tiredofrejection

So no one has anything to offer on my Claremont-GTU decision?

Be aware that if you get a spot, you probabaly will not get any money with it. Loyola tends to admit 7 or 8 but only fund 4 or 5. I got into Loyola two years ago, but was waitlisted for funding. I turned it down then so my wife could get her masters at her dream school. Good luck, nonetheless!!!

Stud., Did I miss a post? I didn't realize you had decided. Congrats. It is Claremont then? Me personally, I am still weighing the whole "pay for school" - "not worth it to pay for school" debate. And then on top, I have two partially funded options to decide between. Man the bay area is expensive. I may end up at Claremont just to avoid having to choose between food and gas each week.

OK theology brain trust. Here's a quandry for you.... Funding aside, which is the better school (for ethics): the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley or Claremont Graduate University. I have offers from both, and while there are still some schools who haven't let me know yet, I believe it will ultimately come down to these two.

I heard from Claremont finally. 50% tuition for me as well, though I did get a second line about how it "might go up," depending on who accepts. Did everyone else get that line too? Despite what the naysayers say, it is a good opportunity and I am seriously considering it. I still have a few other options out there, but hopefully those will fall in line soon.

Foureyes. If you husband is looking at Harvard like you and he might be interested scholars at BC, then you should know that they are both part of the Boston Theological Institute (BTI) along with BU, Weston Jesuit School of Theology and some others in the area. The BTI is an association of schools in Boston that can cross register and share libraries so you can take classes amongst all of those faculties - a nice benefit. For others who are interested in such opportunities, I believe there are similar arangements amongst the schools in DC and Chicago. Though I am not as familiar with those.

Stud., I don't think it is a bad opportunity, considering how many rejections are floating out there, but I question your math... Did you get 50% funding or 50% tuition. I suspect it is only 50% of tuition, which means your living costs will still be 100% on you. Also, I think you are off on your costs. Next year CGU tuition is $16,849 per semester. So at a minimum I see you having to pay that per year or ~$33,000 for the first two years then ~$1500 for the next three. So it's more like $40,000 for a PhD education with 1/2 funding plus living expenses. That said, I still haven't heard from Claremont. When I called on Tuesday they told me the same as you, this week was the final deadline for decisions because next week is thier spring break. Well it is now Friday and no news. What gives?

I think there are people today who loom as large as Gustafson & Neihbur. I would include Hawerwas (another Gustafson student) and probabaly Lisa Cahill in that group, not to mention the liberation theologian types like Gustavo Guti

I applied and visited UC two years ago and felt similar to many of you. It just seemed cold and uninviting. The prof I wanted to work with wasn't around because they were travelling, which I got the sense is common. I also had a cousin who got a PhD in anthropology at UC. It took him 10 years and he knew many a divinity student who took nearly as long. My masters advisor was also a UC grad, and when I raised these concerns to him, he said things have been changing but he would not go so far as to say it is gone. That was two years ago though, so if efforts were being put in place then, it would make sense that current students are saying that long programs are a thing of the past. In my opinion though, UC's lofty reputation goes back to the previous generation of scholars, not the current professorate. For ethics in particular, I'm talking about Gustafson. Don't get me wrong. Tracey and the rest are excellent scholars (I can only hope to be as sucessful someday), but they are not in the league of Gustafson in terms of overall influence in the field and in terms of mentoring the next generation of scholars.

I still havent heard, and now I'm worried. Who did the email come from? The admissions office, school of Religion, or a prof?

Congrats Stud. Theol. I haven't heard from Claremont yet - I hope that's not an indicator. I feel for you on the financial end though. It is a hard choice to make, especially given the current market for PhDs. I assume I will be in the same boat soon enough. I am currently in at the Grad. Theol. Union but waiting to hear on funding and I am still waiting on Claremont. Both are not known for good funding since they are grad-only schools.

I agree with Deus - ultimately it all comes down to basketball ... fan loyalty is far greater than pedagogy.

Stud. Theol. One program you may consider is Villanova's philosophy program. They have an interdisciplinary researchship in philosophy and theology. I went to 'nova for undergrad and they have some good systematic folks in thier theology dept. I can't say much about the philosophy department as I only took one philosophy class and that prof is gone. Might be worth looking into for you. Unfortunately I think they only have one interdisciplinary student per year. On the other hand, maybe we'll end up at Claremont together. Here's hoping...

Do you know if they are accepting a proportional number of TEC students or does a larger applicant pool simply mean more rejections?

Thanks. I applied ethics. Any idea on that area?