JDD
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Everything posted by JDD
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Just got a call from Duke letting me know I've been admitted to their M.Div program. No mention of financial aid though - they said to expect an email from their office in a few days. Best of luck to the other applicants! Edit: In my admissions letter in the portal, I was offered 25%, which is apparently typical for Duke. Not nearly enough for me to attend.
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Congrats on Chicago! As an aside, Duke sent out an email today confirming that admissions decisions will be posted by 5 p.m. EST tomorrow.
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@Divinitynerd Very sorry to hear that, but it's good that you're still pursuing your goal! Would you mind letting us know which degree sequence you applied to for your programs? I'm the only PTS M.Div that I know of on these forums - so I can't speak to whether my admission came early or late. Others may be able to help, though.
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Alright, just got confirmation from PTS that I've been offered 80% funding for the M.Div program. This makes the choice super easy, considering PTS has been my top choice from the beginning. I hope to see some of you there in the Fall. Best of luck until then!
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I finally heard back from PTS's financial aid department - they offered me 80% funding + a scholarship that should cover the remainder of tuition. Although, I'm a little skeptical as to what this amount entails, as the way the letter was worded it almost seems like the 80% funding figure includes the scholarship. That said, they also asked for my tax return before they could confirm funding. I responded with the requested docs and asked if they could send me the exact dollar amount of funding I've received to ensure there is no miscommunication. If it all checks out and the funding covers the entirety of tuition, I'll be matriculating in the fall! Still, I can't help but wonder what might happen with my Duke and Yale apps!
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Wow - good to know. Would this affect me as an M.Div applicant? As far as I've been told, Duke is on the up and up. It would be good to know if you think these problems will have an impact on short/long-term reputation or if they are nothing more than a nuisance.
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Thanks for the congrats! I'm trying to temper my excitement with the reality that I may not get the financial aid necessary to attend. I had a call with the head of financial aid this morning and they confirmed that I won't hear back on need/merit-based aid until late next week. He confirmed that they do financial aid decisions on a rolling basis, similar to admissions. Moreover, they have to determine the cost of tuition for the next academic year before they award any financial aid. So it's more waiting for me! I'm still waiting for YDS and DDS - I'll be sure to share any news I get for those programs as it happens.
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I was accepted into PTS's M.Div program on Friday - very exciting. I'm still working through the financial aid offer. They sent two emails: one was a plain acceptance letter encouraging me to apply for aid and one financial aid letter notifying me of a scholarship that I've been offered. There was no mention of grant money but it did say that the scholarship I received was not necessarily the only one I could/will receive. To complicate things further, the particular scholarship I was offered makes me eligible for additional scholarships - though I have no idea when I'll find out if I've been selected for those (or whether I would have been notified already if I had been selected). Because I was left with a ton of questions, I responded to the scholarship email asking for clarification. They didn't answer the question, rather, they set up a call with the head of financial aid. I'll be speaking with him on Wednesday to hopefully clear this up. I have not reported my acceptance on results, as I'd like to wait until I understand my full funding offer. I think this will be more useful to those who depend on the results search for guidance!
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I had my interview with PTS on Friday. I spoke with their head of admissions over the phone (we couldn't get Skype to work) for about 30 mins. The conversation was pleasant and very helpful, as he was able to give me a very clear picture of what PTS is all about and how I might fit. It only served to reinforce what I already liked about PTS. He mentioned that PTS is experiencing a very bizarre situation currently: close to 1/3 of the staff are currently on sabbatical. He said they hadn't planned this, but it meant that every professor is extremely busy and therefore can't necessarily provide all of the resources to applicants that PTS is accustomed to. He mentioned that the admissions committee should be meeting at least once a month to review and decide on current applicants (my app being among those) and that they pride themselves on being able to provide a response quickly. Still, I didn't feel comfortable trying to pin him down on an exact date as to when current applicants might expect a response. My guess is that some of the first Fall 2018 decisions will go out in the next 2 weeks - at least for M.Div applicants. If anyone else has had interviews at either PTS or other schools, do let the rest of us know about your experience!
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@newbietheologian Great work on Duke - I'd investigate scholarships outside the Duke network. Look for scholarships offered by your denomination, your home church & partner churches, as well as organizational scholarships from clubs/organizations you've been a part of. Hopefully this helps!
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I mentioned a lot of this in another thread, but I'd love to help any lurkers who may have similar situations: GPA: 4.0 - Public Relations &Mass Communication B.S. I've applied for the M.Div program at all schools listed. Schools: Fuller Seminary - Accepted on Jan. 13 , no word on scholarships yet. I'm told to expect a letter in April Yale Divinity School - doesn't announce until March 15 Duke Divinity School - Waiting, no word on when I'll hear back, but the results section would have me believe mid-February Princeton Seminary - Waiting, with an interview scheduled for Friday. Good luck to my fellow applicants, we're all in this together.
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Hello friends, I have officially started the waiting game, as all of my apps are submitted and complete. I was hoping to draw on your collective knowledge of when each program sends their decisions (acceptances/rejections). While I'm focused specifically on MDiv programs, please specify the program with which you're concerned. Here is what I know so far, please feel free to add your respective program so that others can lend their knowledge. YDS - March 15 HDS - Historically March 15 PTS - rolling admission. Apparently the committee meets once a month, not entirely sure when or how long it takes to hear back after they meet. Duke - no idea Fuller - rolling admission, I heard back the day after completing my app Feel free to weigh in!
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@menge Wow - I had no idea that was the case. I supposed that partially explains why the best PhD programs are so competitive. What do you believe most contributed to the success of your PHD applications?
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@PhD Hopeful Thanks for the feedback - fuller certainly isn't off the list. I have a wonderful conversation with their admissions director where he confirmed that they do offer a handful of full-ride scholarships. Perhaps things have changed since @marXian attended, regarding scholarships. Still - I don't think anyone can really count on receiving an acceptance letter, much less a huge scholarship, so I'm not holding my breath. Can you speak to what financial aid looks like for most Ph.D programs?
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@xypathos Thanks for the insight. It sounds like there is still a chance for 100% at PTS and YDS. I've never heard of anyone being offered 100% from Duke, but that is a stretch for even the best students, to my understanding. BTW, best of luck with your transfer.
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@Rabbit Run Maybe I'm splitting hairs here - but how Presbyterian do you have to be? Are you required to be an active member of your local congregation?
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Wow. Thanks for the encouraging feedback. @Rabbit Run In the long term I'd like to teach at either a Christian high school or a secular university. Of course, this might change depending on my experience at seminary, but I've spent a lot of time discussing this aspiration throughout my application. Any way to increase my chances of getting tuition covered at 100%? @xypathos Thanks for the support! It's encouraging to hear that you saw a diversity in background during your masters. I hope you don't mind if I ask where you attended? I'm still forming an opinion on how each program differs from the others. I graduated in spring of 2015 - not sure if that is considered recent. In the mean time I've held a single, corporate job in marketing. As for Fuller - I chose it because it most aligns with my current beliefs. I come from a strong evangelical background but am eager to learn more about other traditions. I would be happy to attend Fuller, but I'm not convinced that I'd get the academic backbone necessary to teach in a university. Moreover, I don't know if their financial aid is as generous as PTS or YDS. Sadly, I'm not Presbyterian. Does that guarantee I can't get a 100% scholarship for PTS?
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Hey there - I recently came across this forum in my research for which MDiv program would be best for me. After reading tons of threads about how differing backgrounds stack up in admissions and financial aid, I began to question where my educational background put me in terms of rank. To provide some context, I graduated from a large state school with an average reputation. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations and Mass communication (Political Science Minor) with a 4.0 GPA. I also was able to graduate top of my class in 3 years instead of 4 - again, not sure if that helps at all. I was in leadership positions in multiple clubs, held various positions in school organizations, and even did some writing tutoring for the lab on campus. However, none of my experience or past credentials relate directly to the humanities and, more specifically, religious/theological studies.I have LoRs from two pastors and two professors - both of which are directors of their department. My current list of schools includes: Yale, Princeton, Duke, and Fuller. So how do I stack up? Anything I can do between now and the app deadline to better my chances of acceptance and (more importantly) financial aid?
