TriGeek

I called UVa to see where they were in their deliberations, and I was told that they are notifying people via email. I am not sure if they have sent out rejections, but I know that they have not sent out wait list letters, which seems rather odd to me. Found out that I was rejected from Emory today. I called them.

I talked with UVa today, and they have sent out acceptances for both the TEC program and Historical Studies. I found out that both areas have put me down as first on the wait list. Has anyone been accepted to those programs, and if so, do you plan to accept?

I got the call from Susan Eastman, the director of the ThD program.

Yeah, I posted the Doctor of Theology result yesterday. I accidentally posted a second acceptance to Duke under theology on the same day. Miscommunication with cyber space. Ignore the second acceptance. Mea Culpa. I hope that the moderator of this chat will go back and erase any trace of my ignorance

I just got the call from the Duke Th.D. program. ACCEPTED!!! I could not be happier. No GRE . . . EVERY AGAIN!!!!

I know how it feels to get a call that you think is from the school you applied to. I live in Dallas, so I get Dallas calls all the time. That is not nearly as bad as the call that I received from Durham NC last week. I had just left a meeting at 1:50 on friday. I NEVER get calls from Durham, and my caller ID indicated that someone was calling from the university to tell me that I was the best candidate they had ever seen, and that they had admitted me. WRONG! Blue Cross Blue Shield was calling to sell me some insurance. Are you kidding me! I applied to the Religion and Culture track at SMU. I don't know that they get a lot of applicants in that area. Do you know whether or not SMU send invitations out via phone, email, or snail mail? It looks like they have used snail mail in the past.

I met with the director of the program early last week, and it seemed to me that the committee had not yet made their decision. He said that they usually have more applications for systematic theology than any other program. Unlike the other schools, however, they do not divide admission decisions by department since the overall program is so small. So, NT applications are in the same pool as theology. He said that they will probably be able to fund five or six students this year. Good luck!

so, does anyone else expect that this will be the week when the majority of the decisions come down? i have been looking back through the last few years of results posts, and it looks like the few days before of after the 15th is the critical moment. this year, those dates could make for some exceptional painful or exuberant holy days. On the one hand, acceptance could make ash wednesday confession and mourning almost impossible! how does one sit in sack cloth and ashes on the day she is admitted to a doctoral program? rejection, on the other hand, could make sack cloth and ashes feel like home! and how about valentines day? it doesn't matter if you have a significant other or are completely single with not a friend, rejection will turn the day of love into a day of loathing. i hope for my wife's sake that i get in or don't know. i would hate to spoil our special day!

scary movies sounds great. the visceral is always a great distraction.

I spoke with the director of the Ph.D. at Duke, and he said that it is best to choose professors who can write in great detail about your strengths and what you have accomplished as a scholar. He said that they see students pick big name faculty who don't know them well and can't write much. "That is always a mistake!" However, I did include one such faculty member at Duke that I had never even worked with. I had professors I knew very, very well write my three main recommendations. About a year and a half ago, I sen't my thesis to a theologian at Duke because a lot of the content was directly based on one of her books. She read the thesis and sent me an extremely positive response and indicated that she thought I would fit well at Duke. My advisor recommended that I ask her to write me a rec, and she agreed. I mentioned this strategy to a member of the UVa faculty, and he said, "definitely include her reference." Maybe this line of attack will work for you.

Make sure to to post your best distraction techniques on this forum: "TOP TEN WAYS TO GET DISTRACTED WHILE WAITING ON THE RELIGION GODS"

I have discovered that those who lack the discipline of Zen masters and Christian mystics need distraction to get through the gut stabbing anxiety that is the waiting. So, here are my top ten ways to wait well. 10) Watch Chuck Norris movies (not really, but is sounds good cause cause Chuck could take the Dali Lama, Jesus, Buddha and Mohammed in a street fight . . . duh!) 9) Proofread already published dissertations on nuclear physics and abstract math 8) Paint my wife's toenails 7) Read all the recipes in this month's Clean Eating magazine 6) Cook all the recipes in this month's clean eating magazine 5) Buy stuff online that I don't need, like vintage Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake dolls 4) Avoid GradCafe posts 3) Put milk, protein powder, curry, and pan fried habaneros into a blender, mix and imbibe 2) Swim, bike, run till I pass out 1) Touch my wife's belly, cause she's pregnant with our first child

The only courses that I listed were the full semester college courses that I taught as adjunct faculty. I didn't explain the two independent studies that I had taken. That may have been a mistake!

What do programs focus on more, undergrad or grad grades? I had a 3.5 in undergrad, a 3.5 for my MDiv, and a 3.9 in my MA. I wonder how committees will evaluate those grades.

I have a question about interviews and visits. I have noticed that some folks have received interviews and/ or phone calls from emory and uva. I was wondering, will programs call candidates who have recently visited the schools and talked with both the director of the program and poi's. I visited uva, emory, duke, and smu back in november. Anyone have an thoughts? I am especially interested in Emory, since i know that they have sent out some invitations to their interview weekend.