awells27

The best apps will be sifted out according to the usual: GPA, GRE scores, LORs, language background, etc. Once the most competitive apps remain, your writing sample and SOP, beyond how well written they are, will be evaluated in terms of how they fit your intended POI(s). Do the research, both now and in the future, further the program in a constructive way. Then you need a little luck. Given as much, while a poor GRE score does not automatically disqualify, I don't see why you don't postpone the test 2 months and make use of the many excellent study aids provided by Manhattan, Magoosh, and a few others. Many people on this forum who got accepted into PhD programs spent a designated period of time preparing for their GRE. My math sucked also, but I was able to pull 160 by suffering immensely through daily practice. Of course you will see people posting who either bombed their GRE and got accepted or did not study and aced the test. These are the exception and not the rule.

I would consider how serious the personal issues are. If they are extraordinary - prolonged illness, death of a loved one, etc - then find out how the school deals with such issues and proceed accordingly. If the personal issues are common ones that, although seeming intolerable now, are quite common, then I would rough it out. Since funded offers are so hard to attain, you have to weigh how severe the personal issue is.

Florida State Univ, Univ. of Virginia, Check the faculty for the religions of Western Antiquity (FSU) and Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity (UVA) and see if there is a research match. I wish I could say that there were some higher percentage acceptance schools to apply to, but there are hardly any with good funding on the PhD level.

What will set apart a PhD app is its uniqueness taken in its entirety. If one looks at the Phd student profile from a number of schools, while they will see admits from the top divinity schools, there are also people with resumes coming from schools as diverse as Univ. of Washington, Southwest Baptist, Hebrew University, Fuller, Michigan, and Gordon Conwell. I would be considering what sets your app apart, not what makes it like everyone else's. A strong faculty adviser can aIso make a huge difference. While Fuller does not enjoy the greatest reputation, its ANE dept. is consistently producing PhD admits (there will be 4 applicants this Fall's round, and I would bet that at least two of them receive decent offers), in large part because the chair of the department trains his students thoroughly for both the application process and the work that comes after. In the end, the reputation of the school will only be one among many deciding factors.

I am looking ideally into Sherman Oaks, as it allows one to generally avoid the 405 but oftentimes still cash in on valley prices.. The 405/101 interchange is a parking lot going south in the morning. One must either beat the rush or suffer immensely.

I believe at Iliff/Denver, one would be restricted to NT Greek. The program at Oregon would depend on whether the religion department can set up your core requirements so as to fit your projected PhD emphasis. I would see what the faculty there specialize in. I noticed also that Oregon's Judaic Studies department has a three-term Hebrew sequence. It would seem from all the research, a number of schools possibly fit the bill for a second MA

I brought up HUC in an earlier thread. The only thing to be careful of is that, as a Jewish Seminary, there may be a modern Hebrew requirement coming in. That is worth checking into. Otherwise, this would definitely be a place to pick up on the languages.

The extra year to concentrate on languages could be key, even if it meant one year of simply post-grad courses in languages and a 2 year MA. For that particular PhD concentration, I would want to show competency, in terms of Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Aramaic, in at least 3 out of 4. I actually felt uneasy about not being prepared in Latin for the last round of apps.

Has anyone here ever shared a carpool permit at UCLA before, and is it worth it? And I have lived in the valley before and personally, I think it is nothing like the summers back east. I have spent summers in Ohio, Philly, and South Carolina, and I'll take the hot temperatures of Woodland Hills over them. At least it cools off at night, and there are rarely mosquitoes, or Alligators (South Carolina) for that matter.

DCGuy, Greensboro is an awesome place to live, congrats on your acceptance. There was a good thread in the Classics section that also included applicants' BA and (if applicable) MA work, as well as application summary, so as to give future applicants an idea of the competition. Posting all that, however, would take forever 2014: 8 applications (spread out over Near Eastern Studies, History, and Religion): 4 acceptances, 4 rejections, 3 funded offers (only one in History). Fall 2014: UCLA, ancient history. Specialization: (for now): Judaism in late antiquity.

It appears specifically geared toward preparation for doctoral work. However, I did not see in the degree requirements how much room there is for languages. I would imagine the 12 open credits could be applied in that direction. As far as research goes, it looks quite good. There are two professors that look quite good for studying early Judaism and early Christianity. Perhaps you would inquire to one of them how one would acquire languages, most likely through Jewish Studies and the Classics departments. It appears to be the type of MA I should have applied to.

Well, you might ask yourself how much you enjoy studying ancient languages. I'm preparing this summer for my fall diagnostics in Greek and Latin, so I study both every day. Yet I totally enjoy it. If you're passionate about it, it should not be a problem. Then again,if it seems like a burden, you will have twice the burden in the coming year.

I would contact POIs at prospective schools and frame the question according to the degree objective. For example, "Can the school, in constructing a viable MA for Christian origins, offer Greek and Latin through the Classics dept. and rabbinic/DSS/Targum Hebrew and Aramaic through NELC and/or Judaic Studies? I would think UCLA, GTU, and Hebrew Union would be prime choices. An MA of this nature would look more impressive, in my estimation, than one from an evangelical seminary. That being said, Fuller and Gordon Conwell students get accepted into PhD programs regularly.

To an extent that's true, but not in full. Remember that the evangelical seminary will focus on biblical Hebrew and New Testament Greek. They will rarely address the Hebrew and Aramaic of later antiquity, and without a firmer foundation in Attic Greek and Latin, as well as the Greek manuscripts of later antiquity, one's reading of primary sources in these languages will be at a disadvantage. One needs to be creative in acquiring the proper languages. I would think joint programs like Hebrew Union/Univ. of Cincinnati, or the ANE program at UCLA alongside its Classics dept, would be the way to go.

The best time to start looking is now thru September. LA is so huge and diverse that apartments open up every day. If I were on the east coast, I would either make a summer trip, and if you cannot afford the trip, use a service like Westside rentals. September is always a tough time with school starting, although in non-student neighborhoods it might not matter. It depends on how close you want to be to campus

I read over their course requirements. http://gtu.edu/sites/default/files/users/gtudean/MA-Progam-Handbook-2013-2014.pdf It claims to be designed for students looking to progress to the PhD level. Like all MA programs, it will never give one all the tools one should have for entering a PhD program. However, it has the advantage of not requiring a faith comittment, and it probably is among the superior research MAs in religion. If one can get at least two recommendations in this program from noted profs, it is also well worth it. I agree with the person who advised taking Attic Greek at Berkeley. I wish I had started this way instead of doing it in reverse. If the program offers some degree of flexibility, one could find the time to study Latin and a modern research language.

Agreed. Whatever outside writing experience one has can easily be deflated by a poor writing sample, or one that does not fit the intended faculty adviser. Knowledge of your POI's work, and a writing sample that relates to it and adds something meaningful to the scholarly conversation, will mean much more. The SOP must be a slam dunk in relation to your fit in the intended program. When I went to my new grad student orientation, we were told that once the strongest apps in terms of merit (GRE scores, GPA, LORs, etc) had been determined, the acceptances for each concentration ultimately came down to fit. This makes sense in retrospect, as my new faculty adviser is addressing most of the historical questions I have in terms of late ancient Jewish history. My rejected applications also now make sense, as my interests were just not the right match for 5 years.

In OT languages, Fuller has a complete ANE program, which I did as an MA student. They teach Ugaritic, Akkadian, Biblical Aramaic, NW Semitic Texts, and OT religion and historiography. In NT, unfortunately, Fuller only offers biblical Greek, and offeres very little in terms of Christian origins and intertestamental Judaism.. They do have a Latin intensive in the summer. That all being said, the MA degree got me into UCLA's ancient history PhD program. The problem with these seminaries, unfortunately, is the funding, and the pastoral recommendation requirement. I managed mine through a church I played organ for part-time Were I to do it over, I would have opted for an MA program at a university that offered legit funding.

Has anyone still not heard from a religion department? Seems very rude to postpone a rejection until after April 22nd. I paid the money and took the time; I want the official rejection.

Agreed. As far as which class to take, I would always opt for the original language whenever possible.

UCLA also has a 50% shot of summer funding should one get a directed research project approved with faculty supervisor. Should I presume that, upon turning down HUC, a waitlisted person gets funded offer, or might they just roll the funding into something else?

Well, got in off the waitlist for Hebrew Union's PhD in Jewish and Christian Studies in the Greco-Roman Period.. Funding offer is half of UCLA's - full tuition but half the stipend - but so is the cost of living in Cincinnati. Both programs have interdisciplinary coursework established with Classics departments, HUC's with University of Cincinnati. Both programs are outstanding, although UCLA would have the better reputation. One can't overlook, however, HUC's strong ties to Jewish communities in several cities and what that might mean for future job placement. I suppose this is a luxury problem, and UCLA is the safer choice.

For me, fit meant more than demonstrating it in a two-page SOP. Because my POI gave me an interview that lasted well over an hour, I was able to demonstrate to him that my specific research interests in late antiquity focused on the same languages, similar historical phenomena, and would be of benefit to the department. Given that he is very flexible about specific emphasis and does not want to reproduce a replica of himself, I think the interview also demonstrated that I would not be a problem to work with. At the places where I was rejected, the lack of an interview reduced my ability to demonstrate fit. I'm so glad this unforgiving process is over.

How solid are the faculty in your particular emphasis in each of the three schools? You have to consider who will be writing your LORs in two years, how widely they are published, and how well they will be able to speak for your particular research interests.

When I applied to UCLA, I asked the POI if I could email him the original version of the paper, as their limit was, unbelievably, 10 pages. He actually preferred that. I would be working with a faculty member that wrote one of your LORs on how to trim down a paper for submission. As far as the 30 page limit, I would add to the twenty page paper only if you have something totally relevant of the same quality. Adding for the sake of adding would be unwise.