diazalon

@y00nsk FYI Dale Martin retired, Yale hasn’t taken an NT student the past two years.

Congrats @hswg! Let me know if you have any questions, or want to get in touch with subfield students while you make your decision.

You should not foot the bill for a PhD program. If you are set on going the PhD route, it is a much better idea to spend an extra year or two at a top masters program where you have a chance of getting funding, and then applying to a PhD program that is going to offer you tuition + stipend.

@_PATRISTICS_ All Princeton U decisions have been made at the department level and are at the graduate school for approval. Sit tight.

Princeton University offers have been out for a couple of weeks.

Have someone do a practice interview for you also on Skype. Doesn't matter if they are in the next room. Have responses ready for questions you know they are going to ask, and practice them. Make sure you have good lighting and a fast connection - you don't want to have to apologize for the quality. You need to be polished in a skype interview even more than an in-person interview, because you won't have time to make another impression, while waiting before or after. Look at the camera. Be confident. Practice.

Glad to hear it. I remember the feeling, and how antsy it can make you. Just remember: you've done all you can do. You put everything you can into your application, and it's almost never the little things - an extra email here, a candle lit there - that make the difference between an acceptance and a rejection. There is a process, and committees are looking for three things: preparation, fit, and opportunity. The last one is key. Many (most) programs would bring in a dozen students, all similarly qualified, if they could. But often departmental and administrative logistics get in the way. Even the most well-funded programs in the world have to be more selective than they'd prefer due to of institutional realities. And to prove to you that it can be the case, I'll leave you with this: I was accepted to my absolute top choice program after what was supposed to be the "drop-dead date," because money was freed up to bring in a student. It happens, I promise. Sit tight, don't do anything rash, and put your head in a book until April. And stop checking GradCafe.

Almost never a good idea to email a POI this early - they have your application, and they know who you are. They aren't going to speed up the process on your account, and you run the risk of putting yourself in a bad light, seeming pushy. If it were early April, then sure. But its not even February, so my very best advice is: stop checking GradCafe. It will make you stress more than is necessary.

For which degree? If Masters, probably not. If PhD, email the professor you are interested in working with, and try to set up a meeting.

Sure, if you have a specific question that Sean McAvoy can't answer, shoot an email to a faculty member. Generally they are quite obliging to prospective students, though don't expect a novel in response.

I can't give you an answer about what you should do, but I can tell you what I did with similar interests during my time at YDS. The bible concentration requires a fair amount of specific coursework, and requires you to take courses in areas that may not jive with your specific interests. The History of Christianity track, on the other hand, only has two firm requirements, and gives you access to all of the courses both at YDS and at the College, should you want to explore the academic environment downtown. For me, the flexibility of History of Christianity, over against Bible, meant that I could spend time studying overseas, and time at Yale taking classes that made me attractive for the type of program I had my eyes set on. (For instance, the Bible concentration requires you to take classes in theology, which may be your interest, but certainly was not mine.) I'd spend some time on the website looking at the concentration worksheets - that will help you make the decision that is right for how you see your two years at Yale going. http://divinity.yale.edu/academic-affairs-students Also, for what it's worth, if you can stomach it, the MARc at Yale is only two years of funding, while the M.Div guarantees 3.

What level of degree are you pursuing, and in what specialty?

Apply. You never know what the applicant pool will look like, and where you came from has less to do with your admission than you might think. Students from conservative theological seminaries get into top programs every year, and some schools (like Yale, Baylor, Emory) are known for accepting evangelicals who want to do historically oriented work. What is relevant at even the most "secular" schools is not your theological background, but the quality of your work. They're gonna give you a fair shake, so do your best with the application and don't limit where you apply because you think they're going to judge your previous institution adversely. Regarding your writing sample - it is not a "research paper," where you are showing that you can read widely, but instead an opportunity to show that you are doing original research and moving the scholarly conversation forward. Interacting widely is important, but do not lose sight of the goal - making a contribution to the field, and creating new knowledge. The undergraduate GPA, however, is a factor at some schools. If you failed a course during your undergraduate, or otherwise underperformed, it can hurt your chances significantly. There is a lot of discussion about whether this should matter at institutions like Yale, for instance, and some professors disagree, but I can tell you one thing: it does.

Could be. My perspective comes only from the New Testament students (given the original poster's question), and when I was around those parts a couple of years ago. The monetary point stands. YDS (where I went) and HDS have quite generous funding for students who did well in their undergraduate program (60-80%), which will leave the original poster with quite a bit less debt, something I find eminently relevant to most students' concerns. Your mileage may vary.