Hey all,
Hoping you can tell me if my ambitions are realistic. I'm getting my MA Anthropology at SOAS starting this fall, and applying for PhD programs in anthropology with a regional focus on the Middle East for entry in fall 2018. Here are my stats:
* Graduated in 2014 with a BA in Arabic and History from The University of Edinburgh; spent a year abroad in Cairo; wrote two undergraduate theses of 10k words each. I got a 2:1 which is roughly equivalent to a 3.7/4.0 GPA.
* GRE is 158V/152Q/4.0AW but I'm planning to take it again this summer to bump up my scores
* No publications or teaching experience yet
* Letters of recommendation I'm not sure of yet because I'd like to get them from professors in my MA program, but likely one of them will be a relatively strong one from undergrad (from a Middle East studies professor)
The only two PhD programs that I KNOW I want to apply to so far are Columbia and Harvard because of certain faculty members there, and I'll probably also go for NYU, Oxbridge, and a few others. Obviously these schools are insanely competitive - from what I've done so far, do I have a chance? And what can I do in the next six months or so to make my application as strong as possible?
Thanks in advance!