sogdia

M degree?!?  All you need is a BA according to some on this board.  If you want a real answer, research the education of ranked professors at top-tier schools.        

I don't think it's so much as them wanting to be on the list as it is you just being an obnoxious twat. I'm sorry, but somebody had to say it.

The top 6 comprehensive list is small (Duke, Chicago, Princeton, Yale, Emory, Harvard), but the problem with discussing it here is that everybody wants their school to be on the list.  So folks prefer something like the top 25 most competitive programs.  This way, everybody gets a trophy.   

I completely agree with this and want to just emphasize why this is the case. Spending those two extra years is not just about doing extra coursework for the sake of coursework. I've seen a lot of people saying (in other threads) that they just don't want to do more coursework if they've already done one M* degree. I totally get that. I have two already and am earning a third in my current program. But the coursework is there (among some other reasons) to help you figure out what areas your exams are going to be in and in what direction your dissertation might go. 
 
The bottom line is that American institutions care a lot about competencies. The way you prove those is through comprehensive examinations. Those are supposed to demonstrate you're qualified to teach in the areas you take exams in. If you're in a program where all you're doing is directed research and writing a dissertation, it's going to be tough to convince American schools that you're qualified to teach, though it can be done other ways (e.g. publications.) But this is why even degrees second tier American schools may ultimately be more marketable than degrees from European schools. Certainly, there are some fantastic schools in the UK and on the continent, and I'm sure everyone knows more than a couple professors who did their doctoral work abroad, but it's important to know exactly what the disadvantages are in going that route, especially because those who do take on substantial debt.

Frankly, it's easy to be accepted to most UK programs.  Aside from poor or no funding, the other drawback is competing for jobs.  I realize a 3 year program can be more appealing than the usual 5 to 8 (or more!) year top-tier American programs.  But unless you somehow have a secure teaching job lined up post-graduation, it'll be incredibly tough to convince most American schools that a 3 year (research only) UK degree is more attractive than graduates from top and 2nd tier American programs.  Also, unless you're independently wealthy, it's a horrible financial choice to take on significant debt for any PhD in religion/theology.  My advice: only go where your full tuition is covered and you're paid a competitive stipend for at least 5 years.          

Univ. of Virginia, in the Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity Ph.D. program (likely focusing on NT/Patristics). Excited to be living in Charlottesville for the next five years!

You know, that's a fair point, and I appreciate you challenging me on this. Perhaps I'll have to think about this more seriously in the coming years.

A lot of this has to do with my personal history. I'm deeply and personally religious, but don't come from a religious family; I have constantly been the incognito Christian in philosophy departments; I have been the heretic in conservative theological circles; I've been more traditional in a largely progressive divinity school. In short, I'm passionate about an honest and critical approach to sophisticated topics in religion, philosophy, and psychology. My experience has been that the setting (seminary vs divinity school vs religious studies department) has not had a particularly strong effect on the ability to do this well. I should definitely respect the fact that, especially in seminaries, particular theological and creedal commitments are taken very seriously. Personally, I do too. In an academic context, however, I mostly care that people are willing to think and communicate honestly. This is why I have a pretty flexible approach to an eventual teaching setting.

Now I'm curious to hear more about this! Perhaps I should start another thread, though. 

I spoke with the directer of the program at Marquette today and recieved an offer of full tuition and a TA assistantship. My track is JCA with primary interest in New Testament. After two rounds of applications this is a glorious day.

Don't worry about the 'Incomplete' thing.  Mine says the same too.  I remember a while back seeing on their website that they were having some sort of problem with that portion of the status check page.  It kept saying 'Incomplete' when the applications were actually complete.  Also, I don't have any sort of update either.  Still just says 'Submitted.'
 
After what EndlessAshley told us a week or so ago, we knew that the committee met yesterday, so I was somewhat expecting word out of UVA today.  Looks like you found out good news a little in advance, sogdia!  Congrats.  I applied to JCA as well, so safe to say that my chances just took a fairly dramatic plunge.  But as usual, might as well hold out hope until proven otherwise.  Also, I'm officially rooting for you to make it off the wait-list at Duke!

That would be me! No e-mail or anything yet; I just randomly checked the website and it had a decision posted with a link to a form letter saying that I'd been accepted and more info would be forthcoming. Sorry, no info beyond that, but I'd recommend checking your online app status. And it's always possible that different programs are posting notifications at different times, so take this with a grain of salt.

I don't think they read the bible at Harvard.

How many names are usually on the wait lists at top-tier schools, e.g., Duke?

Thanks for the inside scoop!  Nice to have some actual dates and numbers.  At least that's one school I don't have to fret over for a week or two.
 
In other news, I picked up my phone today and saw that I had a missed call from a non-local number I'd never seen before.  And they left a voicemail!  Listen to the message...only to find out that it was a wrong number.  Not cool, fate.  Not cool.  I don't deserve to be tricked like that right now.

Haven't heard anything from JCA yet. Will let you know!

I'm not seeing the acceptance notification for UVa in the results search. Was it taken down? Or am I missing something? It certainly seems odd that someone would post an acceptance this early for the above mentioned reasons along with Endless Ashley's insight as someone who is already at UVa. Until I hear more, I'm assuming [read: longing] this was a mistake of some kind and UVa is still waiting to decide [read: on me]. All joking aside, UVa looks to be a fantastic program and if someone did already get accepted congrats, but for today at least I'm keeping hope alive.

Y'know, I don't know these people, and I know nothing of the relationship, but that guy seems like a real asswipe. Academic elitism makes me sick.

Recognizing that everyone's nerves are frayed due to the stress of waiting to hear responses from schools (responses that will have huge impacts on our lives), perhaps it is best to retain some semblance of calm. Grad cafe is great when it seems to give us accurate info and allows us to connect with people in similar positions. Grad cafe is problematic when we receive what appear to be conflicting pieces of information, causing us undue anxiety and stress.
 
Let's remember that it is still January, quite early in the admissions process. Let us also remember that nothing is official regarding our applications until we hear it from the schools themselves. I know we would all like to know ASAP the status of our applications and where we have been accepted, rejected, or waitlisted. But that is not how this game works... Think of Jan-April as training for future grant proposals and job searches in religion (or job searches outside academia). Good luck to all.

Becoming words from a Div student.  Not sure what kind of enjoyment you think that would bring me.  I posted because I appreciated when people announced their interviews at Emory and Duke, which I did not get.

It's just not a real internet message board until there's some drama.   

So, on average, how many times a day are you all checking emails/phones/mailboxes in hopes of finding something?
 
Even though none of the programs I applied to are likely to have made a decision yet, my droid phone is never far away. Every time I get an email, my heart is all a-flutter until I see that it's a Facebook notification, mass email from school, or something from my mom. This waiting part sucks.

There hasn't been much activity on Grad Cafe this application season. I'm going to go ahead and assume that there has been a sudden drop in prospective students and that we are all going to get acceptances, full funding, and generous stipends.