JackOfStyle

What previous posters have said about the fit is the crux of it, I think. Unlike the hard sciences there really is no "If you have X publications, then . . ." or, "If you have X research internships, then . . . " advice for an Education PhD. The departments know they can mold you into a research machine in due time.
 
Here's what I've gleaned from talking to 10+ professors from different schools last year:
 
1. Experience in the field (work experience) is always positive.
2. Research experience is a plus, and for some programs carries more weight, but not one professor said it was required.
3. Likewise quant/statistical background is a plus, and for some programs carries more weight, but it's not required. You can make up for a lack of research methods experience with a good GRE score (160+ maybe) and vice versa.
4. Professor contact + a detailed SOP are probably the two most crucial factors of your app. It really is about fit. You might be a top candidate but if there isn't a professor at the school who a) shares your interests and sees you as an asset to his/her/the school's current work and is able to take on new advisees, then you could be passed over. It's not YOU, it's them. You're likely fantastic.
5. Professor contact is crucial.
6 (to infinity). Professor contact is CRUCIAL.
 
I sent introduction emails to professors who never replied. Naturally I assumed I'd have less of a chance at these schools. To my surprise, when I heard back from these schools about acceptance or interview, the emails I received were from these professors in REPLY to the emails I'd sent. So they must be filing these emails away somewhere even if they don't reply (makes sense - they probably get so many they can't reply to all of them). I was chuffed, absolutely chuffed.
 
Sorry, that's really all I know. I'm in the same boat as everyone else - accepted some places, interviews some places, and half my applications seem to have disappeared into a void of quiet, polite no-thank-you. 

Aurora is a suburb east of Denver, but they are pretty much directly connected to each other. You can get from Anschutz to downtown via Colfax or one of its parallel streets in about 25 minutes. A popular place to live that is also convenient to Anschutz is the Lowry area. You might also want to look into living in Park Hill and the City Park area - a little more quiet and residential, but in between Anschutz and the main scene in Denver. I lived just west of City Park and worked in Aurora. The drive took about 20 minutes during rush hour.
 
PM me if you would like anymore information about life in Denver. I was not a med student so I can't speak to Anschutz itself.

Don't worry about it girlbat. I was just giving my perspective (for PhD programs, not masters) - I'm not omniscient and like I said, I'm just an applicant along with everyone else, with some acceptances and rejections. So I wouldn't want you to worry based on my John the Baptist moment.
 
There's a phrase I like, "ad meliora." It's Latin for, "toward better things." Every time things don't work out for me, or every time I make a new plan or goal, I think about that phrase. I'm not a person who believe that things happen for a reason, but I do believe that no matter what, there is always a way to move forward.
 
I find this helps when I start obsessing about minute mistakes I may have made in my applications or interviews - was my tone too informal, should I have used a different word here? Then I realize that's a dead end. You will always find something you would have changed when you reflect - always. Then I realize, that's just who I am. It's my DNA and I spent the better part of a year flattening it into an application. If my single-spaced paper self doesn't jive with a department's vision and ideals, then I can't cry over it. Because I can't be anything else but myself. Doing so would probably make for a miserable grad school experience otherwise.
 
I mean, it's education. We're in it because we want to help improve other people's lives. Despair and navel-gazing in the face of adversity isn't for us! We have work to do, and no matter what, we'll find a way to do it.
 
(Okay. I'll stop now before you all figure out how to insert the little eye-roll emoticon!)   Heh, found it.

What previous posters have said about the fit is the crux of it, I think. Unlike the hard sciences there really is no "If you have X publications, then . . ." or, "If you have X research internships, then . . . " advice for an Education PhD. The departments know they can mold you into a research machine in due time.
 
Here's what I've gleaned from talking to 10+ professors from different schools last year:
 
1. Experience in the field (work experience) is always positive.
2. Research experience is a plus, and for some programs carries more weight, but not one professor said it was required.
3. Likewise quant/statistical background is a plus, and for some programs carries more weight, but it's not required. You can make up for a lack of research methods experience with a good GRE score (160+ maybe) and vice versa.
4. Professor contact + a detailed SOP are probably the two most crucial factors of your app. It really is about fit. You might be a top candidate but if there isn't a professor at the school who a) shares your interests and sees you as an asset to his/her/the school's current work and is able to take on new advisees, then you could be passed over. It's not YOU, it's them. You're likely fantastic.
5. Professor contact is crucial.
6 (to infinity). Professor contact is CRUCIAL.
 
I sent introduction emails to professors who never replied. Naturally I assumed I'd have less of a chance at these schools. To my surprise, when I heard back from these schools about acceptance or interview, the emails I received were from these professors in REPLY to the emails I'd sent. So they must be filing these emails away somewhere even if they don't reply (makes sense - they probably get so many they can't reply to all of them). I was chuffed, absolutely chuffed.
 
Sorry, that's really all I know. I'm in the same boat as everyone else - accepted some places, interviews some places, and half my applications seem to have disappeared into a void of quiet, polite no-thank-you.