Jack Horner

I know that this doesn't provide any insight about your question, but Duke's MTS program is notoriously underfunded (at least that's the picture that I've been getting from a variety of different sources), so I wouldn't hold out much hope for a substantial award.

Yeah, I felt that I was more than qualified for the program as well. Truth be told, Notre Dame probably wouldn't have been a perfect fit for my personality and research interests, and I was trying to make it work because of the subsidized tuition. Maybe my application made that abundantly clear?

Yeah, I was really frustrated when ND and UChicago wouldn't let me submit my writing sample. It was easily the strongest part of my application. More than GPA, GRE scores and LORs, a strong writing sample seems to be the part of any application that would be most indicative of potential success at the graduate level (especially in a field like Theology). Oh well, it's their program and they can choose to admit applicants based on whatever criteria they want to use. Still, the fact that they wouldn't consider a writing sample coupled with the major issues on their end with processing my application (my status still says "Incomplete"), and I'm neither surprised nor particularly disappointed to receive a rejection notice. It's too bad though, because they have an excellent faculty.

Still waiting to hear back from one more school, but BC was my #1 choice and they gave me a very generous fellowship. Most likely, I'll be attending the STM at BC in the fall. Very excited!

Just got a rejection e-mail from ND for the MTS in Systematics...just as well, as it makes the tough decision between BC and ND for me. Congratulations to those of you who have heard back, and good luck to those of you who are still waiting to hear back.

Interesting. Well, congratulations nonetheless! Notre Dame is a great program.

Congratulations! Systematics here...still waiting to hear back from them.

So nobody who's applied to Notre Dame's MTS program has heard back yet, right?

I realize that this probably depends a lot on the institution, but I'm hoping that some of your experiences can help me as I try to figure out how to move forward. Recently, I was accepted at my number one choice with a very generous tuition fellowship (80%) for a masters program. Later that day, I received an e-mail saying that I was under consideration for a Graduate Assistantship that would cover 100% of my tuition costs and provide an annual stipend of ~$9k in exchange for a 20 hour/week administrative job at the school. Basically, it would be the equivalent of a part-time $15/hour job. Sounds great, especially considering the fact that I'll need to find a part-time job wherever I go. I'm pretty sure that I can handle a part-time job and a full load of classes (I did it as an UG), but if I decide to drop the Graduate Assistantship after 1 year or if I'm dropped (unlikely, but possible), does that usually mean that I will lose any tuition assistance that has been offered previously (specifically, the 80% fellowship)? If so, it seems much safer to take the tuition fellowship and worry about finding employment that isn't tied to funding. Anyone have any similar experiences?

Same, in Systematics...won't be accepting because I have already have a nice offer from a better program (BC).

Just received my acceptance to the MTS program at Boston College with an 80% tuition fellowship. ...and I accidentally posted twice to the results forum. My bad. Any way to remove it??

Systematics

Congratulations to everyone who's heard back from their programs! I'm not expecting to hear back until the second week of March (the earliest). Right now, the suspense is killing me. It's not like it's the end of the world if I don't get in to any of my programs (I have a decent and stable teaching job); however, my life is in a holding pattern until I know where I'm going to be living in 6 months. The weekends are the worst part, since I have lots of time to dwell on the future. I'm sure most of you are/were going through the same thing right now. Here's to hopefully having some closure (good or bad) by the end of March!

The PhD thread is still going strong, but since it's (almost) March 1st, and most Masters programs start accepting students within the next 3-4 weeks, I figured that we could start our own MA/MTS/MDiv support group. At this point, I'm already resigned to being rejected from all 4 of my programs. There's an inner peace that comes along with that. So, in the meantime...where are you applying? Then as the acceptances (or rejections, in my case) start rolling in, we can share results.

University of Chicago A.M. applicant here. If you log into their application system, it says the following: I wouldn't start expecting to hear back from them until the 15th or so, at the earliest. My guess is that they have to come to some sort of conclusion about the number of Ph.D. candidates that they're going to accept before they can begin to talk about accepting students for the Masters programs.

Yikes! Thanks, Mathētēs. I'll check it out.

If it comes down to that, you can look into International Baccalaureate World Schools. Philosophy is part of the IB curriculum ("college level"), and schools often have a hard time finding qualified people to teach philosophy. Oh, and they have IB World Schools in countries throughout the world. Just a thought.

It seems like most people here are applying to Ph.D. programs (although it could be that the Masters freak-out cycle doesn't start until March). Assuming that you're accepted into at least one of your programs and emerge a few years later with a graduate degree, what are you hoping to accomplish with your degree? Professorship? Non-university teaching position? Private research? Starbucks barista? There are so many different people here, applying to so many different programs -- this thread might be interesting. So, what's your end game? I'll post mine in a few...

Humanities MA applicant here. This is my first time applying to grad school, and I would agree that the majority of posters at the Cafe seem to be PhD applicants. That said, most of the advice that's being thrown around to PhD applicants is just as relevant for Masters applicants (with the exception of interviews, usually). I think it's funny that people are pulling their hair out and complaining because they're waiting to hear back in February, when most MA/MS programs don't hear back until mid- to late-March. Meanwhile, my life is in a holding pattern. Yay.

I'm applying to the MTS program at Notre Dame. The application was due on 2/1, and the majority of my application materials are still showing up as missing in their system. Transcripts, GRE scores and LORs were all sent out by early December, so there's no way the school hasn't received *any* of them. It seems like they're behind on updating the system, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that PhD applicants take priority over Masters applicants. Still, it would be nice if they could update it before March.

That's for the GSAS, the School of Theology and Ministry is a different address.

It's the M.T.S. program at Boston College, in case anyone knows about their policy when it comes to late applications. I already sent the package, and I figure I'll shoot them an e-mail later today explaining that the majority of materials will arrive on 1 day late.

To make a long story short, I was out of town for the last week with very spotty internet access the entire time. Knowing that my application was due on Monday, February 15th (but forgetting that it was President's Day), I assumed that I would work on completing my application on Saturday, and send it overnight via Fedex to arrive there on (or before) Monday. Fast-forward to today. I've finished my application, and realize that the processing center address is a P.O Box. Since it's a P.O. Box, the USPS is my only option. Additionally, Monday is President's Day. Obviously, the USPS doesn't deliver on President's Day (or Sunday). Totally bonehead move on my part, but the bulk of my application materials (2 LORs, SoP, writing sample, C.V.) won't arrive at the processing center until Tuesday, February 16th. I realize that this probably depends on the school and the program, but I'm wondering if application deadlines are typically hard deadlines, or is there a bit of flexibility when it comes to due dates? If it makes any difference, my application materials are postmarked 2/13. Like I said, this was entirely my fault due to a lack of planning; however, this school is my #2 choice and I feel like I have (had?) a pretty strong chance of being accepted.

Thanks for the advice, everybody. It seems like he's willing to write an additional LOR, and he doesn't seem to think that it will be a problem.

Background: I'm in the process of applying to an M.A. program that requires 3 LORs. I already have all three LORs secured (including one from my direct supervisor and colleague in a related field over the last 3 years), and all of them have already been submitted to the program. While polishing my SoP, I was checking out the faculty list, and realized that one of my former professors (at another institution) is currently teaching in the program to which I'm applying. I e-mailed him asking if he would endorse my candidacy with the adcomm. I was thinking of a short, simple 1-2 paragraph letter to the adcomm (something to the extent of "Yes, I know this kid. Yes, he can do the work in this program, he will be an asset, etc."). I did reasonably well in his class, though we didn't have a particularly close relationship outside of class. If it makes any difference, I do mention his class in my SoP. He responded by stating that he would be happy to write a letter of recommendation, and asking me to forward any relevant PDFs, etc. It's pretty clear that he remembers me 4 years later. My question: Is there any scenario where having an additional LOR from a professor in the program where I'm applying be a bad thing? Or should I push him to stick with a simple statement of endorsement? Thanks for any help/advice you guys (and gals) can offer.