pinkfish

religiousphilosopher, What kinds of philosophy and theology interest you? If you're a fan of really contemporary work being done at the intersections of philosophy and theology, my guess would be that you'd be best served by developing your skills in French, since a lot of contemporary folks seem to be in love with Derrida et al. Otherwise, I would think that German would prove more useful, since it will cover a good chunk of the major Enlightenment-era philosophers and most of the major non-English-speaking theologians from the bulk of the 19th and 20th centuries. But you'll probably end up doing both before you get far into your graduate studies anyway, so I don't think you'll be in bad shape whichever you choose to do first.

I'm in a similar situation right now. I accepted an offer to my "safety" school by the 15th because it was the only offer I'd gotten; I'd been waitlisted at my dream school. A week and a half after the deadline, I was moved off the waitlist and my dream school and offered a great financial package. Now I'm trying to go through the process of getting a release from the safety school, and it's pretty stressful. I've been trying to contact the department for three days and haven't gotten a response yet. It's so frustrating! I'd really hate to miss the chance to go to my top-choice program because of a technicality.

I chose Fordham over SMU less because of the extra money (which won't go far in NYC) and more because of fit. There were only two people I really cared to study with at SMU, but Fordham has a ton of people working on good projects. I have a big interest in Orthodox theology, and Fordham can accommodate that interest in ways that few other departments can. Plus, the proximity to other great theology departments is a nice bonus. And rafnow- Congrats on Emory! I'm finishing my MTS there this week. Be sure to take a seminar with Ian McFarland, who's probably the best theology teacher I've ever had.

Forget what I said in my last post about S[*]MU. I'll be going to Fordham with an $18,500 stipend and health insurance.

I'm going into the PhD program at Southern Methodist University, concentrating in systematic and historical theology. They offered to cover tuition and fees and gave me a $10,000 stipend guaranteed for five years. I'm coming fresh out of the MTS at Emory with a final GPA of about 3.8, a 690V/680Q/6.0A GRE score, an undergraduate degree in theology and philosophy, and letters of recommendation from profs who didn't know very well at the time they had to write them. I've turned down an offer from Fordham because I was waitlisted for a stipend there, and that never came through for me.

Southern Methodist University, PhD in Theology I turned down an offer from Fordham, my top choice, because the money wasn't good enough

I don't know if anyone's posted this yet, but for anyone looking at Emory, the off-campus housing search ( http://www.housing.emory.edu/off-campus/home.cfm ) is very helpful.

Greetings! I'll be enrolling in the PhD program in Theology.

I got an admissions offer from Fordham but was waitlisted for funding, and it sure is frustrating. Fordham was my top choice. They don't require a decision until May 1st, which makes me fear that I'll already have accepted another offer only to get offered some money after April 15. Just admitting those they can fund, or who already have demonstrated that they have funding from an outside source, would make the most sense. I honestly can't see how anyone would attend an expensive university in New York City without a scholarship and a hefty stipend. But I guess I was warned that money was hard to come by at Fordham before I even applied, so I suppose I have no right to complain. My final tally: accepted to 2 of 9 schools, Southern Methodist and Fordham. Looks like I'm headed to Texas. And another annoyance: I spent a whole semester preparing a nice writing sample only to be accepted to the two schools that didn't want it. I'm not sure what to think of that.

I'm at Emory right now, and my wife commutes to work every day. Traffic can be pretty unpleasant here during rush hour. A lot of the major streets people take to work are just narrow residential streets, and they get pretty congested pretty fast. Public transportatian isn't very good at all for such a large city. Nearly everyone has a car, and most of the people who use the bus system are pretty destitute, minimun-wage service-industry workers. Other than that, I can strongly recommend Emory and Atlanta. I'm in the theology program, so I can't comment on the resources in your field, but the school over all is pretty nice, and there are a lot of extracurricular opportunities. The neighborhoods around Emory are quite nice, too (almost too nice for students), and most of them have more of a small-town feel while still offering the resources of a major city. I don't think you'd be unhappy here.

Thanks, rafnow. That's what I'd thought, but I've just found it kind of curious that on all the Internet boards I've been on lately, people rarely mention SMU.

I'm currently finishing up my master's degree at Emory, and I really like the area. As someone who grew up in the country, I found that it wasn't too urban for my tastes, but it still provided quick access to all the conveniences of a major city. Emory's pretty much on the edge of the city, and with just a few-mile drive in one direction, you can enjoy nature in Stone Mountain Park, and in the other direction, you can hit the restaurants and shopping centers in Midtown or Decatur. As others have said, parking is horrid. It's best to live on one of the free shuttle routes, or else use the Park and Ride program that lets you park at one of the nearby malls and take a shuttle from there. That also saves you hundreds of dollars for the cost of a parking decal. Plus, if you live within about a mile and a half of Emory in any direction, walking to and from campus is pretty easy, because you'll be on sidewalks along mostly residential roads. Groceries can be gotten very cheap if you shop at the Dekalb Farmer's Market (not a real farmer's market, but it has tons of cheap vegetables, meats and seafood, and bulk products). You can eat gourmet meals for next to nothing if you buy what's in season. The Variety Playhouse is fifteen minutes away and is a great place to catch shows by mostly independent musicians. I'll be cathing They Might Be Giants and Explosions in the Sky there before I leave this summer. Be sure to eat at Athens Pizza on Clairmont.

I got an acceptance letter from Southern Methodist on Friday, with a five-year guaranteed fellowship worth full tuition and fees plus $10,000. I've gotten formal rejections from Duke, Yale, and BC. I'm still waiting to hear from Chicago, Notre Dame, Emory, Virginia, and Fordham. I know a few people in my program who have been informed of their acceptance/rejection at Fordham and Emory for a couple of weeks, but I've heard nothing yet, and I'm not sure what that means. Does anyone know much about the respectability of SMU's theology program? I'd be happy studying there if I don't have any other options, because between Bruce Marshall on the Trinity and Valerie Karras on Greek patristic theology, I'd have everything I need. I'm a bit worried about the fact that I rarely see the department come up in conversation, though. Would I be better off waiting out a year and applying again if I don't get into higher-ranked school (which isn't looking hopeful at this point)?