Likelihood of getting accepted?

[drjin]

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I will be graduating this year with a professional degree in the health care field; however, I'm really interested in community based health and believe that a MPH will also be beneficial to helping me achieve my goals!

As of right now, I'm looking to only apply to Part Time or online programs, unless they're in California.

My undergrad stats (top 30 university)
GPA: 3.48 (I was pre-med and Gen Chem/O Chem really hurt my GPA).
Major: Biology/Sociology

Graduate school stats:
GPA: 3.86 (I anticipate that this will go up slightly by the time I graduate. maybe 3.87-3.88?)
GRE: 157 V, 158 Q, 5.0
My only concern is that I don't really have relevant work experience (I have emailed schools individually, so I'm just taking this out of the equation at the moment). I've had two part time jobs that basically added up to being full time during my program as a teacher/waitress. I'm also working in a lab now, but that's super new.

Schools that I'm thinking of applying to are:
Johns Hopkins, George Washington, Emory, Dartmouth, University of Alabama, UNC, CSUN, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UCLA, San Diego State, San Jose State, CSUN, Tulane, and University of Illinois. This is a super preliminary list, so if anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to add any schools/take them out.

Thank you!

 

[MPAfya_19]

Hello! My experience is only from reading these forums and applying to schools myself, but I would say you have a good shot at a lot of schools! I would recommend taking a look at the "MPH Applied, Waitlisted, Accepted" threads from the last couple of years, if you haven't already. There are plenty of people with stats similar to yours who have gotten into great programs. The threads are also helpful for getting an idea of what kinds of experience people come in with.

You say you're in a health care field now, are there maybe aspects of some jobs/academic experiences you have that you can link to your aspirations in public health? Maybe outreach projects or patient education? I think as long as you can clearly explain in your SOP why you are interested in public health, how your experiences up until now have lead you to that point, and ultimately what you hope to do in the field you will be good. And be sure to find schools that match up with your interests, either in terms of research opportunities, practicum opportunities, specific concentrations etc.. and mention those things in your SOPs! Schools seem to be pretty holistic in their review process, and fit and interest in a particular program can sometimes tip the scales.