awells27

Having read that, it's a miracle I even got one admit. I can't believe that neither my faculty advisor nor my academic advisor ever gave me that sheet when I entered Fuller. I would advise, however, preparing sooner for the GRE.

As far as Fuller goes, lots of people toss the idea around of a PhD, but very few follow through once it becomes apparent how rigorous the application process will be. Unfortunately, many desire to do a PhD once they have completed half their course work and are carrying a relatively low GPA. As far as evangelical seminary admits, UCLA's Near Eastern Studies and ancient history departments have admitted at least 3 Fuller students in the last 5 years, fully funded. These are 1 admit per emphasis apps that are, like most, highly competitive. But these Fuller students went through extensive training in languages and probably were not your typical Fuller student. I know that most of my peers at Fuller were more interested in missions, church planting, and a host of other things that at times I would also rather do than than pour over hours of research. I think the difference was that, while most of the students were there in large part for the the MDiv and the overall seminary experience, I was there for the specific type of training I would need for a doctoral admit. As far as those who take a foolhardy approach to their PhD apps, I just figure it was to my advantage, as those types of people helped me to get admitted. It sounds callous, but if everyone had shown my dedication, I would probably be applying again next year.

Honestly they were not my first choices, despite reputation. UCLA and Rice were my top 2, so it worked out for everyone. Chances are some person who got rejected at UCLA and Marquette got in off the waitlist after your declining.

Top tier schools is 95th percentile (165), while I got a 164 but a 6 on the writing. My problem was the RCs, as I was never satisfied with any of the answer choices. Of course, every adcomm is different. Some professors think the test is a joke, while others are sold on it.

That's just rude on their part. I hope she has another admit available

Wow, with April 15th rolling around, one has to wonder what kind of adcomm would take so much time. Is this MA or PhD?

I would aim for mid 150s on math, sorry. You still have 6 weeks, so if you really want to improve that score, get Barron's 2013 guide and just do the math, and then drop 100 bucks for magoosh and do all the math and the practice tests, which are generally harder than the real GRE. Otherwise, put off the test another month or two. Average humanities admits at upper tier schools get 90th percentile or better on verbal and somewhere in the 150s on the math, unless they have math background. An abysmal score, from what faculty have told me, is only compensated by something exceptional in the other parts of the application. It sucks, but this is the reality, although you will always get one or two posters who speak of an upper tier admit with an abysmal math score; but this is the exception and not the rule.

In my case, my research interests were strongly a match for the J/C Antiquity field, but I suppose my writing sample did not show enough of that, and my undergrad transcripts are less than stellar. But given some people struggle to get one admit, and I got 3, I have every reason to be thankful.

Very disingenuous, given that I had contacted the grad admit coordinator and told her my emphasis specifically and inquired as to whether they would be taking on new grad students.. I suppose their position is that they take the two best apps overall. Whatev.

Why would they take apps in the J/C in Antiquity track and then admit no one? I could have saved my money and applied to UCSB.

I would be really careful about believing that, just because you are in contemporary theological studies, that the ancient languages are not requisite. So many theological works are problematic because the writer cannot navigate in and out of the Greek, Hebrew, and Latin texts of scripture and scriptural interpretation. Ultimately, theology goes back to scripture and the world surrounding it, be it the Israelite, Hellenized, Roman, or post-Roman. Knowing the languages only makes one better, even if their emphasis is a contemporary one. I think the main reason why so many MDivs, at least at Fuller, do not go on to PhD is because the program is so demanding in and of itself. If I were an MDiv, I might consider taking a year off after the degree and doing the language prep and GRE prep then.

Anyone get admitted to Penn? Got my impersonal rejection today within 2 minutes of a Denver/Iliff acceptance. Can't say I would be happy living on the West side of Philly. One more school to go, and this ordeal is finally over.

You cannot miss class as a graduate student, especially in research seminars, excepting of course for severe illnesses and emergencies. Like the previous post explained, if right from the beginning you begin requesting absences, your professors, some who might write you future LORs, will immediately become suspect of your dedication.

French and German are requisite modern research languages for almost any field in the humanities. If you are studying Islam's relationship with European countries in medieval times, likewise you would need European languages. If you are studying Islam in the Near East, you will still need French and German for research languages, as well as Persian, Hebrew, etc. This isn't Orientalism; this is reality

If I could do it over. 1. Make sure, when you schedule classes, that you are lining up which professors you will take more than one class with - professors known and published in their field - so that you will maximize the chances of who will write your LORs 2-3 years from now. You want LORs from known scholars, not last minute profs you request whom you took one class with. 2. When you do research, study the works of scholars whom you might want to do doctoral studies with. That way, when you apply down the road, both your SOP and writing sample will show an honest and critical understanding of their work. 3. Start considering how you can advance research in your field under potential faculty advisors in future PhD programs. 4. Do not start studying for the GRE during the fall round of your application season. Better to take a summer off and prepare when you are not in class. 5. The languages beyond Arabic will depend on which historical period is your specialization. I would think that in most cases, Hebrew, French, and German would be requisite, and then, depending on your specialization, others may be relevant.

Do not rush their decision if they have yet to decide; it will only make their life easier by scrapping you from the list. If adcoms are uncertain about who to admit, a sign of poor people skills simplifies their choices. This is the brutal nature of apps. The best you can do is contact the grad admissions coordinator and simply ask something like, "Have notifications already gone out? - for some reason I did not receive an email. If you have been rejected, they should let you know. If they have yet to decide, they will let you know.

Awesome! Which concentration? - If you don't mind my asking.

Someone claimed a Du/Iliff acceptance; probably means I got rejected there after a solid interview. I'm most likely committing to UCLA on Thursday during orientation. Unbelievable that the most difficult and least likely program to get into is the one that throws me a funded offer.

http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~rfburger/language/German%20for%20Reading/ http://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/9781589835962.pdf http://www.projethomere.com/ressources/ancient_greek01book.pdf

Akkadian: John Huehnergard, A Grammar of Akkadian. Eisenbrauns; 3rd edition edition 2011. Someone needs to compile all this into one master list

You have some serious admits; I would presume your SOP was right on target, and your writing sample must also have been quite good. So Have you decided on which offer to take?

They said US History was flooded, as it is every year. Was Irvine your only MA admit, or were the others MA as well?

I just met with my new faculty adviser and the admissions office. Out of 300 apps, 20 were accepted, so figure 7.5% acceptance rate this year. Remember that certain concentrations are flooded, while others not as much. Also, they said this year was the most competitive in a long time and they regrettably had to deny many qualified candidates. If you are serious about UCLA, having met several of the faculty already, you can PM me and I can tell you more. For anyone currently on the waitlist, I can also say that the Letters of Intent have still not been emailed to accepted candidates. This may be a good thing, for if any of them have been accepted to other top schools, they may already have the paperwork to commit. I will know more on March 20th.

1. Have a clear idea of what your emphasis will be. This does not require a dissertation topic but does mean being much more specific than New Testament, Hebrew Bible, systematic theology, or Church history. For example, Late ancient Judaism and Christian origins, and more specifically, "forms of Jewish/Gentile self-identification in late antiquity," or, "the interaction between official and folk religion in the development of late ancient Diasporic Judaism." 2. Start researching for your writing sample, which ideally should reflect your proposed emphasis, and compile an extensive bibliography. 3. Among the most recent sources for your paper that you find the most compelling, find out where these scholars teach. In my case, Matthias Henze at Rice University, Ra'anan Boustan at UCLA, Prof. Annette Reed at Penn, Pamela Eisenbaum at Iliff, and Mark Chancey at Southern Methodist were among my top choices. Chancey was not taking any students this year, so there was an automatic rejection. Move on. 4. At the same time, once you have a clear emphasis and representative scholars, check known programs for professors that also fit this bill. 5. Develop familiarity with the work of every POI, so that you can demonstrate this in both your SOP and writing sample. I think a big reason for some of my rejections is that my writing sample was not totally relevant to my research interests. 6. Compile a big list of POIs and schools, as people on this forum can attest that rejections are more common than acceptances in most cases. You need to expand your possibilities. All you need is one to say yes. Hope this helps

Adding to Greek and Hebrew Koine Greek Randall Buth's living Koine Greek materials Decker, Koine Greek Reader: Selections from the New Testatment, the Septuagint, and Early Christian Writers Christophe Rico's Polis: Parler le grec ancien comme une langue vivante (introductory Koine text almost completely in Koine; also available in Italian and German) Whitacre, A Patristic Greek Reader (selections from various writers, ranging from Ignatius to Gregory of Nazianzus; copious notes for intermediate students) Stanley E. Porter & Jeffrey T. Reed, Fundamentals of NT Greek (text and workbook). This in my opinion is the best introductory grammar. Classical Greek Hansen and Quinn, Mastronarde, JACT Reading Greek, and Athenaze are some first-year courses. Andrew Keller and Stephanie Russell, Learning to Read Greek Biblical Hebrew Randall Buth's living Biblical Hebrew materials Mansoor, Biblical Hebrew Weingreen, A Practical Grammar of Classical Hebrew Duane A. Garrett and Jason S. DeRouchie A Modern Grammar of Biblical Hebrew