Postbib Yeshuist

If I was reading that LoR as a prof, I would "LOL" then say "awesome." I think it's a GREAT way of communicating your enthusiasm. Sure, it's not the most eloquent way, but think about what it conveys. Think about a college boy talking about the kegger last week, and now imagine that same enthusiasm when talking about an academic subject. Man, I think that sentence alone might get you in. Unprofessional, sure. Disastrous? By no means! Save that LoR and frame it!!!!!!

"Current" letters are always better in my opinion. A letter from someone from four years ago could raise the question of "why can't they find three people that know them now?" Here's what I'd do: get your three LoR's from current profs and have your past employer write a personal letter as well. A fourth letter won't hurt at all and it will show that you have been reliable for many years now. Think of it as a character reference more so than an academic reference. Furthermore, you don't have to worry about the deadline if it goes unsent.

I'm going to offer what may or may not be useful advice, so... I'm willing to bet the committee doesn't even look at your transcript beyond a verification of your GPA. Heck, it takes me 5 minutes to figure out my own and I took the darn classes. How on Earth could they even begin to divine what all that mumbo-jumbo means? I take that to mean you're in no better or worse shape than anyone else. If you feel that you got passed over, it's more than likely NOT because you left out the names of your classes. I'm under the impression (and several professors have confirmed this) that the classes you took are less interesting to them than a sense of whether you "speak the language" and how you got to that point. When you write about your project, do you convey that sense of "I know what I'm doing and I don't have to mention a bunch of names to prove it"? Is your interest in the topic personal enough that you'll stick it out? Why do you want to study this? Why are we the school to do it at? Who here is going to help you and how are you going to help them? A boring recitation of what you did can be a death knell in my opinion, especially if you don't stand out from everyone else who's applied and provided a list. I handled my "qualifications to do research" section by crafting a kind of personal story of how I studied this with that professor but also supplemented my studies with this other prof and how it informed my ongoing decision to follow my current project. I spoke briefly about how my lackluster performance in the MDiv was offset by a solid GPA for my ThM. BUT, this was barely two paragraphs (if you put it all together) and was definitely interwoven with the overall "story" of my SoP. In the end, my strong sense of this is that your transcripts are only important for your GPA. The names of the classes you took are meaningless to the committee if you can't talk about your project with a commensurate level of competence (not saying you can't, mind you). Spend too much time talking about the names of classes and profs and you'll shorten the amount of time you can talk about what you plan to do (and bore profs who are now reading the 100th SoP in two weeks). Certainly mention why you're qualified, but keep in mind that taking a class in no way qualifies you to do more advanced research. The knowledge and understanding you synthesized from the class is what matters. One can take a class all day with Cornell West, for example, and still come out just as dumb as he/she went in. Your SoP needs to stand out. If it's interesting and engaging and keeps the profs' interest, you're in great shape. If it bores them with lists of achievements, you're in trouble. No matter what you provide, they've seen more impressive résumés. What they're looking for is "will this person be someone I can stand to have in my office weekly for the next 5 years?" PS the name of the class is nowhere near as important as the name of the prof. "I studied with Cornell West" is a far more important sentence than "I took 'History of the Civil Rights Movement from 1962-1963' and 'The Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr' and got A's in both." (And please note that I totally made all that up, so don't kill me if I said something wrong.) PPS I'm not suggesting that the OP is aiming for a "boring" SoP, just that too much information can sink an app far faster than not enough. Boredom is your #1 worst enemy.

I'm 36 (going on 37) and will be starting PhD this Fall. I'm married with an 18-month old. For the past three years, I've been teaching high school while I worked on a ThM. My wife stayed home once our child was born (her choice) and I kept the money coming in. when PhD starts, I will be quitting my job and living off the stipend and then we'll figure out how to make the rest. My wife is a licensed chaplain, but feels a bit burned out so, interestingly enough, she may decide to sell Mary Kay to make some extra income. I may see if I can find a job teaching World Religions at a local CC. That, or I might see if my school is willing to let me sub on occasions. Our biggest "trick" in all of this will be our house. we have a fair amount of equity built up (30%) and the market makes selling it a bit of a tough deal. We think the mortgage is low enough that we can probably keep payin it for at least a year, since the school where I'll be going (SMU) is only 45m away by car, and there's a railway system I could use as well. The hardest part of the ThM was not being able to study full-time. I taught and coached and tried to be a "present" Dad to our son, so studies have been tough. I feel very much behind the curve when it comes to the "Quote the Author" game with my younger colleagues, but professors routinely comment that insights show more "maturity." I don't say this to boost my own ego, but to point out that sometimes our advanced position in life gives us a perspective that offsets the "book learning" we may be short on. OK, so there's my life in a nutshell. I hope that was in keeping with the spirit of the thread. In terms of networking, I'll be at SMU this Fall (if the money comes through) doing a PhD in Religion & Culture. (My project is laid out in my signature)

Mac has Office, so yes. One thing they DO have that I haven't found on the PC are some relatively powerful word processing apps aimed at technical writers. Mellel and Scrivener are incredibly useful apps that blow Word out of the water. In a sense, PC's have had Word for so long, they've not really innovated, despite the fact that Word is really not a powerful application when it comes to lengthy, complex documents. Macs have had more reason to innovate and have some incredibly powerful apps. But that's about it. Aside from the overall reliability of Macs (I switched from 20 years of PC's a few years back and continue to be impressed by how smoothly my various Macs run day in and day out), the "PC vs Mac" is more or less hype. Both are solid and will do what you need done.

Yeah, I'd have to agree with that assessment now that I think about it. Presenting at a local AAR is going to ut you in good standing. But honestly, trust us on this, MDiv's are pretty easy to get into. Harvard is going to be looking at how you "fit" as much as grades, etc. For example, if they have a lot of Methodists that year and you're the Baptist, you're in. Let's say they have a large number from big universities and you're from Nowhere Kansas U, you're in (not your situation, of course, but you get the idea). Your grades, etc won't be what would hurt you (not that anything would given what you've posted), but what experiences and personal life stories do you bring? How do you complement the program? Your "story" will be as important (if not more so) than grades, etc. I hope that makes sense. If not, please feel free to ask for clarification. I'm not saying grades are meaningless, but I am saying that institutions like Harvard value diversity (or are at least beginning to). Who you are is perhaps more important than what grades you got in undergrad. In the end, however, please don't stress over MDiv. You're more than likely "in" before you even apply.

Thanks for the advice. Do you mind sharing some of those "strategic choices?" I assume your simply talking about the things you mentioned to keep an eye out for, but specific examples are always welcome. Obviously, names and institutions aren't important, but "she taught French when she was working on an Anthro PhD" would help

I have to agree with the vote for Harvard.

Some were lucky enough to get in, others were not. Some got into their first pick, others had to "settle" for less. I think what would be useful (I know it would have been for me this year) would be a collection of stories—be they horror or romance, action or drama—that detail our experiences. This time next year, people could read over them and have something to hopefully comfort and encourage them in the long weeks an months between early January and mid-March. Please post your experience this year in this thread and I'll set a reminder (seriously) to come back in January 2011 and bump this for the next round to read and hopefully find something that helps them. Be as detailed as you wish. You might put the names of the schools and when the letters went out, since it's likely they will repeat their timing next year. (I know one thing we all stressed over was "when will letters go out?") You might also put your GRE scores up for comparison (if you want). Finally, please indicate what degree you applied for, so people don't read a PhD ordeal and think it's what MDiv apps will be like (I'll come back and edit this initial post with my experience once I get a final word by mail from a last-minute acceptance)

A bit of an update: Apparently someone, somewhere turned down their offer. Since I was #1 on the wait-list, it looks like I'm in. Dr. Wood sent an acceptance letter today. Assuming I get the financial package suggested on the website, I'll be accepting within minutes of opening the letter

I actually got an offer today from my #1 pick (where I was wait-listed). If I have it pegged right, I'll get 100% tuition and $16k stipend. Need to wait on letter to be sure, but I'm re-excited.

Thanks (to everyone)

I was just moved up from the wait-list at SMU (my first pick) to "accepted." I'm still waiting the official confirmation by letter and a look at the financial package, but someone somewhere said "no" in a timely manner and really just made my day. Thank you whoever you are! If you've been bumped up, share here please

I'm planning a card and a small gift. Perhaps a gift card to a good restaurant ($10-15), but I'd prefer to find something "cool."

Thanks for the comments all. Eskidd, I can't really give more information since it's a bit of an "out there" concept in my mind as well. I'm talking about 5 years from now, so I can't be much more specific than the sense that accepting Iliff could potentially limit me in the future. That being said, I just looked into the likelihood of selling our house and it may be out for financial reasons anyway. The reality of trying to sell a house within 4 months to avoid paying rent and a house payment while going to a school with no stipend just hit home. The economy may influence my decision as much as anything. Sometimes, having a secure job and a house can be its own bit of a curse (though I'm far more thankful than I am disappointed, to be sure )

Thanks, I appreciate it. I think SMU had as much to do with the program to which I applied as anything. Drew was likely that I didn't do my legwork with the profs.

I'd say you have nothing to worry about. M.Div. programs are not going to be anywhere near as competitive as you might think. Your résumé looks just fine. If you'e worried about the top-tier schools like HDS, etc, see if you can get a paper presented somewhere. A regional AAR meeting might be a good goal. If you think you can get your thesis published, do that as well, even if it's in a lower-tier journal.

True, but I'm thinking of the state universities that are NOT Tier 1, of which there are many.

I'm still struggling with my decision, since Iliff is going to be a bit of a financial burden (tuition, but no stipend). I'm tempted to wait until next year and try again at my top schools, but there's also the realization tht next year will be just as competitive as this year was. So, if I accept Iliff, I wind up going to my third choice and the weakest reputation of the ones to which I applied. That being said, I expect to put out some solid work, perhaps being published pre-dissertation as well presenting at AAR (hopefully more than once). Do those kind of achievements count for more than the school name? Or is it still "He's not from x school, so we're not even going to bother looking at his app." I know this is a tough question to answer, so conjecture is more than welcome. PS I'm not really aiming for a job at a Tier 1 institution. Teaching World Religions at a state university will be fine with me.

Yep. Short and sweet.

Accepting the offer doesn't mean you're legally required to attend. If you accept and a better offer comes along, just admit to it and go to the better school. Don't harm your future prospects out of some sense of loyalty to a school you haven't even enrolled to. You won't be the first to decline after accepting, nor will you be the last. Just don't ask for your deposit back. Bad form.

SMU (Perkins) had, I believe, over 100 for what I think is 5 spots (based on previous years' acceptance rates). I don't have good numbers, but it was a single-digit acceptance rate. For what it's worth, I was wait-listed in spite of in-person contact with the director and two of the profs, and a third prof there who is a personal friend. Granted, I was applying to their "new" program in Religion & Culture, so I think I lost out to the primary focus on Systematics. Still, I felt like SMU was my strongest app and I really thought I was a shoe-in. Guess not. Add to that the fact I am finishing a Th.M. with a 3.9 (in addition to an M.Div.) and have strong GRE scores, I can only assume it was one of the toughest years in recent history. I got into Iliff School of Theology straight-up though, so I may just take that. Drew was a flat-out rejection (even had a prof who was an alum write a letter for me). I say the above not to toot my own horn but just to add that it's not only a tight year, but apparently a VERY competitive one. I felt like I had a strong app, and I still struggled. I can't imagine MA students who choose BC as a backup would fare well. FWIW: Topic = American Empire/Constantinian Christianity's influence on dialogue between Jews, Christians & Muslims.

I checked their site and they have a list of how many get in and how many graduate each year. Looks like 5/year and the completion rate is barely 40%. I am debating trying again next year, since I'd like to work with Rieger. I'm at Brite Divinity in Fort Worth, so the ability to visit is a strong point, though that didn't help much this year. Of course, Iliff is a straight-up acceptance, so there's the whole "bird in the hand" thing.

Yeah, that's definitely... honest.

Did you get a sense of how many others had been admitted? With this being a tight year, I'm thinking my wait-listed status likely won't change.