franz

Just to chime in, as someone who applied and got into the New School and some religion programs last year, the funding offer I received was quite bad. I believe it was around 40% tuition, which was completely out of the question as a cost for me. It was my last choice for philosophy programs, and I didn't find the faculty fit for my interests (continental philosophy with some similarities to your research interests) as good as religion programs. I would also strongly encourage you to consider religion programs. From my (admittedly, limited at present) experience, they have more faculty who are interested in these sorts of topics, and the chances of getting into religion programs, even at top places like U Chicago or Yale, seem better, at least for the MA. Feel free to PM me if you'd like to discuss it more or have any questions.

If it helps with the questions regarding GRE scores, I got into MA programs at Chicago, YDS, and Duke with a very low quant score (around 140) and received, what I considered, good funding. Granted, my area is philosophy of religion, and my verbal and writing scores were in top tenth percentiles. This was just my experience, and I had some reasoning in mind for not trying to improve the GRE scores. I considered re-taking the GRE but, ultimately, decided against it. I only took it once (during final year of undergrad, the year before), and math has always been a big weak area for me. In the end, I reasoned it was a better use of time, as I was working full-time, to focus on the SOP and writing sample. Some people might not feel comfortable with this, and emphasizing those aspects over the GRE was probably a risk, though I felt confident that the time on the SOP and writing sample were worth it. Thus, I say this to point out this represents just my experience, and I don't know how such choices might affect the chances of others' applications. Also, if funding is a concern at Chicago, you might want to look into applying for a FLAS fellowship as well, as it includes funding and a stipend. I'm not sure if they offer it for (modern) Hebrew, but I recall seeing it on the list.

Offered admission at the New School for Social Research, with 40% tuition award. With the offers from U Chicago Divinity (full tuition covered with a stipend) and Yale Divinity (most tuition covered) for their MA programs, I'll have to ponder this a bit.

Have a feeling I'm on some kind of a hidden waitlist at the New School for Social Research. Judging from the results page, it looks like a decent number have already heard from them, and this is later than when I got a rejection last year. They said a couple weeks ago that they would have a decision by yesterday.

Heard from ND this afternoon, and it was a reject. But, I'm very pleased with my options so far, and, adding to that, Chicago awarded me a FLAS Fellowship today! Congratulations to everyone who got in at HDS too!

Admission at YDS for the MAR!

Thanks for the link! I'll check it out. I had heard about Miami from a number of people before and should have considered that as an option.

Judging from the news last week about admitted students receiving phone calls, I wonder if some people are on an "unofficial" waitlist and might hear later than those whom they admitted and received positive answers from last week. That is, before giving out official admission offers, they wanted to see if those they called turned it down, for whatever reasons, and they could, subsequently, offer those slots to applicants they placed on this "waitlist"? I could be completely off, but it's a thought that occurred to me. Congratulations on your acceptance!

By the way, I know you didn't mention this specifically, but I wanted to bring it up, in case it would influence your decision. If you're not a citizen of an EU member or a nation whose citizens may live in Germany without a visa, you'll also want to check the financial requirements for the student visa. I considered studying in Germany for an MA (in philosophy) but found it wouldn't be possible for me due to the financial requirements. I believe one has to have around 8,800 euros in savings per-year of one's studies, along with purchasing German health insurance. I believe one has to prove this amount of savings each year to renew the visa, so one doesn't need it all at once. But, mind you, a student visa only allows a set number of hours of work each year. (Around 100 hours sticks out to me, but I could be wrong.) So, if one has an idea about getting a part-time job to make enough for the next year, it's most likely not going to help a great deal. On the language piece, I think you'll have to pass the DSH exam to show proficiency in German in order to matriculate at the university. (It was required for undergraduates when I studied there, even for those of us who studied for only a semester, and I think it applies for MA and PhD students as well who aren't studying in English-language programs.)

I presume it's a separate email. The applications I filled out for them were handled through the universties' grad schools, though they went to the department that houses the language I wish to study. I think the notification might likely come from the relevant language department, as they review the applications and make decisions.

Ah, but I grew up in a harsh region of the northern Upper Midwest, where we view cold winters as a character building blessing or something like that. (On the other hand, this might be even more reason for some to flee to warmer climates.)

I'm going to wait until I hear from YDS and Notre Dame and visit the programs I get into. At the moment, between Duke and Chicago, I think I'd pick Chicago. I think it's a better fit. I also applied to a FLAS fellowship at Chicago, and the results of that might influence things as well. So, at the moment, I'm waiting to learn more but leaning toward Chicago.

Congratulations @suhba7 and @ibn daoud! And @Johnny.S, thanks, but 50% is still great funding!

@Johnny.S Also just heard from U Chicago and got in for the MA (60% funding)! I'm very excited to hear this as well, and I hope everyone else has excellent results!

@ibn daoud Nothing on my end from U Chicago Divinity either, but I also can only speak for hearing about the MA program, so take that as you will.