unacclimated

Decisions are out today, did not get in.

Has anyone applied to Columbia's program in Religion? Currently awaiting a decision.

No HDS here either. Kind of expected. I am now dreading my YDS letter. This weekend may involve drinking for all the wrong reasons

I don't think that should be a huge worry, my applications at both HDS and YDS still just say "submitted" When a decision has been officially made, we'll all get emails about a change in our application status. No later than this upcoming Friday, March 15.

I read the article and it was very well written. It shows you have a very good grasp of Western intellectual history and are able to use that knowledge in a constructive and persuasive way. The argument itself moves at a good pace while remaining interesting. If this article is what you submitted for the sample then I would say it was a very good selection. It demonstrates all the qualities that YDS will likely be looking for in a degree candidate. I think regardless of your POI's position on Heidegger, he/she will have to appreciate your cogent argumentation. If anything, I think admission in this case will likely hinge on who you are competing against and the rest of your application profile.

I think I'm probably responsible for 1000 of the 12000 views this thread has generated so far.

I didn't apply to the philosophical theology MAR but instead applied to the comprehensive MAR. I included a 5 page seminar paper I did on Hegel's essay Natural Law. It's extremely dense reading material but it is written clearly and shows I can work intelligently with difficult reading material concisely. Incidentally, I regret both my personal statement and essay which I submitted to HDS for the MTS program. In particular the essay I did for their question, "What are the imperatives and potential pitfalls of graduate study in a multi-faith environment?"

I enjoy religious studies and the humanities. I would like to study the humanities/religion once more before I go into professional studies and the workforce. It's something I'd be doing for myself. Law school would be for my parents In addition, I would like to refine my academic skills and improve my profile for law school admissions. Many good Canadian and American law schools only accept 200 or so students a year. I am of the mind if you are going to bother doing law you should do it at one of the best law schools available. In my Province we have the University of Manitoba Law School which is not very good, if I can put it that way. Like most people attending graduate school, I just want to be able to say I got the most of the educational opportunities that were made available to me. I appreciate the feedback and should I be accepted at either Harvard or Yale a loan would be unnecessary. Whatever fees/living expenses are not covered by each through financial aid would be paid for by the organisation that paid for my UG education. The loan situation would be for alternative programs I'm considering which offer no financial aid. However, the question itself is applicable to those in similar situations and thinking of applying to programs like a Mphil at Cambridge. In that situation, is a 70k loan worth it for the one year program? I myself could not justify that amount for a single year of study so I have steered clear of Oxbridge.

Interestingly enough I currently work for the Canadian government's federal student loan program When it comes to repayment and all the other details I have a good sense for what is involved. @ridofme, you are correct my estimates are a bit low ball if it was just an outright loan for all expenses. At this point my plan would be to do a Master's and based on my performance I would move into either law school or further graduate study. Law school seems the most likely option at this point. I have seen how difficult it can be to secure tenure with Phd's and Master's degrees from almost any reputable/top school. I know because many of the talented "lecturers" i have had in my undergrad program have let me know how rough it can be. It's not unusual to find people not just criss-crossing around a city, but moving to various cities across North America depending on the school and contract available. My plan for the last year or so since graduating in 2012 was to get a salaried position and save money for graduate study. The salaried job didn't happen so here I am in the midst of applying to graduate programs and looking to leave the job market asap. Ultimately, taking on debt is one of those plunges I assume no one wants to have to make but I guess it's something I'll carefully weigh in the weeks to come.

Hi all, I just thought I'd gage your thoughts on what you consider to be acceptable levels of debt to incur with a Master's program taken together with any previous debt from undergraduate studies. I was fortunate enough to have my entire undergraduate program paid for by an organisation so my debt level from academic study is currently $0 right now. However, the thought of taking out a student loan for a Master's level program has crossed my mind. Most intelligent people I know get their Master's degrees and Phd's paid for, mostly through departmental funding etc or research scholarships. Right now, my grades would probably not include those options as a possibility. Would borrowing $50k for two years of study be silly?

I think that is a good question. I thought it was pretty clear at first but when you think about it it can be tricky. The call was made either last Friday or a day or two before. So saying this week could only mean the week which has passed. So this upcoming Friday would then be the next Friday

There hasn't been any new notifications of acceptances at YDS for a while. I suppose it's just the calm before the storm. In the meantime I'll continue to keep imagining different reactions I'll have when I'm opening my acceptance letter online.

I think the best thing to do would be decline the offer and re-apply next year along with your other top choice schools. I think it would show a good amount of maturity to tell your admitted school that perhaps your not ready this moment, fall 2013, to begin a phd and do not want to lead them on. In this case, you will re-apply and be considered against the cohort for 2014 fall admissions. If you feel uncertain about whether you'd get accepted into your top choice school, then maybe this program might be the best available option.

I feel pretty nervous about YDS. But then I applied late, so I don't anticipate any news myself until the second week of March. Last year it looks like they advised of decisions beginning early March for general applicants. I have a feeling they may stick somewhat closer to their general notification date of March 15, since they did extend their general application deadline to February 8. But then given the sporadic notifications, of priority applicants up until now, there's no telling when it may actually happen. I'm kind of surprised I have actually followed through with my application. I remember sitting on my laptop last summer and visiting their website toying with the idea of applying. I started an application and forgot about it. There was no way I could imagine myself bothering 3 professors to support my application. For whatever reason, I don't expect a positive response. I've heard of people with good gpa's, 3.7 and 3.8, getting rejected. I wish I could see their personal statements and writing samples because I have a feeling they were both crap but that's hard to just guess.

Congrats therewillbeluke! I'm totally jealous about Chicago. You can potentially take courses with Jean-Luc Marion