PhD/DrPH (Public Health) Fall 2024 - The Grad Cafe Forums

[_kita]

1 minute ago, hoping_for_hopkins said:

Received the official rejection from JHU DrPH. I haven't received an email yet but just randomly checked my portal.

Obviously very disappointed but I was mentally prepared for it after yesterday. Thank you for the emotional support from this group. Best of luck to everyone!

Thanks for the update. I did the same and there it was. No email notification yet.

[Mamitis]

Thank you for your application to the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. After careful consideration of your application and supporting credentials, the Admissions Committee regrets to inform you that it is unable to offer you admission to our program for Summer (June) 2024. Each year we receive far more applications than we can accept for a limited number of slots. We appreciate your interest in the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) and we wish you success in your future endeavors.

 

Was also prepared. Did my grief processing mostly yesterday. Many happy returns to those of you who got in! I'm delighted for you, truly.

[texaspublichealthgirl]

6 minutes ago, _kita said:

Thanks for the update. I did the same and there it was. No email notification yet.

Same just checked but no email notification about the rejection yet. 

[Maydayx]

Rejections are coming out. Rejected from HE and SJ track. Good luck y’all!

[DrPH2024]

Rejected from JHU health policy 😞

[wurtzite]

1 minute ago, DrPH2024 said:

Rejected from JHU health policy 😞

 

14 minutes ago, Maydayx said:

Rejections are coming out. Rejected from HE and SJ track. Good luck y’all!

Rejected crew. Checked the portal, rejected from the health security track.

UNMC is the other school I applied to, hopefully that pans out!

Good luck all on the wait list and those who were admitted on your studies!

[DRPHNOTANYMORE]

On 3/5/2024 at 8:57 AM, Ologyswan said:

I got notification that I'm waitlisted for JHU DrPH this morning 

 

On 3/5/2024 at 10:37 AM, dragonfly2024 said:

I also got a notification from JHU this morning at 7:38 CT. I was accepted into the Environmental Health DrPH track. Good luck everyone!

 

On 3/5/2024 at 10:50 AM, Taytou said:

received a positive answer for the DrPH in Global health (Hopkins) - 1 hour ago. 

 

23 hours ago, drph_2024 said:

Long time lurker here: I just got accepted into the informatics track of the health policy and management concentration at Johns Hopkins (DrPH)! Good luck everyone!

 

23 hours ago, lion123 said:

Hi I received an acceptance to this track about 40 mins ago. Best of luck to you for also receiving an acceptance. I saw some folks asking about interviews - I never interviewed. 

 

22 hours ago, PHInformatics said:

Hi everyone. I got waitlisted for the Hopkins DrPH program - Public Health Informatics track. Does anyone know how often people are admitted off of the waitlist?

 

20 hours ago, DelaineTheBrain said:

Received an email to check portal at 1:09 pm CST. Accepted into the HE & SJ Concentration. No interview. Good luck to all! ❤️ 

I'm genuinely sorry to hear about those who've faced rejections this year. Navigating through the uncertainty and challenges of the application process can be incredibly disheartening, especially when the outcome isn't what you'd hoped for. Please know that each attempt is a step forward, offering valuable insights and experience that contribute to your growth and resilience.

To those who have received acceptance letters, congratulations on your remarkable achievement! Your success is not only a reflection of your hard work and dedication but also an inspiration to all aspiring applicants. Your journey and the obstacles you've overcome to reach this point are truly commendable.

In light of these experiences, I'm reaching out to successful candidates for advice and insights before they stop visiting Grad Cafe. If you've been accepted and are willing to share, could you please discuss the key accomplishments or experiences that you believe significantly contributed to the strength of your application? Your guidance and recommendations would be immensely beneficial to those of us considering reapplying in the next cycle, as we seek to understand how best to position ourselves for success.

Thank you in advance for your willingness to share your experiences and advice. Your support is invaluable to those of us aiming to navigate this journey more effectively in the future.

Warm regards and best wishes to everyone, regardless of the outcome this year.

[PublicSci]

1 hour ago, _kita said:

Thanks for the update. I did the same and there it was. No email notification yet.

7 hours ago, EpiCurvesandCrochet said:

 

Nothing is final until the email is out (though that didn’t keep me from being awake in bed all night). As this person said, I am not sure they released all decisions yesterday and I think that includes our track - I hope! I am going to grab some of my favorite foods today and if there’s good news it will be a celebratory meal and if there’s bad news it will be comfort food. No matter what, know we will all be okay 🩷 Thinking of all my JHU peeps who are still waiting on news and sending good vibes. 
 

oh I see all the tracks are posted now- sending hugs to everyone. 
 

1 hour ago, _kita said:

Thanks for the update. I did the same and there it was. No email notification yet.

Officially received my rejection letter an hour ago. It seems like today is rejection day… fingers crossed for the remaining hopefuls!! I am curious what everyone’s background is— whoever is willing to share.

Anyone from the Science Implementation track receive a notification?? 

[dragonfly2024]

34 minutes ago, Squashplayer000 said:

I'm genuinely sorry to hear about those who've faced rejections this year. Navigating through the uncertainty and challenges of the application process can be incredibly disheartening, especially when the outcome isn't what you'd hoped for. Please know that each attempt is a step forward, offering valuable insights and experience that contribute to your growth and resilience.

To those who have received acceptance letters, congratulations on your remarkable achievement! Your success is not only a reflection of your hard work and dedication but also an inspiration to all aspiring applicants. Your journey and the obstacles you've overcome to reach this point are truly commendable.

In light of these experiences, I'm reaching out to successful candidates for advice and insights before they stop visiting Grad Cafe. If you've been accepted and are willing to share, could you please discuss the key accomplishments or experiences that you believe significantly contributed to the strength of your application? Your guidance and recommendations would be immensely beneficial to those of us considering reapplying in the next cycle, as we seek to understand how best to position ourselves for success.

Thank you in advance for your willingness to share your experiences and advice. Your support is invaluable to those of us aiming to navigate this journey more effectively in the future.

Warm regards and best wishes to everyone, regardless of the outcome this year.

I got into the Env. Health DrPH track, I'd love to give advice but hard to know what was really important. I might be older than most of you here? My B.S. and M.P.H. degrees were obtained 14 and 12 years ago, respectively, and I have developed a unique interdisciplinary niche with publications in scientific journals and popular media since then.

Edited March 6 by dragonfly2024
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[DrPHhopeful2024]

5 hours ago, Ikigai1896 said:

While I think you’re right I wouldn’t lose hope yet- the reason being that DrPh (as opposed to PhD) is not funded.. so unfortunately sometimes people have to pass on the opportunity based on personal circumstances and fellowship availability. I hope everything works out for everyone, and I respect your realistic view of the process (having been through this), but don’t lose hope until you there’s reason to!  

Appreciate this perspective -- it gives all of us some hope for movement on the waitlist! For JHU DrPH, I think several people apply for the Bloomberg fellowship as their primary source of funding, so if they don't get the fellowship, some might decline their spot or defer admission for a year to try again for the fellowship funding.

[DRPHNOTANYMORE]

2 hours ago, dragonfly2024 said:

I got into the Env. Health DrPH track, I'd love to give advice but hard to know what was really important. I might be older than most of you here? My B.S. and M.P.H. degrees were obtained 14 and 12 years ago, respectively, and I have developed a unique interdisciplinary niche with publications in scientific journals and popular media since then.

I would like to know about publications. I have 6 first-author publications, but they were mostly clinical publications, somewhat bordering on public health. I would also like to know about your GPA if that's possible. I have 6 years of training experience as a surgeon and 6 years of experience managing a hospital. However, my experiences, education, and publications are all international, primarily in low and middle-income countries. That's why I chose Global Health because it's designed for professionals in LMICs.


Thank you in advance for your willingness to share your experiences and advice. Your support is invaluable to those of us aiming to navigate this journey more effectively in the future.

[EpiCurvesandCrochet]

2 hours ago, PublicSci said:

Anyone from the Science Implementation track receive a notification?? 

No notification email but I checked the portal and was rejected. I’m absolutely crushed. 

[DRPHNOTANYMORE]

6 minutes ago, EpiCurvesandCrochet said:

No notification email but I checked the portal and was rejected. I’m absolutely crushed. 

I'm genuinely sorry to hear about your rejection. Please hang in there. I know it feels really really bad.

I got two rejections simultaneously last night and couldn't sleep all night.

 

[PublicHealthSLP]

I just wanted to pop in here and say that when I was using Gradcafe back in 2012 for my master’s applications, I never saw so many kind and supportive individuals in one place. Best of luck to you all - you’re all amazing public health professionals! I hope the world continues to benefit from the work you all do. 

[Mamitis]

51 minutes ago, PublicHealthSLP said:

I just wanted to pop in here and say that when I was using Gradcafe back in 2012 for my master’s applications, I never saw so many kind and supportive individuals in one place. Best of luck to you all - you’re all amazing public health professionals! I hope the world continues to benefit from the work you all do. 

I feel the same way. Thank you, PublicHealthSLP. It's a beautiful group of humans. And I appreciate the generosity and kindness especially in sharing results and experiences and tips and tricks. Much love and peace to ya'll.

[fightin4mylyf]

Hi just wanted to pop in here to see if anyone applied to Drexel. I saw that they updated rejections onto the portal last week, but I still don't know the outcome of my application. Was hoping someone was in the same boat as me. 

[mw1234]

41 minutes ago, fightin4mylyf said:

Hi just wanted to pop in here to see if anyone applied to Drexel. I saw that they updated rejections onto the portal last week, but I still don't know the outcome of my application. Was hoping someone was in the same boat as me. 

Yes! I interviewed in Feb and am anxiously waiting to hear back still. 

[dragonfly2024]

4 hours ago, Squashplayer000 said:

I would like to know about publications. I have 6 first-author publications, but they were mostly clinical publications, somewhat bordering on public health. I would also like to know about your GPA if that's possible. I have 6 years of training experience as a surgeon and 6 years of experience managing a hospital. However, my experiences, education, and publications are all international, primarily in low and middle-income countries. That's why I chose Global Health because it's designed for professionals in LMICs.


Thank you in advance for your willingness to share your experiences and advice. Your support is invaluable to those of us aiming to navigate this journey more effectively in the future.

I went to prestigious U.S. schools for undergrad and grad school, with ~3.8 GPAs. I have around the same number of scientific publications but they are policy-relevant topics, some have contributed to policy changes. 

[DRPHNOTANYMORE]

48 minutes ago, dragonfly2024 said:

I went to prestigious U.S. schools for undergrad and grad school, with ~3.8 GPAs. I have around the same number of scientific publications but they are policy-relevant topics, some have contributed to policy changes. 

That's an amazing career. Congratulations once again on the acceptance and thank you for your feedback.

[lion123]

4 hours ago, Squashplayer000 said:

I would like to know about publications. I have 6 first-author publications, but they were mostly clinical publications, somewhat bordering on public health. I would also like to know about your GPA if that's possible. I have 6 years of training experience as a surgeon and 6 years of experience managing a hospital. However, my experiences, education, and publications are all international, primarily in low and middle-income countries. That's why I chose Global Health because it's designed for professionals in LMICs.


Thank you in advance for your willingness to share your experiences and advice. Your support is invaluable to those of us aiming to navigate this journey more effectively in the future.

I'm guessing here but something that may have been strong in my application was alignment. I have experience leading programs in a specific area of public health and detailed how I planned to apply the DrPH in that specific area in my statement of purpose. I then shared that with my recommendation writers so they could speak to my ability to carry out that plan. 

I did have a high MPH gpa but havent been first author on any publications. Co-author on a handful. 

I'll also just share I was rejected years ago from Brown's Epi PhD. It hurt then but really doesn't matter at all now. Just another twist in my path. You all will reach your goals with the amount of passion for public health that comes through on this forum alone. 

[Cvdepi321]

3 hours ago, fightin4mylyf said:

Hi just wanted to pop in here to see if anyone applied to Drexel. I saw that they updated rejections onto the portal last week, but I still don't know the outcome of my application. Was hoping someone was in the same boat as me. 

 

2 hours ago, mw1234 said:

Yes! I interviewed in Feb and am anxiously waiting to hear back still. 

I’m also waiting to hear back and also interviewed back in February for Epi. What area are you focused in? I have seen rejection results posted but not acceptances so hoping that is a good sign. All in this together!

[DRPHNOTANYMORE]

43 minutes ago, lion123 said:

I'm guessing here but something that may have been strong in my application was alignment. I have experience leading programs in a specific area of public health and detailed how I planned to apply the DrPH in that specific area in my statement of purpose. I then shared that with my recommendation writers so they could speak to my ability to carry out that plan. 

I did have a high MPH gpa but havent been first author on any publications. Co-author on a handful. 

I'll also just share I was rejected years ago from Brown's Epi PhD. It hurt then but really doesn't matter at all now. Just another twist in my path. You all will reach your goals with the amount of passion for public health that comes through on this forum alone. 

Thank you for the feedback. One of my weak areas was letters of recommendation from the university I went to for MPH. I had a 3.8 GPA, but the faculty didn't put any effort into the letters of recommendation. The letters of recommendation from my employers were top-notch.

My application and experience aligned perfectly with DrPH in Global Health. I detailed how I could use DrPh in my current and expanding role as a public health professional. 

Once again, thank you so much for your feedback. It means a lot. Good luck with your studies.

[Veera_DrPH]

I can offer a descriptive account of my qualifications, though I don't know what swayed the admissions decision in my favor. I graduated from prestigious US public universities for undergrad (BS) and grad (MPH). My GPA for both was nothing spectacular (around 3.5). I have about 10 years of experience in applied research in healthcare management, with progressively increasing responsibilities. In that time, I've carved out a niche area of expertise in an emerging field and published 5 first author peer-reviewed articles. In my statement of purpose, I outlined in detail how the DrPH program will help me accelerate the impact of my work and contribution to the field. My letters of recommendation were from leaders in my organization who could speak to my leadership in and passion for the topic. I hope this helps! Wishing you all the best of luck!

[onelastshot]

3 hours ago, dragonfly2024 said:

I went to prestigious U.S. schools for undergrad and grad school, with ~3.8 GPAs. I have around the same number of scientific publications but they are policy-relevant topics, some have contributed to policy changes. 

Congratulations on being accepted @dragonfly2024! You should be super proud- it's a massive achievement on top of all you have done. 

Aside from experience and passion....I think this is what (in my opinion) sets applicants apart- whether or not you went to a prestigious US school. Add into the mix an obligatory term at WHO or the UN and it ticks JHU boxes. I came to this conclusion looking at people admitted in the health security track (I have no idea about other areas) and reading their bios, which had a very similar formula (prestigious school/defence background + experience/leadership experience + affiliation with 'reputable' orgs UN/WHO/CDC). I came to realise as someone that was not educated in the US (not attending a prestigious US school), and as an international student (JHU stats show low international admissions, especially at a DrPH level), my chances were significantly reduced without some of those ticks. Plus, I come from a high-income country so don't tick the diversity quota in a way that is obvious. All of this really is the way things work in the world right now, from job hiring to university admissions. Without a GRE to filter people, I would guess that when 2 candidates meet the other criteria, looking at where they went to school is likely to be a decider. Interesting, as they lost the GRE due to criticisms on lack of equity and need to facilitate diversity.

On balance, going to well-known school and doing well demonstrates your academic ability and likelihood to succeed at JHU...so I understand why. Anyway, it is an amazing achievement for anyone that made it into the DrPH, and the bottom line is there are such limited spots in this program, so it must be hard making those decisions.

Personally, I am done with applying, especially being waitlisted for the second time. My mentor said to me today 'guess what they call the last Dr who graduates- Dr.' I hope everyone on here got something out of the application process and can find some inspiration to find an alternative way forward to achieve their professional goals.

Edited March 7 by onelastshot
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[fightin4mylyf]

9 hours ago, Cvdepi321 said:

 

I’m also waiting to hear back and also interviewed back in February for Epi. What area are you focused in? I have seen rejection results posted but not acceptances so hoping that is a good sign. All in this together!

 

Yea I interviewed back in late January and it has been a long wait for sure. I applied to the Epi PhD program.