Profile Evaluation for 2020 MS in Environmental Health

[koolbeanz]

Hi all,

I'm super unsure of my chances at the programs I'm really interested in. 

Here's a little bit about my background.

uGPA: 3.34 (went to a pretty cutthroat "elite" university)

GRE: 164V/160Q/4.5AW

Undergrad research: public health air pollution research. Got a mention in related publication. 

Computational toxicological and policy analysis of two pesticides in the Central Valley. Got a poster out of this.

Work experience: Spent 1.5 years in federal consulting for the EPA/NIEHS, got a poster out of this work.

Spent a year in site-specific human health risk assessment, was largely a waste of time except for some skills I learned in ArcGIS.

Spent the last year working at UW and got tons of data analysis/epidemiological analysis/fieldwork experience and am currently working on a publication.

Programs of interest: MSPH in Environmental Sciences and Engineering at UNC Gillings, MS in Exposure Sciences at UW, potentially MS in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at Drexel

I am REALLY interested in the MSPH at UNC since there is a professor in that department whose research interests are right in line with my own. I had a phone call with him and he strongly encouraged me to apply, but of course he doesn't know about my grades/GRE scores yet. My main concern is my grades in my first two years of undergrad; I got a D in an organic chemistry course, which I retook and got a B in. I also got a few Cs in my first two years, but my last two years I really busted my ass to get straight As and bring my tanking GPA up. Should I be branching out my grad school search? I guess the other thing that's making me lazy about applying to a lot of schools is that I have a lot of connections at UW through both my current job and my undergrad research. I also have connections at UNC through my first job out of college and my current job. But I also don't want to be cocky and screw myself over...idk what do y'all think?