Philmajor

Religiousphilosopher, I also did the french exam but it wasn't required until the beginning of my 2nd year. The school had older tests posted on-line for students to practice with - check and see if that is something you're university offers. Also, I happened to get friendly with one of the older grad students who had taken the prep class that the school offers and he let be use those. I found, at least at UChicago, the graders were most interested in making sure that the verbs and nouns agreed. The word for word translation wasn't as important. Although I found the test to be rather easy it was intense. Good luck!

Anonqwe, I found the GRE test prep places to be very expensive and at the time I took the GRE I didn't have the kind of money. I got in touch with the head of the math department at the university I was attending and asked for help. They talked to a few of the students who were ultimately interested in a teaching career and we met a few times and they taught me what I didn't learn in high school and also some of the tricks to the GRE (I didn't do well with math, ever)! If you're not near a university you could also check on Craigslist to find a math tutor/GRE instructor. Some of my friends had great luck with that route and the cost was much less than say Kaplan. Good luck!

religiousphilosopher, Does the school have any language requirements? Uof Chicago requires French and German unless a petition is submitted requested a difference language but one of the 2 is required. Before you decide, check with your advisor. I stuck with French and passed the language exam. For my second language I'm petitioning for Sanskrit; hopefully it will be accepted :roll:

Hello, I've been accepted to the PhD program at Chicago and really don't want to live in university run housing. Given that there seems to be so many bad places to live can anyone give me suggestions on which places are nice to live in with pets? Thanks!

Religiousphilosopher - Yes, Phil of Religion. The Divinity school was very concerned about being able to provide funding for the incoming group this year; thus they cut the acceptance numbers to only 18. As applicants declined - especially in the Theology group it became apparent that they needed to rank the waitlist. They did that earlier in the week and I was very highly ranked (so I was told) and thus was offered admission. I'm still somewhat in shock - I had finally gotten my head around the fact that I wouldn't be in school come Sept. and that I needed to find a job. Now I need to put that aside and get my head back into school - crazy (but fantastic)! Tingbarring - I'm sure you've posted it numerous times but what area are you studying? Have you decided on where to live as of yet? Any questions, I'll certainly try to answer for you!

I'm in off the waitlist to UChicago Divinity! Received a voice message this morning and a follow-up e-mail offering me 5 years of full funding including medical insurance and 2 summers. I am so shocked and yet thrilled!

Dogmatist - University of Hawaii may be a good place to look - they are the premeir place for comparative phil. I don't think they're ranked very high but if you manager to study what you're interested in would it really matter?

Congratulations PinkFish! Why did you change your mind? More money?

YIKES Tingbaring - I can't believe you were on the waitlist - your stats are amazing!

Thanks Rising-Star!

I'd like to CONGRATULATE the Religion majors who were accepted this cycle to either MA or PhD programs. I've tried to keep up with the threads during my mourning period (I was declined admission at UofChicago) but I probably missed a few entries. I hope everyone will post the results and be back in the fall/winter to support the next group.

Tell me, where is everyone going and what are your stats also what kind of stipend did you receive. I think it will be helpful for next years group. Perhaps speciality should also be included?

Fantastic new Tingbaring! Congratulations and good luck next year.

Chicago isn't a horrible place to get your MA. It's actually been very good for me as I was looking for a high intensity atmosphere with intelluctual conversation happening around every corner. I found the program to be very intense and it is definately a sink or swim atmosphere. The quarter system doesn't allow much time to "catch up" if you fall behind or are unfamiliar with the material. My first quarter was a shock and I thought for sure I wouldn't make it through until Christmas - I felt as though I was drowning. To be honest, it was the best thing that could have happened to me - everyone who is admitted is smart (some smarter than others). We've all been told we're smart and have done well in undergrad, if we hadn't Chicago wouldn't have accepted us. Being in a class with 10 other really smart, intense people can be difficult - so be prepared! As an MA student the professors I have had all had office hours - they are more than happy to speak with you at that time. Some are more engaging than others but I'm sure that's true regardless of the school. I can say that I haven't had a class that is solely taught be a TA; the professors do teach the class (at least in my experience). The TA may hold a weekly meeting to review material, discuss things in a more indepth way. Shestandsakimbo - I have no idea if the program has prepared me well - I certainly think that it has but I'll find out when I start applying next cycle. As for the PhD doing his degree in a different department - that's not a big deal at Chicago. It's actually one of the great things because you have the freedom to study anything you want. You can take an english class just because it sounds interesting! Chicago is having some issues but I'm sure that Harvard, Yale, etc. have issues too. If you like the fit, received some $$ don't not attend because of the issues this year. I would hope that by the time you're ready to apply to the PhD everything will be straightened out.

As a current student, graduating in June I would love to hear what the other students had to say (I didn't attend the event) and the Dean of Students. Are you comfortable sharing?

religiousphilosopher - send me your e-mail address and I'll happily answer your questions.

religiousphilosopher - I did exactly what you're thinking of doing for the same reason. However, I wasn't excepted into the PhD program at Chicago. This year, the Divinity school made offers to a total of 18 applicants. From what I know that includes both internal and external - so what would your chances be in 2 years? Only you can decide if it's worth going into debt. Good luck!

Religiousphilosopher - I haven't heard of anyone because most of us only applied to UofC Divinity for our PhD program. I'm not sure what others will do for the next cycle of applications; I think most will stay within religious departments.

Naham, Your response makes me laugh not at you but at the thought that U of C really cares enough to help out a waitlisted and then rejected student. I found out at the same time as everyone else - the week of March 17th which was much too late to apply anywhere else. I knew it was risky not applying elsewhere but I didn't feel I could do other applications justice and stay on top of my class work. The quarter system (10 weeks) doesn't allow for any time to "catch up" if you fall behind. To give you an idea of how many were accepted - the class started with about 50 students, a few left before the first year ended and the majority submitted for the PhD. Only 18 were accepted and that includes the MDiv students. It's a small class this year and I wonder if it will remain small for a few years to come. Let me know if you have any other questions and good luck!

The chances of an MA student receiving more funding is very, very unlikely. UofC Divinity has raised the amount that they give PhD students to $19K including health insurance from $13K (I think). This increase caused them to cut back on the number of students admitted. My specialty, Phil of Rel accepted 2 students which meant I was out in the cold!

Revolage, First, congratulations on the acceptance! You must be thrilled to have received word from them, finally. Second, I agree - they accept then keep you waiting weeks before they let one know if funding is available. What do they thing, students will attend with no money available?! My fingers are crossed for both schools. May you receive fantastic funding from both and then have the hard decision of which school to attend.

From what I have read and what I have heard on campus, Mr. Zimmer is more interested in the sciences and the $ that they can bring into the school than in the other divisions within the school. The banning of "amen" at the end of prayers in the chapel is outrageous and I'm not even religious. However, those that are religious will continue to say "amen" out of habit - I wonder how Zimmer will respond?

Tingbaring - that is fantastic news! Which program are you interested in? I'm sure you've mentioned it in earlier posts but my brain has turned to mush since I was waitlisted and then pretty much rejected. My fingers are crossed!

Tingbaring - have you contacted Chicago? I was under the impression that all letters had been sent; including those that are waitlisted. I would contact the Dean of Students - what if they accepted you and your envelope got lost?! My fingers are crossed that you receive an acceptance soon!

Thanks Revolage for taking the time to answer my question(s). I would love to hear the rest of your advice, when you have time to type it up, of course.