exegete

Pierre, it seems that most programs allow applicants to upload unofficial transcripts initially. But I assume the school you're speaking of isn't one of them. It can't hurt to contact someone...the website should list admissions staff or a program assistant you can contact. Good luck! I'm also not appreciating the Dec 1 deadline. Still need to make some tweaks on my writing sample!

I'm applying to New Testament PhD programs, and at this point I have three professors lined up to write LORs. It's my understanding that many schools allow a fourth as well, and I'd like to choose someone who can speak to my ability to work with the Hebrew Bible. There are two possibilities, and I'm really not sure which would make for a stronger recommendation. Hopefully y'all can help me decide on this. Professor A: Very highly respected Hebrew Bible scholar at a major university. I'm taking a master's-level course with this professor this semester; no previous interaction. I will be submitting a 10-page exegesis paper next week. Professor B: Not very well known; teaches at a smaller school. I took a year of Hebrew plus an exegesis course with this individual a couple of years ago in undergrad, which included two major exegesis papers (15-25 pages each). I am confident this professor would write a glowing recommendation. Any thoughts on which professor I should approach first?

I was talking this week to a friend who did a ThM at Duke. He made it sound like the faculty there actually encourages applying to both programs. However, I've also been told that you'd want to submit a significantly different SOP for the ThD as compared to the PhD. The reason for this is that they're really looking for ThD applicants to be interested in interdisciplinary work. So if that seems like a good fit, it probably doesn't hurt to apply to both.

I'll be applying to NT programs! Still finalizing the list, but the ones of interest at this point are Emory, Duke, Yale, Notre Dame, Baylor, and Marquette.

I'm also applying to NT programs! My advice would be that it might be worth trying for a higher AWA score. Baylor's website says they're looking for applications in the 90th percentile for verbal and writing. That would mean a 5 for AWA. I've heard that GRE scores are pretty important for Duke, but I'm not sure exactly how high the AWA needs to be. Maybe @sacklunch is right that your score is good and you should work on other elements. If you do decide to retake, I would strongly suggest using the services of AWA Professor. You have to spend $20, but they give very detailed feedback. I would say they're the main reason I was able to improve from 4.5 to 5.