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14 hours ago, mmhealth2018 said:

Very late to this but figured I would contribute (been silently stalking). Applied to BU Health Services and Brown Behavioral and Social Science. Interviewing with BU today via phone, still haven't heard anything from Brown. It sounds like Epi has sent out emails, has anyone heard from the behavioral and social sciences division? 

When I corresponded with the BSS dept at Brown they said they will get back to applicants by the end of january. I assume we'll hear from them in the next week or so.

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6 hours ago, PhMe said:

Same here! got it this morning. Now, i feel stupid for spending so much time recording that video for the application!

Oh goodness, I didn't even record the video; I did the text entry option. I found it a little bit ridiculous they even wanted a video (and also don't have a laptop with a camera). Perhaps why they didn't move on with me...

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@MarylandGirl i Just logged to my portal and it looks a little different. Where it says test scores.. previously it just said received, but now it says  GRE: received official 3 times (I sent them 3 different scores). 

I wonder if this means we're getting closer to a yes or no. 

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43 minutes ago, hccgrl said:

@MarylandGirl i Just logged to my portal and it looks a little different. Where it says test scores.. previously it just said received, but now it says  GRE: received official 3 times (I sent them 3 different scores). 

I wonder if this means we're getting closer to a yes or no. 

I hope so! Mine had that, too--well, I only sent them one set of scores, so it just said "GRE received official"--but I'm not sure if it said that before or not. I was hoping we would have heard this week--with Monday being a holiday, I imagine the soonest we'd hear now is Tuesday... Do you have problems logging in to the portal? I can't seem to find a link that works to get to it, so I just have to use the link from my e-mail to reset the password, then request to reset it, then I can get in. Anytime I try to use some other URL to get to it, I receive an error message. If you have a better way, let me know!

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just got an email from UNC's health behavior program for a 15 minute skype interview this week! I hope others got good news as well. I didn't expect to hear on a saturday.

Anyone know what to expect in these interviews? Specific questions to expect or good ways to prepare? This will be my first one!

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1 hour ago, west_k said:

Anyone know what to expect in these interviews? Specific questions to expect or good ways to prepare? This will be my first one!

Congrats! I'm still waiting to hear back from that program at UNC. As for the interview: Sell yourself! Why are you a good match for the program, and why is the program a good match for you? Why do you want to do a PhD? I put a few links below that may help as well...

https://www.reddit.com/r/gradadmissions/comments/4binyr/list_of_questions_i_created_for_my_visits/?st=jc6ol952&sh=4a366feb

https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/99845-interview-prep/?tab=comments#comment-1058533641

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vP09ltqHSCJNgqcB0NmIGRsW1LjkM_6W_uVehDYeuBk/edit

1 hour ago, travelmug1Q84 said:

Just curious as I'm seeing these posts about interviews--do all PhD programs do interviews with potential graduate students? I'd imagine not, but what do you think the ratio of interviewing to non-interviewing grad programs is?

I would think that the strong majority of programs do interviews of some type, whether it be in person or over the phone/Skype. After all, you can only get so much of a feel for a student from what they wrote down and submitted. Perhaps lesser caliber programs don't do interviews as often, but I'd think even then you might find a 50-50 split.

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26 minutes ago, ianmleavitt said:

Congrats! I'm still waiting to hear back from that program at UNC. As for the interview: Sell yourself! Why are you a good match for the program, and why is the program a good match for you? Why do you want to do a PhD? I put a few links below that may help as well...

 

Thank you for the links and advice! I hope you hear back soon- when they emailed me the day before they didn't give me much information other than that I was being reviewed. There were interviews all day jan 16-19 so maybe they'll send out more invitations on Monday. 

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3 hours ago, eek_ said:

@MarylandGirl & @hccgrl - I logged onto my UMD portal and saw a decision was available. Just a heads up! 

Thanks, just went in to check mine and am having difficulty--the problem is, I started an application for the Family Science program (which was not through SOPHAS), then decided to just apply to Maternal and Child Health (which is through SOPHAS). So when I try to access my application on their site, sometimes i end up with the correct one, other times, the wrong one. Had a moment of panic because it said my Recommendations hadn't been submitted, when I knew all 3 had gone through SOPHAS...but apparently, this was for the application that I never completed...Hopefully I can manage to access the real one!

Can I ask how yours changed? Hopefully in a positive way!

Edited by MarylandGirl
Correcting something
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On 1/13/2018 at 1:51 PM, MarylandGirl said:

I hope so! Mine had that, too--well, I only sent them one set of scores, so it just said "GRE received official"--but I'm not sure if it said that before or not. I was hoping we would have heard this week--with Monday being a holiday, I imagine the soonest we'd hear now is Tuesday... Do you have problems logging in to the portal? I can't seem to find a link that works to get to it, so I just have to use the link from my e-mail to reset the password, then request to reset it, then I can get in. Anytime I try to use some other URL to get to it, I receive an error message. If you have a better way, let me know!

So I usually go to that same email...m and there's a link below the password reset link...."Once you set up your account, you can use your username and password to access the application here." Only thing is... When you log off, click on one of the links to give to the admissions page, because of you funny, you might be able to log in again for a little while. 

3 hours ago, eek_ said:

@MarylandGirl & @hccgrl - I logged onto my UMD portal and saw a decision was available. Just a heads up! 

I logged on and nothing :(. Did you get an interview!? 

11 minutes ago, MarylandGirl said:

Thanks, just went in to check mine and am having difficulty--the problem is, I started an application for the Family Science program (which was not through SOPHAS), then decided to just apply to Maternal and Child Health (which is through SOPHAS). So when I try to access my application on their site, sometimes i end up with the correct one, other times, the wrong one. Had a moment of panic because it said my Recommendations hadn't been submitted, when I knew all 3 had gone through SOPHAS...but apparently, this was for the application that I never completed...Hopefully I can manage to access the real one!

Can I ask how yours changed? Hopefully in a positive way!

So for mine it never said my recommendations were there. But I know they have them because SOPHAS has them. So i wouldn't worry. Our department is taking for ever!!! Specially since Dr. Roy said they only get on average 30 applications. But I guess it's harder to pick 2-4 candidates vs the higher amounts in the other departments. 

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11 minutes ago, MarylandGirl said:

Thanks, just went in to check mine and am having difficulty--the problem is, I started an application for the Family Science program (which was not through SOPHAS), then decided to just apply to Maternal and Child Health (which is through SOPHAS). So when I try to access my application on their site, sometimes i end up with the correct one, other times, the wrong one. Had a moment of panic because it said my Recommendations hadn't been submitted, when I knew all 3 had gone through SOPHAS...but apparently, this was for the application that I never completed...Hopefully I can manage to access the real one!

Can I ask how yours changed? Hopefully in a positive way!

I think there system is weird-sometimes it tells me I have the wrong password when I'm like 99.99% I do not and I have to reset my password just to log in. Essentially it was just a new hyperlinked line that said "Decision available" - I clicked on it and led me to a page with my decision. (Or maybe a PDF).

Question: Did you apply for FASFA yet? Sort of confused if we have to do that given PhDs are funded yeah? I'm going to ask Evelyn tomorrow. 

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16 minutes ago, hccgrl said:

So I usually go to that same email...m and there's a link below the password reset link...."Once you set up your account, you can use your username and password to access the application here." Only thing is... When you log off, click on one of the links to give to the admissions page, because of you funny, you might be able to log in again for a little while.

I logged on and nothing :(. Did you get an interview!? 

OK, I feel better that you also didn't have anything new in yours--maybe they're still working on the Family Science/Maternal and Child Health department?

16 minutes ago, hccgrl said:

So for mine it never said my recommendations were there. But I know they have them because SOPHAS has them. So i wouldn't worry. Our department is taking for ever!!! Specially since Dr. Roy said they only get on average 30 applications. But I guess it's harder to pick 2-4 candidates vs the higher amounts in the other departments. 

OK, that's helpful to know. I thought Dr. Roy had said fewer applicants than that...or maybe that total was for both Family Science and Maternal and Child Health, then they pick 2-4 for each program, so 4-8 total out of the 30? I think Dr. King-Marshall said they generally interview 10 for that number of spots--I think both said not getting any news early was a good sign because they send out rejections first. But I worry they're just behind this year? Hope we hear something soon! I started drafting an e-mail to Dr. King-Marshall to check on status, but afraid to send it because I don't want to seem annoying!

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Do you all thinks it's permissible to ask if reimbursement or funding is available for invitations to interviews/recruitment before accepting an offer to interview? I received an in-person interview invitation, but I'm not too keen on purchasing airline tickets and paying for a hotel in an expensive city. Thoughts? It struck me as odd  and somewhat concerning they didn't mention funding in the initial invite-and I don't think they can discriminate against you saying you can only do a Skype interview/phone call yeah?

 As grad students we aren't  exactly rolling in $$$. :)

Maybe I'm being overly frugal though!

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On 1/10/2018 at 11:39 AM, wildtype said:

I got a Skype interview invite yesterday for the epidemiology track/subfield. But I don't know about others. Does anyone know if PHS does any in-person interviews? Or are final decisions based on the Skype ones?

I was told by the Epi department that final decisions are made after the Skype interviews and that we will hear back sometime in the second or third week of February. 

Good luck!!

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43 minutes ago, 00ber said:

I was told by the Epi department that final decisions are made after the Skype interviews and that we will hear back sometime in the second or third week of February. 

Good luck!!

So I guess their FAQ section (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/phdphs/admissions-faq/ ), which says no interviews are carried out, is out of date? 

Is the admission based on some entry test and/or interview or is done on the basis of the academic history?

Applications are reviewed on the basis of academic credentials, GPA, GRE, TOEFL, prior research and work experience, statement of purpose, recommendations and a writing sample. No other entry test or interview is required.

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1 hour ago, jjj02027 said:

So I guess their FAQ section (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/phdphs/admissions-faq/ ), which says no interviews are carried out, is out of date? 

Is the admission based on some entry test and/or interview or is done on the basis of the academic history?

Applications are reviewed on the basis of academic credentials, GPA, GRE, TOEFL, prior research and work experience, statement of purpose, recommendations and a writing sample. No other entry test or interview is required.

Maybe this is because they don't uniformly do Skype interviews with all top applicants in all fields of study within the Epidemiology Department? That's only a guess though. I applied to the Cancer Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention field of study, so I'm not sure if it's the same for all. 

Edited by 00ber
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21 hours ago, eek_ said:

Do you all thinks it's permissible to ask if reimbursement or funding is available for invitations to interviews/recruitment before accepting an offer to interview? I received an in-person interview invitation, but I'm not too keen on purchasing airline tickets and paying for a hotel in an expensive city. Thoughts? It struck me as odd  and somewhat concerning they didn't mention funding in the initial invite-and I don't think they can discriminate against you saying you can only do a Skype interview/phone call yeah?

 As grad students we aren't  exactly rolling in $$$. :)

Maybe I'm being overly frugal though!

I think it's definitely reasonable to ask, especially since a lot of public health programs provide full or partial compensation for interview related travel costs, or only offer Skype interviews. I know this question has been brought up in the Interviews board (https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/84-interviews-and-visits/) so you may want to look there for more specific advice about how to best inquire... I would likely just reach out to the program coordinator and express that you are excited about the opportunity to interview and look forward to talking with the admissions committee, however you are concerned about the costs associated with traveling to City X  -- so you are writing to see if the program provides applicants with any compensation for travel costs, or if doing an interview via Skype or phone be an option.

 

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1 hour ago, 00ber said:

Maybe this is because they don't uniformly do Skype interviews with all top applicants in all fields of study within the Epidemiology Department? That's only a guess though. I applied to the Cancer Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention field of study, so I'm not sure if it's the same for all. 

Is someone applying to the Clinical Epidemiology area?

 
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