit.

But I haven't gotten in anywhere yet, so this may all be moot! 

What you said resonates with me as well. I wouldn't want to go to a new city and just be forced to stay at home lol. I want to go out and meet new people, etc. The pandemic is really going to screw over the traditional grad school experience. 

And same for me -- no offers for me yet, but still good to think about, since we have very minimal time to decide post-offer (if we even get admitted hopefully lol).

I would just be very careful though, since some schools don't allow deferrals and others do, but their definition of deferral means they will review your app again, but won't guarantee you admission for the next year. Another thing to keep in mind is funding - if you're accepted with funding, that might not be there the next year if you defer. Same with particular project availability, supervisor availability, etc.

Edited January 30, 2021 by DarkPassenger

[phdorbust21]

Just now, DarkPassenger said:

What you said resonates with me as well. I wouldn't want to go to a new city and just be forced to stay at home lol. I want to go out and meet new people, etc. The pandemic is really going to screw over the traditional grad school experience. 

And same for me -- no offers for me yet, but still good to think about, since we have very minimal time to decide post-offer (if we even get admitted hopefully lol).

I would just be very careful though, since some schools don't allow deferrals and others do, but their definition of deferral means they will review your app again, but won't guarantee you admission for the next year.

Definitely, it'll have to be a game time decision based on what the program considers a deferral. Good luck to you!

[DarkPassenger]

Just now, phdorbust21 said:

Definitely, it'll have to be a game time decision based on what the program considers a deferral. Good luck to you!

Thanks!! You too! You said you applied to east-coast schools. Where exactly? Just curious.

[phdorbust21]

Just now, DarkPassenger said:

Thanks!! You too! You said you applied to east-coast schools. Where exactly? Just curious.

Sure! I applied to Hopkins (MH, interview scheduled), Emory (BSHES), Harvard (PHS), and Yale (SBS).

[ASA15]

20 minutes ago, phdorbust21 said:

Everything you said resonates with me!

I'm from California but all the programs I applied to are on the east coast. The idea of moving across the country in the middle of a pandemic to a city where I don't know anyone is daunting. I'm guessing many, if not all, classes will be virtual in the fall and opportunities to engage with my peers and advisor(s) will be greatly limited. Also, my parents are both immunocompromised and I'm constantly worried about them getting sick. I would feel much better about moving away once COVID transmission is no longer off the charts. I also love my current job and there are some projects coming down the pike that I would want to be involved with, at least for a bit.

But I haven't gotten in anywhere yet, so this may all be moot! 

I actually have been thinking about this today!

What do people think the status will be like come fall? Will everything be remote? And if so, how do people feel about moving to the city of their program, vs staying put if all is remote?

[phdorbust21]

Just now, ASA15 said:

I actually have been thinking about this today!

What do people think the status will be like come fall? Will everything be remote? And if so, how do people feel about moving to the city of their program, vs staying put if all is remote?

I think everything will be remote, at least for the fall!

If it's not possible to defer without going through the application review process again, I'll likely stay put to save $$$. Although the thought of not getting to connect with others in my cohort bums me out...

[ASA15]

Just now, phdorbust21 said:

I think everything will be remote, at least for the fall!

If it's not possible to defer without going through the application review process again, I'll likely stay put to save $$$. Although the thought of not getting to connect with others in my cohort bums me out...

I live with my partner right now and he’s in a training program himself so can’t move. If I got in somewhere away from home, my plan was always to move for 1-2 years and then hope to switch to remote for dissertation-writing. 
 

So for me, remote has some perks  though I agree with you, I’ll be bummed to miss out on some of the relationship-building. 

[ASA15]

5 hours ago, DarkPassenger said:

How open are schools, in general, to students deferring admission?

I know for UW if you’re accepted you cannot defer, but if you reapply within 5(?) years you only need to rewrite the essay and I believe get one more letter of Rec? And you’re almost guaranteed admission. But funding is a different story.

UMN allows deferral, but your funding package needs to be renegotiated. 

[okiedokieartichoke]

22 hours ago, IAAJ said:

If anyone else applied to Tulane's DrPH program, just know they are revamping the program... So I'm not sure what that will mean for anyone starting fall 2021. I was on a zoom open house the other day where the SBPS faculty and staff mentioned this. In the chat, I had a question (can't remember what) and the program manager asked me to email her on whether or not I would want to roll my application over to the next admissions cycle (because of how they're changing the program structure).

Because I've already applied to 5 programs for Fall 2021, I don't necessarily want to let the prospect of Tulane go, for the potential of getting into other schools... And what would be worse would be if I ended up not getting into Tulane for Fal 2022 lol. Basically, part of me wants to know whether IF I were to get in, could I just defer enrollment by a year? That way if I were to be accepted into other programs, I'd be able to make a more informed decision.

ANYWAY! Just wanted folks to get that little bit of information.

Wow, so this is really interesting. I noticed all Tulanes webpages about the DrPH program were removed and/or taken down. The website has no mention of the DrPH under doctoral programs which I knew was there before. I was confused about how these pages suddenly were missing, so I emailed Tulane’s admissions coordinator around the second week of December about the DrPH program. I asked about the DrPH program, why the website no longer mentions it, etc. All he replied back was one sentence saying “the DrPH admission closed December 1.” I guess some stuff was happening, kinda sketchy how they wouldn’t bring it up to prospective students. 

[ALLSPH]

10 hours ago, LxRx said:

Hi! I have been accepted to the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health for a PhD in Health Services Research & Policy. I didn’t have any interviews for this program, so I am surprised but super pumped!

Congrats to the acceptance! I've been wondering if interviews are necessary for admission to PhD programs. Thank you for sharing amid this waiting game.

[healthyplanet]

Has anyone received decisions formally or informally from the Population Health Sciences program at Harvard? 

Edited January 31, 2021 by healthyplanet

[smusdent]

@healthyplanet

I've applied to the Infectious Disease track in Epi for the PHS program at Harvard, but I haven't heard a single word from the department since the submission.. ? Which track did you apply? Not too sure if the program requires the interviews for all applicants

[healthyplanet]

43 minutes ago, smusdent said:

@healthyplanet

I've applied to the Infectious Disease track in Epi for the PHS program at Harvard, but I haven't heard a single word from the department since the submission.. ? Which track did you apply? Not too sure if the program requires the interviews for all applicants

I applied to the EH Department. Not sure about the interview process either.

Hopefully we will know soon! 

 

[HPM21]

I've applied to the Harvard PHS GHP, family and population health and haven't heard anything too. 
Has anyone applied to this program or heard anything from them since submission in December?

Edited January 31, 2021 by HPM21

[PatelXX]

Have any of you had pre-application meetings with POI in Harvard PHS program? I was just curious about interviews as they encourage students to talk with POI however says there are no interview requirements.

@HPM21  

 @smusdent @healthyplanet

[smusdent]

@PatelXX

Nope, not me. I did contact a few POIs before but did not hear back from them so just had to submit without a prior meeting

[mph2epi]

Hi, I just discovered this forum. I have applied to Virginia Techs Translational biology medicine and health program, Vanderbilt for Epidemiology, VCU Epidemiology, and University at Buffalo. I interviewed with VT and they’ve just started reviewing apps. If anyone has heard anything back it would be great to know. Good luck to all!!

[HPM21]

1 hour ago, smusdent said:

@PatelXX

Nope, not me. I did contact a few POIs before but did not hear back from them so just had to submit without a prior meeting

Same here!

[epi2be]

7 hours ago, healthyplanet said:

Has anyone received decisions formally or informally from the Population Health Sciences program at Harvard? 

I interviewed but have not heard anything back yet! 

[cs4152008]

6 hours ago, PatelXX said:

Have any of you had pre-application meetings with POI in Harvard PHS program? I was just curious about interviews as they encourage students to talk with POI however says there are no interview requirements.

@HPM21  

 @smusdent @healthyplanet

I had a few good meetings with PHS and Health Policy POI at Harvard last fall before submitting my applications. But I haven’t heard anything and didn’t interview so I’m not sure how much that really helped me out

[Baby_Yoda]

49 minutes ago, epi2be said:

I interviewed but have not heard anything back yet! 

Would you be comfortable sharing which track within Epi you applied for at Harvard PHS? 

[Baby_Yoda]

6 hours ago, PatelXX said:

Have any of you had pre-application meetings with POI in Harvard PHS program? I was just curious about interviews as they encourage students to talk with POI however says there are no interview requirements.

@HPM21  

 @smusdent @healthyplanet

I reached out to a professor within the Infectious Disease Epi track a few months before the application deadline. She responded by essentially saying that the ID department has a policy of not speaking with applicants prior to application submission due to the large volume of emails they receive, and it's not exactly fair if some applicants are able to make a connection with a faculty member while others are not. I'm not sure if all tracks have the same policy, but I found this information helpful. 

[Epiiiiiii]

Harvard Population Health Sciences got a record number of applicants this year! With 800+ applicants but less than 40 spots across all PHS fields of study. Admission letters should be sent out any day now. Good luck everyone!