LateAntique

Hi Raman here,
I got 149 in verbal (42percentile), 167 in quant (95 percentile) and 4 in Writing, my IELTS overall band score in 8
My cgpa is 7.2
I am from Indian Institute of Technology, 12th cbse 91%, 10th icse 87%
I ve got 2 interns 1 at Larsen & toubro Ltd and one at Goa Shipyard LTd. for 2 mnths each
I am applyin for MS in ocean engineering/naval architecture/coastal engineering
what are my chances in say
texas a&m,
texas austin,
johns hopkins,
UFlorida,
WUSTL (mechanical),
Virginia Tech,
UCB,
MIT,
UMICH?

some replies plz?

Good luck! I think that's how we all feel about our programs. I waver between feeling like I totally belong at ND and feeling like they probably let me in on accident.

And thanks to jdmhotness. My hope is that we'll all get in where we want.

yeah i remember last year was way busier than now. what gives?

Harvard apps are in, I feel like I have a snowballs chance in hell, but that's also how I felt before I got into the MTS

The amount of students working with someone in a department will also be an indication whether people like working with them. If someone has only had 4 Ph.D students in the last decade and 3 of them are still ABD, I wouldn't go with that professor.

I think you'll find people are able to be more honest in person as well (again, SBL is great for this). I wouldn't necessarily be comfortable putting some of my critiques in an email (though I don't sugarcoat or lie), while I'm quite happy to speak my mind when applicants are visiting campus. I don't think anyone's going to give you a complete opposite picture of how things are. If someone writes an email and says they're very happy with their program, you can be pretty sure they're happy. If they write you a lackluster email and damn their program with faint praise, you can be relatively sure that they haven't had a great experience.

Also, I agree with the above: be specific in what sorts of qualities you think you want in an advisor. If you're one who likes a lot of hands-on advising (as I do), ask around and see who fits that style.

I'm a little bummed that the board isn't more active this year. I felt like there were more posts a couple of years ago when I was applying to my MA. At any rate, I wonder if any of you are choosing schools to which you will apply based on economic factors. That is, because of how the overall economy is, coupled with how bad the hiring scene in academia is right now (particularly in religion), are you only applying to top schools? Or are you casting your nets nice and wide and taking what you can get?

I think there are schools that I would have considered if this were 25 years ago, but I'm at the point that if I don't get into one of the top programs, there seems to be little to no reason to do a Ph.D. When even students from top programs are having trouble finding TT jobs, why go elsewhere? The one exception I can see is if one wants to teach in a school affiliated with their denomination and said school doesn't care about having a degree from Yale or Princeton. Any thoughts?

Well said. If I don't get a job after 15+ years of school then oh well? It's worth the risk, I think.

I promised myself going into this that if I wasn't okay with teaching high school (or something else), I wouldn't do the Ph.D. Part of me thinks, "I'm here because I want to learn more and because it's interesting." Then I look at student loans and think, "I'm going to need to pay these at some point." At any rate, things have worked out thus far, so I'm sure they'll continue to.

Indeed. I suspect you will be just fine, LateAntique!

I promised myself going into this that if I wasn't okay with teaching high school (or something else), I wouldn't do the Ph.D. Part of me thinks, "I'm here because I want to learn more and because it's interesting." Then I look at student loans and think, "I'm going to need to pay these at some point." At any rate, things have worked out thus far, so I'm sure they'll continue to.

You're kidding, right? 162 (87th %) is "poor"? Your scores are fine.

You're kidding, right? 162 (87th %) is "poor"? Your scores are fine.

Professors like to talk about themselves, so I like asking informed questions about their research. It helps to have read something they have written so that you might engage that while talking to them.

The types of questions you can ask graduate students are different - these are the people who will typically be honest with you about the ups and downs of the program, a question you don't want to ask the professors. Ask around, see if the students are on the whole pretty happy.

There are a few threads in the forum that already deal with this. You can find them if you search for them.

While the OP didn't really flesh out what it means to "love Jesus," I think we all "got" what he/she meant. It might have been a generalization and imply that anyone outside the "evangelical" tradition does not, then, love Jesus. But I don't think the OP meant it that way.

Who cares? We know what he/she means. Give them advice, or leave the thread.

This is the very reason no one should have "safety schools".
You said you have refined your research interest - is it something that this department wouldn't be able to handle? If not, what could you do over the summer that would dramatically change your application from this year to next? Refining your research interests is great, but if you got rejected from everywhere but this one place, it seems like other things in your app would have to change.
Also, don't be led by the boyfriend situation. If he's in graduate studies as well, he should understand. 

Just today I was accepted off the waitlist at Duke's Graduate Program in Religion!

If you're applying to any of the programs I have listed below, here's my advice:

1) Show up drunk. I don't mean have one or two at the bar before you show up - I mean start drinking at 7am so that you're absolutely blitzed when you get there. This will help with the nerves and make the faculty like you.

2) Who doesn't like t-shirt tuxedos? Wear one. And shorts - jean cut-offs if you have them. If not, Umbros are pretty fancy. You're dressing for success here and you want to let them know you're serious.

3) Mock the professor while they ask you a question. Repeat exactly what they're saying to you in a stupid voice while making crazy facial gestures. The faculty will eat this up. Who doesn't want a jokester in their program?

4) Disregard fuzzylogician's advice. If you don't know, it's time to turn the BS on. This will show them you're prepared for the wide world of academia. As long as it sounds convincing, you're home free. Another tactic is to answer all questions with "That's what she said."

5) Also concerning fuzzylogician's advice: if you don't understand their question (or even if you do), just answer one nobody asked. As long as you use the field's buzz words, you're bound to hit on the right answer somewhere. When the professor tries to stop your speech, don't take no for an answer. Hold up your finger or wave your hand dismissively, then sit back in your chair, gaze at the ceiling, and continue with your monologue.

6) Talk about the great offers you just got from the other schools on your list. Tell them a small fee might be able to retain you.



If you're applying elsewhere, I suggest disregarding my advice entirely.

If you're applying to any of the programs I have listed below, here's my advice:

1) Show up drunk. I don't mean have one or two at the bar before you show up - I mean start drinking at 7am so that you're absolutely blitzed when you get there. This will help with the nerves and make the faculty like you.

2) Who doesn't like t-shirt tuxedos? Wear one. And shorts - jean cut-offs if you have them. If not, Umbros are pretty fancy. You're dressing for success here and you want to let them know you're serious.

3) Mock the professor while they ask you a question. Repeat exactly what they're saying to you in a stupid voice while making crazy facial gestures. The faculty will eat this up. Who doesn't want a jokester in their program?

4) Disregard fuzzylogician's advice. If you don't know, it's time to turn the BS on. This will show them you're prepared for the wide world of academia. As long as it sounds convincing, you're home free. Another tactic is to answer all questions with "That's what she said."

5) Also concerning fuzzylogician's advice: if you don't understand their question (or even if you do), just answer one nobody asked. As long as you use the field's buzz words, you're bound to hit on the right answer somewhere. When the professor tries to stop your speech, don't take no for an answer. Hold up your finger or wave your hand dismissively, then sit back in your chair, gaze at the ceiling, and continue with your monologue.

6) Talk about the great offers you just got from the other schools on your list. Tell them a small fee might be able to retain you.



If you're applying elsewhere, I suggest disregarding my advice entirely.

I came across this article about feeling stupid in grad school. Basically it says that if you don't feel stupid in grad school, then you're doing it wrong. You'll probably feel inadequate surrounded by brilliant people, but these same people are likely either going through or have gone through the same struggles with feeling stupid as you are, and are too ashamed/afraid to say so.

If they don't fire professors for typos and other sorts of errors in their books, I seriously doubt they will keep you out of graduate school because of one. Can you imagine the adcomm that would do that?

"Did you see they left out a 'the' in this sentence?"
"WHAT A MORON! DON'T LET THAT PERSON IN!"

I don't think funding is the only or even the primary issue. FSU offered me a full ride with stipend, but that doesn't mean FSU is suddenly a top Religion Program. The top programs are the ones that have the top scholars and are traditionally associated with schools that have an overall prestigious standing in the academy (U of Chicago, Duke, Notre Dame, Yale, Harvard, etc). Their Ph.D students have an easier time securing jobs because they come from those programs and worked under top-ranked scholars. Who writes the books in your field? Who are the movers and shakers at the conferences?

No disrespect to the poster above, but I had never even heard of Illif school of theology until I saw the posts on this board. It probably would not be considered 'second tier'. Likewise, while SMU has a promising program, I don't really see it as a major player.

You want to eat students?! Someone call TFA and tell them not to accept this guy!

I really, really hope this doesn't come across as obnoxious, but...if you don't have any experience in classical linguistics, and in fact have never read so much as an introductory text, WHY on Earth do you want a graduate degree in it? To be honest, it sounds like your interest is more in classical *history, even if it's, like, 'how new words shaped Greco-Roman thought' (e.g. the introduction of esse in participle form), or how attitudes change when a text is translated from Greek to Latin, or WHEN various texts are translated, or whatever (I don't know the field--I'm sure you could come up with better examples). Have you thought about that? History MA and PhD programs don't all require a history major in undergrad.

This isn't meant to sound mean, but I would suggest searching the forum and reading the countless bits of advice that people have already written. If you have specific questions thereafter, we may be able to help you a little more efficiently.