Re: Which Colleges for grad program?

Erin Miller (ermiller@tezcat.com)
26 Jul 1995 10:20:04 -0500

In article <3v2bsb$d9c@ionews.ionet.net>,
Eric T. Slinkman <slinkman@ionet.net> wrote:
>I would be interested in someone who is recently familiar with the
>admissions process to post some statistics about requirements needed for
>admissions to various Ph.D programs. I seem to have a hard time getting
>straight answers from anyone. What is basically an ok GRE score? What
>GPA should one have to consider top notch programs, etc. If anyone just
>got in somewhere, what is your field, and what are your credentials?

But that completely depends on the school and the program, not to mention
prior experience. If you are going for a socio-cultural degree, and maybe
didn't have such great grades, but for the last 5 years have been living
in the Hindu Kush, you may be much more likely to get into a school which
has a program in that area, then if you had good grades, but didn't even
speak the language.
Also, a GPA of 3.9 means a lot more coming from Columbia undergrad
than it does from Kutztown undergrad. Some schools (or professors within
a department even) put great emphasis on GRE scores, others do not.
Within my department (U of Chicago) I know some professors who have
stated outright they think the GRE is garbage, and another professor who
accepts his students based on little else BUT GRE and GPA.
I can't speak for other disciplines, but certainly anthropology at a
graduate level is *extremely* highly individualized. You are probably
having trouble getting a "straight answer" because there really is none,
not for anthropology. A department secretary should be able to tell you
roughly the GRE range you should have for that school, but GPA will depend
on where you went, and if you've got some applicable experience, that can
outweigh all the rest.

-erin

--

  "On the internet nobody knows you're a dog ...

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  Erin Miller                 http://www.tezcat.com/~ermiller/erin.html

  University of Chicago / Anthropology Department / ermiller@tezcat.com