rejectedndejected

I know this is a PhD forum, but did anyone here apply to Harvard or Yale's divinity schools? Does anyone know how they typically assess applicants for their MTS/MAR programs? How many apps do they usually get? What GRE scores does HDS typically smile upon? I know their MDiv degrees aren't terribly competitive, but I get the impression that the MTS programs are quite difficult to get in to....

Just got a letter of rejection from SLU. Oh well, I didn't want to go there anyway.

Truly. We pay $50 to $100 and spend weeks toiling on our applications. The undiligence of graduate schools in giving us peace of mind and closure (well after when decisions have been made) is indecent and needs to be remedied. I'm not a complainy, high-maintenance kind of guy, but at some point, someone needs to make a stink. Maybe I'm just cranky because I'm shorting out my hard-drive refreshing my e-mail 90,000 times a day.

Any updates from your guys' end? All I've had is radio silence. Despite my previous advice to the contrary, I'm thinking about e-mail programs to see what my status is. I'm sick of waiting. And the late silence usually forebodes bad things.

Hey is Notre Dame already reviewing MTS and MDiv applications? I see on the results page that someone posted a rejection for MDiv on Feb. 4. This seems much earlier than usual. Can anyone speak to this? Having a thought here: Perhaps our suspicion (that there was an unusually small pool of applicants this year) has been confirmed? Maybe schools are notifying earlier because sorting through the small number of apps took less time?

This. They like to keep us waiting don't they? I think admissions committees have a preference for sadists written into their hiring policies.

Disheartening. I wish I knew what they were looking for.

Have invitations been sent out across all concentrations at the aforementioned programs? Or are some concentrations still yet to send out their invites?

Any movement on any of the applications, guys? SLU contacted me about a clerical issue with my app today, so I know that they're at least reviewing now. Feeling pretty anxious.

Hey, does anyone have any updates on Notre Dame's interview invitations? Have most/all invites gone out for all departments by now? Or should I still be holding out some hope?

It doesn't sound nearly as cool when you put it like that. But yea, duly noted. I'd wager your analysis is correct. At this point, it'd probably look pretty desperate. However, what about for "safeties" like HDS's MTS program, which doesn't decide till like mid-March? Should I update my resume to include this for them? Or still too small of potatoes to bother?

Hey y'all. Quick question: I just found out that I was one of a few students selected from my school to present a grad school paper in front of the other students at an annual meeting. It's considered an honor to do so. Is it too late to update my prospective PhD programs about this development? If not, how does one go about doing it in a classy, non-braggadocious way?

Lol. Commence sinking feeling in pit of stomach...now. Just kidding. Hang in there brother. If this is to be our end, let us meet it like men, with our heads held high.

Have you heard anything back yet, Geist? If memory serves, you are LS also.

There is one underneath it. And as of when I posted, the WRWC post did not exist.

Also, does anyone know if liturgical studies people usually get their ND letters earlier in the process, or later? That question seems to be of the essence as of the morning.

Well, the results survey now reports that one person has received an invitation to interview weekend on February 24-22. Last year, the earliest results I saw were on January 28. And all of the results seemed to come out at once. This is nerve-racking, to say the least. But I'm starting to get edgy, since I am yet to receive an invitation. Of course the person who posted that they received an interview DID NOT specify the program to which they were applying or their GPA/GRE. Why even bother to post at that point?

It would be awesome if PhD applicants were few this year, that way our chances of gaining admission skyrocketed from illusory to marginal.

What percentage of folks visit PhD programs before applying? Does it actually help with admissions (if they like you)? Or is it mainly for us prospective students, so that we get a feel for our compatibility with the milieu of a program? How big of a handicap is it if we don't visit our programs of choice?

Thanks for the 411. It seems that almost no one on here mentions STLU as a possible destination. Why is this? They seem to place their graduates quite well and St. Louis is a very livable city. It seems like it would at least be on the level (as far as preffftige goes) as Baylor or Marquette...

Anyone have any thoughts on the theological studies PhD program at St. Louis University?

Seriously--like taking a shower in a horror movie, no good can come of it. You either are funneled into talking to a detached and out-of-the-loop (and usually cranky) lower-ranking department staff-member, or are told by your POI that applications are still under review, and then you spend the rest of the week worrying if you have been marked as being "impatient" or "difficult," thus further impairing your already illusory chances of admission.

From what faculty told me when I visited, this was my impression as well. How is the liturgical studies application pool this year? I imagine it's really competitive, since only a few schools offer an emphasis in liturgical.

Good luck. Have you ever applied to that department in prior years? I wonder how many applicants they will have this year.

Liturgical studies. You?