Deep Fried Angst

Those of us with two often did an MA and another degree, resulting in closer to the hours of an MDiv. Also, degrees from non-academic focused seminaries tend to be full of not PhD preparing courses (Foundations in Missions, Vocation of Ministry, etc.) so multiple degrees can be needed to get all the courses one needs to be ready. Thus the MDiv + Thm method for some when the MDiv didn't have a lot of room for upper level electives in HB/NT and Second Temple if one is in the biblical studies area of things.

As for the vaccines, I wouldn't be surprised if universities will create a plan for students who are not able to get a vaccine to arrive on campus two weeks early with a negative COVID test and then be vaccinated by the on-campus health clinic, and then be good to go. Thinking of the J&J vaccine. One does. Two weeks typically to receive full effects. Cheap and easily stored. This is purse speculation, but it might become reality.

As for the vaccines, I wouldn't be surprised if universities will create a plan for students who are not able to get a vaccine to arrive on campus two weeks early with a negative COVID test and then be vaccinated by the on-campus health clinic, and then be good to go. Thinking of the J&J vaccine. One does. Two weeks typically to receive full effects. Cheap and easily stored. This is purse speculation, but it might become reality.

I'm gonna push back on this because Chicago has a reputation for "forever" PhD students who take 7-10 years to graduate. This is not needed. You need to get those three letters behind your name so you can have a chance at a job search.
is Chicago a good school? Yes. Are they rigorous? Yes. Are they built around a model that reflects a decades old view of the job market and post graduate job stability? 100%. Working harder doesn't = a better program. It may mean a less humane one.

As someone that was once in your shoes, I'll pass down advice that was given to me:
Ask for more money.
The worst thing that can happen is that they'll say no. They will never revoke an offer simply because you asked for more money.
I was offered 75% to attend Vandy but simply asked for more. I explained that I loved the school, Nashville, etc but I needed more money to commit. They asked me to wait until closer to April 15th so they got a better sense of who was/isn't coming and the director called and offered me an increase to 100%.
VDS takes in anywhere from 70-100 students a year and the amount of classmates I had with 100k+ in student debt just from their M* was fucking criminal.
ALWAYS ask for more!

I'll start applying for jobs next academic year. I'll have my dissertation proposal accepted in a month or so (I already have confirmations from my board, I just need to do the paperwork and go through the process). Hopefully come summer's end I'll have three chapters done, so enough to have time to submit applications.

This is not an unfair assessment.

Accepted to the MA program at UVA. Was wrestling between this or the PhD program at Marquette but finally decided that I'll be heading to UVA to work with the faculty that I'm more inclined to study with and re-apply once I complete this new degree. Love you guys !
 

I got accepted to Harvard!!!!! The news came last night; sorry I didn't update the thread sooner.

Good gravy. 
I just got accepted into the joint PhD program in Religious Studies at Univ of Denver & Iliff School of Theology. 
I was definitely not expecting that. ? 
Oh man. I don't know what to do. Denver feels like a natural fit since I've been doing RLST for a long time but the Chicanx Studies program at UCLA has the advisor I really want... Decisions, decisions. ?
I guess it all comes down to funding... right? 

I just received an offer of admission from the Toronto School of Theology. Financial aid information is forthcoming.
Out of six applications, this means I got into two (Toronto and KU Leuven in Belgium) and was waitlisted in one (Drew).

sharing  this masterpiece from Facebook:
 
”Reply to rejection: Thanks for your interest in rejecting me. After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your rejection. Please note that I have received a record-breaking number of competitive rejections this year and your unsuccessful rejection does not mean your rejection is not good. In light of this, I will still attend your school this fall and I am looking forward to see you on campus soon.”

There's a couple things to do depending on your situation. 
If you have an offer on the table from another program but are on the waitlist at your dream school, let that dream school know you have an offer. Email the head of the grad program, say you have another offer but your first choice would be their school so you want to know where you are on the waitlist. There's always a (small) chance that them knowing you have another offer may make you more desirable in their eyes. They're not magically going to find money for you, but they might rethink your position in the waitlist line. 
If you are only waitlisted, you can always inquire where in line you are. But this should probably be a one time email a month or two after initial acceptances have gone out (an initial inquiry is also fine; you want to know the outlook). Any more frequent and they will know that you haven't got in anywhere. Not a bad thing, but desperation is never a good look. 
Lastly, if you are only on waitlist(s), start developing your backup plan. If you are slated to graduate, you will need a source of income if these apps fall through. Start that process now. You can always back out of a job application/interview process later if you get accepted to a school. But waiting until all hopes are exhausted may put you way behind other spring graduates in the job market. 

There's a couple things to do depending on your situation. 
If you have an offer on the table from another program but are on the waitlist at your dream school, let that dream school know you have an offer. Email the head of the grad program, say you have another offer but your first choice would be their school so you want to know where you are on the waitlist. There's always a (small) chance that them knowing you have another offer may make you more desirable in their eyes. They're not magically going to find money for you, but they might rethink your position in the waitlist line. 
If you are only waitlisted, you can always inquire where in line you are. But this should probably be a one time email a month or two after initial acceptances have gone out (an initial inquiry is also fine; you want to know the outlook). Any more frequent and they will know that you haven't got in anywhere. Not a bad thing, but desperation is never a good look. 
Lastly, if you are only on waitlist(s), start developing your backup plan. If you are slated to graduate, you will need a source of income if these apps fall through. Start that process now. You can always back out of a job application/interview process later if you get accepted to a school. But waiting until all hopes are exhausted may put you way behind other spring graduates in the job market. 

There's a couple things to do depending on your situation. 
If you have an offer on the table from another program but are on the waitlist at your dream school, let that dream school know you have an offer. Email the head of the grad program, say you have another offer but your first choice would be their school so you want to know where you are on the waitlist. There's always a (small) chance that them knowing you have another offer may make you more desirable in their eyes. They're not magically going to find money for you, but they might rethink your position in the waitlist line. 
If you are only waitlisted, you can always inquire where in line you are. But this should probably be a one time email a month or two after initial acceptances have gone out (an initial inquiry is also fine; you want to know the outlook). Any more frequent and they will know that you haven't got in anywhere. Not a bad thing, but desperation is never a good look. 
Lastly, if you are only on waitlist(s), start developing your backup plan. If you are slated to graduate, you will need a source of income if these apps fall through. Start that process now. You can always back out of a job application/interview process later if you get accepted to a school. But waiting until all hopes are exhausted may put you way behind other spring graduates in the job market. 

There's a couple things to do depending on your situation. 
If you have an offer on the table from another program but are on the waitlist at your dream school, let that dream school know you have an offer. Email the head of the grad program, say you have another offer but your first choice would be their school so you want to know where you are on the waitlist. There's always a (small) chance that them knowing you have another offer may make you more desirable in their eyes. They're not magically going to find money for you, but they might rethink your position in the waitlist line. 
If you are only waitlisted, you can always inquire where in line you are. But this should probably be a one time email a month or two after initial acceptances have gone out (an initial inquiry is also fine; you want to know the outlook). Any more frequent and they will know that you haven't got in anywhere. Not a bad thing, but desperation is never a good look. 
Lastly, if you are only on waitlist(s), start developing your backup plan. If you are slated to graduate, you will need a source of income if these apps fall through. Start that process now. You can always back out of a job application/interview process later if you get accepted to a school. But waiting until all hopes are exhausted may put you way behind other spring graduates in the job market. 

There's a couple things to do depending on your situation. 
If you have an offer on the table from another program but are on the waitlist at your dream school, let that dream school know you have an offer. Email the head of the grad program, say you have another offer but your first choice would be their school so you want to know where you are on the waitlist. There's always a (small) chance that them knowing you have another offer may make you more desirable in their eyes. They're not magically going to find money for you, but they might rethink your position in the waitlist line. 
If you are only waitlisted, you can always inquire where in line you are. But this should probably be a one time email a month or two after initial acceptances have gone out (an initial inquiry is also fine; you want to know the outlook). Any more frequent and they will know that you haven't got in anywhere. Not a bad thing, but desperation is never a good look. 
Lastly, if you are only on waitlist(s), start developing your backup plan. If you are slated to graduate, you will need a source of income if these apps fall through. Start that process now. You can always back out of a job application/interview process later if you get accepted to a school. But waiting until all hopes are exhausted may put you way behind other spring graduates in the job market. 

There's a couple things to do depending on your situation. 
If you have an offer on the table from another program but are on the waitlist at your dream school, let that dream school know you have an offer. Email the head of the grad program, say you have another offer but your first choice would be their school so you want to know where you are on the waitlist. There's always a (small) chance that them knowing you have another offer may make you more desirable in their eyes. They're not magically going to find money for you, but they might rethink your position in the waitlist line. 
If you are only waitlisted, you can always inquire where in line you are. But this should probably be a one time email a month or two after initial acceptances have gone out (an initial inquiry is also fine; you want to know the outlook). Any more frequent and they will know that you haven't got in anywhere. Not a bad thing, but desperation is never a good look. 
Lastly, if you are only on waitlist(s), start developing your backup plan. If you are slated to graduate, you will need a source of income if these apps fall through. Start that process now. You can always back out of a job application/interview process later if you get accepted to a school. But waiting until all hopes are exhausted may put you way behind other spring graduates in the job market. 

I’m a big fan of free. I don’t think religion is a field where I can justify more debt for prestige. I already have about 24k of undergrad debt and I would like to avoid adding more. 
I haven’t yet accepted my offer, but I don’t think I can realistically expect full tuition at HDS or YDS. 

In at Fordham!! Just got an informal acceptance over the phone!

Baylor would also give you access to Whataburger. This should not be taken lightly as part of the decision making process. 

Baylor would also give you access to Whataburger. This should not be taken lightly as part of the decision making process. 

Baylor would also give you access to Whataburger. This should not be taken lightly as part of the decision making process. 

Contingent employment and NTT employment typically does not affect how your research is seen by others since most people are aware of the state of the job market. One of the top prizes in early career scholars for SBL The Achtemeier Award was given to a contingent faculty this year. However, most of these positions have a much higher work load for less pay than TT and Tenured jobs. Less money and less job security makes it harder to do research and have continued research progress, especially if the schools you become connected to don't have a great library section in your research area. 
The terminology varies from department to department. Mine only has instructor for PhD Candidates who are getting teaching fellowships beyond their fifth year. No lecturers. And everyone else is some from of Adjunct or VAP. 
To my knowledge a couple Post-Docs is fine, but after that I'm not sure how that would look of if post doc committees would be ok with hiring someone on their 5th post doc. 
The key thing to do is let departments in your area know you are there and open to taking on a course or two at their institution if anything opens up. You might end up taking on a medical leave or a sudden departure (someone leaves right before the semester begins) teaching load for a semester. Posting a job and doing a long hiring process for an adjunct is a lot of work for a little payoff. Many times departments will hire those who they know are open to doing the job without ever posting a position.