Biostats MS, advice needed

[iggygc]

Hey,

I'm a nontraditional domestic student ( grew up and went to college outside US)  who returned to college with a goal of getting a local degree and transferring to a 4-year college. I took my time figuring out what I'd want to do, and I liked my math courses and one intro to stats course, so I'm inching towards a Biostats degree. Im coming from a non STEM background and my bachelors degree in Economics with low GPA 2.6 doesn't make a strong MS applicant, so at first I was considering a second baccalaureate degree. However, it turns out there aren't that many options in California for second bachelors. I contacted a few schools and it seems like some of them are not that strict about min. 3.0 GPA requirement, and review applications holistically, as long as math grades and GRE quant scores are good. So I have decided to apply for a MS Biostats this fall and see if I get accepted.

At this point, I have taken Calc I and II, Intro to stats and got A's; Calc III, Linear Algebra, Discrete Math, and Programming class are planned. My LOR's would come from my community college math professors. In terms of research experience, unfortunately we don't have that. Haven't taken the GRE, but prepping for that and hoping to get 160 on quant.

I'm looking to apply for UCD, UCSC, UPitt. I would appreciate advice on what schools I should apply for or on ways to improve/strengthen my application.