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I am currently in the process of deciding which schools to apply to for a Masters degree and wasn't sure whether I'm over- or under-estimating my own prospects. My top choices are Harvard MTS and Chicago's MA in Religion. My main interest in is Islamic Studies (medieval history). However, my undergrad is in Political Science, with little overlap in my proposed area of research. I have taken 2 years of Arabic and a 7 courses in Islamic studies at my school, with A grades in all of them. I feel like my lack of preparation may put me at a disadvantage. On upside, my stats are good: 3.7 cGPA (3.9 not including a poor first year) and 164V 163Q 5.5AWA GRE scores. I was thinking of applying to one another "safety" school, but am beginning to worry that one safety school may not be enough. And finally, for the SOP - how in depth should one be when discussing possible areas of research? Something like "Medieval Islamic history" or "Sufism" is quite broad, but at the same time I think being too specific (I want to investigate the intellectual history of X period by investigating the thought of Y person) may make me seem too myopic.

Hi - long time lurker here. I'm a bit anxious about my application and was hoping if perhaps someone could weigh in on my application? I'm thinking about applying to: Harvard AM in Middle East Studies; Oxford M.Phil in Middle East Studies; UT Austin MA Middle East Studies; NYU MA Near East Studies; Chicago MA Middle East Studies, MA International Affairs I've purposefully not applied to some other programs such as Georgetown's Arab Studies because I really don't think I have a real shot. These are my basic stats: GRE: V164, Q163, AWA 5.5 Undergrad: Double Major in Middle East Studies and Political Science (minor in Economics) from a Top-30 University in the US. CGPA of 3.7 (because of a poor first year as an undeclared freshman), major GPA of 3.87 Work experience: None. I'm going into my senior year this Fall, but have had 3 summer internships. 1) At a human rights organization, writing weekly reports on human rights situation in Egypt, 2) As a research assistant at a not-very-well-known Institute specializing in the Middle East 3) As a general intern at a civil society advocacy organization Other: I have 2 years of Arabic training, but haven't spent any time in the Middle East studying or working, only nominal, casual travel. 2 publications in undergrad journal and 1 conference presentation Any thoughts? Should I be applying to more "safe" schools? Truth be told, I'd be happy with one acceptance at any of the schools I've listed above. I'd preferably like to go into academia, but I can also see myself in a think tank job or working for the State dept.