2012 US PhD Program Applicants

[DeeLovely79]

So who is applying to PhD programs in public health for Fall 2012?

I think it would be good to have list of applicants so we can encourage each other and have a place to post results as the application season continues.

I'll go first

I'm applying to programs in Health Behavior at

U Michigan

Johns Hopkins

Emory

U North Carolina Chapel Hill

U South Carolina Columbia

Tulane

U Pittsburgh

I received my MPH in '05 and I am currently working and preparing to return to life as broke graduate student! I finished my apps awhile back and now I'm focusing on training for my first triathlon so I won't go crazy waiting to hear from schools.

[RockStar]

Me.

PhD Epidemiology.

Hopkins.

Harvard.

UNC.

UT Houston.

[pplgz]

applying to SD in Epidemiology at HSPH

PhD in Mental Health at JHSPH

Good luck to us all!

[gabby11]

hi there. i applied to the following phd programs (public health / policy):

Hopkins (health policy)

UCLA (health services/policy)

UC Berkeley (health services/policy analysis)

NYU (Wagner, emphasis on health policy)

UT Austin (LBJ, emphasis on health policy)

good luck to me and everyone

[twizzler86]

I applied to Hopkins and Temple for PhD/ScD in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Restricted by location or would have applied to many more!

Edited January 6, 2012 by twizzler86

[darse1112]

Applying to health behavior in

U Mich

USC

U Pitts

BU

Columbia

UW

UI Chicago

Good luck to yall : )

[slaNYC]

I only want to live in CA or NY because I feel like I'm too old to move somewhere random. Therefore my schools are:

1. NYU Steinhardt

2. Columbia - Sociomedical Sciences

3. Graduate Center

4. UCLA - Community Health Sciences

5. Berkeley

6. Claremont

7. USC

8. Rutgers

9. UI Chicago (just cause it's a relatively good city and required no extra work.)

I'm only about 50% done with applications. I can't wait for this to be over.

Good luck!

Edited January 8, 2012 by slaNYC

[epi77]

Applied to epi programs: UNC, Harvard, Emory, Pitt, UIC

Heard last week that I got an interview with Emory.

[RWSC3]

Community Health Sciences (aka Behavioral Sciences, sociomedical science, health behavior & health education, etc.)

-UMich

-UPitt

-Emory

-Harvard

-Hopkins

-UNC

-Columbia

-University of Illinois Chicago

-Ohio State

[DeeLovely79]

Wow, everyone is coming out the wood work!! Here is my first update: I had a phone interview with Pitt this week and I was invited to an in person interview.

[phdroute]

Hi all - I am applying to health policy/health services PhD programs at: Yale, Hopkins, UNC and BU. I think the waiting may be worse than completing the apps! Good luck, all!

[Epi_Queen]

Hi All,

I am applying for the second year in a row. Last year I applied only to UIC PhD Epi since I did not want to leave my husband and family but this year I am applying to about 15 programs to give myself more options- if accepted!

I have a 1090 on the GRE which is kind of low for doctoral applicants. But I know of some how have gotten in with lower scores than mine. Has anyone else gotten in with low GRE scores?

I do have 2 years of working experience in clinical research and an MPH with a 3.8 GPA.

I am getting super nervous about this whole process and am thinking I will not get in again this year as well. Anyone else in a similar position?

GOOD LUCK!!!

[drrayl]

I'm applying as well! I've been perusing the biology forums at gradcafe and there seems to be a ton of activity there, so I was hoping to contribute some here.

Applied: UC Irvine, USC, UCLA, UCSF, UC Berkeley, UT Houston, UIC

all in either Epidemiology or Molecular Epidemiology.

[50_50]

Applied: Johns Hopkins (Health Systems), U Mich (Health Policy and Organization), Cornell (Policy Analysis and Management), UMD (Policy Studies). All PhD.

Not too optimistic about getting in this year though. Low bachelor's GPA (3.2) from a top-tier private college, 3.97 master's degree GPA from a decent public policy school, ok GRE (620V, 790Q, 6 Writing), but very limited (close to none) health-related background. Have 3.5 years of post-master's experience as an economist in a decent organization (as in, the professors would have heard the name of the organization). References are strong (I think), but one professor inadvertantly sent a letter addressed to a different school (to all programs), and there was no time to rectify that. I hope this does not totally ruin my chances.

Everyone tells me that the first two programs above are tough to get into. But decided to take a shot based on suggestions from undergrad professors and a bit of gut feeling. Unfortunately, I did not have time to contact professors in specific PhD programs beforehand (not sure if that makes a big difference).

-------

Good luck to everyone! Anyone here knows when these programs might be sending decisions? I just finished submitting my applications last week (Jan 15 was the last deadline), and am already checking my emails frequently. My wife tells me that I have obsessive compulsive disorder and that I am making a right decision by applying to health programs!

[DeeLovely79]

@50_50

My advice would be to search the results section for either the individual universities you are applying to or the general field. You be able to see when previous application cycles were offered interviews and acceptances.

[epi19]

Hi everyone,

I just got my first acceptance today at GWU! I'm applying to Ph.D. programs in Epi

Accepted: GWU

Interview: Emory

Waiting: UNC, Yale, UW, UT-Houston, Tulane, John's Hopkins

[slaNYC]

Congrats to epi19. That is so exciting! Did you add your you acceptance to the results survey? If not, you should.

I have a question for the group. Today I got an unexpected email from a professor at Berkeley. It was in response to an email from me 2 months ago looking to touch base with faculty and learn more about the program. She apologized for not responding sooner and said a couple of interesting things. First, she said, "Our final meeting -- for making firm decisions regarding offers for admission -- will take place on 1/27/12. You are still in the mix and a strong candidate. It's great you contacted X professor and I'll be sure and let the committee know that." And then she went on to say that she would be happy to talk to me (per my original request) but could we do it after the decisions were made. Why would she want to talk to me then? She closed with, "I look forward to talking with you and to meeting you."

I wish this email never came because it's gotten my hopes up. Curious what others out there think.

Edited January 20, 2012 by slaNYC

[gabby11]

slaNYC, that is a little unusual but i'm sure it's nice to hear that you're in the mix and a strong candidate! out of curiosity, what PhD program did you apply to at Cal? Good luck, it sounds like you're sure to land somewhere great!!

[slaNYC]

slaNYC, that is a little unusual but i'm sure it's nice to hear that you're in the mix and a strong candidate! out of curiosity, what PhD program did you apply to at Cal? Good luck, it sounds like you're sure to land somewhere great!!

At Berkeley I actually applied to the DrPH program. For various reasons I've decided to do a mix of PhD in Community Health Sciences-type programs and DrPH in my applications.

Also, I see that you applied to Wagner. I went there for my graduate program and currently work with some Wagner faculty. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Edited January 20, 2012 by slaNYC

[an_internet_person]

SlaNYC,

All of us Berkeley-hopefuls are definitely drooling. That sounds like a tentative acceptance-- I hope it works out!

I have a (lame) question for you about Wagner, if you've got a sec: my s/o is applying to the MPA, and is curious as to when they'll announce admissions decisions. Do you have any experience with this? They claim 4-6 weeks, and it's already been 6.

... also, the curiousity may be more mine than hers. I'd love for her to be at NYU.

[50_50]

@50_50

My advice would be to search the results section for either the individual universities you are applying to or the general field. You be able to see when previous application cycles were offered interviews and acceptances.

Thanks a lot! I am new to gradcafe, and didn't know there was that search place! Looks like the week of Jan 10 is the big week based on results from previous years. For some reasons, the rejections seem to be sent after the acceptances, in some cases weeks later. Cheers.

[50_50]

Hi everyone,

I just got my first acceptance today at GWU! I'm applying to Ph.D. programs in Epi

Congrats! That's awesome.

[DeeLovely79]

Thanks a lot! I am new to gradcafe, and didn't know there was that search place! Looks like the week of Jan 10 is the big week based on results from previous years. For some reasons, the rejections seem to be sent after the acceptances, in some cases weeks later. Cheers.

I can't speak to individual disciplines but overall it seems like the very few interview requests/acceptances have gone out so far. Either there are way fewer applicants to public health doctoral programs on the boards this year (which would make sense if the cohort has a larger percent of older applicants) or many of the committees are reviewing doctoral applications later than previous years (may be they are trying to address issues of departmental/program funding before making decisions?).

I'm not really sure what the reason is at this point, does anyone have any ideas/theories?

Edited January 20, 2012 by DeeLovely79

[bikefarm]

I can't speak to individual disciplines but overall it seems like the very few interview requests/acceptances have gone out so far. Either there are way fewer applicants to public health doctoral programs on the boards this year (which would make sense if the cohort has a larger percent of older applicants) or many of the committees are reviewing doctoral applications later than previous years (may be they are trying to address issues of departmental/program funding before making decisions?).

I'm not really sure what the reason is at this point, does anyone have any ideas/theories?

I can't tell either. I didn't think many schools of public health conducted interviews so I'm not surprised that there aren't many interview notifications posted in the results section. And when I searched the results sections for previous years, it seems that the schools I applied to (I applied to health behavior programs) don't typically notify their PhD applicants until mid-late February. I'm just guessing that with the holidays and the start of the new semester, the departments hold off looking at applications until maybe now and then send out notices in February. I think no news is good news at this point.

[sepiasizemore]

SlaNYC-It's hard not to get your hopes up with an e-mail like that! I feel that they wouldn't be reaching out at this point if you weren't one of the top candidates. I honestly think it's a good sign but crazy things can happen in those meetings. At least you know that you'll know (relatively) soon!