First, kudos! I think you exemplify someone who has a strong work ethic, commitment, and passion. These will surely benefit you in and out of school, whichever program you choose.
Undergrad GPAs (presumably) predict graduate school performance. This is a presumption because you clearly prove it otherwise. Despite the low undergraduate GPA - and yes, it is low. 3.5+ is considered competitive for admissions - you not only completed your undergraduate degree but also excelled in your master's program. This is followed by 10 years of hard work. The external rewards may be few, but without question, it will be highly regarded in the admissions process. Again, kudos. In this regard the undergraduate GPA matters less. However, what pops out is what happened during those 9 years. I can only assume that it was a difficult time, to say the least, to the extent that it affect your school performance because it is apparent that you can do well academically.
It goes without saying that the personal essay/statement of purpose will be key for you. The question is what areas in your essay you will address. Will you talk about those 9 years and what happened? Will you talk about your teaching experience? Will you talk about your interests in biostatistics and epidemiology? Will you speak to a number of these things?
Whatever you choose to speak about in your essay, I would highlight the common thread among them. They seem superficially disparate, but in your view, is there a thread that ties your undergraduate experience, those 9 years, the teaching, and now the interest in the MPH or MS? I would recommend, in particular, addressing why biostats/epi, why now, and why this/that program. What knowledge and skills do you have that they want? What training do they have that you want? Remember, graduate programs must sell themselves as much as you are selling yourself to them.
It is not uncommon for folks to return to school to pursue other interests. You will be an asset wherever you choose to go. However, while it seems that "life is interrupted" from you undergraduate experience to your current career, I would focus on the common threads and underlying themes that bind them. Make a strong case for how all that experience (both personal and professional) led you to biostats/epi.
...and quite frankly, it was the first thing that came to mind after reading your question: Why biostats/epidemiology?
If you can answer this question, you will be admitted.
Good luck!
Thank you for your thorough response.
The 9 years of undergrad is interesting: I won and lost 2 scholarships. I changed schools 3 times, and changed majors numerous times. There was a parental divorce, and a friend's suicide. But honestly excuses are excuses: I'd say I was a bright young man who had no idea what he wanted to do, and for the last few years when I was writing my own checks I was happy to be distracted by work and play.
Working in Project Management taught me that all that ego and pride in talent was nothing if I couldn't remember the key lesson that showing up is 90% of life. Once I locked that in, it's been pretty easy ever since: Not necessarily easy, as the online biostatistics class is a bit challenging being 2500 miles away from campus, or not easy as teaching 200 kids a day is never easy (had 60 AP Gov kids in a choir room with no desks one year)... but easy in the sense that I finally 'got' that you do the work until it's done.
That of course made the teaching masters degree a piece of cake, and while there is nothing easy about teaching high school, or coaching, a little maturity and reflection went a long way.
Why epidemiology? I like puzzles. I like searching for causes and effect, and I like challenge. As I explore the field further, I'm even more engaged in the aspects of tearing the problem apart to look for true causality. And then tearing it apart again if it seems I've just found correlation. I favor epidemiology over biostatistics right because it favors my managerial skills, people skills and social science (history teacher) skill set more, and there seems to be a qualitative aspect to go with the quantitative. Exploring 'deep whys.' Plus, with only a 159q score, I should probably leave the math to the smart kids. And perhaps it's not obvious, but teaching and coaching are very much public health field -- sports and health is an obvious correlation, but even in my relatively affluent community, knowing when a kid is hungry, tired sick is part of my job. Now I just want to do something on a higher order. I want to solve bigger problems.
And, good advice on the SOP: I've been mulling over the SOP. I am few weeks away from submitting apps as I'm going to be spending hours typing 240 semester hours worth of coursework into SOPHAS (seems like they could just get it off the transcripts) and probably will take the GRE again to get 3 or 4 more quantitative points. But I feel pretty strongly that my managerial experience in Project Management gives me the organization, planning, and scheduling skills necessary to become an outstanding researcher.
And teaching and coaching for 10 years has given me fantastic communication skills, presentation skills, and interview skills, while building on the planning and management piece from Project Management. Not to mention the skills for my 2 jobs, and 10 years of year round coaching 3 sports (mostly volunteer) has pretty well defined 'team work.'
I'd like to think that I can contribute in some small way to doing something valuable. Certainly I think my 17 years in two jobs has made real measurable contributions: But I'd like to take the skills I have that are good, and combine them with an intrinsically fascinating career -- and affect some real change.
Thanks for the very useful constructive feedback. I'll focus on what I can affect NOW with the creation of the SOP, and use that to minimize the old stuff. Appreciate it.
