peppermint.beatnik

Big improvement in just one revision! I think the first sentence of the statement should be two sentences. Not only because you have 2 ideas in the sentence, but also because I think it would be more effective. I think you're missing an "I" "As an internet native, was exposed to a multitude of online groups very early on. I'm not sure how I feel about the sentence below. I'm not saying take it out, but make sure you follow through on the "show, don't tell" suggestion someone else mentioned. "My drive to pursue answers along with my fit with the program at _______ will ensure my success as a doctoral student." re: After nearly a decade of people watching online. I think it's a good idea to put language like "people watching" in quotations, but that's just what I would do.

Does every school have this? Even if it's unwritten (as in not published on the website)? I have above 1200, but not 1300.

I'm always amazed at how personal American app sop's are. In Canada they pretty much just want to know about your research, prep, etc. Also, "impacted" isn't a word unless you're talking about teeth. "impact" is rarely used properly. To "impact" something is to make physical contact, such as a collision. "Affect" is the word most people mean when they say impact.

I don't know about the specific program to which you are referring, but it is quite uncommon in Canada to enter without an MA. Not impossible, but unlikely. We don't really have post-bac PhDs.

I agree with above. I also like this quote: "Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit." Conrad Hilton I looked the quote up after Hilton was a character on my fav show, "Mad Men."

Call the ETS telephone system. I think you have to pay $12, but you can get your scores if a deadline is approaching.

This actually isn't true, they do know. When the prof gets the e-mail prompt from the on-line system it tells them whether the student has waved their rights AND it is report to the committee. Maybe not at every school, but I know of 12 where this is the case, and I'm sure they're not the only 12. Someone else said something earlier about "why would a professor fear their students?" I was told by my rec that if they get an e-mail from student they don't know as well (who wouldn't take "I think you should find a faculty member who knows you better" as an answer) AND the student DIDN'T waive their rights, the prof would be wary of writing much of anything useful or positive because they can only say what they do know. My rec also mentioned fear of getting sued, if the person didn't get into the program, and has the ability to access their letters. This might be less of an issue if you've done an MA, but it happens a lot at the undergraduate level.

I'm not a linguist, so I hope you don't mind! I'm in religious studies, but I never tell people I study religion. I always get, "so you want to be a minister?" I say anthropology because it's the next closest thing to what do.

I asked one of my recs this question because he's approachable. I had already waived my rights anyway, but was just curious. He said it is standard to waive your rights and normally frowned upon if you don't.

see below-I double posted accidentally

I have a question about this too. I want to use something from my MA thesis. If you do option one, do you mean send in the thesis in its entirety? It seems a bit excessive. Or, do you mean send in a chapter of the thesis and indicate which pages you would like them to read. So if the required length is 20 pages, just say, OK, read pages 1-7; 15-20; 22-30. Can you do it like that or is it way too confusing for them?

I did my MA at McMaster and my undergrad at U of T. If you pm who your interested in working with, I can give you a general idea about who might like what. I'm in a different sub-field of religion, but I know the profs, especially at Mac, really well (interest wise). For other schools A or B would probably be a safe bet.

Thanks Sparky. I'm really torn about this whole thing, and not sure what I want to do. I made the effort to contact someone, and I want to be recognized for it. On the other hand, I want to avoid the scenario you described about them saying they never heard from me, ugh. The deadline is December 1st.

I have a related question. I hope the original poster doesn't mind the slight divergence. I don't know where the thread went about contacting profs since they reorganized the forum. One of the schools to which I am applying asks on the on-line application if you have "been in contact with anyone concerning your application." I have, but they didn't respond. My only guess as to why Prof X didn't respond is because they are currently chair of the department, and are likely quite busy. I received responses from the other people I contacted, but not Prof X. Should you indicate on the on-line application that you have been in contact with someone, even if they didn't respond? Also, what is your general opinion about people who don't respond? I remember on the old thread that some said it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I don't write ridiculous e-mails to these people, so I know that's not behind it.

I think this should be more than one sentence. My supervisor always says 1 idea per sentence.

I'm glad someone finally posted something like this. My area is religion and society. I've pretty much given up on posting anything in the religion sub-forum because everyone is, as you said, "doing Christianity," or divinity. The literature people have a good sub-forum. When I did my MA, secularism in Turkey was a pretty hot topic in a lot of the lit we read.

You should always give reasons, it would be a mistake not to. Also, at the graduate level, the "top schools" don't necessarily have the top programs in every discipline.

I am struggling to know what to write for the opening paragraph of my statement of purpose. I don't have too much room to write much of anything. The allowable length is 3 pages double-spaced. The structure [roughly] is as follows: ***missing this part intro research topic why it's worth studying specific research interest in topic what larger trends it relates to in [field] where are the gaps, etc, etc my preparation fit with program, school, etc Any suggestions? Since it's a statement of purpose, not personal statement, I don't want to make it too personal. Thanks in advance!

Most Canadians see U of T as above McGill. Americans see McGill as above U of T, though I don't know where that comes from. UBC is good for sociology, and probably third, or fourth, after McGill and Toronto (and maybe Alberta) in terms of overall rep.

LateAntique--definitely take it again. I am applying for Religion PhD (I'm in a different sub-field). Both my GRE scores are above 600, but not above 650, and I have a 5.5 AWA. I met with a faculty member from a school, to which I am applying, last week, and they said to retake it. I wanted to scream because I'd rather swim across the Atlantic. However, they said that no matter how badly a particular prof wants a student, the app goes before a committee to make the final decision. If 3 or 4 candidates are similar, the committee goes to third or fourth measures of evaluation, such as GRE. They won't look at someone with scores below 500, but, again, check with your schools because it depends.

No, don't mention

McGill loves Americans--you're a shoe-in. Did undergrad there. Did MA at McMaster-loved the school; great sense of community; good location. close to TO and US border, Niagara escarpment, etc.

Review essay format in study guide such as Kaplan. Your creative writing background could be detrimental to the type of essays the AWA requires.

The Kaplan test prep method really helped me. Practice (on computer, not paper) helps too.

If you are able, it would be good if you could visit prior to the application deadline. When I applied last year, I visited a school right after I submitted my application. The visit went really well, but I probably would not have applied to the school if I had visited before applying. I think that's one definite advantage. Also, you can alter your application given the information gathered during the visit.