menge
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Posts posted by menge
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Started the slog of filling out the online background forms (name, address, etc. ad nauseam) and came across 2 sections I wasn't necessarily expecting:
- submit a list of other schools applied to
- submit a video answering "why I want to attend University X"
How are others dealing with these? Or if you are a past applicant, any advice?
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On 9/7/2016 at 9:27 PM, SG_SC said:
I'm stressing about my own application process. I'm currently applying to Duke (ThD), SMU, UVA, Emory, and ND. My GPA is 3.83, and my GRE scores are V-163, Q-146, and W-5.0. Duke is my top choice, and I am debating about re-taking the GRE just to see if I can get my scores a bit higher. Would it be worth it?
FWIW, I've decided not to re-take (168v, 149q, 4.5aw) and spend my time and money on other areas of the application based on the advice of my adviser (UT PhD) and dept. chair (Princeton PhD).
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Currently having the exact same debate with myself.
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I'm planning on applying to Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Northwestern, Temple, Syracuse and perhaps a couple more depending on how communications with POI's and grad directors go.
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FWIW, Temple states a minimum Q of 144 (for reference, they state V as 160).
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I'm in a different discipline, but have the same question. My POI told me via e-mail she would be on sabbatical, but also still wanted to set up a phone call. I figure I'll ask her during the call what the implications are for admissions and what it would mean for my first year if accepted.
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Very helpful input, thanks to everyone!
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On 8/18/2016 at 6:12 PM, Nicholas B said:
Here's my quandry: (I'm pursuing an MA as a stepping-stone to a PHD, btw)
-The MA programs that really appeal to me are all out of state.
-I already have a decent amount of student loans.
- THe MA programs that really appeal to me would require me to take out a lot more loans.
-There are some good religion MA programs in my state (IL) that I would be able to afford, yet the Professor's at these schools don't align with my research interests.
So my question is: how much does it matter for me to complete my MA at an institution with similar research interests?
My thinking is that I could grab an MA here in state, acquire the necessary language skills and foundational knowledge needed for PHD work, and then apply to PHD programs.
Wondering if this is a good route?
Hope my question is clear. Thanks in advance for your help.
What about going to a school that offers funding? WMU offers funding via TAships, and has a couple faculty working in Buddhism, and the dept. chair is well known in the field.
FWIW I would always recommend minimizing debt for the degree, whether going somewhere that offers funding, or going to a state school where tuition is lower. And to your original question, I don't think there would be any real issues with not having faculty specialty match yours at the MA level. My experience has been that the MA is more about achieving competencies (such as theory and method, etc.) and that faculty are willing to let you explore your interests as far as they fit within the coursework.
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On 8/5/2016 at 1:32 PM, Rabbit Run said:
My GRE was roughly the same and I ended up somewhere. If you get a 5 or higher on the AW then don't worry about it.
So... got the AW score today and its a disappointing 4.5. I really felt I did well on the essays, but apparently my graders didn't agree.
4.5 = 82nd percentile according to ETS. So, to retake or not to retake? I'd really have preferred a 5/6 to be confident about not retaking, but how much does that .5 really matter?
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24 minutes ago, Kate22192 said:
And i've been told an hour and a half commute in SLP grad school is insane with the amount of work that needs to get done.
FWIW, I currently commute about 100 miles a day for an MA. Granted I'm in a completely different field, but I can't foresee the workload being that different. I have grad seminars, plus I teach an undergrad class as instructor of record meaning I have to be on campus 4 days a week. It's not ideal, but it is what I have to do based on current life circumstances. I paid off my undergrad and determined I didn't want to go into debt for the MA, which meant only accepting an offer with funding. I applied to 2 schools that I could commute too, got into one with funding, and thats where I am.
I actually don't find commuting that terrible, except when there is a foot of snow on the ground. It's a good time to think, work on language learning, or listen to podcasts or audio-books that might be in your research area.
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I think most of those places are pretty open in terms of who they accept. Have you thought of Notre Dame? There are a very highly ranked dept. and are (obviously) Catholic as well.
You might try posting your query over in the religion forum, as that's where most of the religious studies/theology/biblical studies folks tend to hang out.
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@Rabbit Run @Abdelazar thanks for the votes of confidence on the GRE.
On 8/8/2016 at 9:57 AM, Abdelazar said:For all the applications I've submitted, you can submit the whole application while your recommendation letters remain to be submitted by your recommenders. So all the app material you're responsible for would be sent in while the program is just waiting for your rec letters to be received.
I suppose it really depends on if adcoms start reviewing apps before all materials are in or not.
Asher indicates it is advantageous to submit early with the idea that while admissions may not be "rolling" adcoms will still start to review apps as they come in so that they can at least have a smaller pile come deadline day. His logic is that you want a fresh adcom to review your materials, not one who has already reviewed 50+ apps. Worst case, I get everything in early as you suggested and figure out that last letter as an opportunity presents itself.
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If you think it warrants it you can discuss this in your personal statement. Clearly you turned things around and can demonstrate that you have the ability to work hard and turn in quality work. Those LOR's will help a lot, and with a solid writing sample I very much agree with @Averroes MD.
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I was in a very similar situation when I decided to apply for grad school some years out of undergrad. When I e-mailed former professors I included what courses I had taken with them, the grades I received, notable term papers I wrote for them, and any other information that I felt might help job their memory of me. 3/4 professors remembered me and wrote me great letters of recommendation. The other professor declined, as he said he couldn't remember me well enough, but since I only needed three recommendations, it worked out fine.
I suggest contacting a couple of your professors and seeing what happens. While using a supervisor can be OK for some disciplines, I think it would be better to exhaust your academic options first.
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Got the GRE out of the way this week. Scored 168V and 149Q. Assuming the AW score is solid, should I be concerned about the low Quant score, or will that be ignored? I have time to re-take but I'd rather not put myself through that test again.
Another question for other applicants or previous applicants: Donald Asher's book "Write your way into the grad school of your choice" indicates that it's a good idea to apply 1-2 months before the deadline. I found his logic pretty convincing, but that means submitting the earliest of my apps in mid-October, which does not leave much time to get letter writers arranged. While this won't be a problem for 2/3, due to a combination of courses offered last year and a faculty sabbatical, my third letter writer will need to be someone whom I am taking a class with for the first time this fall. Any advice on how to handle this given the time constraints?
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I can only generally comment about CUA, but I believe it is a well regarded school though I have heard that funding can be on the low end. A couple other notes: in my experience, the opportunity to do a lot with a particular faculty member in a field of interest depends on a lot of things like required coursework, current course offerings, will the faculty member want to supervise an independent study, etc. It's great when this works out at the MA level, but it doesn't always. It may be worth asking what the chances are that you will be able to do some of the things you want there.
As an aside, have you looked at WMU's Medieval Institute? Not sure how the faculty might fit with your interests, but I know they do fund students.
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On 7/25/2016 at 10:47 PM, xypathos said:
Trying to discern if I'll be applying this year.
My professors and advisor are telling me to go for it. The POIs I've contacted have been extremely enthusiastic about my interests and work published and presented thus far. That said, my research interests are niche enough and I really want to attend a large public university for teaching opportunities (I want to end up at a large teaching school) that I'll probably end up in a state school thus mediocre job opportunities even if I were to excel in my program.
Also, I'm being vetted for a pastor position at a well endowed church in Vermont, a couple in NY, and I made some "Eh, nothing to lose" inquiries to churches in Canada and was cleared and began interviews last week.
I love the idea of school and throwing myself in research for 6+ years and then combining it with teaching but ... I'm 31 years old and not getting younger. Most of these jobs are 40-50k with free housing which is about 95% too enticing to turn down. So, we'll see how things go with these churches over the next several weeks.
Push on those doors and see which open. Hope you are able to figure it out. I left a decent career at an electrical contracting firm to go back to school, and am also sensitive to my age vs. time to PhD. Keep us posted on what develops!
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I've started putting together app materials, so figured this is as good a time as any to get the new thread going. So, where are you applying and what for? Feel free to post your questions as well.
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With this season more or less complete, want to encourage admits to report data on your offer on this site: http://www.phdstipends.com/
It's anonymous, and good data for future students.
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FWIW, I recently had a conversation with my Dept. Chair about language prep for PhD, and his advice was basically the same as @marXian. I was going to do French for graduate reading, but found out the French dept. was going to put me in FREN1000 and just change the designation to FREN5020 on my transcript. His take was that I wouldn't get what I wanted out of the course, and that most PhD programs wouldn't require proficiency for admission (he was a Princeton PhD). The caveat was for those working on fields needing ancient languages, or for traditions or geographic regions where another language is needed (Japanese for example, if working in Japan).
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FWIW Syracuse's site claims to be reporting in accordance with AAR recommendations.
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I can't speak to much to PhD programs, and I think the "comparative" project is waning, at least as it has been traditionally understood as an approach to religious studies. The only ones I know of are Washington U. and maybe Georgetown.
My dept. at WMU is technically still a "comparative religion" dept. Though the comparative approach doesn't define the methodology of the department (it leans anthropological/ethnographic), you certainly could do such a project there. You can do three traditions - it just makes for a much bigger and more ambitious project. I have a professor who was doing fieldwork and had 3 proposed sites. She got to one and realized she would never be able to finish the project adding 2 more, so she cut the additional two. But if you have a very specific topic/subject that you are going to compare across traditions, scope becomes a smaller issue.
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A couple quick thoughts...
Reputation is constructed differently by different communities. Are you thinking of reputation in evangelical contexts, or in the academic study of religion? As far as "jobs" are you thinking as a member of the clergy, or as a professor? If as a professor, do you want to be at an evangelical seminary or would you rather target state schools and liberal arts colleges?
If your goal is to be a pastor or prof in the evangelical world, Gordon-Conwell is probably a fine fit. If your goal is to be a professor at State U, you may want to re-consider. That said, I'm pretty sure there are a few people on this forum who have successfully gotten into quality PhD programs from evangelicalish institutions. Their comments may be of more value than mine.
- neat and dramos2016
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Boston is still a good school, and you will not regret not having debt to deal with. My 2cents.
- ἠφανισμένος and axiomness
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PhD Applications Fall '17 Season
in Religion
Posted
Thought I would check in to see how everyone is making out with applications.
I'm on revision number 6 or so of the SOP after feedback from other students, faculty, etc. I hope to have this and the writing sample pretty much ready to send in the next couple of weeks with the goal of submitting applications in mid-November. I'm trying to build in extra time in case I get behind, which is increasingly likely the further along in the semester we get.