CallieTrichid

For some back story: I've always been really interested in medical anthropology. As an undergraduate, my specialty was on primatology. I got accepted to a graduate program for primatology and museum studies this year, but I'm not sure I'm going to take it (personal reasons). However, it is my dream to study zoonotic diseases and epidemics and the patterns in which diseaes in animals jump over and infect humans. So, instead of sticking with the primate side, I'm thinking of retooling and doing epidemiology or behavioral sciences where I might be able to get a job in public health. I've done some looking into the life style, and I always really enjoyed the research part of primatology. I've never taken a chemistry class in my life and I have yet to take an official statistics class. I'm not very talented in math, so I'm thinking of leaning more towards the behavioral sciences side of public health. I'm also thinking about trying to do a statistics course either this summer or upcoming fall. My GRE scores were low, but I had a 630 verbal (91%), 500 quant (27%), and 5.0 analytical (84%). I'm probably going to retake it again, and do what I can to boost my quant score. My undergrad GPA was a 3.1, but I had some circumstances behind two semesters of shit grades. Almost all of my semesters in college were above a 3.1 otherwise. While I've got really good research experience for primates (including a stint in a neuropsych lab and working for a wildlife health center--which I don't think will help me out that much, but figure it's worth mentioning just in case), I'm not sure how to go about getting valuable experience in this field with where I'm currently located. And because I am paying off student loan bills, it's not like I can jump around anywhere I want easily. So, I'm going to see if I can get a volunteer position at Planned Parenthood (I also really enjoy women's health issues) or maybe at a local hospital. Would either of these be helpful? Admittedly, this is in the nascent stage of planning, but I'd just like to know what are things that make for a strong candidate for public health graduate programs? Also, what is a way I can build my resume to be more attractive to these programs when my credentials are best suited for primatology--or is this something I can work to my favor? Edit: I figured I should add this for what it's worth: I've taken a few relevant-ish to public health courses (Medical Anthropology, Diseases in Wildlife, Cultural Health of Africa, Principles of Biological Anthropology, Intro to Environmental Health) and did pretty well in them, so it's not like this is coming out of left field entirely.

I'll be moving down; looking for roommate(s) currently too. But I'm not even going to bother looking until May. All the apartments right now are for April/May/June and I want to work right up until school starts.

I will be--Anthropology and Museum Studies!

Just got accepted to UW-Milwaukee and planning on going this fall. Any tips for good apartments? And what's a typical range for apartments near UWM? I'm looking at Craigslist and I'm hoping to stay between $300-500, but maybe that's a little too hopeful.

I'm not going to UW for grad school, but that's where I did my undergrad. The bus system is very reliable and a great way to get around. There's really no need for a car in Madison--it's a bigger pain than it's worth. My significant other paid $110 a month for parking at our apartment to have his car around, especially when you get a free bus pass; it was pointless. Bikes are also another great way to get around too. There's a few crazy folk that bike in the winter, but it is one of the most bike-friendly towns in the country too.

Thanks! What do you think of it so far? And the anthropology department? I plan on coming down for a visit sometime in the near future, but I'd love to hear thoughts on it.

I got accepted to NIU! I noticed one other person did too--if the other person is considering going and reading this, we should talk. It's my second choice out of the two right now, but still!

Just finished my application to NIU today and hoping to hear back soon. I only applied to terminal Master's programs, but I'm really, really hoping I can get into one of them! I want to be able to get back into the swing of things and study my primates again!

I finished my application for NIU (the last out of the two I'm applying to) today. It's certainly not as cut-throat as some of the other programs most people are applying to, but I really, really want to get in. I have no desire to repeat this all again next year. ):

Yeah, but you'd be surprised at how well the undergraduates in those classes can keep up and exceed what your expectations are. I was an undergrad in classes like this and we frequently outdid the Master's/Ph.D. students when it came to some elements of the class. Plus, it gives a few more unique perspectives too when it comes to the material. And it's not always the case that a crosslisted undergrad course will always have you writing more papers; everyone may be required to have the same amount, but the expectations may be higher for grad students.

I know of someone in UW-Madison's anthropology department that had a 2.9 CGPA (but rocking GRE scores in like the 96th percentile for both sections) and got accepted. So long as you explain the situation in your SoP, I think you've potentially got a decent shot if the admission standards are similar. http://www.mcw.edu/microbiology/graduateProgramAdmissions.htm The Medical College of Wisconsin has a Molecular Genetics graduate program that might be of interest to you. Otherwise, I know UW-Madison has a really, really strong Genetics department. Don't worry about the schools you've got a shot at so much as "Is this person doing something that I would really want to be working on a few years out from now?" Go look up articles by people whose work you find interesting and start contacting them to see if they'll be taking students. It's more important to have a good advisor and work on something YOU want as opposed to just going where you think you can get in.

I used "[x] Graduate Program Inquiry" and just got my first response back. Don't stress out too much over this, it's a small detail--what you write in your letter matters much more.

Unfortunately, right now, I'm strapped for cash so doing a course right now in addition to applying to grad programs isn't really an option. :\ But if I get rejected, I'll probably wind-up doing that.

I just used "[school] [program] Inquiry." Perhaps not the best. Unrelated to that but I suppose a follow-up to all of this: What do you do when it's been a few weeks and no one has responded to your e-mails? I realize professors are busy people, but when do you re-contact them? If so, what exactly do you write? Out of the 4 people I've attempted contact with so far, I've gotten nothing and it's been almost two weeks. Time to give up hope? :\ Or am I just being impatient?

UT-SA is definitely one of the programs I'm looking into. I checked out George Mason, but there isn't too much there that interests me. But thanks for the help!