academiccricket

Speaking of Yale, does anyone know how competitive the (concentrated) MAR program is? I applied because I would love an opportunity to work with textual criticism more before going into a Ph.D., but I'm also worried that I won't get in since I already have an M.A., though I want to improve my Greek and acquire new languages. Thoughts about the program? I hate that notifications don't go out until March 15th

It is hard to say. Classics and History are going to be really tough in the first place, because they are INSANELY competitive and nothing really guarantees an acceptance. Going on numbers alone, I'd say you stand very little shot at the "best of the best" because people with 4.0's and 1300+ GREs get rejected in these fields. And often. Lucky for you, it isn't all about numbers. If your research is an absolutely AMAZING fit AND you have an "in" at the school (let's say your LOR is best friends with someone who might influence a decision)...it might work out in your favor. You should have a back-up plan. You should think about trying to do an M.A. at some place where you perhaps work on publishing/presenting/gain teaching experience--all that jazz. In fact, some of these schools might offer you an opportunity to get an M.A. before a Ph.D. (unfunded, of course). If you're set on getting a Ph.D. there is nothing wrong with studying with someone who is brilliant--but just teaches at a lower-ranked school. I find it hard to believe that only prestigious schools offer what you're looking for, because often you can work interdepartmentally to "make up" for whatever might be lacking in your department (and sometimes, taking the initiative to seek these things out is impressive to the program adviser). For what it is worth, I have similar stats to yours (3.7 Masters GPA and 1190 GRE--slightly higher on the verbal, and more language experience than you--but I'm not applying to Classics) and am applying to top-tier schools, but also some ones that would probably be glad to have me. I'm applying to 8 Ph.D. programs (including an Ivy, because the Chair rocks in my sub-field, audited a class in the dept, have friends in the department, and I have really great LOR from someone well-respected in the dept.) and am hoping for two acceptances--anywhere.

For better or worse, I'm applying to all highly-respected programs in my field. I don't think there is such thing as "safety..." I'm applying to 10 programs total, 8 Ph.Ds and 2 MAs. The 2 MAs might conceivably be considered "safety" (since I already have an M.A.), but I was rejected from one last year, so who knows? For the PhD: Harvard, U Chicago, Johns Hopkins, UC Berkeley, NYU, U Wisc., Brandeis, Catholic University. My research interests "fit" four well, I suppose. For the other four, I would have to do interdisciplinary work to support my sub-interest. One program is restructuring its department/faculty so despite it not being as "competitive", it impacts what students are selected, and what funding is available. You can never be sure which departments are taking more students this year as opposed to last year, if it is a strong/weak applicant pool, or what other factors are involved when selecting students. Last year, at my "safety" the adviser I applied to work under had a slight stroke and took the year off, thus leaving me with a gap year.

This is "impetri" from earlier posts (PhD applicant in Hebrew Bible). I just apparently can't access my previous information. I'm having a bit of a melt-down, freak-out week. I'm hoping to send the majority of my applications out next week, with a Dec. 15th deadline, and am sending 1 out tomorrow. I'm feeling incredibly discouraged as of late. Anyone else think that there is nothing like applying to top programs to make them feel insignificant and incompetent? I'm disappointed in my GRE score, because I can't afford to take it again (I'm paying back student loans plus rent, all on a part-time job salary to have time to dedicate to Akkadian). Despite studying for two years and scoring significantly higher on practice exams, I received quite a mediocre score that I'm not happy with (590 v. 600 q. and 4.5. AW). I really thought I'd crack 650 v. (I was practice testing at 700+) and get at least a 5.5. AW (I taught English 101 at a liberal arts college). But I'm forging ahead through the app process anyway, perhaps in sheer stupidity at this point. I'm auditing Akkadian at my dream school, and it is just me and one other kid in the class. I show up every day, do all the homework, quizzes, tests, in-class participation--despite the fact that I'm not receiving a grade (officially). I'm not doing as well as I thought I would (despite massive studying...), though by no means failing. I was just hoping to make a great impression, and again feel like my performance is average at best. I'm working with the TA outside of class, practicing cuneiform in another book, etc. I asked my professor to write me a LOR for some schools (top-10 in the field), and he agreed, I'm just nervous about what he is going to say, but I imagine something like "she's excited about the material, but she's not naturally gifted in this area." I have a 2.72 uGPA and a 3.7 gGPA, and feel like there are too many "discrepancies" in my application to even be considered. If my uGPA were low and I had a high GRE, or vice versa, it would be different--but it isn't. I have a feeling that the schools will see the ugrad B- average and a composite GRE of 1190, and throw it out the window. The shining hope I have is an AMAZING LOR, from someone who is incredibly well-respected in the field, and has worked with my dream dept. department for AGES. I also might be auditing a class with the chair of the department next term. And I'm on good terms with the department office staff, except I won their money in a poker game once. Any advice for staying calm and feeling competent, despite feeling lackluster and all hope is lost? Sorry about being whiny. I just needed to vent to an audience who would understand what this stress does to people. I play Kanye's "Stronger" about a billion times. That's really all that helps at this point.

It is possible. I don't know really anything about Educational Psychology, so my comments were a general rule of thumb. What I did was look at grad programs I'd like to be in, and try to find C.V.s of students in those programs, to 1) see what I'm up against and 2) highlight my credentials to market myself just as well, if not better, than they did. I didn't put a whole "awards" section on my C.V....just listed it under the school that I received them at. For my situation, it made sense, since I really only have school-sponsored awards, and not national ones.

What kind of teaching have you done? If you provide a bit more info it might be easier to give more helpful advice. This may not be what you want to hear, but you should only include teaching experience if it is relevant. Relevant - teaching /TA ing for college courses, et cetera. Anything that would make you look like you're responsible and can talk about your field of study. Not relevant - teaching high school, el. ed., preschoolers, teaching at a non-profit organization, et cetera. These should only be mentioned in your SOP if they helped inspire you to study what you study.

If your C.V. is three pages long, you must've done a lot of publishing. Really, it should only be 1 (maybe...and that is only if you're exceptional...2) pages long. Only the most decorated academics I've seen have C.V.s longer than two pages. It is a challenge to condense your life experience in academia into a page. I played around with mine, and came up with this format: Name / Contact Info (I put my name into English and a foreign language graphic, because I'm going into advanced language study) Education: College A - most recent grad program (year) Awards listed: College B (undergrad) (year) Awards listed: College C (community college) (year) Awards listed: Teaching Experience: Adjunct Prof. - XYZ College (year) Courses taught: Tutor - XYZ College (year) Subject Tutor - College C (year) Subject Professional Experience: Summer Abroad - Institution sponsored - year Brief summary. Docent Education program - participant (year) Brief summary Language Experience: Language 1 - year - institution Language 2 - year - institution Language 3 - year - independent study Language 4 - year - institution Language 5 - year - institution --- You really need to pick and choose what you highlight. I chose language experience. Go figure.

I'm in a similar situation. I have a UGPA of 2.72 (B- at my school) and I worked 40 hours / week as an undergrad, double-majored and graduated on time. I have three F's, a D, and two C's on my record during two consecutive terms when I was diagnosed with some health problems that effects my digestive system (under control now). My grades other than those, are a smattering of A's and B's. I retook all the courses, but it doesn't replace those grades on my transcripts or in my GPA, so I'm stuck looking worse than I actually am. I plan on attaching a separate explanation, highlighting my tenacity (I didn't have to take the extra classes to graduate, and I ended up tutoring one of the subjects I initially failed), and showing that my M.A. GPA (3.7) is a more of a reflection of my ability -- and that I worked full-time while balancing graduate studies as well.

I taught English 101 as an adjunct. I also got a 4.5. I'm not sweating it. Maybe I should be, but it seems like an arbitrary process anyway. As long as your writing sample is decent, I think you'll be fine.

Before you completely freak out, call the departments (or look on the websites...) for GRE info. Ask if they have certain expectations / what the averages of previous accepted students had, and see if you fit the range. If you fit the range, don't sweat it. It isn't the most important part of your application, and other parts of your application can make up for it (like writing sample).

For most of my applications, this question is optional. I've heard mostly that "admissions offices use this for their data, to see who THEY are competing against to get students..." yada yada. The reason I'm filling it in: I like to think of this question as another way to show that I've done my homework. I think this question might be an attempt to gauge if the students are looking for prestige only, or if they know what departments are best for what they want to study. My field is very broad, but there are GREAT programs for my subfield. Faculty will know "if she's applying here, she should be looking at...X, Y, Z." For example, Harvard and JHU = the leaders in my subfield, and Yale is a place that I wouldn't even consider for a PhD because they take a different approach to the material. But if I listed that I wanted to study X, and Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford as places where I'm applying-only one place would really "makes sense" to faculty looking at my app which reflects that my proposed research doesn't align with the schools I've chosen, and subsequently, they are able to tell if a candidate has a clear focus or if they are feigning interest in a program (especially if their listed schools are all over the board, or Ivies only, et cetera). Could it work against you in terms of "she's applying there, and will get in at other places...so we'll deny her..."--I think it is possible, and I've read stories on forums from people who seemed competitive, got rejected, and then talked to the programs who said "we thought you'd get in SOMEWHERE." I think this is more the exception than the rule, because ad coms expect candidates will get in other places, and hence the need for the dreaded wait-list. Maybe I'm too naive in my perspective, but we'll wait and see how it goes in Jan.-Apr. 2009, eh?

Taking a diagnostic about two years ago, I was scoring at about 300 verbal, 400 math. After two years of practicing every weekend, I knocked my practice scores consistently to approximately 700 verbal, 600 math. On actual test day, my scores were: 590 v. 600 q. So, I have no idea about the consistency of the practice scores now. I've read that Barron's practice books are harder than the actual test, whereas Kaplan and Princeton Review books are easier than the actual test. Since I practiced with the ETS book, I have no idea what to think. I sincerely hope you have the reverse experience (testing low, scoring high) than I had (testing high, scoring low)!

I don't think we can sufficiently answer this, because there isn't a lot of information presented (like what your degrees are in / how that ties into what you want to do). I might be mistaken, but I think prestige of undergraduate institution might play more of a role in international student admissions, as well as them wanting to fund you based off of your GPA (alone...you might be a stellar candidates in a lot of ways). That said, clearly you want to go to a school with "prestige", but it is really all about fit. Even if you get a 1450+ on the GREs, and a perfect score, you'd likely be rejected from top programs--just because there aren't enough spots open. Don't focus so much on rank (which is kind of BS anyway), but who is doing work similar to what you'd like to do, departments where you'd thrive both academically and personally, and placement upon graduation. Look for requirements that average out to where yours are, and go from there.

I think some things that I'm definitely going to point out are basically things speaking to my tenacity and desire to succeed, that doesn't necessarily manifest itself in the application itself: -I'm a first-gen college student, the first person in my family to have a passport and go overseas, etc. -I've adopted a really great work ethic from being in a family that worked its way from government housing to the lower-middle class -I've worked full-time to put myself through college/grad school I have slept on air mattresses on my friend's floors because I've sunk my money into tuition and textbooks. I sold anything valuable that I had in order to move across the country, just sit in on a year-long class at my top choice. My parents don't support me in any way, and actually hold me pursuing higher education against me, because they think that it indoctrinates me with "liberal propaganda" (they are very conservative). The same things that make my application "unique" are also the things I struggle with writing, because I don't want to come across as bitter or angry, or be perceived as someone who doesn't take responsibility for their life. These are just challenges that a lot of people haven't had to overcome, and that I've dealt with.

I pretty much have studied every weekend for the past two years for the GRE, and I was consistently scoring within the 1300-1400 range on practice tests within the past 6 months. I finally took it this week, and was a bit disheartened by my results: Verbal: 590 Quant: 600. Writing: TBD. (I'd be incredibly surprised if I got lower than a 5.5., but stranger things clearly have happened.) Here's the thing, it is high enough not to completely suck, but not high enough to make me "safe," despite Ferrero probably saying that the University will give me loads of funding, and maybe even a Porsche based on the score alone, and I should burn down any offices that don't, while slashing tires of all the faculty, etc. I don't care about really the "safe" portion so much, but I wonder if it will help counter-balance my low UG GPA from 5 years ago...I had one bad semester that brought my GPA down to a 2.8 (I was really sick, diagnosed with a chronic disease and missed a lot of class) , other than that, I got all A's and B's. I have an M.A. GPA of 3.7, and pretty decent all-around credentials (adjuncted an upper-division class in my field for a semester, etc)... I sit in a cubicle all day now, so I guess if I get rejected from programs, not a lot will change. Will this score help me counter-balance the low GPA? Or should I re-take and risk getting an even lower score (not to mention shelling out a $140 more dollars), because I'm not sure what to differently (I went through Barron's GRE prep book, Kaplan's Math Review, Arco's Math Review, and the ETS GRE prep book, FYI...I hate standardized tests) and I certainly can't afford GRE prep classes. Thoughts?