wanderlustxx

You can definitely email them! It's not inappropriate at all, especially considering the investment you're making into the MA in terms of time and money. I've been in correspondence with most of my POI and they could not have been nicer. If you feel still shy (I totally understand that feeling) then read their books! I borrowed a book from every POI and just read the introduction and skimmed through it to get a better idea and it definitely helps. I mean their bios list their major interests but then you don't know whether you'll be happy learning what they have to say about those interests. For example, in my field (Islamic Studies), I'm very wary of orientalists and it's difficult to get an idea of that just based on professor's bios so reading their publications is necessary. Aside from that, perhaps you could also consider Yale and Duke's public policy programs into your decision? You'll most likely be taking classes outside the Div School so it might end up being a big plus to go to a school that has a fantastic PP program.

Hi everyone! I just wanted to get everyone's opinions and feedback regarding these two programs. I've been admitted to both with full tuition and am struggling to make a decision on which to choose. I'm interested in European and Islamic intellectual history and the interactions between religion and secularism in the modern Middle East. I'm leaning towards Harvard because they offered me a stipend which will definitely help with living costs even though Hyde Park seems to be much cheaper to live in than Cambridge/Somerville. I have visited Chicago and felt very much at home in the department and absolutely love the faculty there. I haven't visited HDS yet so I don't have a very clear picture although I've spoken to a few grad students who have told me wonderful things about the program. Does anyone have any info or experiences they'd like to share? One of my primary concerns is the institutional culture of mentorship and whether the faculty are invested in the M* students. I'd love to hear your thoughts on anything and everything about the programs. Thanks in advance!

Well the letter says "Harvard Divinity School Dean’s Fellow" but googling the title provided me no info about the fellowship so I don't know about TA'ing

I just realized what must have happened. I look at my fellowship letter and they said they'd send me my "offer of financial aid" by the end of the day also. I am an international applicant so my fin aid notification is probably different than domestic students and must have come earlier.

Mine was at the end of the page below the admission notification.

Thanks! I applied to the MTS degree. I checked my status online and it was posted about half an hour-ish before I got the HDS email.

HARVARD IS IN GUYS!!!!! I got full tuition and stipend!!!!!!

From my experience, being extremely meticulous in your search and looking in places you normally wouldn't consider might yield results. I wouldn't count on it though - best to look for a backup job just in case. It all usually boils down to talking to the right person at the right time. Also, a lot of people tend to prefer Workstudy eligible students to take onto their research due to funding issues. If you're fantastic and have much to contribute to research they might go out of their way to have you on board but in my experience it generally detracts greatly from the possibility of finding employment. Good luck!

Thanks so much! I'll definitely follow up on that in that case

Does the "middle of the month" technically mean Monday?

"Harvard" has become semantically satiated for me right now.

You just accurately described the last two days (ahem.. a week) of my life! I also called HDS and was told that decisions would be sent out "in the middle of the month", whatever that means I think I need to find something else to do...

Thanks so much for your insight! I spoke to a professor about the Harvard CMES degree and he essentially reiterated what you said but cautioned me against the possibility of losing focus while engaging in the endless resources provided at Harvard. I guess right now I'll just wait to see what every other school says about funding before making my choice but the CMES MA is looking to be lower on my list. Have you applied to Columbia's MESAAS Dept? Their application deadline is April 15 and that's the deadline to notify schools of acceptances so it seems quite counterintuitive. Do you know if they do rolling admissions? It doesn't make sense that anyone would go there unless they were rejected at every other school.

Got my official rejection from Columbia. Not surprised as I had spoken to my POI and she had essentially told me that they had not accepted me way back in February. Cute panda videos here I come!

Anyone heard back from Harvard? I thought decisions would be released today and am getting really anxious! I really hope they don't wait til next week

Congrats! I haven't applied to FLAS because I'm still waiting on my Green Card and missed the deadline. I spoke to a current student who said that funding was very limited overall and recommended FLAS. Have you received news from any other programs? I just received an acceptance to Chicago's MA in Middle East Studies program with 50% funding so that seems to be a much more attractive option than Harvard considering tuition and cost of living. Did you apply to the Kevorkian Center? I applied to the MEIS PhD (rejected) so I was unable to. Do you know if they have any funding for the MA?

I just received my acceptance with 50% tuition scholarship this morning. I applied through the Social Sciences Division though so that might be a factor in it.

Has anyone done any programs at Harvard's GSAS? I've been accepted to the MA in Regional Studies - Middle East which has no funding whatsoever from the CMES and am trying to weigh up whether it'd be a good investment or not. Does Harvard regularly accept its own MA students to their PhD programs? How much strength does the degree hold for other schools?

Seems unnecessarily cruel and unusual.

Officially fifthing the frustration. Neither CUNY nor Columbia have officially rejected me and it is so annoying at this point! I've already crossed them off my list but somewhere deep inside this non-rejection is allowing me to maintain a tiny inkling of misplaced hope -.-

From my interactions with Chicago, it seems that the POI have a very heavy influence in admissions.

To all the CUNY admits/waitlists: were any of you admitted/waitlisted without an M* degree? If you do have one, was it in Anthro or in another field?

Does anyone know what's happening with the CUNY admissions? There's been two admits on the results page but aside from that they seem incredibly unclear as to what's happening. Any news?

Thanks! I definitely see it as paying our dues. Besides, since most PhD programs offer funding for 5 years, and anthropology PhDs generally take longer, I'm looking at the bright side - I'd probably end up paying for 2 more years anyway! At least with an M* degree, my PhD research project will most likely be more structured and take less time overall (fingers crossed). I'll be visiting in March so I'm hoping to look at some of the coops mentioned earlier in the thread. Qumbya looks interesting and I'm definitely down for a vegetarian home cooked meal every night Has anyone been to it? The online pics make it look somewhat like a European hostel. Tsgiffey, I see that you're applying to HDS too! Any word on admissions? Looking over the results from 2014 it seems that they generally release their decisions in March so I'll be undecided on Chicago Div til then. I feel Chicago is a better fit for me in terms of the faculty but HDS is much closer to where my partner lives so that will definitely be a huge factor in my decision if I'm accepted.

Hi everyone! I've been lurking the threads for a couple of days and since I just received my official letter of acceptance, I think this is an occasion to celebrate! Are any of you planning to visit campus? After getting my acceptance to Harvard's GSAS which insisted I should have about $70,000/year on hand for tuition and expenses, Chicago Div's tuition feels exceptionally cheap, especially with the merit scholarships. Hyde Park looks like a pretty reasonable place to live, although, again, this is coming after apartment hunting in NYC. I've been browsing through Craigslist and the University Housing page and about $700 seems to be enough for a studio. The ideal situation for me would be to split a 2-bedroom apartment which should bring costs down further. Anyone looking for a roommate?