PhD/DrPH Applicants: Fall 2021

[moosepup]

2 hours ago, 2021epiphd said:

Just received a rejection email from BU (Boston University) Epidemiology PhD program. I am still waiting to hear from Yale, Columbia, and Harvard, although I'm assuming Harvard was a rejection based on previous posts here. 

Has anyone heard from Columbia Epi or Yale Epi?

 

I also haven't heard anything from Columbia Epi, for what it's worth.

[niram]

Just received a rejection notice from Harvard PHS. I knew it was coming but it still stings. 

[DarkPassenger]

Just got rejected from Harvard PHS (email to check portal). Not surprised (no interview).

[EpiNYC]

Also received a rejection from Harvard PHS. As others, saw it coming but it still hurts a little lol ... I'm still waiting on one at this point. UCLA EPI. Anyone heard anything from them? They have been silent.

[KatGrad757]

On 2/1/2021 at 5:34 PM, Joel12 said:

Figured I should contribute after lurking for so long. 
Will be graduating with MPH in March, have a BS in Community Health. 2 years research/public health experience. Clearly not the most qualified candidate, but still very interested in pursuing a PhD! Applied to the following programs for Health Policy & Services Research/Administration/Management:

Brown, U of Colorado SPH, CUNY, Drexel, Temple, U of I Chicago SPH, UMD, & VCU. 
 

Have not heard back from anywhere yet, not even a rejection. At this point, I don’t have much hope that I will be accepted anywhere, and I’m just working to be okay with that and thinking about how I can use this year to make sure I’m an appealing candidate the next time around. That being said, I feel the same as many of you do - the waiting to hear back has been really tough, and I am having trouble not thinking about this constantly. Sigh. Just tell me you don’t want me already!
 

I see the highly qualified candidates on this thread and applaud all of you for your interviews & acceptances! I appreciate you all for sharing your experiences. 

Keep your hope up. We all have great things to offer these schools and programs. All you need is one offer  . Good luck!

[FDawg]

I just want to say folks: it seems like we applied to public health PhD programs in the worst year to apply in a long time. That said, if you haven't/don't receive acceptances this year, this is not an accurate reflection of you or your application - it's an accurate reflection of how shitty this year was to apply. And if you've only received 1 acceptance, you should be so fucking proud of yourself. Take care everyone.

Edited February 10, 2021 by FDawg

[2021epiphd]

Also just received a Harvard Population Health Sciences PhD rejection for Epidemiology  . Seems like it really is a tough year to apply. I am thinking I might need to try again another cycle. Wishing everyone the best!

[publichealthPhD]

Also just got my rejection from HSPH PHD Population Health - Global Health and Population

[katevinita]

8 hours ago, envepid said:

One of them was mine! I think last year it was definitely a trickle -- there were acceptances starting in Jan and going through March, I think (you could look back at the results page for last year). So I wouldn't be concerned if you haven't heard, especially considering there are only 3 acceptances posted and I think they take a relatively large cohort.

As a side note, there was no funding information included in the letter. It said those decisions are made separately and we will be contacted if we receive funding.

Congratulations! May I ask about about your indicated interest area(s)? Curious if anyone in injury received a decision.

[katevinita]

Rejected from both Harvard PHS Epi and BU Epi PhD programs today. Expected, but still stings. Hopefully some good news is to come!

[Joel12]

22 minutes ago, KatGrad757 said:

Keep your hope up. We all have great things to offer these schools and programs. All you need is one offer  . Good luck!

Thank you for your words of encouragement! I still have not heard back, but I am definitely feeling less anxious. Things will work out one way or another ?

[ZombieLenin]

33 minutes ago, EpiNYC said:

Also received a rejection from Harvard PHS. As others, saw it coming but it still hurts a little lol ... I'm still waiting on one at this point. UCLA EPI. Anyone heard anything from them? They have been silent.

@EpiNYC A UCLA Epi faculty member emailed me yesterday for a brief interview this week. I suppose that means that their decisions won't come for another week at least. 

[2021fallepiphd]

Rejected by both JHU Epi and Harvard PHS today... Not surprised but still felt hard to process in a day. It really is the worst year to apply I guess...

[phdhopeful14]

Harvard rejection club, assemble!!!!!! Just heard back from Harvard PHS for their PhD program in Global Health and Population (Pop and Family Health), and got my first rejection of the admissions season. 

[Scm2558]

Not sure if anyone else is on Reddit, but this page was recently start as a sub for admission/rejection results. “Gradadmissionresults”
https://www.reddit.com/r/gradadmissionresults/

[CommunityHealth21]

Also a member of the Harvard rejection club. Was expecting that too. 

[XXXXXXphd2021]

Also rejected from Harvard PHS SBS. Debating on if I should reach out to POIs to discuss my applications. I do feel that although our research interests quite overlap but still a bit different directions. Great program with great (phd student standard) funding package tho. 

[Coffee All Day]

8 hours ago, Waitingispain said:

Folks who applied to the Harvard DrPH - any news? 

Nothing yet for me ? 

[Jbirdphd]

I applied for PhD's at UCLA epi, USC pop health and places, UCI public health (have an interview this week), and UCSD public health behaviors.  Does anyone know anything about USC or UCI? 

I am later in life (mid-40's) career change, 3.8 graduate GPA with recs from Harvard biostats prof and a retired Roosevelt professor.  I expect nothing from UCLA since they didn't have any faculty who worked in the areas I was interested.  

Edited February 11, 2021 by Jbirdphd

[ALLSPH]

Got rejection from Harvard, BU, JHU, UW. Anyone applied for cancer epi PhD as well ?

Since there's no "reserved seats" for each track, I don't know if the pandemic has changed the committee's preference for  students and their research of interest.

[fingazntoescrossd]

*Brown HSR Rejection Email Arrives*

Me: Proceeds to unfollow every single Brown HSR-affiliated account on Twitter

 

???

[publichealthPhD]

Just got my rejection from Brown's HSR program. This was expected as I wasn't interviewed. 3/4 rejections so far. The 4th will come soon, as I haven't been interviewed there. I'm going to need to regroup and re-strategize for next year's cycle.

I've been working in maternal and child health space for 12 years, am a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, I graduated with my MPH from Johns Hopkins where I won an award for my capstone research project. I worked on monitoring and evaluation of global maternal and child health programs for a few years post-MPH, and for the last three years I've been working as a researcher at a Harvard SPH lab. I have first authored 2 papers, second-authored 3 papers, and am a middle author in some others. I did not submit my GREs unless required. I'm interested in the intersection of MCH quality of care and implementation science. My recommenders are well-known in the field.

I'm writing all of this to contribute to the ongoing conversation on this forum to de-stigmatize rejection. I'm trying to view this as an opportunity rather than a failure. I only applied to schools that were geographically close this year due to covid, so next year I'll get to expand my search a bit more. Hopefully that will make it easier to find a better match.  I'm using this year to regroup, gain more experience, and to identify programs that might be a better fit. (And maybe try for a kid pre-PhD!).

This has been a great forum! It's good to know that there are so many up-and-coming, qualified, passionate public health researchers. We need it! Good luck to you all!

[Going4DrPH]

I had one interview for Harvard DrPH in mid-January and then radio silence since. I know they do two rounds of interviews, so I am assuming I did not move on to the next stage. 

EDIT: Was trying to reply to a post from above asking for news on Harvard DrPH. Sorry I can't figure out how to delete and repost. ? 

Edited February 11, 2021 by almondbutter_em

[moosepup]

32 minutes ago, publichealthPhD said:

Just got my rejection from Brown's HSR program. This was expected as I wasn't interviewed. 3/4 rejections so far. The 4th will come soon, as I haven't been interviewed there. I'm going to need to regroup and re-strategize for next year's cycle.

I've been working in maternal and child health space for 12 years, am a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, I graduated with my MPH from Johns Hopkins where I won an award for my capstone research project. I worked on monitoring and evaluation of global maternal and child health programs for a few years post-MPH, and for the last three years I've been working as a researcher at a Harvard SPH lab. I have first authored 2 papers, second-authored 3 papers, and am a middle author in some others. I did not submit my GREs unless required. I'm interested in the intersection of MCH quality of care and implementation science. My recommenders are well-known in the field.

I'm writing all of this to contribute to the ongoing conversation on this forum to de-stigmatize rejection. I'm trying to view this as an opportunity rather than a failure. I only applied to schools that were geographically close this year due to covid, so next year I'll get to expand my search a bit more. Hopefully that will make it easier to find a better match.  I'm using this year to regroup, gain more experience, and to identify programs that might be a better fit. (And maybe try for a kid pre-PhD!).

This has been a great forum! It's good to know that there are so many up-and-coming, qualified, passionate public health researchers. We need it! Good luck to you all!

Wow wow wow!! I have to say a huge thank you to everything you've contributed to the field (and the world!) so far in your career. You're a rock star and going to continue doing great things. ? Also - shoutout from another MCH researcher later in her career considering having a kid during PhD apps/school!! I did AmeriCorps but still feel a bit of camaraderie with you there too. You rock! ? 

[publichealthPhD]

38 minutes ago, moosepup said:

Wow wow wow!! I have to say a huge thank you to everything you've contributed to the field (and the world!) so far in your career. You're a rock star and going to continue doing great things. ? Also - shoutout from another MCH researcher later in her career considering having a kid during PhD apps/school!! I did AmeriCorps but still feel a bit of camaraderie with you there too. You rock! ? 

You're the rockstar!! ?