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amam

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  1. Like
    amam reacted to TylerJarvis in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    How many rejections do you have to get before you can add it as a special skill on your CV?
    Asking for a friend.
  2. Like
    amam reacted to cosmo92 in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    GOT REJECTED FROM BC HELL YEA LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
  3. Like
    amam reacted to alizeh55 in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    At this point I'm refreshing the results page to finally find out that they sent out acceptances... and I didn't get one. Agh lol
  4. Like
    amam reacted to cosmo92 in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    Time to buy a patch of land in wyoming and start a cult ???
  5. Like
    amam reacted to KungFuKenny in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    I understand this energy lol. I’m thankful for the kindness and mutual support on this page. I’m not sure how I’d feel if it were as competitive and ugly here as the process feels like it might be in my mind. 
     
    Anyway, I’m also facing multiple rejections so with you in the season of mourning/despair/(hopefully)hope.
  6. Like
    amam reacted to dougy in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    I am posting this mainly for folks who scroll through this thread in future years. A brutal winter storm hit Texas this week. Due to major power outages in the state, Baylor's preview day is now postponed. So, the results coming later this year will be an aberration due to weather, not a change in their usual process.
  7. Like
    amam reacted to crossroadsph in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    I am expecting results from Drew and BC anytime soon. My POI at the former school said that he was expecting results to be released as soon as possible, if they haven’t already, and expressed the hope that I would join them there.
    I am not too confident about that, but we’ll see.
  8. Like
    amam reacted to crossroadsph in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    Congratulations! It’s a very good program and I am glad that you got in!
  9. Like
    amam reacted to alizeh55 in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    Wow- congratulations!!!! 
     
    You know you're on gradcafe too much when you get banned from liking too many posts in one day LOL. Yeah, makes sense!! Thanks and likewise  
     
    I 10000000% agree. CSR, for example, says on their website that the admissions is very competitive -- 5-7% on their website. But 5% of, say, 200 is still 10 people. In terms of PhD applicants, that's still more than 1-2. 
    I know academia is heavily flawed and elite institutions have their baggage, but this doesn't feel right at all. It feels too much like a business model lol 
  10. Like
    amam reacted to _Athena_ in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    In at Fordham!! Just got an informal acceptance over the phone!
  11. Upvote
    amam reacted to IRdreams in If I knew then what I know now (Officially Grads version)   
    I really have to agree with the competition advice concerning your cohort. As a direct from undergrad, my first year was fairly difficult because I placed a bunch of added stress on my self when I thought about students who had masters or life experience. The former I even took to calling "false first years." A lot of grad school in the first year is learning how to play the game which experienced grad students will simply be better at. This does not reflect poorly on your aptitude if you are playing catch up in this arena...3 years on there is rarely substantial differences between undergrad admits and others.

    Taking criticism also resonated with me. It is hard. For many people, grades have been a source of self validation. In grad school, they suddenly become fairly meaningless in a lot of programs. At the same time, the actual critical reflection of your work goes substantially up. I still have to remind my self not be defensive during q/a during a presentation. My advice here is probably of a narrow focus, but I think if you are an externally motivated individual (ie gauge your self worth by the views of others) grad school will be an important place do develop more of an internal focus and it will also be a place of a lot of hard knocks...but they might be good for the soul.

    Department politics: I'm still bad at this. My first year I didn't think there was a lot of distention in the department. My second year: I see it everywhere. Be very mindful when Professors ask you about their peers as it is hard to be certain of their motives especially if you do not fully grasp your department's politics.
  12. Like
    amam reacted to _Athena_ in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    I really tip my hat to everyone on this forum. :') This is possibly the worst application cycle to apply, and the academy can be so cutthroat and merciless, but you all seem like such lovely humans. Sorry for the sappiness, but the ivory tower could use more people like you all.
  13. Like
    amam reacted to cosmo92 in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    I was waitlisted at Marquette after an interview so I feel like the "good fit" thing definitely takes precedence, especially this year maybe. Worst case scenario I get to tell my future grandchildren that I had a phd interview with a top theologian while sitting in a storage closet on Zoom haha
  14. Like
    amam reacted to CafeConGabi in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    I sure hope for some good news! ^_^ Sending you positive vibes! 
  15. Like
    amam reacted to CafeConGabi in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    It was a weird feeling tbh because I realized that no one else responded to me the same so it scared me. Maybe if I didn't apply to the schools that rejected me I'd be $400 richer ?. Oh well.
    What I did notice in your response and my POI's response is the word "fight". He called a couple weeks ago to congratulate me and said "I fought for you because I see your potential". I was like daaang. These professors be fighting for us. But even in that conversation nothing was ever certain. The rest of the faculty coulda easily made the case against me. So, even with his eagerness I coulda easily been rejected so I keep that perspective.
    I try to remember that nothing is final until the admissions committee sends me the official letter. So, all I can do is hope for the best. I still have 3 more schools to hear back from. Torture!    
  16. Like
    amam reacted to beorn1968 in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    UVA philosophy and history phd results are coming in. Religious  studies cant be far behind. This is my last shot for the cycle. Never forget our intellectual  vocation depends on us, not institutional credentials. Love and solidarity guys 
  17. Like
    amam reacted to TylerJarvis in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    I worked in a church for ten years before starting this degree, and I would be plenty happy to go back to church work if academia doesn’t work out. 
    My wife and I made a deal when I started my second masters degree that if I got into a PhD, we’d go there, but if not, we’d move somewhere and stay for several years. She doesn’t want to move again this summer and then move yet again next summer. Which is totally fair. Especially since we have two kids also. So this is kinda my shot. Turned out to be the worst possible year to be taking my shot but, such is life. I’ve been really happy with this particular degree, so even if this is as far as it goes, I’m really glad I did it. 
     
     
  18. Like
    amam reacted to alizeh55 in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    I'll probably spend some time being annoyed/sad, and then eventually start the endless cycle of applying to jobs 
  19. Like
    amam reacted to alizeh55 in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    That’s an incredible story. Genuinely so nice to hear! I can imagine how you must have felt
     
    though it does scare me a bit, because I didn’t exactly have the same interaction with my POI. I did have a great email exchange with one POI (who is affiliated with the department but not on the actual committee), which I was told to mention in my SOP, but the actual committee member who was a potential POI as well never replied my email. When I spoke to the program director they said it wouldn’t be held against me because they understand that professors are busy... but now I’m really starting to doubt that. I don’t know whether the POI who I spoke to will be able to really fight for my case if she isn’t even on the committee to decide admissions. Though I’d hope that by mentioning I spoke to her, they would at least discuss it... but no idea. 
    well, it’s too late now anyway. POI #2 (who didn’t respond to me) has taught coursework in my research interests, and my perspective as an “insider” who grew up in the communal histories he teaches would be a great fit. Let’s see what happens! 

    Also, I should note that POI #1 (who replied me but isn’t on the committee) is someone whose work I’ve closely followed for years and she knows that. I also got an LOR from a professor who is just as prominent in her field. 
     
  20. Like
    amam reacted to cosmo92 in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    What are some of your plans if this year's application cycle doesn't work out for the best? At this point, since I've already finished my MTS, I'm one waitlist away from running away to Maine and living on a blueberry farm lmaoo
  21. Upvote
    amam reacted to thegraydude in POI really wants me in but is not a part of the admissions committee. What are my chances?   
    UPDATE: You guys, I GOT IN!!  
     
    I'm a worthy human being.  *sniff*
  22. Like
    amam reacted to CafeConGabi in Fall 2021 Religion PhD   
    Same! Fit for sure. 
    Gosh. I e-mailed at least 30 POI before submitting applications. Lots of them were nice and encouraged me to apply. I spoke to some on the phone or Zoom.
    However, I was only able to click with one POI. I think the best way I can describe this moment is meeting an  "intellectual soulmate" (if that makes sense?).  We Zoomed and I can?not? tell ?you how comfortable I felt in their presence. I know it was a Zoom call but there was an ease to it that I didn't experience with any other POI. Like, yes we talked about the program and potential dissertation topics but we also talked about our lives as scholar-activists. We have lives outside of academia and sharing those identities allowed me to see the underlying humanity that wasn't as transparent among the other POI conversations. I even shared my longass academic journey (it took me 8 years to finish my BA and went from Forestry to Religious Studies?) but it felt like I was sharing it with someone who understood that struggle.  
    I told him I was iffy about applying to the program because it wasn't History or Religious Studies--which is what I'm familiar with--and he told me I'd be okay. He talked at length about how he'd be able to connect me with other Religious Studies folks that he knows of and folks who do similar work on, and off, campus. By the end of the conversation he told me he'd like to be my advisor. I was like whoa. Um... Is this normal protocol? I didn't ask him to be my advisor. He even offered to look over my statement of purpose before submitting. Of course, he kept emphasizing "should you apply to the program" the entire time. I could sense he was really trying to sell the program but not in a car-sales-person way. By the end I was feeling a great deal of certainty that this was the program for me. It's funny because this was my wildcard and it turned out to be the school that made the most sense for me. I think it also made sense for the department because they've taken more religious studies students in the last three years. And, within the last two years, they also just got new archival material on religion and Mexican-American lives. In short, they're turning towards religion as a category of analysis and I just happened to apply at the perfect time.    
    TL;DR. The point here is I felt like I could see myself working with this professor during the doctoral program but also afterwards--when I write my fourth book (I haven't written my first yet. I'm thinking long-term now ?). I think the way he kept saying "should you choose to apply to the program" reminded me that I also had agency in this process, that I was choosing the best for me the way they were choosing the best fit for their program. A good colleague presented it to me this way: you're basically choosing your legacy when you choose your advisor because they're the ones who will (hopefully) guide you through the process so choose them wisely. 
  23. Upvote
    amam reacted to theophany in Best Practices and Habits of a PhD Student in Religion   
    Very much agreed on all the above. Before any piling on of extra things to do, do this. I make it a habit to take one entire day off a week, except in the direst of straits. Go to a museum, watch a movie, wander around a park, sleep, work on a puzzle, anything. Sabbath was commanded for a reason, and it's a commendable practice.
    Academically, make sure to explore outside of your area of study, even if your program doesn't require it. I don't just mean occasionally looking at something closely related but by someone in a slightly different field. I mean totally different. Take a whole class that has (apparently) little to do with what you think you want to do. The deeper you get into a PhD, the greater the pressure to nano-specialize in your field. While this can be good for rigor, I can see my colleagues increasingly incapable of thinking or talking (even casually, socially) outside of their narrow scope. This runs in the face of humanities/liberal arts scholarship, and can actually really make your scholarship suffer by closing yourself off. Coursework is likely the freest you'll be for years to come in being able to do your own exploration, and by the time you're at the dissertation, it could be too late. 
    A final word: work on your writing. The state of academic writing is truly terrible. Prose can be impenetrable. Conference papers bore to tears. Read really great writers, starting with fiction writers especially. And write regularly yourself. Do creative writing exercises. Keep a writing journal. Not for academic writing, but for experiments in writing. I promise, despite the weirdness, it does wonders. And if you're able to communicate your thoughts more beautifully, persuasively, artfully, all the better for your scholarship.
  24. Upvote
    amam reacted to rheya19 in PhD Applications Fall '17 Season   
    "Hail, John Harvard, full of scholasticism! Blessed art thou amongst Anglicans, and blessed is the fruit of thy loins, Harvard University. Pray for us now and at the hour of our funding. Amen."
    My husband's going to wonder why there are lipstick kisses on the monitor....
  25. Upvote
    amam reacted to NT PhD ... Hopefully in PhD Applications Fall '17 Season   
    The POI would be Joel Green. Can't think of many I would rather work with for Luke-Acts. I appreciate your comments. Thank you. 
    Again, at least for me, somethings have to be taken on faith (including future job prospects). Five years ago I was laying on the floor of a jail cell, puking my guts out because I was an oxy addict from my injuries in Iraq. I was looking at a 7 year prison sentence for doctor shopping.  I spent 9 months in long term jail, without seeing the sun or sky during that time. Now I'm reading Ancient Greek and Hebrew, lol, graduating with honors from a splendid little MDiv program. Go figure. I guess what I want the most is not an assurance of future employment, I'll leave that to God. What i want is to attend a program that equips me for the advanced study of NT. The rest, I'll leave to the creator. 
    Thanks again for your response!  
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