Hello, I really need advice on what to do. I am really interested in getting my MPH in Health Policy and Management at a UC, but I have a super low overall GPA due to the fact in my sophomore year, I was a Biology major (it wasn’t the Bio class that were hard, it was the Calculus classes that messed my GPA up).
At first I wasn’t worried because I thought that if you had good work/internship experience, a great GRE score, and an upward trend on the last two years of your transcript then you can be accepted into a good program. Now, I’m looking at people’s overall GPA on the forums here, and I have become EXTREMELY worried. What I’m also worried about is the fact that I went to a Cal State for undergrad. None of my peers at school aspire to go to a UC for grad school, and now I know why. I just feel that I have potential to go to a UC instead of CSU for grad school.
Here are my statistics:
Major Health Science (w/ a concentration in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention)
GPA:
Average: 3.37 (it all goes right, it will be a 3.4)
Major: 3.88 (hopefully will become over 3.9 after this semester)
GRE: taking it August
Experience:
-2+ years interning as a Health Scholar in the COPE Heath Scholar Program (over 500 hours)
-Leadership in the COPE Health Scholar Program (Admin Coordinator)
-Research intern for a non-profit in Orange County- (community-based participatory research on social determinants of health)
-Internship at Environmental Health and Safety (enforcing the smoke free policy on campus)
-Worked at a tutoring center for more than a year
-Worked for AmeriCoprs as a Jumpstart Corps Member for a year (over 300 hours)
-Just got accepted into an internship with the CDC this summer for Public Health.
Because I went to a CSU, the research opportunities in my school were very little. The few research opportunities available would go to either MPH students or Spanish speakers (both of which I am not). I thought I was even lucky to find a research opportunity outside of campus in Orange County.
Now, I feel that no matter what, my application will be looked down upon because of my undergrad school and my overall GPA. I am taking a gap year to gain work experience and will be studying for the GRE over the summer. What else should I do just to even have a chance at a UC for MPH?