Epi_2019 Posted April 29, 2018 Posted April 29, 2018 On 4/28/2018 at 6:52 AM, FrozenFreshMeat said: That's why I feel it interesting: at the end after all the preparations, we just need a bit of luck… This is definitely something that I cannot control.... So good to know hahahahha Thanks so much for this valuable post-application feedback
gallimimus Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 On 4/27/2018 at 9:21 PM, epi_2018 said: How specific did you all go into the research you wanted to do? I know it's important to have a clear vision, but also don't want to get overly specific to avoid becoming too narrow to match with faculty. You definitely want to be specific enough that it's clear you have a good understanding of the field and are intellectually curious. Talk about the broader questions you're interested in and maybe mention some specific strategies you could use to address them, but remember that you're not writing a grant proposal. Once in your PhD program, you will only have so much freedom to design your project yourself, obviously being somewhat constrained by your PI's research scope. Talking about your personal interests is key is determining fit and how committed you are to the research, but I think the most important thing to convey is your understanding of the field and that you are flexible and creative enough to follow where the research takes you. epi_2018 1
ianmleavitt Posted April 30, 2018 Posted April 30, 2018 4 hours ago, gallimimus said: You definitely want to be specific enough that it's clear you have a good understanding of the field and are intellectually curious. Talk about the broader questions you're interested in and maybe mention some specific strategies you could use to address them, but remember that you're not writing a grant proposal. Once in your PhD program, you will only have so much freedom to design your project yourself, obviously being somewhat constrained by your PI's research scope. Talking about your personal interests is key is determining fit and how committed you are to the research, but I think the most important thing to convey is your understanding of the field and that you are flexible and creative enough to follow where the research takes you. I second this notion. @epi_2018, in my SOP I discussed five different research topics I'm interested in (chronic disease prevention, health behavior change, community based participatory research, at-risk populations, and dissemination/implementation science) and wove them all together to show they are interrelated and can build off of one another. While I didn't ask any finely pointed questions, I did write some short questions within my SOP that were broad in nature to briefly show where I may head in the future. Epi_2019 and epi_2018 2
hccgrl Posted May 2, 2018 Posted May 2, 2018 Anyone still waiting for a yes, no, wait-list? Still waiting to hear something after my interview March 22. ? it's driving me nuts!!
MarylandGirl Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 1 hour ago, hccgrl said: Anyone still waiting for a yes, no, wait-list? Still waiting to hear something after my interview March 22. ? it's driving me nuts!! Well, as you know, I'm still waiting!
eek_ Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 14 hours ago, MarylandGirl said: Well, as you know, I'm still waiting! WTH. They STILL haven't said anything? I'd seriously be calling them at least every week for an update. That's just rude to completely ignore the April 15th deadline
hccgrl Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 2 hours ago, eek_ said: WTH. They STILL haven't said anything? I'd seriously be calling them at least every week for an update. That's just rude to completely ignore the April 15th deadline Yes... Tell me about it. We're both going crazy (we're both waiting to hear from the same program). I emailed once since my interview asking for an update and did not get a reply. If it's a no...just say so, why drag it out. On a different note, how do you guys feel about applying to a new PhD program? It's not necessarily ceph accredited, but from my understanding, when it comes to PhD, it really doesn't matter (specially since my mph is ceph). And this isn't one of those online school or for-profit... A legit University.
gallimimus Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 44 minutes ago, hccgrl said: On a different note, how do you guys feel about applying to a new PhD program? I applied to UW-Milwaukee for an EHS PhD this past cycle, which is a relatively new program. From that experience, I figure the upside is that they're excited to build their program and really invest in their students. Ultimately I chose another program that had been more of a frontrunner for me from the start, but my interactions with UW were overwhelmingly positive. The downside will more than likely be funding related. I can't speak for every program, but in this case, there was not a lot of guaranteed funding although several professors I spoke with assured me that I could get funding through my lab once I committed. In terms of credibility, I think as long as the university itself is decent, the newness of the program is not something to really worry about. More important than the name recognition of the program is that there are faculty you'd be really excited to work with and who would be great PhD mentors and advocates.
MarylandGirl Posted May 3, 2018 Posted May 3, 2018 5 hours ago, eek_ said: WTH. They STILL haven't said anything? I'd seriously be calling them at least every week for an update. That's just rude to completely ignore the April 15th deadline Well, I just interviewed with them last week (like 4 hours of interviews!), after assuming I'd been rejected (they called the week before--on like April 17--asked if I was still interested and asked when I could come for interview). I was told they'd be meeting yesterday, presumably to decide (was just a regular faculty meeting). So...hope to hear soon? I was rejected from the other place I applied to (Hopkins--they let me know a couple months ago!), so it's not like they have competition. Still...
MarylandGirl Posted May 14, 2018 Posted May 14, 2018 On 5/3/2018 at 4:31 PM, MarylandGirl said: Well, I just interviewed with them last week (like 4 hours of interviews!), after assuming I'd been rejected (they called the week before--on like April 17--asked if I was still interested and asked when I could come for interview). I was told they'd be meeting yesterday, presumably to decide (was just a regular faculty meeting). So...hope to hear soon? I was rejected from the other place I applied to (Hopkins--they let me know a couple months ago!), so it's not like they have competition. Still... For the record...still nothing from them...
karlFrick Posted May 15, 2018 Posted May 15, 2018 I have applied to the ucsd-sdsu joint phd in bioengineering. still no word from them, although i got an email from sdsu saying 'SDSU-UCSD Engineering Joint Doctoral Applicant: Your application has been approved by the SDSU Engineering Doctoral Committee and is now under review at UCSD'. this email was sometimes in march, but up till now i haven't got any other responses. is it possible for ucsd to reject me after i have been accepted by sdsu? can anyone who understands how the admission process works help?
karlFrick Posted May 27, 2018 Posted May 27, 2018 On 5/14/2018 at 7:13 PM, MarylandGirl said: For the record...still nothing from them... any word yet? i am also waiting
hccgrl Posted May 27, 2018 Posted May 27, 2018 1 hour ago, karlFrick said: any word yet? i am also waiting We both haven't heard from University of Maryland yet.... Very frustrating. Tried emailing and nothing.
MarylandGirl Posted May 28, 2018 Posted May 28, 2018 Yep, extremely frustrating. Especially knowing that the semester is over now... Sorry you haven't heard anything either, KarlFrick.
karlFrick Posted May 28, 2018 Posted May 28, 2018 6 hours ago, MarylandGirl said: Yep, extremely frustrating. Especially knowing that the semester is over now... Sorry you haven't heard anything either, KarlFrick. thank you. i have sent an email. i hope they respond. are you an international applicant?
karlFrick Posted May 28, 2018 Posted May 28, 2018 19 hours ago, hccgrl said: We both haven't heard from University of Maryland yet.... Very frustrating. Tried emailing and nothing. sorry to hear that... I was told by the grad cordinator that i was recommended by the program. he said i should expect a formal acceptance from the graduate dean. its been over 2 months now and no word formal letter of acceptance. I dont know what to think right now MarylandGirl 1
MarylandGirl Posted May 28, 2018 Posted May 28, 2018 3 hours ago, karlFrick said: thank you. i have sent an email. i hope they respond. are you an international applicant? Thanks! Nope, I actually live about 20 miles from the school... I hope you hear something back from the e-mail. Are you international?
karlFrick Posted May 29, 2018 Posted May 29, 2018 3 hours ago, MarylandGirl said: Thanks! Nope, I actually live about 20 miles from the school... I hope you hear something back from the e-mail. Are you international? yes. i am international
MarylandGirl Posted May 30, 2018 Posted May 30, 2018 On 5/28/2018 at 10:31 PM, karlFrick said: yes. i am international Then they really need to let you know! You need time to figure out moving, any visas or things like that... (Still nothing here, but head of program is off this week.)
karlFrick Posted June 4, 2018 Posted June 4, 2018 10 hours ago, ghint said: Anyone who is joining the joint program at UCSD-SDSU?? i am hopeful. still waiting for a response. i applied to the joint engineering sciences, what about you?
eek_ Posted July 9, 2018 Posted July 9, 2018 On 5/30/2018 at 4:22 PM, MarylandGirl said: Then they really need to let you know! You need time to figure out moving, any visas or things like that... (Still nothing here, but head of program is off this week.) Did you guys ever hear?!? I've thought about you from time to time!
karlFrick Posted July 9, 2018 Posted July 9, 2018 10 hours ago, eek_ said: Did you guys ever hear?!? I've thought about you from time to time! yea, i finally got an admit to the ucsd/sdsu joint phd. thank you for your good thoughts. any idea of how i can get an apartment close to ucsd but cheap will be very helpful
PhMe Posted July 22, 2018 Posted July 22, 2018 Hi All, Looks like the forum has pretty much winded down. Just want to say that reading about everyone's experiences, good and bad, and contributing my own felt like such a huge help throughout this difficult process for all these months. In the end, the waiting paid off. I'll be starting at GW this fall. Thank you all and good luck! Signing off..
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now