<p>I have above a 3.8 GPA at a top 20 college (per US News and World Report) and was wondering what my chances were at getting into a humanities graduate program at a place like HYP? Is this usually the norm for the admittees at these schools? (I have a list of other schools already but my friends are urging me to apply to these as they think I can do well there but I just don't have the money to frivolously apply to a lot of schools). What would any grad student say are the most important elements of an application? Thanks for any help! </p>
<p>The most important elements of the application are your statement of purpose and recommendations.</p>
<p>High GPA/test scores will get you in the pile, but what will make you stand out from that pile is a clearly-articulated, well-written reason for seeking graduate study/research. Strong letters of recommendation will attest to your ability to conduct that research.</p>
<p>You need to think about your interests before knee-jerk applying to HYP for graduate study. Look to see which programs have professors doing research in your areas of interest. Those are the schools you should apply to.</p>
<p>The oft-maligned “fit” is 110% key for grad school admissions. A candidate with marginal stats but a compelling, well-tailored research proposal is often admitted over a candidate with great stats but no reason for applying beyond “I can’t think of anything else to do.”</p>
<p>You should ask your professors where the right programs are for you. Your friends will just say HYP because those are the names that come up in movies.</p>
<p>You don’t mention which humanities field… your chances range anywhere from 0% to 40% depending on degree program, recs, experience, fit, etc</p>
<p>“A humanities program at HYP?” This is very vague. Different humanities programs are differently rated. The best place for your subfield may very well be at Wisconsin or Washington or Michigan. Rankings work differently for graduate schools and the Ivy League aren’t always in the top 10 there.</p>
<p>Like the others already said, this is based on fit. Also what they didn’t mention is research experience. This is less important for a humanities major than a science major, but your adcom will still want to see some research experience in your chosen humanities field, preferably done with a professor. Also, very important in virtually all humanities fields is the writing sample. Likely you will have to submit a 15-25 page writing sample of your work that reflects the kind of stuff you’d write in graduate school. This needs to be very tightly written.</p>