<p>Hello, college confidential! I've been reading you all for years and years, and never thought I would get up the courage to post. But I'm applying into top grad school programs, and I want some idea of what you guys think my chances are. This thread is specifically for Harvard Divinity School</p>
<p>School: UCLA
GPA: 3.903, top 3% of 5,000 person class
Major: Middle Eastern Studies
Research focus: women in Islamic law
GRE: 800 verbal, 630 math, 5.0 writing</p>
<p>rec letters: very strong, one of which is from a Harvard divinity school alum-and his letters have gotten all of his previous applicants in!</p>
<p>Honors, awards and activities:
national debate champion
running a national campaign for a world-renowned professor of Islamic studies, and the campaign has been covered by media outlets such as the LA times and NPR
volunteer college counselor for homeless and foster children, 2007-present
research intern: center for advanced holocaust studies, anti defamation league
awards: I've won every research and academic award available to UCLA juniors and seniors
I've published my research, presented at 2 conferences, and edit 2 academic journals-one undergraduate, and one at the law school; the only undergraduate to ever edit a law school journal at ucla</p>
<p>Those are my strengths, but I have one major liability: I transferred twice. My first school was a small LAC, and when my parents went bankrupt i could no longer afford to go to college. My GPA there was a 3.0, which looks bad. I went to community college nights and weekends and worked full time for a few years, earning a 3.87 GPA, and then transferred into the UCLA honors college. I'm worried about the 3.0 being a big problem, what do you all think?</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help, and I wish you all success in your future endeavors!</p>