doobiebrothers

my best friend works on the adcom of probably the #1 religion/theology PhD program as a student reader (he's sitting here next to me deciding fates as we speak) and here is his incredibly wise advice:
1. Professors are suspicious of a perfect 4.0, because it shows an unwillingness to take risks. However, under a 3.5 and you also might be in trouble. On the bright side, GRE's really come into play with a lower GPA. Anything in the 3.9-3.6 range is generally fine, given all other parts are ok.
2. THE STATEMENT OF PURPOSE IS THE #1 most important thing. I can't emphasize that enough. 
3. WHO your letter writers are really matters, esp to the top programs. If someone on the committee knows professor XYZ, it helps so so much. At the top levels, it really is an insider game. Do you, personally know the profs on the committee? Do your profs know them? Work the nepotism as best you can. Network, visit the schools, get to know the decision makers. It makes a big difference.
4. Languages. Languages. Languages. In something like Hebrew Bible or Islamic studies, really get those Semitics down, do research in those languages, and demonstrate a good reading proficiency in German and French. One or two more can't hurt. 
 
And in the end, if all else fails, don't hesitate to re-apply! 
 
That's some good advice, and you're getting it straight from the horse's mouth. (and he's a very handsome horse  )

I got into UChicago and IU with a 3.84. My GRE quant was 57%, my verbal 90%. I'm going into public policy, so it might be different. Admissions told me they were looking for "well-rounded" candidates.

Ah the curmudgeon professors.

I think that yes, more people are applying to graduate school than normal. For some it's a back-up plan for not getting a job, not wanting to face the real world. Others this is honestly the thing they want to do. Add that with degree inflation and you've got our current state of people in grad school programs.

I don't think that you HAVE to have a 3.9 to get into "tier 1" programs. They take into account a lot more than just GPA. Make your personal statement shine. Do the absolute best you can do on your applications. That's all you can do.

Good luck all! I did the CLS in Intermediate Russian in 2010 and it was a wonderful experience!!

my best friend works on the adcom of probably the #1 religion/theology PhD program as a student reader (he's sitting here next to me deciding fates as we speak) and here is his incredibly wise advice:
1. Professors are suspicious of a perfect 4.0, because it shows an unwillingness to take risks. However, under a 3.5 and you also might be in trouble. On the bright side, GRE's really come into play with a lower GPA. Anything in the 3.9-3.6 range is generally fine, given all other parts are ok.
2. THE STATEMENT OF PURPOSE IS THE #1 most important thing. I can't emphasize that enough. 
3. WHO your letter writers are really matters, esp to the top programs. If someone on the committee knows professor XYZ, it helps so so much. At the top levels, it really is an insider game. Do you, personally know the profs on the committee? Do your profs know them? Work the nepotism as best you can. Network, visit the schools, get to know the decision makers. It makes a big difference.
4. Languages. Languages. Languages. In something like Hebrew Bible or Islamic studies, really get those Semitics down, do research in those languages, and demonstrate a good reading proficiency in German and French. One or two more can't hurt. 
 
And in the end, if all else fails, don't hesitate to re-apply! 
 
That's some good advice, and you're getting it straight from the horse's mouth. (and he's a very handsome horse )

Most of the wisdom I'm able to provide has already been covered in this thread. But I think it deserves re-iterating. 
 
1. The reason that I don't believe "safety schools" exist is because (a) there will still be a large number of highly-qualified applicants submitting applications to these places as their safety schools too. You'll still be competing against the same talented people who applied to the R1s at the safety schools. And also because ( the most competitive schools at the top of the league tables are the ones with the most money for taking in new students.
 
2. First time around I had initially considered visiting the grad schools I was interested in...and decided against it. I cannot understate the importance of visiting the schools you want to apply to and talking to the faculty you want to work for. This was especially true for me because I'm an international applicant - unknown and expensive. I took myself on a summer holiday in the USA and tacked on several grad school visits during that time. Most people were impressed by the degree of initiative I'd demonstrated by doing this. Through the Thank You emails and follow-up questions I did my best to keep my name imprinted in the faculty's minds. 
 
3. The best way to get a meeting with a Big Name Professor is to contact the schools' Graduate Office and ask to schedule a visit. If you tell them who you'd like to speak to then they'll do the run-around to set you up with several professors...and sometimes throw in a free lunch with current grad students!
 
4. If things screw up and you end up not getting in to your first choice...or not getting in anywhere...IT ISN'T THE END OF THE WORLD. I know from experience that rejection stings...but it also catalysed a great improvement in my application for the next year, as well as an overall improvement in myself as a scientist. A rejection might be the best thing that happens to your PhD application.

- DO NOT LISTEN TO OTHER STUDENTS. While some of the people in your cohort/program may have some great insight as they complete grad school applications, you may run into a few extremely neurotic ones. They boost the anxiety level to its highest point. If you have questions and want answers that are separated from emotions, go directly to faculty or staff members. It isn't worth being stressed over something that turns out to not be true. 

This, this, THIS.  Even people who are current grad students only know what worked for them and people they know.  You will get conflicting advice from everyone, and what worked for someone else will not work for you... because your circumstances and experiences are only your own.  Do what works for YOU.  If you are really flustered, ask one of your LOR writers or another trusted faculty member. 

1. I do not think this can be stressed too much: do not reread your applications once you have submitted them. You will notice all of the flaws in them that somehow you missed before pressing the submit button. All this will do is lead to weeks of agony as you wait to hear back from all the schools you are sure will now reject you.
2. Mistakes, even in a SOP, are not the end of the world. If you come off as a strong candidate with clear goals, drive, and ambition schools will not necessarily reject your application just because you made a typo or two.
3. Do not apply to somewhere you would not want to go to if you got in. If you would hesitate to go somewhere, even if it is your one acceptance, it is not worth applying to. 
4. Do not apply somewhere that does not fit your interests, even if it is a top ranked school. You may have stellar credentials, but if you do not actually fit into the department, chances are you will not get in. All you are doing by applying is wasting time and money.
5. When trying to figure out where to apply to, start by identifying what it is you want to study. Then try to find which schools have professors with similar research interests. Talk to your adviser about your interests and life goals, and see if he or she can offer up any programs to look into.

I will be applying to grad school this fall and those who are also applying soon or will reapply in the near future, I would advise reading Donald Asher's "Graduate Admissions Essays: Write Your Way Into the Graduate School of Your Choice". So far, it is extremely useful in how I am approaching my schools. It is not all about crafting the best graduate school essay; its about crafting the strongest graduate school application possible.

For the past 2 weeks, I have been on this site more times than I can count and I was just so bothersome to see how the best applicants with the stellar GPAs and research experience were turned down. I do not know if it was because it were not lucky or too many people applied with few spots at hand, but I also think in comes down to how WE market ourselves.

Tip: Although I have not completed a graduate school application yet, don't list all your achievements in your SOP. Treat the graduate school process as your next potential job opportunity.

Asher goes into detail about what happens to when admission committees reviews your application and what ways you can beat more qualified applicants. I'm heard stories of people who brought this book getting accepted to all their graduate school programs so I had to loan it from the library!

I'm going to read the SOP part this week so I can start working on my SOP early. Thanks to the people above with the SOP advice. I will take that into consideration. Appreciate it. Good luck!

Not yet. Two years ago we heard on the 15th. So it could be today...

If you can't understand what linguistics has to do with determining whether Yemeni Arabic is closer to fusHa than other dialects, then I don't know what to tell you. The question of relationships between dialects of a language (in this case, Classical vs. colloquial Yemeni Arabic) is a linguistic one. To use another biological example, if someone claimed dolphins are related to fish and I said they're actually more closely related to dogs than to fish (and provided evidence from a biological standpoint) would you respond "While the lesson in evolutionary biology was informative, I don't see what it has to do with the discussion at hand"?


I see the distinction you're trying to make between "closer" in a scientific sense and "closer" from the perspective of an Arabic-learner, but it's still inaccurate. Anyone who is trying to become fluent in fusHa will find their studies complemented equally by the study of any currently-spoken dialect, if they learn about the specific changes that lead to the development of said dialect from fusHa. Any good Arabic course that teaches both Classical/Standard and a colloquial dialect should address that. If you just pick up the basics of a dialect, you might not get the connection to fusHa yet, but if one really studies the dialect, they will be able to recognize the continuity in vocabulary and pick out those features of the dialect (syntax, phonology, or what-have-you) carried over from fusHa. When you understand the science behind the language, it makes it easier to see how languages have developed and see at once how "close" and how "far" every dialect is from fusHa. In other words, when you know what to look for, every dialect becomes equally advantageous to the learner of fusHa. Someone just looking at a dolphin and a fish will say: "these two are obviously closley related; they look alike and live in the water." But someone who knows what to look for (things like bones and blood rather than external appearance) will conclude that dolphins and dogs are more closely related, despite not seeming that way from first glance.

That's not how it works. Hopefully you would agree that Romanian, a Romance language, is more closely related to Latin than English-- and yet a Latin-speaker might have an easier time recognizing Latin loans in English than cognates in Romanian (i.e. Latin 'agilis' > English 'agile', Romanian 'ager'). Or to use another example: to the untrained eye, a hyrax (small furry rodent) does not seem to be related to the elephant in any way. However any evolutionary biologist can tell you that hyraxes are more closely related to elephants than other large, tusked mammals like walruses or boar. The surface appearance has little or nothing to do with the underlying genetic relationship.

Moroccan Arabic has been more innovative than other dialects in some aspects (such as phonology), which makes it hard for someone untrained in historical linguistics to recognize the changes that made Moroccan distinct from Classical Arabic. However, Moroccan Arabic can be more conservative in other aspects (like syntax) and it has retained some Classical vocabulary that other dialects have lost (like هبط for example). It's exactly for that reason that you can't say one dialect is closer to CA than another (though I would concede that some dialects may be closer in one particular aspect, such as phonology or syntax). Some claim the Najdi dialect is the most conservative and therefore closest to CA, but this is also hotly contested amongst linguists. In the realm of vocabulary, for example, it may have fewer foreign loans than some other dialects, but its vocabulary has also evolved and it has lost some Classical words while coining some new ones, as all dialects have.


In many places (especially in Iran and around the Gulf area), it's pretty common knowledge that Persian is closely related to Arabic (since they have such a great deal of words in common). Despite being such common knowledge, it is completely false; Persian and Arabic are about as related as English and Arabic (which is to say, not at all). Your having taken some MSA classes in Morocco does not mean you know anything about historical linguistics.

Way to be a troll, dude. Take your snark elsewhere - GradCafe is a place for respect. Georgetownhopeful, your GRE scores are fine (but I think you know that).

GRE is going to hurt you. I'd advise you to retake it.

I'm not sure about Georgetown, but I'd be VERY surprised if you didn't get in at Harvard MTS--most likely with a significant scholarship. They are notorious for accepting anyone above a 3.7 GPA, regardless of other qualifications.

Chillax, db2290. The OP's just trying to get some advice regarding his application. I understand your vigilance for trolls, but I don't see any indication that the OP is anything troll-like. Hey, at least the post is (mostly) grammatically-correct, and we really shouldn't sound like we're driving first-time users away from the forum. (I know you try to be helpful, but your tone comes across as slightly bitter--could be an artifact of the Internets, but nonetheless ...)

Georgetownhopeful, I have no advice I can give (sorry!), as I'm not in your field. I'm sure others here will have much better advice, especially if you could give a few more details as to how this "verbal confirmation" was worded.

waddle

P.S. For the record, db2290, I canceled out your -1 rating.

Hey all! I'm new to this forum, and I would love some feedback on my chances into the Georgetown MA in Arab studies

I'm at a topic public school, with a 3.9 GPA, GRE 700 quant, 800 verbal, 6.0 awa. Published and presented my research (on women in Islamic law) at conferences, edit two academic journals, speak several languages, and have won several fellowships and awards for my research.

I'm wondering how I stack up as an applicant. I visited the school in november, and I met with the director of the program. She basically told me I was in, she loves my work and wants to work with me-but does this verbal confirmation mean anything? It's my top choice school, and I really don't want to get my hopes up (and the hopes of my famlly) for nothing.

Thanks,

Alex

Hi there.
It is quite interesting most topic in the forum are concerned with the current conditions of Middle Eastern Studies in America. but is anyone familiar with the same field in Europe, especially the UK? I am very interested in the MPhil course of Middle Eastern Studies in the University of Cambridge for it is among the few programs in UK that can provide expertise in the history of Mongol and Safavid Persia, which is what I want to do in the future.
However I still know little about this program and the department, so any information or advices will be highly appreciated.