EarlyXianity

It's not sent to everyone but schools like Emory, ND, Vanderbilt, etc that see promise in PhD applicants but don't find them strong enough, reroute them to a M* degree to keep them in house.

Anyone else passing time this week by keeping up with ( the marginally religious, mostly political curiosity) of the General Conference of the UMC?  

Anyone else passing time this week by keeping up with ( the marginally religious, mostly political curiosity) of the General Conference of the UMC?  

I know a couple people (systematics and moral theo) who haven’t heard yet from Cua so it may come in waves dependent on area. Rel & culture came out earlier last year too and I know some folks from last yr that are there now w funding (catechetical and systematics) that heard later. I hope that’s helpful —wishing you the best of luck. 

Grinding it out in parish ministry and denominational responsibilities, and trying to watch a little NCAA basketball.  

Congrats! That's big! 

I spoke with SMU the other day; they said they'll be sending out initial acceptances over the next week or two.

This—Fordham decisions look like they will be coming this week based on what I have heard from insiders 

A former colleague of mine, who is a Ph.D. student in Hebrew Bible at Fordham, said they were notified of their acceptance last year during Valentine’s Day week via phone. My guess is that Fordham will begin to send out acceptance notifications (over whatever platform) next week.

Those of you waiting to hear from UVA, I was just sent an acceptance. I applied to the Religion, Literature, and Culture section. 

At Notre Dame, the odds of getting in without an initial interview invitation are really slim. I didn't ask to learn if the process was changing this year, but last year, in Early Christianity, for instance, they invited 5 people for interviews for 2 available spots.  

At other schools, things work quite differently. Some fields will do interviews, and others will make decisions based off of applications.  

At Duke (GPR/Ph.D), decisions are not made by field. However many spots they have open, they invite that # of people to "interview" but it's really more of a preview day. If any of them, for some reason, don't matriculate, they move down their ranked list in order with offers. So, even if someone in New Testament doesn't matriculate, they might get replaced with someone in Theology and Ethics.  

I don't know anything about the BC process, so I'm as in the dark as you. There are some professors there with whom I would very much like to work, so I"d like to think that there are still possibilities there, but since they sent out some waitlist notifications, too, I'm not holding my breath.  

Don't know anything about BC's process-- I just heard from a few  people who've applied (I did not apply there), and thought I'd share in case it was of interest to particular readers

Your question isn't annoying, it's just a bit hard to answer with detail without knowing more.  The short answer is, if you can afford to apply and you want to, why not? 

In general, most programs are going to look for something they would call "fit." Capacity to do the work (which stats can but don't necessarily indicate) is an important part of that, but they also want to know if your interests and strengths align with those of the faculty, if you're asking interesting questions, etc. 

I would imagine that there are a lot of people with your stats and background that get in to high quality MTS programs, but I don't know the numbers beyond anecdotal evidence. 

I don't know that classes at a community college / local university (mileage varies a great deal with the quality of faculty) will be helpful to build your resume/stats, but they might help you write a better personal statement and have a better sense of the field as you enter, helping you narrow focus for what you want to study and enter with a better working vocabulary for the work you'll be doing.  

It never hurts to call admissions offices, ask them if they have minimum requirements/what it takes to be competitive, and learn more about the admissions process. That would probably be one of the best places to start if you want a more direct answer about whether it's worth your time.  

Your interests are very wide, which is understandable given your background. Attending GC will have wildly different outcomes, as far as your interests and future prospects, than will say BC. I can't speak to the field(s) of Ethics, but I can for biblical studies. Distance learning for languages is difficult, though less so for ancient languages, since most of what they teach in divinity schools is a passive form of learning within a very narrow literature (i.e. only reading the Hebrew Bible or Greek New Testament). I can't say for certain, but my guess is that if you're limited to distance learning, Catholic and secular schools have less biblical studies than Protestant schools. Well, before I ramble more here, tell us what you want out of this, end game.

You were selected to present to your fellow students at the same school? I, personally, wouldn't bother with it. At this point in the application process initial, and likely final, decisions have already been made and you're likely to be seen as grasping at straws.

Are all the people who have heard so far internal applicants? 

If memory serves from last year (and it may not or things may have changed–just look at how many schools were responding by snail mail a few years ago), the reporting process for internal and external candidates is different. I think that internal candidates get an email more directly and external candidates are processed through a system at the graduate school that takes more time.

Again, I may very well be wrong.
What's certain is that not having an invitation this morning doesn't mean that one will not come.  

Writing samples are not listed as a requirement on https://trs.catholic.edu/admission/graduate/how-to-apply/index.html

I think it's more a matter of self selection than anything. Both because there are many zealous folks, and because those of us who haven't been admitted are less inclined to post.  

I submitted six applications last year. I have 168V/164Q/4.5AW, 3.7GPA BA from regional liberal arts school and 3.7 M.Div. from TT seminary and strong recommendations. I did not receive any offers or interviews.  

I am applying again this year, and I hope for different results. I retook the GRE in hopes of bumping up my writing score and I have been honing my personal statement and my writing sample.  

I've been out of school and serving in parish ministry for 6 years, so that's a bit different too.  

It really is a crap shoot. Best of luck to you!  

 

Pierre, it seems that most programs allow applicants to upload unofficial transcripts initially. But I assume the school you're speaking of isn't one of them. It can't hurt to contact someone...the website should list admissions staff or a program assistant you can contact.
Good luck! I'm also not appreciating the Dec 1 deadline. Still need to make some tweaks on my writing sample!

Good luck everyone!
 
 

I'm currently serving in the parish as an ordained minister, and could do this work for a lifetime. 

I have a deep desire to study more deeply, and I would love to do that in a formal, residential, academic program in the states. I will apply for one more cycle, and expand potential schools in the coming year, but if that doesn't work, I will consider overseas, non-residential programs and/or try to find other ways to deepen my study.  

Serving where I am, far away from a theological library, I've found Vanderbilt's Kesler program to be a tremendous access to let me have access to books that I otherwise would be unable to afford. I've found xypathos' words to be true, though -- not continuing to read and write is, for me, not an option.  

It's largely anecdotal. I don't know of any actual studies done.
Usually, the criticism isn't over scholarship, clearly Oxford and the like produce exceptional scholars. The issue is that US programs, by their nature, expose you to some teaching whereas UK schools don't. So, if you're seeking a job as a teacher and you didn't have any experience during training, you're asking an employer to take a risk with you. Whereas as a US alum, you'll have faculty and student evaluations to show potential schools. So, if you need to hire a professor and have 50 applicants, you tend to choose the safer bet.

I know it’s a lot to ask a school to coordinate such things, but can we agree that it’s bad form to send a rejection letter, an annual fund email, and make an annual fund call on the same day? ? #enjoytheapplicationfee

I know it’s a lot to ask a school to coordinate such things, but can we agree that it’s bad form to send a rejection letter, an annual fund email, and make an annual fund call on the same day? ? #enjoytheapplicationfee

I mean, they shouldn't take any more money before sending word on your application because then it looks like they're asking for bribes. And if they accept you and then ask for money, it looks like they're asking for a bribe for grades. But hey, if they reject you, there are no moral quandaries preventing them from asking for more of your money. So why not have at it?