dr. t

Please note the 1300 word example is well into 3 pages. Most places that I applied last time around said under 1000 words. One said under 500.

I got into the MAPSS on a half scholarship with slightly better stats and GRE scores of 167V/158Q/4.5W. I don't think there's any more of a specific answer to your question than simply looking through the results archive and seeing what general stats got people in. Out of curiosity, what interests you in the MAPH program, and what do you hope to get out of it?

That's a pretty fantastic resource. Now I just need to find a place that allows 1300 word SOPs.

I think this is a rather hysterical take on the more nuanced things other people have actually been saying. In my time at the Big H - three years and change - I've known a lot of students from a lot of different schools. Ivy league schools are definitely over represented for BAs and MAs. "Next to impossible" though? No. In some ways there's self-selection going on here. If people don't have the skills to make a good pre-doc program, they might be less likely to develop them in general, so there's some post hoc problems with attributing placement to school.

This, I kind of have to agree with, at least if I look at where current professors got their PhDs from. Granted, this is all tied up in where the important schools were in the 1980s and early 90s, and there are plenty of professors not from P69's "top six" or whatever, but they're the largest minority.

I would think that an admissions committee would either have already realized this or they won't believe you when you say it. It serves no real purpose. Go with TMP.

Oh, I see. Well, as long as you feel super good about yourself I guess?

The idea that I wouldn't know what that ball game is would be rather silly.

I'm on that list, and you're still full of crap.

This plus there's the question of the statement of purpose. I'm pretty confident that most schools wouldn't be interested in an "apologetic" diss (others correct me if I'm wrong), and I expect it would do you no favors to talk about such a goal in your SoP. Do you intend to be another person for five to seven years?

Chicago requires a re-application after you complete the MAPSS/MAPH, but they have a rumored tendency to show preference to students who stood out in those programs. I am not aware of Chicago offering a straight MA. Most schools award MAs as part of the PhD, usually after the successful completion of generals.

From ones I've applied to, UChicago may refer you to their MAPSS/MAPH program, and BC asks whether you would like to be considered for their MA program if your PhD app is rejected.

Depends entirely on the school.

I wouldn't disagree, I've just never heard of the writing portion being used in this way.

Every professor I talked to last admissions cycled literally asked if the writing part of the GRE was "that thing that's out of 6." The writing sample is everything. I would get a move on contacting advisors.

This. And whatever other languages you need (Greek, Hebrew, etc. for NT). Summer language programs are intense and usually expensive ($5-8k factoring in cost to live), but clear out time from your schedule for other, subject-related courses during the semester. Several div schools (like HDS *cough cough*) offer summer programs, so that's a good way to get to know some other campuses or professors as well. If money's an issue, talk with some current professors and make a summer reading list.

This is not the same time frame at all, but I would check out: Brown, Warren, Marios Costambeys, Matthew Innes, and Adam J. Kosto, eds. Documentary Culture and the Laity in the Early Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Brown et al. are treating a similar sort of problem, whether or not there was conservation bias in the records we have preserved from late antiquity and the early middle ages, so it may help with your thinking and provide a perspective on a historical approach to the situation.

So history, not art history here. I failed out of college twice, in 2004 and 2006. I actually only finally completed my undergraduate degree in May. My final GPA from that program was a 3.79. I applied to both PhD and MA programs, and only got into the MA. The response I had back from the PhD programs is that with an MA I was still a tougher-than-average sell, but without it I was essentially an impossible one.

FYI: http://www.nus.org.uk/en/get-involved/welfare-and-student-rights/dont-shut-the-door-on-international-students/

Just a clarification since you bounce around with terminology a bit, UK schools say they're looking for a 2.1 GPA or for a 2-1 classification? My only hesitation would be that UK MA degrees are, to the best of my knowledge, only one year. If you're looking at moving on to a PhD program, that's not a lot of time to atone for the sins of a misspent youth. Also, depending on field, the language expectations might be very steep, which would mean that a two-year program would help you get up to speed better.

So there's not any real Holy Bible for this, and it hasn't been mentioned here, but I think we're now at the stage that any historian now entering a PhD program who wants to pursue research at any serious level needs to be pretty well versed in the underlying principles of the digital humanities. I have a syllabus with some pretty great links. I don't think I have the instructor's permission to post it, but when I have a bit I will throw up some of them.

Hum, I mean I suppose it depends on the type of feedback you're giving, and if the draft is a requirement. I had a fun little incident as an undergrad where we had to turn in drafts and have a conference with the TA. The TA gave me one comment back, asking what a suffragan bishop was. Nothing else. Nor did she offer anything else at the conference so then I asked the dreaded question - so if I turned this in, I would get an A? - which she would not answer. I put it to you that THAT is horseshit. Not that this is what you're doing, but just to point out that the rule isn't totally universal.

Not totally relevant to the question, but still useful

My advice here would then be to address and explore formatting. The adcom won't be expecting a 1-page CV/resume, so why not expand things out spatially and make them less dense visually?

Fixed. Interesting. I would worry that what you have is very dense and would be skimmed rather than understood.