PhD/DrPH Applicants: Fall 2021

[cs4152008]

9 hours ago, Desperado7261 said:

I wish all of you best luck and I express my sincere respect for all the applicants, who must have experienced huge hardship during the last year. None of us could have been exempted from the pandemic.

I'm a potential international applicant, planning to apply for the PhD program in health economics with a focus in global health in a few years.

I graduated a top university in my country(BA in Sociology) and now working as a foreign service officer but it was my oldest dream to pursue a PhD degree and begin a research career. 

In terms of anything related to public health in my life, my senior thesis was about health of elderly working population; I'm now also attending a distance learning MSc statistics in my country(which is not that rigorous though).

If you were in my shoes, would you first try getting master's degree in the US?

I'm seriously considering doing MPH or SM or MHS, etc. in the US before applying to the PhD program but you could easily it would be very expensive and time-consuming, especially taking into account that I will have approx. 5-year professional experience at the time of application.(Also, I already spent two years for military duty)

Simultaneously, I'm afraid that my application to PhD programs without a relevant master's degree will end up in vain. I might be an interesting applicant but still without relevant experience.

It is my plan to work on my master's thesis with a professor in the related field but I think I'll be able to have one or two domestic publication in maximum(in a very very rosy case:)) during my master's study.

Many thanks for your attention and hope you stay fit and strong throughout this year and forever!

This is just my opinion but I would say a MSc in Statistics is very relevant for many tracks within the Public Health field. I think if you can tailor more of your projects / research / thesis to public health topics then you'd be able to make an easier argument about your abilities to apply statistical methods to the field of PH. I would spend more energy on that and developing a strong SOP and research statement for PhD programs than getting a MPH in the US.

[DarkPassenger]

4 minutes ago, cs4152008 said:

This is just my opinion but I would say a MSc in Statistics is very relevant for many tracks within the Public Health field. I think if you can tailor more of your projects / research / thesis to public health topics then you'd be able to make an easier argument about your abilities to apply statistical methods to the field of PH. I would spend more energy on that and developing a strong SOP and research statement for PhD programs than getting a MPH in the US.

100% agree with this. Any statistics-related field will give you skills that you can apply to virtually any area of research work.

[phdhopeful14]

16 hours ago, ChiccaChica said:

Has anyone heard from the Hopkins Population, Family, and Reproductive Health PhD or the Harvard GHP - Population and Family Health track PhD?

I haven't heard back from the Harvard GHP - Population and Family Health Track (hopefully soon)! Good luck!

[ChiccaChica]

1 minute ago, phdhopeful14 said:

I haven't heard back from the Harvard GHP - Population and Family Health Track (hopefully soon)! Good luck!

Thanks for the comment! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for both of us. Best of luck to you!

[researchlover11]

Has anyone heard from Rutgers? I wish they had a portal. 

[DrPH or Bust]

3 minutes ago, researchlover11 said:

Has anyone heard from Rutgers? I wish they had a portal. 

You and me both!  I applied to their DrPH program.  How about you?

[researchlover11]

1 minute ago, DrPH or Bust said:

You and me both!  I applied to their DrPH program.  How about you?

PhD 

[Aman_Ratta]

 Anyone heard from UIC PhD in MCH?

[drunkenduck]

Just now, Aman_Ratta said:

 Anyone heard from UIC PhD in MCH?

I was literally just about to post about UIC! I applied to the PhD in community health sciences, not MCH, and my portal messaged changed from "under review" to "additional review required" which sounds like a bad sign to me ?What does your portal say?

[Aman_Ratta]

Just now, drunkenduck said:

I was literally just about to post about UIC! I applied to the PhD in community health sciences, not MCH, and my portal messaged changed from "under review" to "additional review required" which sounds like a bad sign to me ?What does your portal say?

Mine too. Even I guess it's a bad sign. Coz i was never invited for the interview.. did you apply to washU. My POI told me he never got to review my application. But he did review many other applications. So, I assume my application never went beyond admissions committee. Kinda frustrating feeling. I was positive about washU.

[Jungle345]

I also applied to Rutgers DrPH-- I reached out to the Admissions Director their yesterday to ask if admission is rolling (because it's not super specific on their website) and he said that their priority deadline just passed (1/15) so they're starting to review apps now. 

[DrPH or Bust]

2 minutes ago, Jungle345 said:

I also applied to Rutgers DrPH-- I reached out to the Admissions Director their yesterday to ask if admission is rolling (because it's not super specific on their website) and he said that their priority deadline just passed (1/15) so they're starting to review apps now. 

Thanks for the info!  Best of luck to both of us.  The waiting game is brutal.  Did you apply to any other DrPH programs?

[drunkenduck]

2 minutes ago, Aman_Ratta said:

Mine too. Even I guess it's a bad sign. Coz i was never invited for the interview.. did you apply to washU. My POI told me he never got to review my application. But he did review many other applications. So, I assume my application never went beyond admissions committee. Kinda frustrating feeling. I was positive about washU.

Are you sure they do an interview? Because I haven't seen any interviews on the results page. After doing some digging, I found that some people get accepted and some get rejected after their status is changed to "additional review required" so I think it can go either way!

I didn't apply to WashU, but that sucks

[Jungle345]

Just now, DrPH or Bust said:

Thanks for the info!  Best of luck to both of us.  The waiting game is brutal.  Did you apply to any other DrPH programs?

 

Yes, I applied to majority hybrid programs -- Rutgers, Georgia Southern, Medical College of Wisconsin, New York Medical College (non-hybrid). So far I've only heard from MCW (had an interview in December and nothing back from that so far..) Agreed the wait is really hard! Wish you the best of luck! 

[Aman_Ratta]

On 1/22/2021 at 10:30 AM, drunkenduck said:

Are you sure they do an interview? Because I haven't seen any interviews on the results page. After doing some digging, I found that some people get accepted and some get rejected after their status is changed to "additional review required" so I think it can go either way!

I didn't apply to WashU, but that sucks

Honestly, not sure if WashU interviews. But, I do feel how would they accept someone without having any discussion with that person. Argh.. a lot is going on there in my head. 

[DrPH or Bust]

1 minute ago, Jungle345 said:

 

Yes, I applied to majority hybrid programs -- Rutgers, Georgia Southern, Medical College of Wisconsin, New York Medical College (non-hybrid). So far I've only heard from MCW (had an interview in December and nothing back from that so far..) Agreed the wait is really hard! Wish you the best of luck! 

Nice list!  I only applied to part-time programs, as I need to keep working: JHU (hybrid), BU, Rutgers (hybrid), UT-Houston.  I have an interview with BU next week.  *fingers crossed*

[drunkenduck]

3 minutes ago, Aman_Ratta said:

Honestly, not sure. But, I do feel how would they accept someone without having any discussion with that person. Argh.. a lot is going on there in my head. 

While most PhD programs do interviews, many don't! Good luck to you though, my fingers are crossed for both of us.

[Aman_Ratta]

Just now, drunkenduck said:

While most PhD programs do interviews, many don't! Good luck to you though, my fingers are crossed for both of us.

Thanks a lot for your best wishes. best of luck to you too. Fingers crossed...

[chicago_epi]

54 minutes ago, drunkenduck said:

I was literally just about to post about UIC! I applied to the PhD in community health sciences, not MCH, and my portal messaged changed from "under review" to "additional review required" which sounds like a bad sign to me ?What does your portal say?

Hi! I applied to UIC PhD in Epi - I recieved an email from the department in December saying that I have been recommended for admission to the department, and the recommendation has been forwarded to the Office of Admission for final review. They said Admissions would reach out if they needed anything further. I didn't have any interview with faculty at UIC. But I also haven't heard anything further from Admissions and my portal says "Additional Review Required" as well, so I am getting a bit nervous. Hoping that it isn't necessarily a bad sign for us!! I can't speak to the other departments, but from what I heard, an interview at UIC isn't required like it seems to be at other schools. Good luck with everything and hope you get some good news soon?

[drunkenduck]

11 minutes ago, Chitown_lauren said:

Hi! I applied to UIC PhD in Epi - I recieved an email from the department in December saying that I have been recommended for admission to the department, and the recommendation has been forwarded to the Office of Admission for final review. They said Admissions would reach out if they needed anything further. I didn't have any interview with faculty at UIC. But I also haven't heard anything further from Admissions and my portal says "Additional Review Required" as well, so I am getting a bit nervous. Hoping that it isn't necessarily a bad sign for us!! I can't speak to the other departments, but from what I heard, an interview at UIC isn't required like it seems to be at other schools. Good luck with everything and hope you get some good news soon?

Thank you so much for that insight into the process! That makes me hopeful that it could be a pre-cursor to acceptance.

I hope you get some good news soon, too!

[PublicHealthPhD2021]

Just got my first rejection letter from Emory's PhD in BSHES program less than an hour ago. Needless to say, having my first decision be a rejection surely stings a bit, but regardless, I'm trying to keep my head up and stay optimistic. More than anything, this whole application process has taught me to be more patient, kind, and understanding with myself. My mentality is that although this program didn't see that "special something" in me, perhaps the next one will. ?  

As cliché as it is - I believe we will all end up where we were meant to end up! Sending good vibes and best wishes to everyone else here anxiously awaiting their decisions. Remember that we are all capable, hard-working, and determined individuals with our own unique contributions to make to the field of public health! Hang in there, everyone! 

[phph]

Anyone received the generic timeline update from JHU EPI yesterday (Jan 21) but not yet receive interview invitation? ?  I started to wonder if they are choosing interview candidates from the pool of applicants who got the update email... I saw some updates here about interview invitations soon after the status update...  anyways congrats to those who got the interview! 

[potlucknopotatosalad]

Those who interviewed with Harvard PHS, do you have an idea when decisions will go out? Or if all admitted students were also interviewed? I haven’t heard from the epi department and I and starting to lose hope ?.

[mj123]

16 minutes ago, phph said:

Anyone received the generic timeline update from JHU EPI yesterday (Jan 21) but not yet receive interview invitation? ?  I started to wonder if they are choosing interview candidates from the pool of applicants who got the update email... I saw some updates here about interview invitations soon after the status update...  anyways congrats to those who got the interview! 

Me. Haven’t heard. Got the generic and then nothing. Maybe it depends on what track you applied to? Which one for you?

[XXXXXXphd2021]

42 minutes ago, potlucknopotatosalad said:

Those who interviewed with Harvard PHS, do you have an idea when decisions will go out? Or if all admitted students were also interviewed? I haven’t heard from the epi department and I and starting to lose hope ?.

I have a feeling that at least for SBS, students would need interviews for admission. The second POI I emailed knew that I had a zoom with the first POI so she said she didn't have much to add. She said if my application moves to the interview stage of the review processes, she would probably be one of my interviewers. I think this indicated that all students would need to get into the interview round. Well I have not heard from them so I am assuming I didn't get into the next stage. 

Edited January 22, 2021 by xxxxling