Is Grad School for B-students?

[Serric]

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@therealist

I’m a junior at a new college. I major in anthropology, but with public health programs you can major in any major to get into the program.</p>

<p>what’s a SOP? statement of purpose? how are those usually done?</p>

<p>So if gpa is not the only factor, is it still a large factor?</p>

<p>and how would I be able to participate in research when there isn’t that many heavily related to public health?

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<p>Yes, SOP does stand for ‘Statement Of Purpose’. How it’s done varies, and seems to be one of the biggest stress-inducers for people on these boards. You can do a search online for some sample SOPs, and most applications/schools will have a brief prompt on what they’re looking for in them.</p>

<p>Keep in mind I’m coming from the sciences with my advice, and public health may be different, but yes, GPA is not the only factor. I’m not actually sure how big of a factor it is, but relevant experience seems to always outweigh GPA/GRE scores. </p>

<p>As for the relevant experience/research experience, I was again speaking from somebody in the sciences. Look at the departmental pages of schools you think you might be interested in and look under ‘Admissions Requirements’. Often, they’ll have the bare minimum requirements, then something to the tune of, “In addition, highly successful applicants will have…”.</p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>