PhD GPA Question - Harvard, Emory, PTS

[boywholived]

This question is a touch on the personal side here, so feel free to PM.

 

For anyone admitted to or attending Harvard, Emory or PTS, would you say a 4.0 is required for admission into their PhD (Hebrew Bible) programs? 

 

I'm really stressed out now that grades are in for the semester and I'm wondering if one or more A- would negatively impact my admission consideration. Is there a minimum acceptable GPA?  I realize these things are relative, but with GRE's one can assume 90th percentile or better is required, is there a GPA equivalent of this expectation?

 

I can assume with some level of confidence that should I submit my application to these schools, my final GPA will be between 3.8 and 3.9+ ... is that enough?

 

Thanks.

Edited December 20, 2012 by jobsessed

[Kuriakos]

I don't know of any school that only accepts people with perfect 4.0 GPAs. If you go to the results section for the last few years, I'm sure you'll see some people will less than perfect GPAs got in. The impression I've gotten is that evaluating PhD applications is not really a numbers game. Most applicants will have some sort of weakness, and it is the overall strength of apps that really matters. I'm certainly no expert though. For all I know, I could end up going 0-8 this cycle!

[boywholived]

Thanks for the encouragement, Kuriakos.  I guess I'm wondering if a GPA of 3.8 to 3.9+ is a weakness or not.

[Perique69]

Getting admitted to these schools is far more than a numbers game.  You certainly do not need a 4.0 to be admitted to any of them.  I know people who have been admitted with 3.5 GPA's and GRE's as low as the 75th percentile, and some were rejected with 4.0's and perfect GRE's.  Like another said, it's the total package that you bring.  There's a stubborn myth sloshing around this forum that one absolutely needs this or that GPA and GRE score in order to be admitted.  These schools don't want robots with perfect scores on everything.  In fact, some of the schools you mention have been known to be suspicious of 4.0's and perfect GRE scores, because it (sometimes) reveals a kind of intellectual rigidity that does not do so well in graduate studies in religion, theology, etc.                

Edited December 20, 2012 by ghost6

[LateAntique]

I know lots of people who did not have 4.0s who got admitted to ND's program. As was said, it's not purely a numbers game. It's a matter of how you fit. I've heard that the most important things here are your statement of purpose and your letters of recommendation. Is someone going to get admitted here with a 2.0? Unlikely. But programs tend to look at the whole package. That said, having a 3.8/3.9 is very, very good. On the GPA front, you have nothing to worry about. 

[newenglandshawn]

When will you be applying to HB programs?

[sacklunch]

Anything above a 3.7 is likely going to be fine (A- average). I wouldn't worry!

[boywholived]

Thanks everyone!

 

newenglandshawn: Fall 2014 admission.

[belichick]

I don't see a few A-'s hurting anyone. At Harvard the biggest key is a clear personal statement that demonstrates a good fit and solid letters. 

[belichick]

Jobsessed, I thought you were kidding. In all honesty what program would give a flying fuck about a couple of A-s? And, if they do, is such a program really worth attending? 

 

Agreed. I'd be more worried about proving my languages than I would about my grades.

[sacklunch]

Jobsessed, I thought you were kidding. In all honesty what program would give a flying fuck about a couple of A-s? And, if they do, is such a program really worth attending? 

 

Glad to see some levity in here. I have plenty of A-s on my record. I'm cool with it. 

[EndlessAshley]

Agreed! In part because I can't bear to imagine a world in which a 3.9 is considered a handicap, and in part because I know that grading scales differ not only from school to school and program to program, but from professor to professor and class to class. One of my professors explains that he gives true grades according to which a C is average and A's have "flashes of brilliance," a choice he makes because he believes that, even in graduate level courses, he is still a teacher and that it is less valuable for the student's education to assume that an A is the baseline expectation for all grads. It can be frustrating when the department as a whole adheres to the standard B-is-the-end-of-the-line scale, but I hope that other departments acknowledge these disparities.

[TriGeek]

What do programs focus on more, undergrad or grad grades?  I had a 3.5 in undergrad, a 3.5 for my MDiv, and a 3.9 in my MA.  I wonder how committees will evaluate those grades.

[Perique69]

What do programs focus on more, undergrad or grad grades?  I had a 3.5 in undergrad, a 3.5 for my MDiv, and a 3.9 in my MA.  I wonder how committees will evaluate those grades.

 

 

It all depends on where you went for these degrees and where you're applying.  For example, a 3.5 (or even 3.9) from a 2nd or 3rd tier program probably won't impress a tier 1 committee.  Generally, committees put more weight on related master's degrees than undergraduate.  

Edited February 5, 2013 by ghost6

[belichick]

Thanks for the encouragement, Kuriakos.  I guess I'm wondering if a GPA of 3.8 to 3.9+ is a weakness or not.

 

not

[belichick]

What do programs focus on more, undergrad or grad grades?  I had a 3.5 in undergrad, a 3.5 for my MDiv, and a 3.9 in my MA.  I wonder how committees will evaluate those grades.

 

Your not going to get turned away based on those grades, and there's nothing you can do about them anyway. Nothing is more important than your statement of purpose and your letters of recommendation. 

[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 )

[sacklunch]

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 )

 

You have confirmed everything I have ever been told. It's good to hear it again, and again, just to make sure we are doing as much as possible to secure a good FIT!

[newenglandshawn]

Anything in the 3.9-3.6 range is generally fine, given all other parts are ok.

 

How do top programs look at one's undergrad GPA though? My graduate GPA is more than adequate, but my undergrad GPA - though not reprehensible - is not stellar.

[doobiebrothers]

it's about the general trend; they're not doing a grade-by-grade reading of your transcripts, 90% of the time. Make sure your grades are good (A's, a few A-, some B+) and make sure you take challenging courses with notable professors and do lots and lots of language work. You'll be fine.

[newenglandshawn]

Well, all my grades are history! I am not currently enrolled. I graduated five tears ago from a small, relatively unknown Seminary. And, though I have taken all the Greek and Hebrew I could (abd passed them with flying colors) my languages are a deficiency.

So, I am who I am and I've taken what I've taken! All I can do at this point is not sweat it and see what happens.