PhD/DrPH Applicants: Fall 2021

[smusdent]

Hi friends! I got my very last interview for GW Public Health program on next Tuesday.. Now that it's my only hope, any last minute interview tip? Review the SOP, resume, research interests, and some of the faculty profiles, and any other? If I don't get into the program, I'd go into the third cycle of application and really wouldn't want that to happen ? Any advice will be much appreciated!! 

[DrPH21]

9 hours ago, smusdent said:

Hi friends! I got my very last interview for GW Public Health program on next Tuesday.. Now that it's my only hope, any last minute interview tip? Review the SOP, resume, research interests, and some of the faculty profiles, and any other? If I don't get into the program, I'd go into the third cycle of application and really wouldn't want that to happen ? Any advice will be much appreciated!! 

I recommend reviewing the school's / program's "mission, vision, and values". It gives you info as to why you want their specific school. For example, I talked about one school's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and how that aligned with my personal values. The interviewers seemed to be impressed that I could talk about being part of the school's community, not just a student in one specific program. Really ask yourself = why this school? 

Good luck on your interview  You got this!!

[phdepihopeful]

On 3/18/2021 at 7:14 PM, MNCH Hopeful said:

I work for a major international health agency & I have several colleagues who are currently full time PhD students at GW, UMD, etc. I spoke to a few and they seem to be managing school + work fine which I find amazing. Is anyone considering working during their studies to help with cost of living? 

I’m considering working full time while getting my Epi PhD, but I’m not sure how stressful it will be yet. I’ve heard of people who work 20-30 hours per week, but not so much 40 hours. I’m in my early 30s and have been working/side hustling for several years, so I’m hoping that experience in time management will help me balance it. It definitely looks tight with a full course load + study time outside of class. I would consider reducing school to part time if needed. But it’s been done before so why can’t we do it?

[skp_]

11 hours ago, smusdent said:

Hi friends! I got my very last interview for GW Public Health program on next Tuesday.. Now that it's my only hope, any last minute interview tip? Review the SOP, resume, research interests, and some of the faculty profiles, and any other? If I don't get into the program, I'd go into the third cycle of application and really wouldn't want that to happen ? Any advice will be much appreciated!! 

I prepared a few answers in advance of mine to questions like tell me about yourself, what are your research interests, what are you interested in studying for your dissertation, why this school/program and how it aligns with your goals, who I'd want to work with and why, and career plans in the next 5-10 years. I didn't get asked most of the questions I prepared for, but it was helpful to have thought through and practiced each of these since I used most of the same points in my interview answers.

Good luck!!!

[publichealthPhD]

12 hours ago, smusdent said:

Hi friends! I got my very last interview for GW Public Health program on next Tuesday.. Now that it's my only hope, any last minute interview tip? Review the SOP, resume, research interests, and some of the faculty profiles, and any other? If I don't get into the program, I'd go into the third cycle of application and really wouldn't want that to happen ? Any advice will be much appreciated!! 

Which GW program?

Best of luck!

[ASA15]

22 hours ago, smusdent said:

Hi friends! I got my very last interview for GW Public Health program on next Tuesday.. Now that it's my only hope, any last minute interview tip? Review the SOP, resume, research interests, and some of the faculty profiles, and any other? If I don't get into the program, I'd go into the third cycle of application and really wouldn't want that to happen ? Any advice will be much appreciated!! 

I looked up my interviewers and made sure I had some idea of their work, and could ask relevant questions if I had time to. Also, as someone said above, i prepared answers for “tell me about yourself/why phd/why our program” type typical questions... this was helpful because while I didn’t actually use any of these exact answers, it was good to think through. 
 

The two things I prepared that WERE super helpful was (1) practicing describing one or two of my current projects succinctly and knowledgeably to a non-co-investigator, and (2) describing a project that id be interesting in working on while in the program. 

I also did a practice round with my boyfriend, to get some experience in the interview setting over Zoom.

Good luck!!! 

[smusdent]

1 hour ago, ASA15 said:

I looked up my interviewers and made sure I had some idea of their work, and could ask relevant questions if I had time to. Also, as someone said above, i prepared answers for “tell me about yourself/why phd/why our program” type typical questions... this was helpful because while I didn’t actually use any of these exact answers, it was good to think through. 
 

The two things I prepared that WERE super helpful was (1) practicing describing one or two of my current projects succinctly and knowledgeably to a non-co-investigator, and (2) describing a project that id be interesting in working on while in the program. 

I also did a practice round with my boyfriend, to get some experience in the interview setting over Zoom.

Good luck!!! 

Thank you so much!!

[smusdent]

12 hours ago, skp_ said:

I prepared a few answers in advance of mine to questions like tell me about yourself, what are your research interests, what are you interested in studying for your dissertation, why this school/program and how it aligns with your goals, who I'd want to work with and why, and career plans in the next 5-10 years. I didn't get asked most of the questions I prepared for, but it was helpful to have thought through and practiced each of these since I used most of the same points in my interview answers.

Good luck!!!

Thank you!! 

[smusdent]

14 hours ago, DrPH21 said:

I recommend reviewing the school's / program's "mission, vision, and values". It gives you info as to why you want their specific school. For example, I talked about one school's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and how that aligned with my personal values. The interviewers seemed to be impressed that I could talk about being part of the school's community, not just a student in one specific program. Really ask yourself = why this school? 

Good luck on your interview  You got this!!

I didn't think of that. That sounds super important. Thank you for the advice! 

[smusdent]

Would it hurt to ask the director which faculty will be present during the interview? He briefly said "admissions committee" but nothing further. Any opinion? Thank you again ❤️ 

[CatMeow1234]

Does anyone have advice on writing an email to check on the status of admissions decisions with a school you have interviewed with? Thank you in advance! 

[CatMeow1234]

On 3/19/2021 at 4:00 PM, Publichealth321 said:

Hi everyone! Has anybody heard anything from Arizona’s Health Behavior Health Promotion program or UCSD/SDSU’s Health Behavior program?

Hey! I just interviewed with U Arizona last week. I (think) I remember reading on their website that they don’t do interviews so it’s not clear if they interview everyone. I’ll let you if I hear anything! Have you heard from them in the meantime?

[HopefullyDrPH2021]

On 3/19/2021 at 6:08 AM, DrPH21 said:

Which program? I interviewed with UIC DrPH this past Monday. Interviews are scheduled through the 25th. 

On Monday, the Director said decisions will be rolling (about 1 week from each interview).

Hi DrPH21! Congrats on interviewing! Would you mind sharing a bit about what was generally asked during the interview? Not sure how these doctoral program interviews differ from job interviews. Good luck! Hope you get accepted ?

[DrPH21]

2 hours ago, HopefullyDrPH2021 said:

Hi DrPH21! Congrats on interviewing! Would you mind sharing a bit about what was generally asked during the interview? Not sure how these doctoral program interviews differ from job interviews. Good luck! Hope you get accepted ?

Hi! My interview was with the Director of the DrPH program. They asked questions about why I was interested in the DrPH, why the UIC DrPH specifically (note: highlight the fact that it focuses on adaptive leadership!), and asked me clarifying questions about my resume/personal statement. The Director said the program received about 50% more applicants this year. They also emphasized the requirements of the program e.g. 20 hours of classes/coursework per week, how to balance commitment with full-time job, etc. Overall, it was a very casual, warm conversation.

If you'd like to chat more, feel free to message. Thanks! Hope you get accepted, too!

[XXXXXXphd2021]

5 hours ago, CatMeow1234 said:

Does anyone have advice on writing an email to check on the status of admissions decisions with a school you have interviewed with? Thank you in advance! 

I wrote the program director with an one-sentence email, a few hours later the decision was rendered on the portal. (I'm not sure if it's because of my email pushing or they're gonna do it anyways.) Applicants do it all the time so no need to overthinking it . 

[CatMeow1234]

1 hour ago, XXXXXXphd2021 said:

I wrote the program director with an one-sentence email, a few hours later the decision was rendered on the portal. (I'm not sure if it's because of my email pushing or they're gonna do it anyways.) Applicants do it all the time so no need to overthinking it . 

Thank you so much xxxxphd!! Great advice and perspective - I have overthought every single step of the application process Lolol ? I will send it tomorrow!!

[XXXXXXphd2021]

2 hours ago, CatMeow1234 said:

Thank you so much xxxxphd!! Great advice and perspective - I have overthought every single step of the application process Lolol ? I will send it tomorrow!!

Me: "no need to overthinking it!"

Also me: overthinking everything 

[Publichealth321]

20 hours ago, CatMeow1234 said:

Hey! I just interviewed with U Arizona last week. I (think) I remember reading on their website that they don’t do interviews so it’s not clear if they interview everyone. I’ll let you if I hear anything! Have you heard from them in the meantime?

Hi! Congrats on the interview… that is great! Thank you, I appreciate it. I have not heard from them! 

[♀HealthMatters]

Y'all, what is going on with Tulane epi? I'm not at all expecting to be accepted, but I'd like to know before hurricane season starts! 

[EJ_PhD]

27 minutes ago, ♀HealthMatters said:

Y'all, what is going on with Tulane epi? I'm not at all expecting to be accepted, but I'd like to know before hurricane season starts! 

Saaame boat here. Like just put me out of my misery already

[StaticL]

Hello! For those who got multiple acceptances do you mind sharing when you're expected to let your programs know of your decision? I'm currently waitlisted (UNC Epi) and I'm trying to get an idea of if/when they'll start admitting people on their waitlist.

[kati2195]

7 minutes ago, StaticL said:

Hello! For those who got multiple acceptances do you mind sharing when you're expected to let your programs know of your decision? I'm currently waitlisted (UNC Epi) and I'm trying to get an idea of if/when they'll start admitting people on their waitlist.

I am also really curious about this! I am holding out on my offer because I am waiting for my first choice which is on a waitlist... so probably a lot of people are doing the same...

[MCH_Hopeful_2021]

The deadline is in a little over 3 weeks. It feels a little surreal to me that University of Arizona (and similar schools) is moving this incredibly slow to make initial offers. If this is your only chance at an admit, please know that I'm crossing my fingers for you and hoping those folks in Tucson (and everywhere, really) put a little urgency in their damn step. 

[CommunityHealth21]

3 hours ago, StaticL said:

Hello! For those who got multiple acceptances do you mind sharing when you're expected to let your programs know of your decision? I'm currently waitlisted (UNC Epi) and I'm trying to get an idea of if/when they'll start admitting people on their waitlist.

 

3 hours ago, kati2195 said:

I am also really curious about this! I am holding out on my offer because I am waiting for my first choice which is on a waitlist... so probably a lot of people are doing the same...

I think it really varies by program. I got accepted at UIC MCH and I am not going to accept my offer, but they asked me to wait for my official admission letter before rejecting it. Also, I was just accepted to USF CFH, about a week ago, but I know their deadline for the first admitted group to decide was march 15th.  

[MCH_Hopeful_2021]

4 minutes ago, CommunityHealth21 said:

 

I think it really varies by program. I got accepted at UIC MCH and I am not going to accept my offer, but they asked me to wait for my official admission letter before rejecting it. Also, I was just accepted to USF CFH, about a week ago, but I know their deadline for the first admitted group to decide was march 15th.  

Congrats on USF! Are you still leaning towards Texas?