wtng

Hi all - new to this thread but would love your advice on my situation. This year I applied to just one program - a DrPH program that seemed like the best fit career-wise that wouldn't have required me to relocate my family. I planned out my application carefully, starting 2 years early: met with faculty, talked with current students, etc. My GRE scores are 163V, 163Q, 5.0A, have a BS and MS from top schools w/ 3.8 GPAs, several publications including 1 as first author, and have 10+ years public health experience - am currently working at a program director level. I talked with a number of faculty and although their research didn't "perfectly" align with mine, they encouraged me to apply. (I got the impression that for the DrPH program, students don't need to align their research with existing projects as much as with a PhD, etc.) I never got a decision from the department. When I contacted the Admissions Coordinator 2 weeks ago, she told me I was on the waitlist due to limited funding. Yesterday I received an automated response that I had been rejected. I'm a bit discouraged now and would love feedback on how to interpret this. Is there anything wrong with my qualifications? I thought that having more work experience and being a bit older (mid-thirties) would be an advantage for a practice-based program like this, but now I'm fearing that it might have been a drawback somehow...? I'm still waiting for a call back from the AC so I can ask her for feedback. And if anybody successfully got into a DrPH program (congratulations!) would you be willing to offer advice as to what factors might have helped? I am trying to decide whether to re-apply next year or look elsewhere if my particular background isn't a good fit for the program. Thank you!!

(Thank you superpug for your summary, and congrats on getting into UCLA!) Is anybody else still waiting to hear from UC Berkeley? I thought we'd all find out by now, but I haven't received any news of either acceptance or rejection. If you heard back, could you say how and when you were notified? Thank you!!