PhD Applicants Fall 2017

[BakinSoda]

On 2/23/2017 at 2:30 PM, epi_08 said:

Just got rejected from University of Michigan for Epi. Am crushed. Thought the interview went well. Things not looking good

Hey epi_08 and other folks who applied for epi at U Michigan! Do you mind if I ask an off-topic question? I suppose you went to the doctoral program day as well. Have you received your travel reimbursement back yet?

[SocialPubHealth]

Just got some good news from CUNY Dept of Community, Society and Health!

[SocialPubHealth]

Anyone wanna share their status updates on Hopkins Health Behavior and Society and UCLA Community Health Sciences? Still haven't heard back... 

[thetemp]

Still haven't heard back from: JHU HPM (phone interview 1/11), Harvard Health Policy (inevitable rejection), or Wharton (inevitable rejection). I think I saw 1 JHU acceptance on the results page so not sure what to make of that... maybe I'm just waiting to be rejected there too. I just wish I knew for sure! The waiting game is exhausting. 

[SocialPubHealth]

Yup. 

[anthrostudentcyn]

same here re: NYU. Assuming a rejection but just would like SOME indication

[gshel057]

Does anyone have a sense of what it means when rejections seem to be trickling in for a program but no one seems to have been accepted yet?

[PHNutr]

2 hours ago, SocialPubHealth said:

Anyone wanna share their status updates on Hopkins Health Behavior and Society and UCLA Community Health Sciences? Still haven't heard back... 

I am waiting on a decision from Health Behavior and Society at Hopkins as well. A faculty member called me last Tuesday to talk about my application and research interests since the POI I listed (and spoke with throughout the admissions process) cannot actually be my primary mentor since he only has a joint appointment in the department. The professor I spoke with said that decisions should be issued in the next two weeks (so this week or next), but to not quote her on that as they have been deliberating intently over the applications this year. So, I am definitely not expecting a favorable decision, but it would still be really nice to know the definitive outcome.

[SocialPubHealth]

1 minute ago, PHNutr said:

I am waiting on a decision from Health Behavior and Society at Hopkins as well. A faculty member called me last Tuesday to talk about my application and research interests since the POI I listed (and spoke with throughout the admissions process) cannot actually be my primary mentor since he only has a joint appointment in the department. The professor I spoke with said that decisions should be issued in the next two weeks (so this week or next), but to not quote her on that as they have been deliberating intently over the applications this year. So, I am definitely not expecting a favorable decision, but it would still be really nice to know the definitive outcome.

Thank you for sharing that insight! And at least you got an interview! There's more hope for you. I didn't get an interview at all.

Edited March 1, 2017 by SocialPubHealth

[PHNutr]

4 minutes ago, SocialPubHealth said:

Thank you for sharing that insight! And at least you got an interview! There's more hope for you. I didn't get an interview at all.

It was not really a standard interview, so do not worry about not getting contacted. She said that they did not do formal interviews this year, but she was contacting me (as well as a couple other students) who did not have clear mentors identified (due to joint appointment confusion or simply not listing them) to get a better idea of how our research and career goals fit with the program/department.

[zalidina]

On 2/15/2017 at 9:30 PM, mph2phd2017 said:

Longtime lurker, first time poster.

Anxiety is through the roof waiting for the decisions to be made!

Has anyone heard from OHSU, OSU, or Colorado?

I'm nervous because despite having a great GPA (3.8), research, publications, grant writing experience, work experience, excellent LORs and consistent contact with my POIs, I had terrible GRE scores. My brain just doesn't do well during standardized testing. Help ease my mind, or confirm my fears. Whichever. Ha.

I got interviewed for OSU mid-late Jan and got accepted first week of Feb. I interviewed for Colorado mid Feb but they said they wont be making decisions until late march/early April. 

Good luck!!

[joshre01]

52 minutes ago, zalidina said:

I got interviewed for OSU mid-late Jan and got accepted first week of Feb. I interviewed for Colorado mid Feb but they said they wont be making decisions until late march/early April. 

Good luck!!

Hey, which dept in Colorado did you interview ? I applied late Jan and haven't heard anything since!

[brosegal]

4 hours ago, SocialPubHealth said:

Anyone wanna share their status updates on Hopkins Health Behavior and Society and UCLA Community Health Sciences? Still haven't heard back... 

Hi SocialPubHealth! I would say look at your Health Behavior and Society personal admission page. If it says app still under review then maybe it is. If it doesnt say anything, then that means that a decision has been rendered. My portal changed to some generic information about campus visits and other stuff. I called the general admissions team last Friday to ask what it meant and they told me that was a sign that a decision was made. They transferred me to HBS and they were able to give me the decision - rejection. The impression that I got from department admission rep is that all decisions have been made. She also seemed surprised that I hadnt received an email as of yet. Hope you receive positive news!

[SocialPubHealth]

12 minutes ago, brosegal said:

Hi SocialPubHealth! I would say look at your Health Behavior and Society personal admission page. If it says app still under review then maybe it is. If it doesnt say anything, then that means that a decision has been rendered. My portal changed to some generic information about campus visits and other stuff. I called the general admissions team last Friday to ask what it meant and they told me that was a sign that a decision was made. They transferred me to HBS and they were able to give me the decision - rejection. The impression that I got from department admission rep is that all decisions have been made. She also seemed surprised that I hadnt received an email as of yet. Hope you receive positive news!

Thank you! Could you PM me with the contact name and number you called? I emailed Jess earlier today (and two weeks ago) but didn't get a response. She said that notifications would be out within the next week or so, and that was on Feb 14th. 

[syjpark]

On 2/28/2017 at 9:24 AM, mph2phd2017 said:

Suzanna told me that they weren't making decisions until March 1st... not sure?

Did you apply to the Global Health track as well? Depending on the department, it could be that they are sending out decisions on different timelines. 

[JHUHealthPublicPolicy]

On 2/28/2017 at 6:39 PM, mtbe said:

For those who were rejected to programs, did you contact the program to ask what were your weaknesses to improve your application? Is this a thing most people do? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Before I applied to programs last year one of my recommendation writers suggested that I look for assistant/tenure track faculty that I had interests with and list at least one. The big name professors often have tons of students who want to work with them, whereas the junior faculty have fewer, tend to be more eager to be active mentors and they often need to advise a certain number of doctoral students through graduation before they can be tenured. The person who will be my mentor is the more junior faculty member I listed. 

Hope that helps! Good luck to everyone still waiting, and for those who have decisions to make!

Edited March 2, 2017 by JHUHealthPublicPolicy

[Epi_17]

Hi everyone! I have been following the thread for a while, but it's my first time posting. 

I got a rejection email from JHU mental health PhD, but was offered admission to the MHS mental health program. Anyone in the same situation? What do you think? I'm still waiting to hear back from three other programs, but things are not looking good. Seriously considering the MHS program now... any suggestion will be appreciated. Good luck to everyone! 

NYU CGPH  epi track (interviewed)

Columbia epi (no interview)

Pitt epi

[melvina]

1 hour ago, Epi_17 said:

Hi everyone! I have been following the thread for a while, but it's my first time posting. 

I got a rejection email from JHU mental health PhD, but was offered admission to the MHS mental health program. Anyone in the same situation? What do you think? I'm still waiting to hear back from three other programs, but things are not looking good. Seriously considering the MHS program now... any suggestion will be appreciated. Good luck to everyone! 

NYU CGPH  epi track (interviewed)

Columbia epi (no interview)

Pitt epi

I'm really sorry about this!    I'm no expert but these are some things to consider.....

1. Will doing the MHS put you into (more?) debt?   

2. What do you hope to achieve by doing the MHS?  Do you think it will make a BIG difference in terms of what you want to be doing eventually?  Is there another way to get to what you want to be doing eventually (ex. sit this year out, save money and improve your application, and apply again)?   

If the MHS wouldn't put you into debt, then I think you should definitely consider it.  But if it would put you into debt, then be VERY sure that it will get you where you want to go. 

I guess my advice would be not to make a decision out of fear.  Do you fear that you won't be able to get into a PhD program next year without this MHS?  If this is the case, I would try to find a professor from your previous masters who could give you an objective opinion on your application and let you know whether an MHS would actually make a difference.  

Of course, if your ultimate goal is to do a PhD at an Ivy League and nowhere else (just an example), then maybe going into debt is worth it.  

Also, definitely try to find current MHS students to speak with.  Hopkins has a great reputation, but I have heard that a lot of the faculty are inaccessible and that they accept a lot of students to the PH program so it's hard to build close relationships with faculty.  Basically, check with current students if your expectations of what you want to get out of this MHS will be met.  

Anyone else have additional thoughts?

 

PS  It's interesting that you haven't received anything from Pitt.  I think the acceptances went out, which means you might be on the waitlist.  

PPS  I assume you already have a master's.  If you don't, then having one will definitely improve your application significantly for next year's PhD cycle. 

Edited March 2, 2017 by melvina

[Epi_17]

30 minutes ago, melvina said:

I'm really sorry about this!    I'm no expert but these are some things to consider.....

1. Will doing the MHS put you into (more?) debt?   

2. What do you hope to achieve by doing the MHS?  Do you think it will make a BIG difference in terms of what you want to be doing eventually?  Is there another way to get to what you want to be doing eventually (ex. sit this year out, save money and improve your application, and apply again)?   

If the MHS wouldn't put you into debt, then I think you should definitely consider it.  But if it would put you into debt, then be VERY sure that it will get you where you want to go. 

I guess my advice would be not to make a decision out of fear.  Do you fear that you won't be able to get into a PhD program next year without this MHS?  If this is the case, I would try to find a professor from your previous masters who could give you an objective opinion on your application and let you know whether an MHS would actually make a difference.  

Of course, if your ultimate goal is to do a PhD at an Ivy League and nowhere else (just an example), then maybe going into debt is worth it.  

Also, definitely try to find current MHS students to speak with.  Hopkins has a great reputation, but I have heard that a lot of the faculty are inaccessible and that they accept a lot of students to the PH program so it's hard to build close relationships with faculty.  Basically, check with current students if your expectations of what you want to get out of this MHS will be met.  

Anyone else have additional thoughts?

 

PS  It's interesting that you haven't received anything from Pitt.  I think the acceptances went out, which means you might be on the waitlist.  

PPS  I assume you already have a master's.  If you don't, then having one will definitely improve your application significantly for next year's PhD cycle. 

Thank you very much, melvina! I really appreciate your suggestion about speaking to a current student. I'm working on my master's in psychology right now, and getting another one will very likely put me in debt. I switched field several times before finding my passion in epi, so I don't have much relevant research experience. If this MHS is not helpful, then maybe I will get a job and apply again this fall

[joshre01]

3 minutes ago, Epi_17 said:

Thank you very much, melvina! I really appreciate your suggestion about speaking to a current student. I'm working on my master's in psychology right now, and getting another one will very likely put me in debt. I switched field several times before finding my passion in epi, so I don't have much relevant research experience. If this MHS is not helpful, then maybe I will get a job and apply again this fall

Hi Epi_17, I completely agree with Melvina. Some of these top-ranked school Master's degrees tend to be vanity degrees, especially if you already have one! Unless your goal is to add another Hopkin's Masters degree on your cv, I think this will add way more debt than anybody really needs. If you've found your passion in epi, I think you should look for a fellowship/job/internship for a year that will help you publish in epi and then apply to the PhD programs again. Obviously if you end up getting in to those other programs you listed, then great! But honestly, spending 2 more years and lots of $ on another master's that isn't even that relevant to Epi  may not be worth it. MHS program is the general Master of Health Science program, right?. You should definitely look at the required classes for this program, I barely see any epi/biostat type of courses anyway. Just my two cents! 

[stereopticons]

@Epi_17 I was rejected from the Johns Hopkins mental health program too! I feel your pain. I asked to not be considered for the MHS because I did not want to get another Masters. HOWEVER, one thing that I would mention is that they largely admit to the mental health PhD from the MHS program. So. If your goal is specifically to get your PhD in Mental Health from Hopkins and you can't accomplish your research and career goals elsewhere, then the MHS might be a good idea. Otherwise, I would probably work and apply again. 

[melvina]

 

@Epi_17  Also agree with joshre01, getting any kind of work experience related to what you want to be doing long-term/kind of program that you want to apply for would definitely boost your application.  I read somewhere that PhDs is kind of applying for a job---they want to be sure that you can be good at being a researcher as well as a student, so any related work experience not only demonstrates commitment to your passion, but also says, "I know how to do this and this because I have done this and that in this job/role/etc."  Supplementing that work experience with closely related coursework that you haven't done yet (even if it's via Coursera, edX), will give you knowledge about how to speak about that topic in theoretical terms as well as show that you are really into this (since you said you recently discovered your passion). 

Good luck!

[Epi_17]

@joshre01 @stereopticons @melvina Thank you so much for you suggestions! I agree that getting work experience in epi is a better way to boost my application. Getting rejections one after another is frustrating, so I really appreciate your advice on how to improve for the next round. Best wishes to all of you!

[mph2phd2017]

Has anyone heard from OHSU? Colorado?

It's been silent on the boards and such. Wondering what's going on?

[gshel057]

Anyone have any insight into why Harvard doesn't seem to have released Health Policy rejections yet? They seem to have released the acceptances..