religiousphilosopher

I'm currently in a master's program in religious studies. I just got my fall semester grades, and I'm a little bummed out. I've received too many Bs (5 total in 3 semesters). I've heard that a B in grad school is not good. How much truth is there to that? Do I have a realistic shot at PhD programs anymore? Should I be thinking up different career options at this point?

What does one do with a Harvard MTS degree? I know most intend to apply to PhD programs, but say that you don't, or take time off from school after the MTS... what does one do?

Question to whomever might know: What are the advantages of getting an MDiv over an MTS when applying to PhD programs? I recently heard that MDiv is more competetive because its a longer degree, and thus gives you more experience.

Does this indicate that you did not actually pay off credit cards with your student loan...?

If your grad school is offering you federal loans to cover living expenses, can these be legitimately used to pay off credit card debt? If you consider that working more hours to pay off a credit card can hinder how well you do in your classes, then it makes sense that one should be able to use a student loan for this purpose, since it would be helping your education. Have you heard of anyone doing this? Is it legal? Advisable?

^^ From what I understand I'll need to pass a language exam in either French or German, but I can petition another language if I can show that its more relevant to my studies. However, I've decided I should just do French. I studied it for a few years, can get a grammar review book, and just start reading books in French. Since I already know Spanish from growing up, I should be able to gain a pretty good grasp of the French language. That way I can take the language exam and won't have to take a language class next year.

Yeah, its a tough one... German's probably a better bet. Then there's Greek, Hebrew, Latin... Oh, so many languages...

So, I'll need to study a language next year. My interests are in philosophy and theology... should I study French or German? Which is more useful in your opinions? I took French in high school, and I could build on that, making my knowledge of it very good. Or I could start with a completely new language such as German if it is more useful for philosophy and theology. Both options seem to make sense.

Yeah, I did end up going with Harvard. I think it'll be a good time! (wow... that's nerdy to say... )

How many MTS students does Harvard take?

Congratulations! That's awesome. Is it for philosophy of religion?

very cool, pinkfish! one nice thing about fordham is that it gives you new york and all the nice cross-registering opportunities that come with that.

^^ Yikes... and you were waitlisted? I wonder how many 4.0, perfect GRE people there are with nowhere to go to school next year...

^^ Good choice. What are your theological interests? I'll be going to Harvard Divinity School next year to pursue a Master of Theological Studies with an intended concentration in philosophy of religion. They offered me a grant that included tuition, health insurance, and fees. Not the ideal situation, but still very good. My stats? Undergrad philosophy major ~3.8 GPA, knew my recommenders well, I did not include the GRE scores, but I did include a 10 page written sample.

Good to hear (err... read)!

Well, Chicago has been my #1 choice for a while... I'm still struggling with the decision, actually.

Well, they had three students share to the group. One was a PhD student, one was an MDiv student, and the other was an AM student. Now that I think of it, the PhD student did not do her masters at Chicago, the MDiv student was waitlisted at Chicago and will likely go somewhere else for her PhD, and the AM student is going to do his PhD in a different department at the university (if I remember correctly). That isn't what we want to be seeing...

I've decided against Chicago. Kinda weird, since I'd wanted to go there for a long time. I'm visiting Yale and Harvard this week, and then I'll finally make a decision. How do MAR/MTS students from Yale and Harvard generally fare in the PhD market? I assume they do quite well, but I'm curious if anyone has some more concrete information for me. Philmajor: where did you do your undergrad? Philosophically, what are you interested in? Do you know the 2 who were admitted into the philosophy of religion PhD program? What are they interested in? Will you consider applying to a PhD in philosophy program? And finally... what are your plans for next year?

I went to Chicago's open house for newly admitted students. They kept on emphasizing that one's chances of getting into the PhD program are greatly increased by going through the M.A. program. What do you all think? Is it worth it to go into twice as much debt so that you have a better chance of getting into the PhD program? I suppose that's a personal question, though.

Sounds like you want to go to Harvard. But if you do choose Vandy, please send that Harvard stipend over my way.

^^ This makes me somewhat glad to not be pursuing my Masters at U of Chicago. The semester systems at Yale and Harvard will allow me to work on PhD applications in a year and half from now. As a general question, do you know any philosophy of religion AM students at Chicago that went on to apply to Philosophy departments, such as Notre Dame (or any other. Notre Dame just comes to mind for its strength specifically in philosophy of religion)? Just curious.

So there is a chance of increased funding at Chicago for MA students? I was thinking about e-mailing them and asking if more could be available to me.

If you're already paying tuition at one of these schools and you want to take a class at another school, do you have to pay an additional tuition charge at that other school? I'm most likely going to HDS next year for their MTS, and one of the main draws for me was that I could take classes at a number of great schools in Boston (such as MIT, Boston College, or Gordon-Conwell), if I wanted to. However, I don't know if those courses will already be considered "paid for" through my HDS tuition. I probably wouldn't take classes at other schools if I had to pay more for it. However, I suppose its nice to know that its still possible... Also, to the poster asking between UofC and BC, I'd say go with the better financial deal. It seems that even really talented people who went to top schools for Masters degrees have been getting rejected from top PhD programs. So, even going to the top programs for Masters won't guarantee you anything.

Yale's Ph.D. is through the department of religious studies. I'm visiting both in a couple of weeks. I'm currently leaning towards Harvard, though. But I think you're right that the visit will likely be the deciding factor. Also, just out of curiosity, why does Emory shy away from Harvard MTS grads?

Did anyone apply to Toronto? If so,have you heard from them yet?