Duns Eith

RE: Person who turned down MA at Western Michigan -- did you get notified today, and decline today? Wow. I hope it helps my chances!

There is enough arbitrariness and randomness that I don't think you need to infer that you are out. You're waiting to hear from 6 or 7 out of 10? 3 explicit (and 1 implicit) rejections need not be representative of the whole yet.

PS Why are you worried about the church?

Truth seeker: I just graduated from a top evangelical/ non-denom reformed school with a master of arts in religion (theological studies emphasis). First I wanna say, I think that is the equivalent of a MTS, and I think it is manageable for taking classes and being in a pastorate (many of my classmates did this, some even went for an MDiv instead of the MTS). I found it a HUGE help in thinking through not only theology, but how to navigate texts faithfully to the authors in a way that can be accessible to congregations. ...I say that even though I didn't have any preaching classes (since I was not an MDiv)! That said, if you have a masters in counseling maybe you want to consider a Doctor of Ministry (a DMin) for doctoral work. PhD is a whole different matter. What kind of study do you want to do, that you would be competent to teach as a Prof? The prospect of teaching systematics or biblical studies are kind of stacked against you. I have friends going into OT and they, since they are considered conservative evangelical, will have an up hill battle landing a job at a decent Seminary or Christian college. But before I say anything more: does any other pastor (at your church or nearby, or even another pastor you keep in touch and maybe keeps you accountable) not only see your desire, but also your gifting and personality fitting with your goals? You sound either like you don't want to shepherd anymore (teaching=/=shepherding), but you do want to edify others with speaking opportunities that communicate biblical matters; OR you are burnt out at your current position (like, the congregation is getting stagnant or they are not following your lead, or they are moving much more slowly than you want), and taking a break to fill up/recharge is over due.

No mention of timeline of when decisions will come out; just that they would "be convening the graduate committee next week (3/9-3/13) to review graduate applications. No decisions have been made at this point."

Thank you for your opinion, however I was not privvy to his/her AOIs at the time I posted.

Purdue (PhD) - According to Draper, "I'll be letting you know sometime this week or early next week where you stand as far as admission and funding is concerned." Ohio University (MA) - According to Petrik, Applications will be reviewed March 9-13, given that spring break threw off their application deadline this year.

Just curious: how many schools did you apply for, and how many were in the top 10 ranked on PGR? E.g., I applied only to 6, and none were top 20

Yeah, for example, the DGS of Western Michigan said most students don't take the thesis track in their program (it has a high placement record, btw), whereas I spoke with the MA director for TAMU and he said that almost everyone (no one in last few years) has elected the non-thesis option. I was kinda surprised by both statements.

Bump. This is relevant for a lot of questions in other threads

popsteady: Good questions. I only applied to places that were ranked for their placement scores, and in my statement of purpose (or in my spreadsheet for my apps) I mentioned the profs by name whom I was most interested in studying under (on account of their interests, publications, and status -- prof, assoc prof, assist prof, etc.). In my case, I have only had one acceptance thus far, and it was for an MA. But if I get more acceptances, the top considerations I will research for comparison sake are: 1) Actual placement records for getting into a PhD, whether the theses were advised by any faculty I was interested in, and where the MA students were placed. E.g. for Texas A&M there were some faculty I was really interested in who had advised people's theses and went onto schools I want to get into (Notre Dame, U of Mich, Purdue, UW Madison, U Chicago, etc.). If they got into those schools, it is likely because the caliber was up to snuff, but also that the faculty may have some personal connection with someone at the school. E.g. Texas A&M's Hugh McConn studied and taught at ND and one of his students he advised went onto ND. He has recently retired, but it is a good example. Unfortunately, also, I was rejected from TAMU. 2) What is the actual finance package? When they say tuition remission except fees, what does that actually look like? $150 a semester, or $950 a year? Likewise, does some of the living stipend partially (and necessarily) go toward health insurance, housing, or other costs? How is the stipend disbursed: initially in a sum, monthly, or bi-weekly? 3) What are their current course offerings? All MAs should have the general obvious ones (ancient, early modern, epistemology, logic, advanced ethics, etc.), but are there courses that you are dying to take that are in their rotation? A similar but almost insignificant question is whether their MA requires 28, 30, 33 or 36 credits to complete. Of course, take the thesis track if you want placement into a PhD. I can't think of a reason not to. Many programs show all the classes they require for completion and what are electives. Chart out your ideal tracks at each school, and compare what those tracks look like. Get prof names on the list too, so you know whether you'll be working with the same people often (and hence will give a good, accurate assessment for letter-writing later; or if you are stuck with someone you are less than interested). If you look at the tracks and one is clearly more engaging and interesting, that could be helpful. Some courses are in specific rotation but unnamed (e.g. seminar on major philosophers -- you might need to ask what is being offered in the next year or so, since it will be blank on the website usually).

Maybe it is worth adding to this conversation (perhaps it goes outside of the scope), if you went to an MA (e.g. UW-Milwaukee or wherever), what strengths did you find in your program that helped with placement? E.g. Did you have writing sample workshops, did you get funding for conference, CV workshops, etc.? Did your professors intentionally give feedback on your papers with a view toward writing samples, or did they only respond when prodded and nagged? Did your professors point out scholars or connect you with scholars for networking purposes? (whether in office hours, via email, or at conferences)

There we go. I just got accepted to Texas Tech for their MA, with TAship, tuition waiver and stipend.

psm1580b Ouch, dude. I am sorry this season isn't going well for you thus far. But, you applied to 14 places? ...Statistically improbable that no one accepts you? Maybe that's no consolation.

You are correct that the overall healthy aspect of our community is that when we post letters, it is usually met with encouragement, praise, and congratulation. I like that interaction, to be honest. Though I will say that when I saw someone post (in a different sub-forum) their letter nearly verbatim, I was taken aback. I thought it was poor form. [unrelated: You're in Philly? I am just north of Philly, about 2 miles of the northern border of Philly proper, in Abington Twp]

Just got rejected as well. I think of all the MA programs, they would've been the best fit. This doesn't bode well for my PhD apps, IMO.

Sorry man :/

IanFaircloud: I understand where you are coming from. I think the funding thread/spreadsheet that people were adding to was helpful, and anonymous (in that it is not tied to any user). In the same way, of course, the GradCafe results page is extremely helpful and anonymous. I think it is probably a good idea to keep the details of the package given to you (and the manner it was communicated) more confidential. I am unsure about whether we should consider the emails from the AdComms as private correspondance given in confidence. In any case, I think it would be better if this were made available (yes! this is extremely helpful!) but more or less anonymous. I realize there is a sense of pride and congratulatory glory, but is it appropriate? Not sure. ... I am thinking by analogy, what if someone posted a picture of themselves next to their employment acceptance email (along with the salary), posted on a public help-wanted board (next to an ad for the position offered). I'd think douche. But there are some disanalogous aspects in GradCafe's situation that would not make me think "Douche."

I have no confirmed decision or notification, but according to TAMU's MA program director, "My understanding is that notifications as to acceptance/waitlist/rejection have now been sent out."

Congrats! I applied there, but no such news yet. :/

DF394: If you have the time, check out Trulia.com and Hotpads.com. Craigslist is really useful, as they have a map interface for scoping out sections. Trulia and Hotpads are useful for their "heat map" view, where you can see the expensive areas or even the high-crime areas to avoid. This should at least give you an estimate of what you're comparing Sansom Place to. (btw, PhillyCJ this is JV ... I know my name is dumb)

I've been interested in the prior reports as well. For example, we are still waiting on Brogaard to finish up the specialty ranking by department ... I'd rather have the old data than just a "Coming soon..." page.

Wait, .... You didn't add the facetious remark ("P.S....") at the end?

We have seen two acceptances from Ohio State, both around (or slightly later) than predicted. No other mentions of acceptances, waitlist, rejections... But if 2014 is predictive over 2013, then we could expect more offers later this week or next week. Data: In 2013, 8 offers were reported at the end of January. In 2014, 3 offers were reported at the end of January, and 4 more were reported at the end of February. In 2015, 2 offers were reported at the end of January.