prettykool1990

Question for every PhD applicant: guaranteed funding - yay or nay how important is funding for acceptance to PhD programs? So one of the professors at a good Uni I worked for and got a new grant. He offered me a job but I told him I prefer a funded position as student. He said he would be happy to pitch for me at the DEPT. Hes at the same DEPT as my dream research and he’s willing to speak with people at the DEPT. Should I even have hopes? Or is it too much that admission committees are open to such scenarios? would they be ok to take a student with a decent background, MPH from a top 5, great recommendations, and already guaranteed funding OR not?

I am a grad from UGA. Had a terrible GPA (2.2-2.4). I retook three of the classes I struggled in and did well and plan on taking more.. Decent GRE's and plan on retaking them. Currently I am researching at Emory (with publications in the pipeline) and a terrific mentor who is willing to pull through and recommend me to the school. After a lot of hardship (family illness, death, depression, and personal health issues) in my undergraduate years I knew I had to turn my life around. Since then I have done my very best to get an internship, work very hard in a research field, earn enough knowledge to get some publications. I plan on taking classes at public health school to show the admissions committee that my undergraduate grades don't necessarily show who I am to become in the future. With two years of research, above average-stellar GREs, retaking a lot of the classes I did not do well on and few graduate courses at the school I plan on applying to; do you think this will help me getting into MPH program? If not, what should I do to improve my chances of getting in? If yes, WHAT should I do to improve my chances of getting in?