unacclimated

I was wondering the same about the priority app for yale, apparently one of the people who listed an acceptance had a 3.7 gpa. there must have been something particularly special about the application I suppose

Notre Dame would be a great school. I'd love to take a class with Stephen Gersh.

Well, he confirmed last weekend he would do it, so I'll just use some old fashioned prayer

I think one false report is uncommon but two is sort of an indication that stuff is now beginning to happen As someone who has yet to even submit an application, this news comes as slightly upsetting since I have a professor who seems to refuse to send my final recommendation letter.

someone on this forum/thread, scroll back to comments in the "3rd" section, indicated they were accepted to the Mdiv already. Check out the "results" for Yale, top of forum screen, someone indicated they received first a phone call of notification on February 1st and also an email for the Comprehensive MAR on February 4th.

It seems as though Yale has already begun making decisions on those who applied under their priority deadline. I have yet to apply by their extended deadline, Feb 8th, so I am quite nervous now

therewllbeluke, what sort of writing sample did you include for YDS? I decided to submit a presentation paper on Hegel's essay Natural Law. I chose it because it was both a complete well-thought out discussion of Natural Law and because it came in at the appropriate length YDS requires. Congrats on PTS btw.

has anyone had any issues with the financial aid application for HDS? Whenever I click on Begin the Application for HDS Financial AId, the screen just blinks and nothing happens. I've tried this on Firefox on a Macbook and Internet Explorer with a PC and it does the same thing. Both are the recommended programs. I tried with Chrome and the same effect. I turned off the pop up blockers, restarted the browsers and ditto. Nevermind, it's likely this silly macbook. For some reason it's not supported for FA on Harvard's application software.

An interesting story on Oxbridge's demand for proof of funding. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265664/Student-sue-Oxford-anti-poor-rule-saw-ordered-20-000-taking-place.html For international students, I think the policy does make sense. However, I think the article doe raise a good point that it does price some people out of an education, or at least good educational options.

what do you mean from degree to degree?

I hate how it says "may", that is part of the reason why I have decided to just go comprehensive. It gives you the option to move into a concentration during the second year, so it's not a huge deal I think. If you are in the comprehensive, your first year course selection probably won't be too different I think.

You're correct. The website states, "Applicants to the concentrated MAR degree must have sufficient background in the discipline (undergraduate major or minor) to be accepted into the program. A student who applies to the concentrated program but lacks the necessary academic preparation may be admitted to the MAR comprehensive." http://divinity.yale.edu/admissions/master-arts-religion

I just noticed it does indicate under eligibility that the candidate must be "permanently residing in Canada at the time of the competition deadline". Here is the info for the current/closed competition for Fall 2013 entry. http://www.scholarships-bourses.gc.ca/scholarships-bourses/can/csp_uk-pbc_uk.aspx?lang=eng&view=d

I can talk about Oxford and Cambridge but perhaps not other EU UNIs. The funding available is primarily through competitive scholarships. In Canada you can apply for things like the Commonwealth Scholarship, this pays for either the MPhil or the DPhil at either Cambridge or Oxford, or just "Oxbridge" for short. Canadians also have the option of applying for the monolithic super-SSHRC. Which is research funding for a Doctoral program, that may be done abroad at Oxbridge. Two people I went to school with were awarded it at the same time. Both are doing DPhils with one going to Oxford and the other Cambridge. For Americans, the two most common scholarships for Oxbridge are the Rhodes and the Gates Cambridge Scholarships. It goes without saying, you have to be extraordinary to get money to cover your costs to go to either school. Generally, these people are the kind of people who check into the library at 10am and check out at 9pm on a daily basis. I know because I lived in the library with these people for most the school year I have thought about applying to either school but here is the breakdown for a Canada Student Loan. The cost of tuition for either is about $22, 000 CAD per year for an international student. Living expenses and airfare would be about another 20k per year, so let's say $42k per year. On a side note, both schools require proof you can afford to pay that amount before you can confirm enrolment. That is for a one year MPhil Program. On a 15 year loan, at 5.5 percent interest, my student loan payments would work out to be about $375 a month for the following 15 years. Is it worth it? HELL NO! I think the amount paid on interest is quite silly fyi.

I definitely would let them know. My prof knew he was going to be late and actually contacted admissions himself. Which is a good thing since I was tempted to ask them myself. He told me this an hour before the deadline but I'm glad he made the effort in any case. On the bus home that day I cried inside because I thought my grad school dream was over lol But sometimes things do work out.

I have heard something similar about the concentrated program. I dread getting my last recommender to send my YDS rec. He sent in my HDS one, I don't understand why he couldn't have made it more general or interchanged Yale for Harvard and sent it in at the same time. My recommenders have given me several weeks of bad anxiety and a few small heart attacks I have at least two very strong recommendations. So I feel like I have at least a decent shot at either school. Thanks for the advice.

Diazalon, would you say this is the case generally for YDS? Or just the MDiv? I'm applying to the MAR comprehensive program with a gpa around the same area 3.3 and I'm wondering if it's worth following through with the application. I have mostly completed the application, I just need to pay and get my last recommendation in. I have some very strong recommendations otherwise, I performed exceptionally in some classes but sort of bombed in a few due to some unfortunate incidents. By exceptional I mean the kind of student that professors discuss amongst themselves because of some paper or presentation I have completed. I'm just not the student on the Dean's List. During my first two years, I was still figuring things out. In one case, I walked in late for an exam that was worth 50% and was not allowed to write it resulting in a failing grade. It was macroeconomics of all things. I ended up retaking it and getting an A- That sort of stuff is obviously pretty painful to look at a transcript but I hope I still have a shot.

check out this post: http://nearchaeology.blogspot.ca/2009/06/introduction-to-akkadian-review.html "The book is easily carried about for reading. It does cover the essentials of Akkadian grammar but provides only a few reading exercises. Answers to the exercises are not provided, which makes this book difficult to use for a self-learner." Also, "any student who wants to really learn Akkadian should be reading John Huehnergard’s “Grammar of Akkadian” and should also buy the separate answer key to that grammar. Dr. Caplice’s book is solid and well written, but has been superseded by Dr. Huehnergard’s book."

I had a major issue with a recommender getting their recommendation in at HDS. We had to have someone from Harvard's technical department manually upload it, but only after much irritation and much wasted time. After quite alot of emails, my application to HDS is finally complete as of yesterday. I'm only applying to YDS for the MAR at this point, in addition to the MTS program. Plus a liberal arts program at Georgetown. I'm not quite sure how people can find the energy to apply to more than 5 schools. It's such an ordeal

Well, I got an email at the last moment. I think things will be fine. It will be submitted late by my prof with the school's permission In this case, it seems that schools are willing to extend their deadlines should you contact them.

I have an application to Harvard which is due on Tuesday evening and this one Prof has not replied to any of my reminders, or emails. My other two recommenders came through and wrote some great stuff. I wish I had the forethought to ask another prof to write a recommendation just in case. I suppose it will be lesson I'll carry with me to the 2014 application cycle

I asked some professors for LORs in early October and didn't hear back until late November. By that time I had assumed they were a "no" and moved on. But they were perfectly willing to write the recommendations. One indicated they just had lots on the go and the other uses another institutional e-mail from a previous university he taught at. I would think your prof might just be busy. I think professors have an obligation to let you know where you stand in their class through some sort of response in an email or an offer to meet and discuss the situation.

It seems like your chances of getting in are much better than my own. I took the GRE and did quite terribly last week. I managed a 159 for the verbal and 140 for quantitative: the AW is still pending. I did about a month of preparation and I have to admit my math prep was almost non-existent. I have no idea if I should really bother re-taking the GRE. I really can't afford to do it again but I actually wonder if I should. The GRE fiasco aside, I was also drawn to HDS's MTS program because it offers a program that allows for an interdisciplinary approach to the study of religion. From what I have read on this forum from both admitted students and professors who have recommended admitted students, there is no single criterion that determines admission. Based on anecdotal evidence, it seems not out of the question to get admitted with a B- cum. average or modest GRE scores. I would imagine the SOP and LORs would need to be very persuasive, however. I think your GRE is more than fine, from what I have seen from admitted students on this forum something in the mid-150's for both would be acceptable for the MTS. Which makes me worry about my own quantitative score. I have read somewhere that the GRE is almost negligible in admissions considerations except in the case where it's very bad. I wonder if they could really care whether or not I have remembered various forumalae for geometric shapes?

With my area of focus at HDS I want something that reflects my interest in neo-Platonism and its relation to Christianity but I'm not sure if I should apply with the History of Christianity, Theology, or the Philosophy of Religion area of focus. The courses in Platonism are in the first two subject areas but I wonder how much History or Theology I might actually be interested in overall. Right now I have the Religion, Literature and Culture focus selected but I think it would probably send the wrong signal given my interests. Then again my training in the History of Christianity and Theology are negligible at this point aside from two years of study in neo-Platonism and the Christian tradition.

Hi, I just wanted to get some perspectives from those who are applying to HDS and YDS for a master's program for Fall 2013. I have a BA in Humanities from a university on the East Coast and I have always considered the possibility of continuing on with a masters but decided with my undergraduate gpa it might not be possible. In August I started an application for Yale's MAR program and I initially decided not to complete it because of the work involved in applying. I had all but forgotten about the application until Yale sent an email indicating my application needed more details to be completed so transcripts could be matched to applicants schools. I decided, why not give it shot? So far, most of the heavy lifting has been completed. I have completed all the essays required for each respective school but I only have two recommenders at this point. I'm waiting on responses from two different Professors, which is kind of agonizing Some profs have a bad habit of checking their university email inbox like once a week, or less frequently unless they're expecting something important. In addition to Yale's MAR comprehensive program I decided to also apply to HDS for the MTS degree in Religion, Literature and Culture, although that may change. I have to admit I feel like I'd need a deus ex machina moment to get into either school given the decreasing rate of acceptances over the last few years. I have been fortunate enough to have my undergraduate education paid for so taking on some sort of debt isn't something that bothers me should I get in. I have read through various questions on this forum regarding HDS and YDS, and I'd certainly be curious to hear what sort of concentrations people plan applying for and what they plan on using their divinity education towards post graduation.