LateAntique

This is more than I wanted to share, but I need some advice: I attended a confessional Christian school for 3 years as an undergraduate. At the end of 3 years I could no longer affirm the confessional stance of the school, so I left and transferred to the school I'm at now. I contacted them about transcripts this week and suddenly I owe them $1,000 paid in full before they will send my transcripts (never mind that these charges did not exist when I left...and there was an entire year between this school and the one I'm at now). I can't pay it, so I probably won't be able to get transcripts from them. I'm going to contact the DGS at the programs to which I'm applying and explain my situation. What would you do in this situation? Do you think schools will be okay with this or am I screwed and will my entry into grad school possibly be delayed by a year?

I mentioned my senior thesis in my SoP and two of the books that served as inspiration. I simply mentioned the author's full name and the title of the book.

Of course it's wishful thinking and you're totally ruining it!

As soon as I saw God (Ceiling Cat) calling someone a "noob", I thought, "This is definitely Job." Interestingly, this is the longest speech God gives to anyone in the entire Bible.

I'm enjoying all of my classes. My largest class is 12 people, and my smallest is just me. Considering I'm the only one in some of my classes, there has been a certain flexibility with my schedule. My professors all know I'm applying to graduate programs and have been extremely helpful and considerate throughout the whole process.

It's from usitor and it's 3pl. It has a variety of meanings depending upon the context, but it's something like "to be in the habit of using" or "to be common, ordinary,familiar" etc.

As far as senior theses, some majors in some American universities still require them. My Classics major is one of the last (if not the last) majors on campus to still require a senior thesis. I'm just going to write mine over Christmas break and be done with it.

It sounds like you're in there clear. If one program gives away scholarships for getting what you got on the GRE, why would you need to retake it? I don't think a 550 will be a big deal compared to 575 - if 575 is the average, then people are scoring 550's and getting in.

I was just poking fun at how little chatter there is in this corner of the forum (other than myself), but if there is actually a correlation between posts here and amount of people applying, I'm very happy. The less competition I have, the better it is for me.

I suppose it boils down to a few things: 1) How much time would you give yourself between now and the time you would take the GRE if you rescheduled? 2) When are apps due? Would you make it in time? 3) How much more do you think you could improve your score within that amount of time?

I got my scores back today from last night's practice test. I had left about the last 10 quant questions blank, so I knew I didn't do very well on that section (nor was I terribly concerned, my math section is good enough for the programs I want to get into) but......I did almost 100 points better on the verbal section than I did a week and a half ago when I took the GRE for real. If I can score that score when I take the exam next week, I'll be home free.

So you're saying while I spend all my time posting on and reading this forum, my competition is out there working on making their applications look better? Suckers!!!

I hope the lack of posters in this forum is indicative of how many people I'll be up against at Classics programs.

CUA is the only place to which I'm applying that does rolling admissions and I imagine my score is good enough for them. I suppose I was worried that taking the GRE so late might put me in a crunch for some deadlines (Dec 15 for Duke, Dec 1 for CUA, Dec 15 for Iowa). The CUA one is the one I'm really worried about.

I took the GRE two weekends ago, so I anticipate getting my scores sometime soon. They were not great, but not terrible (1090) and the rest of my application is pretty stellar. I'm retaking the GRE next Wednesday (the 18th). Should I go ahead and submit my Apps with the first GRE score so that they can go ahead and get there or should I wait until I get the second scores back?

I'm not a huge fan of the GRE. Thus far all it has done for me is put me 350 bucks in the hole (two tests plus books) and reminded me I'm bad at math. I've had to re-learn stuff just for the test that I will never use again, so it doesn't seem like it's a very good evaluation of me as a candidate for graduate school. I've also heard that there's little to no correlation between how one does on the GRE and how they will do in grad school, but I don't have any source for that. I would be much more comfortable if the programs I'm applying to just gave me a test to translate Greek and Latin, and maybe write a bit on Greek and Roman history. Those are the kinds of things I'm supposed to know after 4 years of undergraduate work, not how to determine the slope of a line.

Actually, I have a question that's related to this: I took the GRE and got pretty mediocre scores (1090), but the rest of my application is pretty good. I'm retaking the GRE next week, but if I get the scores this week, can I go ahead and get my apps in with the old score or should I wait?

Networking definitely helps. I attended a conference last Fall and found my way into various gatherings in the evenings (whether invited or not). I have a lot of friends at the programs to which I'm applying, so I was able to meet up with them at the events and then have them introduce me to their professors. A professor in Duke's Religion program and I used to have fairly regular meetings and he always said it was best if they can put a face with an application. They're basically signing themselves up to spend the next 5-7 years with you, so it's good if they already know you're not a loon and you can do the work.

If you're applying to any of the programs I have listed below, here's my advice: 1) Show up drunk. I don't mean have one or two at the bar before you show up - I mean start drinking at 7am so that you're absolutely blitzed when you get there. This will help with the nerves and make the faculty like you. 2) Who doesn't like t-shirt tuxedos? Wear one. And shorts - jean cut-offs if you have them. If not, Umbros are pretty fancy. You're dressing for success here and you want to let them know you're serious. 3) Mock the professor while they ask you a question. Repeat exactly what they're saying to you in a stupid voice while making crazy facial gestures. The faculty will eat this up. Who doesn't want a jokester in their program? 4) Disregard fuzzylogician's advice. If you don't know, it's time to turn the BS on. This will show them you're prepared for the wide world of academia. As long as it sounds convincing, you're home free. Another tactic is to answer all questions with "That's what she said." 5) Also concerning fuzzylogician's advice: if you don't understand their question (or even if you do), just answer one nobody asked. As long as you use the field's buzz words, you're bound to hit on the right answer somewhere. When the professor tries to stop your speech, don't take no for an answer. Hold up your finger or wave your hand dismissively, then sit back in your chair, gaze at the ceiling, and continue with your monologue. 6) Talk about the great offers you just got from the other schools on your list. Tell them a small fee might be able to retain you. If you're applying elsewhere, I suggest disregarding my advice entirely.

Is it possible to live outside the city and take the metro in every day? I know very little about the logistics of living there, so any advice is great.

I'm applying to Catholic University and the standard stipend for people in the program to which I'm applying is about $18,000. Can I live in/around DC as a single guy for that much or would I have to live on campus?

Just took the practice Quant section and actually ran out of time. I've been learning all these new math tricks and I guess I was spending too much time on them. I've never run out of time for a test ever. I'll make sure to take one more practice test between today and next Wednesday to make sure I keep up with timing.

There are a few threads in the forum that already deal with this. You can find them if you search for them.

+1. Sounds to me like this wouldn't concern them anyway, so there's no need to even mention it.

I'm here and I realize I did this same thing for free last year. They give you a sample test that lasts about 1.5 hours and then they have a Q&A. The only thing different this year is that I can log on at 10pm to watch a sample Kaplan class. I can't believe I paid 10 bucks to have someone pitch a $1,000 class to me.