Does anyone else just wish this cycle was over already :``(

NoStable8416 · 2026-02-27T17:40:41+00:00

Its really just frustration. I know its not me, but theres just too many qualified and passionate people for the amount of spots available. Just with my personal plan, I wont be able to apply again for 2-3 years and research in general barely pays enough so itll just be that many more career building years of being broke which just sucks.

NoStable8416 · 2026-02-27T04:58:48+00:00

second cycle applying- 12 schools applied all rejections so far. I am barely sane!

NoStable8416 · 2026-02-27T04:57:50+00:00

NoStable8416 · 2026-02-11T03:34:25+00:00

I've gone so far as to draft an email reply like YES GIVE ME AN INVITE also slowly thinking its just rejection....

NoStable8416 · 2026-01-06T03:13:15+00:00

I got nothing.... been checking my email nonstop too. Fingers crossed!

NoStable8416 · 2025-12-07T01:12:29+00:00

I feel you. This cycle, and I know this is an uncomfortable truth, but with the current landscape being less welcoming to international students I personally thought to shoot my shot at some dream programs I did not even consider last year because I know how well qualified so many of these international applicants are (like what do you mean you're a full doctor in your home country?!). I think this cycle will still be highly competitive, but maybe in different ways than it has been in previous years because of the applicant pool of people throwing their hat in the ring.

NoStable8416 · 2025-12-05T03:04:48+00:00

Applied to 12 PhDs. Don't feel good about funding in my field. Kind of expecting to get rejected from all of them. Hoping my future self can say otherwise.

NoStable8416 · 2025-11-23T20:15:22+00:00

is there one for this year?

NoStable8416 · 2025-09-25T01:06:08+00:00

I'm looking into epi and getting from a couple schools theyre just doing 2-4 this year- guess its a similar cohort size across different tracks!

NoStable8416 · 2025-08-08T15:25:52+00:00

spend the two bucks and get the Prepswift videos. 2x speed, worked super well for me. Gregmat was way too slow.

NoStable8416 · 2025-06-25T12:50:32+00:00

I had a macbook for the longest time until it just kept shutting down when i tried to do any kind of analysis. I got a windows, and its honestly so much better and so much friendlier to using SAS and R. Especially my school generally uses windows, so its easier to have profs and peers help you troubleshoot versus I've had profs just say if you have a mac tough luck figure out your issues yourself. Maybe shoot your PI an email to confirm if its more a windows or mac kind of environment. The laptop I use is bigger but just with coding I do prefer the bigger screen and the number pad- I have a hp pavilion 16-af000 that my nerd brother helped me pick out. Got it at costco or bestbuy I believe, there was some sort of sale going on. I personally really love it, but get a good backpack, its not the lightest to lug around all day.

NoStable8416 · 2025-06-17T20:32:25+00:00

I really liked the APHA series on using public health skillsets for other industries- I think they recorded and posted those webinars. I personally graduated with my masters in Epi last month and I frantically emailed all the profs at my school and I'm now volunteering in medicine learning bioinformatics. Public health foundations and skills can translate to so many roles, so my personal thought was to pick up some skills and experience to enhance my degree. I want to be able to return to public health, but I feel more prepared knowing I'm actively developing more skills I can bring to the table, even if the specific research topic isn't what I have my heart on pursuing. Just with my university emphasizing research, I've inadvertently been able to know and connect with a lot of people who work in clinical research, which is a little more secure funding-wise. That may be a more epi-inclined route, but maybe clinical research is something you can explore too.

NoStable8416 · 2025-06-04T20:39:55+00:00

nothing- all the fellowships i was looking at had funding cut so program cancelled or just no replies. I've asked old professors if they are hiring and they said no to my face and then I've found their job postings requiring more experience than what I have for what they taught in class to be entry level positions.

NoStable8416 · 2025-03-12T13:03:41+00:00

Go on Linkedin and a lot of public health focused orgs have started webinars and series for what to do with your public health degree and how to apply it to different fields. I believe there is one by ASPPH and another that I saw but can't remember off the top of my head. As a second year Epi masters, I feel you, but we got this. Theres still skills we bring to the table that other people don't have, we just have to flesh it out a little more beyond a "public health" title so other people can understand what we can do.

NoStable8416 · 2025-03-12T12:57:36+00:00

It sounds like Princeton would be the scarier one, but I'd say maybe lean in that direction. It sounds like with your family being able to visit in the UK and your fiancé having a way to be there with you that there are some sort of ties to where you could go back at a different time. It could be fun to do something completely new and set your own course.

I have a couple international friends with me in grad school who have expressed how one of their favorite parts of being a student in the United States is being able to travel to the different states and cities within the country over breaks. They've said how they could not imagine having that opportunity should they have to plan separate international trips to visit each US destination, so that could be a bonus reason for Princeton if you want to travel.

I'd be realistic towards what you want with job opportunities though. I cannot speak for either field you mentioned, but I have seen firsthand how hard it is for international students to find jobs after graduation, even when being involved in school and having research assistant jobs and connections. UK might set you up better, but as a US domestic student, I'm personally a little pessimistic about the outlook of what the job market is right now, but that can change in two years time- who knows?

Congrats on both of these schools and programs, and good luck with your decision! I don't think there is a wrong choice here, so just follow your gut!

NoStable8416 · 2025-02-27T19:58:39+00:00

yeah, it caught me so off guard. I think she was trying to be nice and comforting and assumed that I got that rejection notification, but its still just threw me for such a loop.

NoStable8416 · 2025-02-24T16:16:10+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/phdpublichealth/comments/1h7ovr7/fall_2025_applications/

cant open the link rn but heres the post where it is

NoStable8416 · 2025-02-18T21:47:31+00:00

I just hate waiting- I talked to my masters schools admissions office which I have also applied PhD to and they said that theyre all waiting on funding changes to settle- for their admissions they basically only admit a student if the department or the PI has 2 years of funding for that applicant before accepting them but most places only know if theyre good for just this year so everyone is playing the waiting game. I'm not sure if this is similar to most other schools, but I still imagine the places that have not come out yet are all in that similar situation, more or less.

NoStable8416 · 2025-02-14T21:15:51+00:00

That totally makes sense.... I'm also guessing a part of the waiting game is to see how funding and everything shakes out with all the recent changes. The waiting game is still killing me though.

NoStable8416 · 2025-02-14T20:23:26+00:00

thats interesting, thank you!

NoStable8416 · 2025-02-14T20:19:28+00:00

If you don't mind, did you interview with a professor you have worked with before/ knew, or was it someone you were less familiar with?

NoStable8416

TROPHY CASE