I have another year and a half before I have to apply, so I don't know exactly where I'm applying yet, but I know that I'm not necessarily shooting for top schools. I only care about being able to continue my education; I have no desire to compete with the masses for spots at top schools. I live out west, so I think I'll mostly be applying to public schools in the western half of the US and maybe a couple privates. It'll probably be a mix of MPH (health policy/management or community health concentrations) and MHA programs.
Given that I'm not out to get into Harvard or anything like that, I just wanted to get some input on how my stats look so far.
Anticipated graduation date: May 2012 (currently about to start my junior year)
Applying for: Fall 2012
UG Major: BS in Health Care Administration
UG GPA: 3.4, with an expected upward trend (I do well in my major, which is what I'll be primarily taking classes in for the next two years, so I expect to raise it a bit...maybe to a 3.5 or 3.6)
GRE/GMAT: Haven't taken it yet, but I tend to do well on standardized tests, so I'm hopeful.
Work/volunteer experience: I was a finance major for most of my freshman year, so I interned at a stock brokerage firm that summer. I'm currently a volunteer childcare worker at a local church (can't find paid employment right now). I don't have any work experience relevant to the field, but my school will place me in an internship at some sort of health organization for the last semester of my senior year, so I can put that on my applications.
Unique Background: I know that HCA is very rarely offered as an undergrad major, so I feel like it gives me a unique background that most others wouldn't have.
Honors/Awards: I made the Deans Honor Roll a couple times, and I have a scholarship that's awarded to the high-achieving students in my state.
Blemishes to my record: I was seriously ill for much of my sophomore year. My course load got too heavy, so I switched to audit mode for two classes, one each semester. These weren't classes that anyone would take for "personal enrichment", they were tough academic classes, so I'm guessing that grad schools will know that I essentially withdrew (the only difference is that it shows an AD instead of a W). I also had a bad summer term and got a D in my gen ed math class. My record is otherwise clean (all As and Bs, with only a couple Cs). Not sure if these few will things will be enough to hurt me, but I'm sharing them just in case.
Given that I'm not out to get into Harvard or anything like that, I just wanted to get some input on how my stats look so far.
Anticipated graduation date: May 2012 (currently about to start my junior year)
Applying for: Fall 2012
UG Major: BS in Health Care Administration
UG GPA: 3.4, with an expected upward trend (I do well in my major, which is what I'll be primarily taking classes in for the next two years, so I expect to raise it a bit...maybe to a 3.5 or 3.6)
GRE/GMAT: Haven't taken it yet, but I tend to do well on standardized tests, so I'm hopeful.
Work/volunteer experience: I was a finance major for most of my freshman year, so I interned at a stock brokerage firm that summer. I'm currently a volunteer childcare worker at a local church (can't find paid employment right now). I don't have any work experience relevant to the field, but my school will place me in an internship at some sort of health organization for the last semester of my senior year, so I can put that on my applications.
Unique Background: I know that HCA is very rarely offered as an undergrad major, so I feel like it gives me a unique background that most others wouldn't have.
Honors/Awards: I made the Deans Honor Roll a couple times, and I have a scholarship that's awarded to the high-achieving students in my state.
Blemishes to my record: I was seriously ill for much of my sophomore year. My course load got too heavy, so I switched to audit mode for two classes, one each semester. These weren't classes that anyone would take for "personal enrichment", they were tough academic classes, so I'm guessing that grad schools will know that I essentially withdrew (the only difference is that it shows an AD instead of a W). I also had a bad summer term and got a D in my gen ed math class. My record is otherwise clean (all As and Bs, with only a couple Cs). Not sure if these few will things will be enough to hurt me, but I'm sharing them just in case.
