Nytusse

I will second your comment about the kaplan and princeton review practice exams. I also got a perfect verbal, and I was getting disgustingly, depressingly low scores on every practice test, especially the reading comprehension for some strange reason. If I recall correctly, even the GRE practice exams had me coming out much lower in both scores than I actually got, but then again I'm one of those weird ones who does better under pressure. Flunked my writing, though, that's for sure! And that was something I anticipated having the least trouble with.

The ETS website does maintain a breakdown of scores by discipline, although one must imagine that not everyone who takes the test actually applies, so the applicant average scores are likely higher.

I don't see why that isn't a 3.7. Rounding that up would be appropriate since only two decimal places are allowed anyways.

Don't get me wrong, your GPA will, unfortunately, stick out sorely. But when I applied to Harvard Divinity School, I had a gorgeous GPA but I felt I had little else going for me in terms of real-world experience. It is always tough to figure out exactly what a grad school is looking for. And it never hurts to give it a shot. Put your absolute best effort forward and it just might pay off.

Have you been out of school for some time, or did you just graduate? If you have been out of school and working with churches then your GPA may not be as important. Having the Div school alum writing your letter of recommendation can't hurt. What I would suggest is really going above and beyond in the other parts of your application. At Harvard Divinity, the GRE is optional. If there is ANY chance you can study for it this summer and do well, that could help you. A writing sample is also optional, but if you submit something that indicates what kind of work you are capable of producing, that also adds to the overall picture of yourself as a student. Taking all the extra steps will show how serious you are about entering the program. My impression is the the MDiv is slightly easier in terms of admission, especially if you show character and leadership, but if you do not send in other materials, the low GPA may make it easier to dismiss you as a candidate.

I am currently an MTS student at Harvard, and here are my (highly speculative) thoughts on your situation, based on my own observations: -At our school, just about everyone seems to get some kind of funding. The lowest I have heard of is a half-tuition grant. There does not seem to be a preference for either degree. -The coursework for both programs can be quite similar based on area of interest. At Harvard, the MTS is only 2 years, while the MDiv is 3 years. That extra year can be a huge advantage in sorting out your interests, building your credentials, etc., if you have ANY interest at all in this sort of work, go for it. You also get set up with fieldwork opportunities, and if you go to a school with money, you may be able to do something really amazing, even overseas. -It is my personal opinion that applying to both programs within the same school does not make much sense. The admissions criteria are relatively similar.

I second the netbook idea. I just purchased one and it was only $350 and does everything I want it to. It is so portable that it is literally life changing for a busy grad student ESPECIALLY one who commutes.

Nah, I wasn't complaining about BAD grades, just the freaking B+ issue. I suppose it could always be worse, but the constant B+ing is hard to handle when you are used to higher grades (as I'm sure most grads must experience). I just can't believe how much of a rollercoaster ride grad school is. Right when I feel like I'm catching on, some other grade slips for some unfathomable reason. I get the impression that being in a Master's program and looking toward a doctorate is kind of like being in purgatory....grades just seem to matter SO much, especially since I don't particularly want to change schools. It is so hard to figure out how competitive you really are, and it just gets frustrating when it seems like everyone else is getting straight As (although I imagine they aren't either!)

I'm in a Master's degree program looking toward applying to PhD programs, and I feel like the pressure is killing me. I am really having a hard time figuring out how to get good grades in my program. I swear to God that the papers I think are great end up with the lowest grades. I just got my last grade for this semester and it was a real shocker. I feel absolutely ill and I don't know how I am going to get past this. Most people seem to have higher GPAs in their Master's degrees, but mine will be lower for sure. I am going from a small state school to the Ivy League so that may be expected, but since I will be applying to PhD programs at the worst possible time, the grades are just an obsession right now. Ugh, I just needed to vent. And of course I get this crappy grade LAST so that I forget about all the good moments this year.

I have to say that I did substantially better on the real test than I did on any of the practice tests. I am talking about hundreds of points. Maybe I'm just a freak who does better under pressure?

I went to visit my family for Easter this past weekend. Boy, was that a miserable experience. I felt like I was speaking an entirely different language. I am currently at an Ivy League school after going to a state school for undergrad. I am getting scholarships now and looking toward PhD programs. Ideally, I would like to stay at my current school because I have a condo and do not want to move. My uncle says, "Well, if you want to stay there, just do it then, and don't complain about it." I was trying to explain that getting accepted to a prestigious PhD program is like winning the lottery. :roll: Then my family went off onto a scary Rush Limbaugh-induced quasi-racist rant. Yeah, THAT was uncomfortable. :oops: How do you argue with someone when they don't even have the facts right to begin with? Whenever I'm stressed, I also get the "Oh, I'm sure you'll get all As again like you always do." Nobody has a clue how hard it is to leap from undergrad to grad, and from state school to freaking Ivies.