PhD / DrPh Fall 2022

[Myyday]

Has anyone heard back from UCI PhD in Epidemiology?? No one's posting on the results page and can't find anyone talking about it.

[sheisgreat]

On 7/29/2021 at 6:14 AM, DrPHForce said:

Hello,

I am applying for DrPH programs and have reached out to a handful of faculty. Most that replied thought I was a good fit for their program and were willing to be my collaborators/supervisors/ advisors. However,  none of them have brought up funding or even asked how I was planning to fund my study. I on the other hand am having difficulty bringing this up with them. Its sort of an African thing ??‍♂️ Any advice on how to approach this without sounding too desperate or obtrusive ?

Also, I was wondering how much traction with the admissions committee a prospective student gains by communicating with a potential advisor.  Anyone please ? 

 

Hello what school did you apply for and accepted to? 

[sheisgreat]

On 8/19/2021 at 8:58 PM, oboecho said:

Hi fellow public health nerds! Current DrPH student at JHU in Health Policy and Management, concentrating in Public Health Informatics here! I remember being where you are at this time last year. Happy to answer any questions may have about the process or the school. Best of luck this cycle!

I would love to connect with you!

[cstepi]

Has anyone heard further from the University of Toronto Epidemiology since interviews? I saw a rejection posted a little while back, but nothing else since?? 

[2022phdhealth]

I'm assuming some lovely person just declined an offer, because I just received an offer for UNC-Chapel Hill PhD in Health Behavior. Not sure if any of you were still waiting on this one, but keep your eyes on your emails for the next few days. Funding offer is lower than my other offers, but I had already been warned funding packages at UNC are on the lower end at the start of this process. Hoping if you're also waiting on this one, you hear soon!

[sheisgreat]

On 2/2/2022 at 5:07 PM, PH2022 said:

For UNC DrPH my invite said that they would interview throughout the month of February with the admissions decisions being made in early to mid-March. When I logged into the portal to schedule, the latest date available was February 25th. Hope that helps!

Did anyone receive an email this morning from Loma Linda University???

[sheisgreat]

Did anyone receive an email from Loma Linda University this morning? 

[hpm2022]

Hello! I accepted by PhD in HPM from UTHealth in Houston. DM me if you did as well! 

[JSKelley]

Does anyone know if it's appropriate to reach out to admissions staff (Hopkins DrPH) regarding a rejection to ask for feedback? 

[eecjbear]

Finally decided on UThealth, It was my gut to go with them when I first got in, but I wanted to wait until I heard back from everywhere else!! Good luck to all of those still deciding!!

[HopefulPhDinEPI]

Has anyone received an acceptance from the PhD in Epidemiology program from SUNY-University at Albany?

 

[HBCUDrPH]

Hey y’all,

I am like many here as a longtime viewer/scroller and a first time poster. I would like to tell my story really quickly. I applied to one school for the Doctor of Public Health concentrating in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education which is, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). FAMU is one of 3 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)s that offers a DrPH, the other two being Morgan State University and Jackson State University. 

 

I applied on 12/08/21 with my application and all other material submitted and received. I did not hear back from FAMU until 03/02/22 to schedule my interview. I interviewed the following week on 03/09/22. I just today on 04/08/22 received my acceptance to the program! Do not feel defeated y’all. The waiting game gave me so much anxiety and stress and now I feel a weight lifted but, just relax and don’t stress too much!

[healthphd]

On 4/7/2022 at 9:01 AM, eecjbear said:

Finally decided on UThealth, It was my gut to go with them when I first got in, but I wanted to wait until I heard back from everywhere else!! Good luck to all of those still deciding!!

Congrats! Any funding secured? It seems they offer fund mostly in forms of TA/GRA.

[eecjbear]

4 minutes ago, healthphd said:

Congrats! Any funding secured? It seems they offer fund mostly in forms of TA/GRA.

Hey, thank you! No funding, but Ill be able to keep working 30ish hours a week at my company (a CRO) and theyll pay for a good amount of it. In state tuition is extremely reasonable there, so I am hoping I can secure that!

[healthphd]

16 minutes ago, eecjbear said:

Hey, thank you! No funding, but Ill be able to keep working 30ish hours a week at my company (a CRO) and theyll pay for a good amount of it. In state tuition is extremely reasonable there, so I am hoping I can secure that!

Good for you!

I've been offered a GSA position but not sure about the amount yet and also the balance between study and research work for the advisor. 

[eecjbear]

2 minutes ago, healthphd said:

Good for you!

I've been offered a GSA position but not sure about the amount yet and also the balance between study and research work for the advisor. 

COngrats on the GSA position offer! I personally was worried about doing a TA/RA/GSA since I have heard some instances of students working well over 40 hrs/week, and hardly making anything. I know some companies offer paid PhD internships or positions you could try to apply to one of those, as they may pay better.

[healthphd]

4 minutes ago, eecjbear said:

COngrats on the GSA position offer! I personally was worried about doing a TA/RA/GSA since I have heard some instances of students working well over 40 hrs/week, and hardly making anything. I know some companies offer paid PhD internships or positions you could try to apply to one of those, as they may pay better.

Yes, that's what I'm also worrying about, which would be killing. Thank you for your advise.

[BossMomDrPH]

Has anyone else been accepted to UIC DrPH? I feel like I saw someone mention it a while back. Would love to connect if there is anyone out there joining the cohort. FWIW I received an acceptance within 30 minutes after completing my interview this morning. Still riding the high.

 

Also interviewed with Loma Linda this week and they stated that decisions may take a few more weeks to come back. 

[NervousPhDhopeful]

I GOT IN!!!!!!! I got into George Washington University's Social and behavioral sciences program. I am so so excited it's unbelievable. I was on the waitlist for about a month so I was getting nervous. Prior to learning I was on the waitlist this thread got me through a lot of stressing-- so thanks, all!

[hpm2022]

On 4/6/2022 at 9:41 PM, JSKelley said:

Does anyone know if it's appropriate to reach out to admissions staff (Hopkins DrPH) regarding a rejection to ask for feedback? 

I asked in a prior season and they simply stated that there were too many applicants to give individualized feedback.

[NervousPhDhopeful]

On 4/6/2022 at 10:41 PM, JSKelley said:

Does anyone know if it's appropriate to reach out to admissions staff (Hopkins DrPH) regarding a rejection to ask for feedback? 

You definitely could do that, but they might just give you generic advice. One of my current professors was the lead of the admissions committee at the program I applied to at the same school as my masters program. I asked her for feedback and she said basically "I'm so sorry. But there were 70 applications and I dont remember specific details of any one of them without looking at it again"

What would probably be more productive is setting up a meeting with a professor with whom you'd like to work in the program of interest, stating that you are very interested in the program, previously applied and were rejected and that you would like to talk to them to get a better idea of what a good match for the program looks like, and what attributes they find valuable in potential candidates with whom they'd like to work. 

At your meeting you want to make sure the questions are thing they specifically could answer--so not generic "how much research experience should I have" or "whats missing from my statement of purpose"-- rather, things like "with your research in <subject> what kind of experiences have students had going in that was valuable to moving projects forward?" Or "when you're deciding whether a mentor/mentee relationship will be a good match, what sort of needs from the mentee/what sort of personality from the mentee works well with your mentor style?" Or "when you're reading a prospective candidates statement of purpose, what comes across in the letter that keeps you interested?" Or "I'm interested in working with you because of your work with <topic>--I want to do <similar/same thing> in the future, and your work has been a part of the literature that has kept me interested in furthering <topic>. I have <experience> already, and want to reapply next application cycle--what would you recommend I do between now and then that would make me a stronger candidate?"

By doing this, you can then evaluate what is or is not in your experience or in your SOP that the professor said they really like to see--and you can get an idea of whether they'd actually be a good match. *And* you'd be more memorable to them in the next cycle.

Just keep in mind when their final week is to when you email them and when you try to set the meeting up. They'll be busy since its the end of the semester.

If you have current professors or someone else in the field with whom you have a good relationship, you might consider asking them if they can specifically take a look at your statement of purpose. And experience to give you specific feedback. 

This is just what I would do.

Edited April 9, 2022 by NervousPhDhopeful

[PhDphfinal]

Hi all. I have a question for my friend who is not on this forum. He got accepted to a university for PhD in epidemiology. Offer was good and faculty he was planning to work with kinda persuaded hum to accept the offer. Now, he got a much better offer from another university. Are there any legal issues if one first accepts and then declines the offer. TIA

[BossMomDrPH]

15 hours ago, PhDphfinal said:

Hi all. I have a question for my friend who is not on this forum. He got accepted to a university for PhD in epidemiology. Offer was good and faculty he was planning to work with kinda persuaded hum to accept the offer. Now, he got a much better offer from another university. Are there any legal issues if one first accepts and then declines the offer. TIA

From my understanding, there is not a legally binding agreement when you "commit" to a school.  Just as much as if you received a better job offer after accepting a previous one.  If your colleague really believes that the second offer is the best fit for them, they may have to swallow the deposit as those usually are not refundable.  But there is no legal consequences for switching programs.  The sooner they make the decision, the better it will be for the first program, as they will have time to dip into their waiting list.  (That's why they have them).  

My advice would be to be clear with the other school.  They may even come back with another competitive offer.  This happened to my SIL. Open communication is key, regardless of which program they go with.  Never know when they could cross paths with the other university/professors in the future.

Hope this is insightful.

[PhDphfinal]

1 minute ago, BossMomDrPH said:

From my understanding, there is not a legally binding agreement when you "commit" to a school.  Just as much as if you received a better job offer after accepting a previous one.  If your colleague really believes that the second offer is the best fit for them, they may have to swallow the deposit as those usually are not refundable.  But there is no legal consequences for switching programs.  The sooner they make the decision, the better it will be for the first program, as they will have time to dip into their waiting list.  (That's why they have them).  

My advice would be to be clear with the other school.  They may even come back with another competitive offer.  This happened to my SIL. Open communication is key, regardless of which program they go with.  Never know when they could cross paths with the other university/professors in the future.

Hope this is insightful.

Thank you so much. I agree with you about the wait list and crossing paths with the faculties from first school. 

[DrPHPlans]

On 4/8/2022 at 2:48 PM, BossMomDrPH said:

Has anyone else been accepted to UIC DrPH? I feel like I saw someone mention it a while back. Would love to connect if there is anyone out there joining the cohort. FWIW I received an acceptance within 30 minutes after completing my interview this morning. Still riding the high.

CONGRATULATIONS!! I've been rooting for you! I have a colleague who has a pretty high up position at the CDC who recently finished her DrPH through UIC. It's a great program.