Kayla123

yayy! I'm there now (MHS program). You should come here, it's wonderful!! congrats

yeah, you can't predict based on solely numbers. My GPA was similar to yours, and I was told I had no shot of getting in anywhere, but I went ahead and applied anyway. Hoped my research and community outreach and GRE would make up for a GPA killed by calculus and physics. Happy to report, UNC and Hopkins (top two programs in PH) felt the same way. You're more than your numbers; make sure to let the admissions guys know that in your essay/resume! Good luck

I'll warn you right now Gillings' admissions department was a mess last year. I called their department multiple times, trying to find something out, and was always told the answer was coming "soon." I basically gave up on them and went to Hopkins. Started getting calls in May (after most schools require an admission decision from you), offering research and what not. Even THEN, they still couldn't tell me what my official status was! Anyway, it's a great school, and is spoken of very highly here--a lot of students and professors have colleagues at gillings, or went there themselves for a previous degree. Just wanted to warn you that the admissions dept was terrible. I hope they've straightened things out--don't stress too much if you don't hear anything; you could very likely have gotten in, but not be notified for awhile.

I had a 3.2. like you, my major got hard--a lot of levels of calculus and physics, which are NOT my strong points. However, I did a lot of undergraduate research and was active on campus and in the community. GRE scores were good. Got into Hopkins, UNC, GWU, and U Michigan. Don't worry too much. You are MUCH more than your GPA--and your essay/resume should reflect that. I was actually told not to bother applying to graduate school by a career counselor, because she took one look at my GPA and said forget it. Thankfully, I didn't listen. And admissions personnel don't just look at GPA numbers. If you were in a hard major, that definitely factors in (a 3.0 in engineering is a tad more impressive than a 3.8 in criminal justice or something). Hang in there!

Hi Nostalgia! Sorry this is like, a month late ... had a lot to do with moving off my undergrad campus, to home, and now gearing up to move to Baltimore! I'm slightly terrified about the program haha, I'm doing the MHS so ours are similar but have a few differences. The accelerated thing is going to be really intense.

Who's going? What degree? What program? SO PUMPED!

Sorry Nostalgia! I just saw this. thanks so much for such a useful link! which program are you going for? have you decided?

Well, glad I didn't make that call after all. Just got a nice research offer from them. Now the question is whether I like it enough to back out of Hopkins...smeh.

I was surprised that I got into...anywhere. Background story: I only have a 3.2, and a guidance counselor told me not to bother applying anywhere. She said I wouldn't get in anywhere decent. I went ahead and applied anyway. And I guess all the undergraduate research paid off. I think my grades were offset by the fact I was in ROTC for the first half of college... it was tricky to juggle a math-heavy major while in the program (I'm not a math whiz). And here I am, 12 months after she told me not to bother applying, getting ready to go to Hopkins, the top school in my field so glad I didn't listen!

I'll call their admissions department in a few to complain. Might go ahead and call the administration. Knowing that it's not just my application that sort of fell through the system, but a bunch (and if so many of us on this site are having this problem, I'm sure there are a lot of others as well) really aggravates me. $85 is a huge chunk of money at this point in my life. I look forward to the day when that isn't the case. Regardless, we all deserve to hear something from the university, even if it is "unofficial waitlist." I didn't hear that. I didn't hear anything.

Marquette is good if you keep your head around you, just like any other city. I know they've really been working on revamping the neighborhoods around it recently. And for the record, Wisconsin winters are VERY doable, if you go into it with the attitude that snow is more manageable than rain. I grew up south of Milwaukee and lived their my whole life, before moving to Delaware. Delaware winters are miserable. Warmer, but it just rains constantly. If you do spend a winter in Wisconsin, be ready to have a good time. People don't let the snow barricade them in their houses like they do in other parts of the country. There are festivals and skating and skiing and tubing and snow mobiling. It's absolutely magical at night. It's very much a cultural thing. Don't let reservations about the snow and cold hold you back!

wow. Had no idea UNC dropped the ball so badly. I've officially made my decision to attend Johns Hopkins. UNC was my top pick but after the way they handled my application, not anymore. As for the concern about burning bridges...I'm not even too worried about it. I'll make the call tomorrow. I figured if they responded today, at least they were on the deadline.

Hm. No chance I could get a refund, is there? I figure it's a shot in the dark, but when I shell out as much as $85, I believe I have a right to deserve a reply from the school.

Have you had a school that you didn't hear from? Either good, bad, or ugly? I only ask because I dropped $85 on a school's application, and I haven't heard a thing from them. I called their admissions department several times and they said my application was processing. I just can't believe I paid that much money to not hear anything back from them by the deadline.

I got into Johns Hopkins for Environmental Health. The problem is, there isn't a lot of financial aid there. There are some huge benefits--namely, it's JOHNS HOPKINS, and it's only a year long program, #1 in the country for Public Health. The problem is, the degree there is a little more limiting than the degrees I could get at other schools. I've been accepted into the University of Michigan and George Washington University, and I'm waiting to hear back from UNC. These schools are way more affordable, and would let me do research. But whenever I think about attending a school like Hopkins... it just blows me away. Of course these other schools are great, too, but I would love to attend such a distinguished one. So, are you having this problem at all? Does a school's prestige *really* matter so much?