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Pāṇini

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  1. Interesting topic; I was a Sociology major in undergrad, and also did the med school thing. Like you, I had a limited scientific background: a couple of bio courses, a couple in general chem, a couple in organic chem, a couple in physics, a couple in calculus, etc. To compound the problem, I took the MCAT a couple of years after I took biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry 1. Hell, I took the MCAT BEFORE I even took physics 1/2 or organic chem 2. So I was essentially self-taught. What I did--might not work for everyone--was buy a lot of review books. I recommend the ExamKrackers series for each topic. Most people benefit from taking full-length diagnostic tests in testing conditions. I only did one, so I kind of shirked that advice. I was burned out towards the end and didn't think I could bring myself to do a multi-hour test so close to the real thing. Things worked out well. I got a 30, which I feel was an admirable score for someone in my position. It's also the exact score I was aiming for. I got accepted to multiple medical schools. However, I decided not to attend because I realized my heart just wasn't in it. I think the allure of setting a difficult goal and then obtaining it was what was motivating me more than anything. It was an adrenaline rush that lasted years. Just realize it's a long, trying process that costs a lot of money. Not only do you have to pay for classes, but you have to pay for applications (for the primary and secondary apps--they double dip) and travel expenses (racks up thousands in flight and hotel costs). But I don't mean to scare you. Honestly, I've realized 95% of pre-meds are crazy and have a distorted view of what it takes to get into medical school. My application was unimpressive compared to others. No research, probably fairly impersonal LORs, and a decent but not awe-inspiring record of volunteerism. I think my greatest asset was myself. I did very well at my interviews. Anyway, best of luck! Just don't be like me and change your mind! Do some serious soul-searching and make sure it's what you really, really, really want.
  2. Sets my alarms off pretty quickly. Saying "wrong to enjoy them," "humanities are bad," and "even if you don't enjoy them," were oversimplifications and sardonic, I thought. And that's just from the little part you quoted. Unless you're being sarcastic, in which case...I give up. That would take too much energy.
  3. Before you guys get the rope, take a moment and think, "Is this sarcasm? Is this a humanities grad student who is just venting their frustration about their perception of the public's view of the value of the sciences vs. humanities?"
  4. Anyone have/know of anyone who has experience with the Sanskrit and Indian Studies (henceforth to be called the South Asian Studies) graduate programs at Harvard? From the information on their website, it seems they have both a PhD program, and an AM program. However, the wording of the blurb regarding the latter is a bit ambiguous. It reads: "Students who would like to strengthen their background in South Asian Studies might also apply for a one-year A.M. program. In some cases, a particularly promising student without some of the qualifications for doctoral study will be admitted to a one year A.M. program. [Applicants should be aware that there is almost no funding available for A.M. candidates.]" . It's unclear whether admittance to the program is a rare, or regularly occurring, situation. It's the phrase "in some cases," that introduces some confusion.I know that a lot of potential and current grad students turn their noses down, at worst, or remain suspicious of, at best, at unfunded Master's programs. Unfortunately, however, my undergrad institution didn't conduct courses in Sanskrit, so my education in the language is completely autodidactic. Due to this fact, I feel it would be near impossible to be able to compete with students from the handful of universities in the country that do teach Sanskrit for the few spots available in PhD programs. To compound the problem, there's a paucity of universities offering MA-level instruction in Sanskrit, and those that do are heavy-hitters: places like Harvard, Cornell, Chicago, Penn, etc. While it might be presumptuous to imagine oneself studying a subject they taught themselves at a graduate level at an ivy institution, I refuse to accept that I'll be kept out of a field that I'm obviously very passionate about simply because my undergrad university wasn't in the short list of schools that teach the language. To summarize: Does anyone know how anything about the Harvard AM in South Asian Studies, formerly Sanskrit and Indian Studies? For example, how many students are admitted each year, what kind of credentials they are expect to have, etc. I have contacted the department but have yet to hear back from them, so while I wait, I decided I'd like to see if any of the good people at this forum could help--thanks!
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