religionstudent

Hello, If there's anyone on the waiting list in Religion (PhD track) at Duke, today may be your lucky day. I just declined their offer today, so congratulations to whoever takes the spot!

I'm actually very happy I was rejected from U of C. It was last on my list of nine schools that I applied to anyway. I know from a professor at a university who is ABD at Chicago, he is in his 13th year and will be defending this year. I also know one student who graduated in five years and people see this as an amazing feat, because no one graduates from Chicago in five years! It seems 10 years is not unusual for students to graduate in...Chicago is for a certain kind of person, I for one am not that kind of person, but if you are, then great, you might love the school! I am proudly going to UNC for my PhD, which is providing generous funding and where professors make a point to welcome students into the program and to ensure that students are happy and receive attention during their five years. I also received offers from Duke, Michigan, Toronto and Emory, but am going to UNC because apart from strong academics, I know the professors really care about their students and everyone I met there is actually happy.

Hi, I just posted my results for my application to the Divinity School at U of C. Doesn't matter anyway, I got into my dream school and already accepted their offer. I received notice of the decision by email today after I sent an inquiry, they replied within a few hours with the rejection. Good luck to everyone!

Hey tingbaring, are you in the same subfield, have you worked with Safi? Can't say I know anything about sports, but I suppose being a religious studies student, I'd rather not associate myself with devils, blue or otherwise. I think I'm going to be a tarheeler, I just have a hunch about that. mconsul, did you go to Duke or UNC or did you just visit them? What is it about Duke's or UNC's campus that is more appealing? Chapel Hill/Carrboro generally seem like very nice places to live from what people have told me, it sounds like my kind of place. Thanks for your insights, it's a hard decision, but like you said mconsul, it does come down to that gut feeling as well as lots of common sense.

Hello, I won't write the name of my subfield so this post doesn't show up in Google, but let's just say my subfield grew in popularity and demands for specialists in it rose dramatically after the tragic event of 9/11.

Hello, I have been able to narrow my choices down to Duke and UNC and just can't make up my mind. I'm being heavily recruited by both and will have to make my decision before I get to visit. In terms of rank, obviously Duke is higher ranked, but the profs I want to work with at UNC are also big names in my subfield. The funding packages are pretty much the same, and at the end of the day, I still get to take classes with profs at both schools and participate in activities in both schools as they are closely tied. Which school would you choose and why?

Hey, It seems everyone has received either acceptances or rejections from Yale's Dept. of Religious Dept. What does that mean if I've not heard anything from them yet? You'd think the application fee I paid would include enough to send me at least a rejection letter?

Just got word from Toronto after inquiring about my status my email, they responded within a day and also sent the funding info by email and snail mail. Unfortunately they provide everyone the same base stipend of CAN$13,500 for 5 years with all tuition and health insurance covered, and expect people to compete every year for additional stipends. Luckily, I have offers from others schools with much more livable stipends, so I'll be declining their offer soon. Seems like an amazing program, but it's too cold and they need to raise their stipend a bit!

Hi there, Accepted to UNC in early Jan. Accepted to Duke in early Feb. Went to visitation weekend at Emory early Feb. and got acceptance two weeks ago Received acceptance last week from Michigan Nothing yet from Georgetown, Chicago Divinity, Toronto (Near East and Religion Depts), or Yale. Thank God, this has been a good year for applying, I got into my top choices! I hope everyone else does as well!

After having attended the interview at Emory, I felt a lot more optimistic about the whole admissions process. What I discovered is that there were a bunch of the professors interested of working with me because of my academic interests and intended course of study. My GRE scores weren't that great, but I did have several years studying abroad and other important extra-curricular work. When I was there, the professors were really nice to me and engaged me in conversations about my work and theirs and were fascinated with what I am currently working on. More than my grades, GRE or other number, they seemed concerned with my "fit" in the program. So if you think that you "fit" well at UCSB and your interests coincide with at least two professors and hopefully more, than you probably have a decent chance of being accepted. Keep your hopes up and good luck.

Hi, I've already been to Emory's visitation weekend last week, still waiting for final decision, my potential adviser told me to expect good news soon. Also heard from Duke that I was accepted, only person in my specialization in the Religion Dept. Accepted to UNC-CH but still waiting to hear details of funding package Accepted to Dept. Near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan but still waiting for further funding details