Alex Madlinger

Religion and Philosophy could be hella different, but unless the difference is that in Philosophy people in the program are all mean old ogres, then the basic point (ask if you're curious) still stands. More illustration of the point above. I actually got to talk to Mark Goodacre (an NT professor at Duke) for an hour yesterday about the admissions to the PhD process. Now, I don't expect that most people will get to have lunch with their POI like that (I was accepted to the MA and that's why I was visiting), but once again asking really helped. I found out the answer to the question mentioned above (it's definitely worth the money and time to retake the test) and I found out some other details about the admissions process at Duke, including the importance of the writing sample there, which is surprisingly their #1 concern. Anyway, there could definitely be hundreds of differences between Philosophy and Religion, but in my experience professors are pretty willing to answer questions!

I visited Mark Goodacre & Duke's MA in Religion today. A great program, so difficult to decide

Dr. Mark Goodacre told me today that it would be worth it to take the next summer (during my MA) to work on 156 Quant score and raise it to 160-162. True, it won't change anything if you aren't already competitive. But I asked him this question specifically, and he told me to raise my Q score.

if I met someone who wasn't a Christian, I would be curious and ask them. When they said, 'I want to be a scholar of religion,' I would say, 'That makes a lot of sense, welcome to X Divinity School,' and then the issue would be closed. I imagine that you wouldn't have a hard time at the places which were mentioned above. Yes, it is likely that you'd be stuck in an awkward social situation where the professor assumed that everyone wanted to participate in a particular spiritual discipline. Just remember that Divinity Schools have as their primary mission the training of ministers, and that you've traded a few social inconveniences for a chance at achieving your dream! I'm a practicing Christian at a conservative seminary, but I'm on the moderate-to-liberal spectrum and I'm interested in academic biblical studies. So I have to endure these kinds of social inconveniences as well, but because of the year and a half I spent at this seminary, I was accepted into three great programs for the fall. Definitely worth the trade!

Oh, I forgot! I'm visiting Duke on Wednesday. I'm sitting in a few of Mark Goodacre's classes and (I think?) we're going to lunch! I'm giddy like a little kid--he's so cool. Brilliant & a British accent.

Hey I'm from the Religion page and I noticed that you were having some disagreements on the importance of the GRE. I had some experience with this in my application process that I thought you would find helpful. I wanted to be a minister when I was an undergraduate. I went to seminary and decided I wanted to study religion professionally instead. So I have an MA from a seminary and I applied for five MAs in Departments of Religion or similar programs this season. Anyway, like I said I wasn't focused on academics, so my GPA wasn't fantastic (3.25). I emailed top programs in my field and said something like, 'My undergrad GPA isn't great, if I kick ass on the GRE can I make up for that.' Duke, for one, told me that the GRE is weighted higher than the undergraduate GPA. Emory told me not to worry about my undergraduate GPA at all if my GRE was strong. I scored 169/156/5.0 on my GRE and I got accepted to MAs at Duke, Wake Forest, and the University of Minnesota. I'm not saying my GRE is what got me in. I have a 3.9 GPA in my seminary MA, four years in Greek, three in Hebrew, good LOR, and a strong writing sample. The moral of the story, the point I'm trying to get across, is that you shouldn't be afraid to ask your programs if you have questions. I scored poorly on Q. I expected to score 162 but I got nervous and choked. Since my V score was ridiculous I never retook the test. But I'm curious if raising my Q to 162-163 would seriously help my chances to get into a top PhD. Given my experience with emailing programs this season, I plan to just email some of my top choices and ask them.

Congrats! That's fantastic!

You're right that people do 'earn' their spot in graduate school. The other poster was right, especially if we're speaking in Christian or similar religious terms, that 'earned' is a bad category to think in at all (Romans 4.4?). I understand the sting of rejection; my application is nowhere near as prestigious as yours, but I was rejected to my first choice in spite of the fact that my application was essentially solicited by a professor with similar interests (and I received offers with full tuition and a stipend elsewhere). I'm not priest, and I can't pronounce forgiveness over you. But I understand, and I'm sure everyone else understands as well. The good news is that Chandler and Vandy are fantastic schools, and it looks like you got great offers. So even though the rejection to your school of choice has to hurt, you still have a great way forward.

'I can't believe I wasn't accepted to this Divinity School, allow me to make these degrading sexual remarks about the AdCom.'

I think I'd gave to go BC.

I'm only frustrated that we didn't see more activity on the Results Search screen. If I had just been following the activity by that, then I wouldn't have any idea that ND had done anything. Unless I'm missing something, there weren't any posts for this year?

Unless you're working for Stanley Porter at McMaster, I hear their thesis requirements are ridiculous. But I have to agree. My case might be unusual because I had written three other papers in the same sub-sub-sub field as my thesis in the previous year, and I had a lot of opportunity to narrow my interests and read the literature. I was able to start writing my thesis after only two weeks of additional reading and research. Even so, most religion MA theses are easily done in a year.

Hey Classical people, I'm sneaking over here from the Religion board to ask a question. I was admitted to the MA in Religions in Antiquity at Minnesota, and that degree is housed in a classics program. As such, I'll be expected to pass exams in Classical Greek. However, as a seminary-trained student of early Judaism and Christianity, I've only had exposure to Koine Greek. Does anyone have any advice for me about this transition?

Congrats to everyone who is in at Harvard and Duke!

I'd say go for it. It will almost certainly help your personal and professional development, and it can't hurt your application to a PhD. Maybe (?) a few extra years of TAing will look good on a CV when you're struggling for that first job?

I guess it depends on your subfield. But basically, both of my M* degrees have/will be about one thing: languages. As far as a historical reason, I'm not sure.

Yeah, sure, I'm with you. It's just that if they are making 30 offers I would have expected to see more evidence on the forums.

Nice, that's a large class. I didn't realize they were accepting so many students

I missed that piece of information. 25-30 students? I really don't know what the delay means then.

Does anyone on this board have any experience with the MA in Religions in Antiquity at the University of Minnesota? It hides inside their classics program, so I'm wondering how it will compare to the more common MA in Religion.

Oh Notre Dame. I'm sitting down with Mark Goodacre at Duke next week, and I got back just a week ago from the University of Minnesota, so I suppose in the end I'm not that interested in ND, but if someone else has heard I imagine we have 2-3 days before we can take our lack of a reply as a rejection.

I need ND to send out MTS decisions so I can get some mental closure with this application season.

Anyone know when we'll hear from ND's MTS? That's the only school that could sway me from my present choice, and the only school I haven't heard from yet. I'd like to get this season over with an accept an offer.

Every MA that I've bee accepted to has given me until April 15th to decide. That's Duke, Wake Forest, and U of MN.

Indiana is making 12 offers this year, for anyone who is interested.