seung

Well, it has reached the students in a very obvious way--the loss of faculty. Willie Jennings left for Yale a year ago, and now Paul Griffiths is gone. Both huge losses.

As you probably already know, the deadline isn't until April 15th, and, as people have already mentioned, first-round admits tend to sit on the decision until rather last minute. Perhaps they were waitlisted at their top choice and want to hold off on a decision until they themselves hear back. The good news is, though, that from my experience news begin to flow in just around this time. Best of luck!

My undergrad was at a school most people have probably never heard of. I took advantage of being at a school school by building close relationships with my professors, something that not only helped me with my recommendations, but also made for a great educational experience. Their great letters got me into a top tier masters program. And now I'm in my top choice doctoral program.

Do either of those schools provide (good) funding? You didn't list money as one of your priorities, but just throwing that out there as a point of consideration.

Posting your credentials for other people to judge your qualification is not very helpful. I say this as someone who just went through the hell of applications. You're a strong candidate, but so are thousands of other applicants. The determinative factors in your admission go beyond how smart you are... but I'm sure you know this already. Best of luck.

That's quite the list! Just beware: John Hare of Yale and Paul Griffiths of Duke are both going to be leaving their positions soon... Hare is retiring and Griffiths has some bad blood w the school.

Haeyon, Seoul National U is a wonderful school! But I'm not surprised that Kierkegaard is not strong there. Have you check of U Chicago Div? There's Ryan Coyne, Kevin Hector, and, of course, Jean Luc Marion. also, check out Yale - Religious Studies. Noreen Khawaja does both Heidegger and Kierkegaard.

DON'T DO IT!

So I'm bumping this thread. My situation is a bit different it seems than others who have posted. My financial package Requires me to teach for the tuition waiver +stipend. I have to be in some kind of assistantship for 6 semesters. We are not required to teach our first year. However, I was recently contacted by the school about an "opportunity" to teach. The course is w my (potential) advisor, and intersects closely with one of the courses I'll be taking. And teaching now will free up my ABD days. But it seems most people here advise against TAing during ones first semester. Just wanted to throw this out there to see if anyone had any additional thoughts to share in response to my specific situation.

Searched and searched, but couldn't find one for UVA. Any other incoming graduate students here? I'm in Religious Studies.

Definitely doing this. Also helpful might be looking through the texts assigned for the seminars you will be taking to help you have a "leg up" once the semester begins.

FearNTrembling got a bit more preachy on how to approach the program itself, which is all fine, but I was trying to suggest specifically that we discuss here on the process of preparing for a program (housing, getting in touch w. profs, summer language, finding jobs, etc.) In regards to selecting courses for the first semester, a professor gave me good advice--use the first semester to get to know the department. Many of us pursuing religious studies have interdisciplinary projects, and probably want to spend some of our time during our coursework period exploring other departments. I, for instance, am interested in dabbling a bit with the Comp Lit and German departments. As per the professor, such venturing ought to be held off the first semester; instead, one ought to get to know one's advisor and other faculty in the dept. Another helpful piece of advice he mentioned was getting an early start on thinking through which courses will be helpful for comps. In my program, a theology course is being offered called "The Reformation to the Present,"which offers a broad enough spectrum of literature that I think will help me begin thinking about what I may wish to explore for my comps. As someone who took a year off before applying, the biggest challenge for me right now is my anxiousness to get back in the grind. I'm so ready to hit the books again and be immersed in an academic environment, I'm neglecting the smaller details and necessities.

Thanks for the feedback friends. This is helpful. The last point of reference I have for anything remotely similar to this is the summer before my master's program. Things were different then, and a doctoral program is quite different from a master's.

I know there are similar topics in different forums, but I also know that there are some necessities and tasks that will be unique to religious studies students. I'm starting this in hopes that we can share different concerns/experiences we are having or have had preparing to start a program. I hope it is of help to you guys.

I got into my program off the waitlist, so I didn't have the opportunity to visit the campus and meet folks with the first-round admits. After receiving my acceptance letter, and after accepting their offer, I received a helpful email detailing some things I can be doing to prepare for the semester (sending in official transcripts and GRE scores; getting health insurance stuff worked out; etc.). I was also notified of an orientation for all new doctoral students in the GSAS. However, I haven't heard much from the department. I'm writing this in hopes that some of you can shed light on whether or not it is typical for there to be a "silent period" during this time of the year. Personally, I feel that the department should have been a bit more proactive in helping us navigating logistics, getting us in touch with other grad students, etc. Thanks for the help!