Burstin'

Okay, I don't remember the last time I was this excited. I'm pretty much bursting. I thought I'd check on my UCL application to see if any headway had been made on the decision, but my expectations were very low. Wouldn't they send me an email if a decision had been reached on my application? Apparently not, since I got on and saw "Unconditional offer" on the application status.
WOOHOO!! It's such a relief to be accepted to a London school, especially since the program is International Child Health. My references must have talked me up real good, since I'm still somewhat mystified by getting accepted anywhere. I mean, UCL is a great school. Not to live in the past or anything, but in 2009, this is what the world rankings looked like:

Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings 2009

TOP 200 WORLD UNIVERSITIES

1	1	Harvard University	US	100	100	98	100	85	78	100.0
2	3	University of Cambridge	UK	100	100	100	89	98	96	99.6
3	2	Yale University	US	100	99	100	94	85	77	99.1
4	7	University College London	UK	98	99	100	90	96	99	99.0
5=	6	Imperial College London	UK	100	100	100	80	98	100	97.8
5=	4	University of Oxford	UK	100	100	100	80	96	97	97.8
7	8	University of Chicago	US	100	99	97	88	77	83	96.8
8	12	Princeton University	US	100	96	82	100	89	81	96.6
9	9	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	US	100	100	89	100	31	95	96.1
10	5	California Institute of Technology	US	99	72	87	100	100	89	95.9
11	10	Columbia University	US	100	99	97	92	28	89	95.6
12	11	University of Pennsylvania	US	96	99	85	98	82	60	94.2
13	13=	Johns Hopkins University	US	98	79	100	99	28	71	94.1
14	13=	Duke University	US	95	97	100	93	29	62	92.9
15	15	Cornell University	US	100	99	85	94	28	73	92.5
16	17	Stanford University	US	100	100	71	100	25	96	92.2
17	16	Australian National University	Australia	100	91	75	74	99	92	90.5
18	20	McGill University	Canada	100	97	92	61	67	95	90.4
19	18	University of Michigan	US	99	99	85	81	57	52	89.9
20=	23	University of Edinburgh	UK	97	99	84	65	93	86	89.3

So...yeah, I'd say I'm pretty stoked about my acceptance there. Take that, Johns Hopkins! Hopkins is number one in the U.S. for Public Health, and yet they're ranked a measly 13 behind UCL's #4 spot. UCL is the 3rd oldest university in England--that's after Oxford and Cambridge (which, in all fairness, are wayyy older than UCL). It's also the first university to admit students of any race, class, or religion. Go, progress! It's in the Bloomsbury area of London, right by King's Cross, the British Museum, Great Ormond Street Hospital, and a bunch of other awesome things.
Anywho, that news definitely made my day, plus some. Hallelujah!!