RedDoor

After looking back at my application, I realized I uploaded the rough drafts of my writing samples rather than the nice edited version. It was amateur hour during my application submission, apparently.

Best of luck! If you ever change your mind, I think those universities would be happy to welcome you back based on your acceptances. Hope to buy you a pint at SBL in the future (the lectures are free, I believe).

Was informed of my rejection from Oxford today. Not too worried, it wasn't a great fit any way and I have another offer I'll be accepting. You win some, you lose some. Congrats to everyone!

Congratulations! Did you contact your POI or the graduate admissions folks? I'll probably send an email tonight.

Did you end up emailing Oxford? I have another offer to which I have to respond by April 10. I'll probably take it if I don't hear back from them soon.

Does anyone know when Vandy's NT PhD program will open back up? I've seen a few postings regarding faculty issues a while ago, but nothing else. I would be interested in it next year if I didn't get in to a program this year, though I am not sure if it will ever open back up.

Still waiting! Several have gotten responses in the results page, though I wonder if our particular sub-fields are still meeting...

Best of luck to both of you! I'm actually applying to the Mst+DPhil scheme, but at least one scholarship (e.g., FOSTER) covers either DPhil or Mst+DPhil. That's really what I'm hoping for, though I doubt I'll hear back in the next few days either way. I've heard (through another UK uni) that funding won't be announced until April due to a certain deadline tied to the UK government (I assume Clarendon, etc funding decisions). Anyone else have any thoughts on that?

Anyone want to claim the Oxford DPhil posted in the results?

Anyone heard back from Oxford -- either Mst or MPhil?

Best of luck Remington!

Congrats! Unfortunately, my good friend was the first in line and has accepted the PTS NT spot.

For those still wondering, the Princeton NT PhD has been filled.

Good to know! I think BC or BU might be worth pursuing and they may be a better fit. I've never taken a class there, but I've heard good things. If you do end up pursuing HDS, you would benefit from any Gordon-Conwell class, particularly Advanced Greek with Dr. Ciampa, who works as a Bible translator with Nida. I think you'd enjoy GCTS, but it's probably more of the same that SEBTS provided you, though perhaps not as conservative. As I said before, I'm not sure HDS is a great fit for you, but GCTS would certainly allow you have a bit of familiarity in the midst of a different world. The commute's a pain though.

I know I'm late, but I thought I'd chime in as well. I am not sure HDS is a good fit for you unless you are interested in pursuing a PhD at Harvard, not a ThD at HDS, and only if you are interested in textual criticism or related studies (e.g., various communities' reception of manuscripts). It sounds like you are more interested in linguistics in general (e.g., discourse analysis). I don't think HDS has an especially great program if that's what you want to do.

I can also vouch for Levenson's amiability. It is a shame about the Vandy professors, however. I was very interested in the Theology & Practice program, but if the NT department is a nightmare, I'd rather not spend 6-8 years of my life in misery.

What degree? PhD, DPhil, or ThD What area? New Testament Do you know where? Oxford, Duke, Yale What have you already done to prepare? Finished ThM, writing new proposal & writing samples What are you working on now? Studying for GRE and modern trends in the synoptics And what else do you need to do between now and September when the application cycles actually open up? Connect with profs, beef up CV & resume, and drink away my anxiety. Question for you guys. Marcus Bockmuehl was just promoted to Dean Ireland's Professor of Holy Scripture. I wanted to study directly with him and I'm wondering if this promotion will force him to take on less responsibilities with DPhil students. I'm also secretly hoping his replacement is Richard Hays so I have a better shot at working with him. I seriously doubt I can compete with you guys.

Have you looked at any consortium that might be helpful for you? It might be possible to attend a university and take languages at an evangelical school. The ones I know about are the Boston Theological Institute (and take GCTS classes), Washington Theological Consortium (Wesley or RTS), and ACTS Chicago (TEDS).

The MABL at GCTS is definitely a great degree, but you have to sign a statement of faith as a student. Honestly, I think you could get accepted to a BTI school and take language courses at GCTS if you really wanted to (several OT students do this now, but I don't know of many NT/Christian Origins students who do this). A friend of mine from GCTS got into UT-Austin and it really took a mixture of language classes at Harvard Div, GCTS, and BC to do it. He was an OT guy though, so quantity of languages is a bit more important than in NT studies. I would agree that the evangelicals have really made this their own little area in the academy and it really does help acceptance rates, but I am not sure that it would help you at this point without knowing what classes you have taken and/or lack. Remember that fit is a huge issue. A few things to keep in mind (aside from just the weight of the institution's name): 1. Potential electives: How many classes can you choose to take outside of the required courses? You might need as little as 5 or as many as 10. 2. Potential classes: All institutions will offer basic classes, but check out the professors and their specialties to see if they line up with your own. Want to focus on Postcolonial Latin American thought? Fernando Segovia at Vanderbilt's your man. Christian Feminism? Elisabeth Schussler(sp) Fiorenza at Harvard Divinity is the best of the best. Textual criticism? Bart Ehrman at UNC-CH, of course. 3. Potential recommendations: Who is the "top dog" at this institution? Are they in your field? How many classes do they teach a semester? You'll need to take as many as possible to build a relationship with them. It really helps if they are interested and involved in your subfield, but a recommendation from Beverly Gaventa at Baylor, for example, will still speak volumes for you. With all that said and with really just a cursory amount of information about you, I think you'd be better suited for Yale (especially), Emory, Vanderbilt, Chicago, or Harvard. Out of those, I'd highly recommend Yale and Emory for you. Be sure to check out Boston College and Baylor too. I've heard good things about Uni of Wisconsin and Uni of Minnesota, but I'm less familiar with those institutions. Hope this helps!

If you have any specific questions about GCTS (classes, BTI courses, professors, etc), send me an PM.

Because paper deadlines are incredibly soon and this is your way of dealing with stress?

Thanks. That does ease the pain. Thankfully, I'll be able to take the GRE this next application season, so I'll be joining everyone else in applying to American schools. I still am not that confident in my credentials, especially to TT schools. since my GPA isn't really competitive (hence the applications to UK schools based more on a thesis). Hopefully two completed degrees will help this next round of apps. Cheers!

Finally heard back from Oxford. Rejected as I suspected. In the trash my thesis goes. Hopefully next years iteration will be more successful!

I haven't heard back for the DPhil yet, which is essentially an application to the MTS as well. I emailed them last night, so hopefully I'll hear back soon. I'd suggest sending the department an email. I'm expecting a rejection at this point though--I think most people have heard back.

I suppose this might be a good place to discuss the ever present "if I had to do it over again" question. I didn't apply to any universities or mainline seminaries at the time because I had no money to apply elsewhere (I worked for 2 months for ~minimum wage to pay the matriculation fees) and I had a very low academic self-esteem. My college is not well known and my references have not been published, so I thought a more moderately conservative seminary like Fuller, Wheaton, or GCTS would be my only shot (I say moderate because at the time it was them versus TEDS or DTS). But, it might very well have been my experience here that has caused me to change in a way to realize these things. Who knows. Also, I wouldn't have met my wife--that'd be a bummer. So, if I had to give advice to my undergrad self and anybody applying to M* programs in the future, it's that you'll never know where you'll get accepted--believe that any place is a possibility, no matter how remote, and apply away! Also, start dressing better. Yikes.