Application Season Fall 2014 & Winter 2015

[I_<3Crixus]

Hi! I have narrowed down my choices to McMaster, UPenn's Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World doctoral program, and Arizona. Has anyone applied to these places and was successful? Any tips for practicing for the GRE? 

[Melian4]

Great choices for archaeology! What is your geographical/temporal focus?

 

The standard practice books are good to get ready for the GRE, especially if you're not used to American standardized testing (I wasn't). I found the prep books especially helpful to prepare for the writing section of the test. They expect you to follow a very clear argument pattern and to avoid simple "mistakes", such as using the passive tense. All in all, the GRE tests your ability to understand the GRE's expectations rather than your raw intelligence. Although the whole thing is a big money-making scam, the books/online prep sites will allow you to see what hoops they expect you to jump through in order to get a good score. 

 

From my experience, GRE scores matter very little to classics/classical archaeology admission committees, unless the grad school itself has a clear GRE cut-off. I had a dismal quantitative score and it didn't stop me from getting funded offers! Don't fret too much, it's the least important part of your application.  

I hope this helped! 

[I_<3Crixus]

Thanks! That was indeed helpful =) University of Arizona expects applicants to do well on the Analytical Writing (makes sense), and a combined score of 1000 for the Verbal and Quantitative parts, or the equivalent, though I am not sure how that stuff is scored. 

 

I am focusing on Roman archaeology and combining it with social history - I want to focus especially on slaves, freedmen, gladiators, etc. I'm interested in anything from the Late Republic to the High Imperial era, and even Late Antiquity. I want to keep studying in Italy but also do work in Spain, Greece, and England throughout the years. 

 

What do these schools mostly look for in applications? I will be emphasizing my research experience, activity/leadership in classics and archaeology clubs, current work from my field school, and a couple of awards. I've done excellent work in all of my history, classics and archaeology courses, but my overall GPA is not exactly stellar due to gen ed courses and a crappy French class...haha, is that a big deal? It certainly ain't bad, but it isn't wowing. 

[ἠφανισμένος]

I'm not an archaeologist, so take cum grano salis.  Since graduate programs are most interested in your research ability, I don't think you need to spend much time emphasizing your activity in clubs.  What is your language preparation like?  Since a reading knowledge of French is generally required for classics PhDs, along with German, a bad grade in French might be cause for concern.

 

By the way, it's not a big deal, but here on gradcafe "Fall 2014 Season," for example, usually means the application season for entry in Fall 2014.  Application preparation and submission in Fall 2014 and Spring 2015, for Fall 2015 entry, would be the Fall 2015 season.  That's why last year's thread was titled "Fall 2014 Season."  The classics board is one of the slowest in the humanities forum; there usually isn't much activity at all until December/January.

[Melian4]

From what I have heard from admission committees, your writing sample is one of the most important part of your application, if not the most important. You don't have to send a paper that is directly related to your proposed area of research. Whatever you send, make sure it showcases the quality of your writing and of your research skills! 

 

The fact that you've had bad results in French may be a cause for concern to some departments, as Petros pointed out. You may consider addressing this issue briefly in your PS, explaining why you've done badly and what you intend to do to remediate the situation.

 

Hope this helps! 

[I_<3Crixus]

Well, German and Italian are the languages that I was planning on learning. I only picked French because Italian 101 wasn't available last semester and didn't fit in with my required classes this semester. The French class didn't teach grammar or anything related to reading, it was all for touristy study abroad programs...ended up with a C. But considering my research experience and skills, I hope that wouldn't be a yes or no factor. I have been teaching myself Italian in my spare time and bought a grammar book.