rejectedndejected

Even if the 15th falls on a Sunday?  They're pretty committed to this whole 15th business...

I mean, sincere congrats to everyone who's accepted and I understand that schools are competing against each others in enrollment right now but I just think that this whole "informal phone calls" game sucks. If they have already contacted those who are accepted and those on the waitlist then what are they waiting for. Send out the formal decisions already! Sorry I just feel so annoyed by this.

I received a call from the Dean of Admissions at Candler today; he told me I was accepted to their MDiv program! Also applied to HDS, YDS, Boston College, ND, Duke, U Chicago, and Oxford (thank goodness for application fee waivers). Fingers crossed.

It’s applicants with poor preparation (bad grades, no M*, inappropriate coursework) and things like disastrously bad GRE scores that don’t survive the institution’s minimum.
Regarding the M*, very few schools explicitly state that they won’t take students without a M* but a lot won’t take them.
With GREs, usually there’s an institution minimum that is low 150V but then the department sets a screen (example) of 161 (really it’s whatever they think reflects their ideal student). 1-2 faculty are required to read all of the screen-out apps to see who should be moved back in. A number are always moved back in but you’re still fighting against a deficit.
My school gets a number of NT/HB apps that loved biblical studies but only took 1-3 seminars with minimal language preparation and/or they didn’t sit down with an advisor about how their application needs to shift when applying to a graduate program in Arts & Sciences and to avoid confessional statements.

It seems like whenever I've applied to anything in my life, I always get a courteous letter explaining to me that I'm one of the finest human beings ever, but that unfortunately, that year was the most competitive year in human history, and that a whole host of even finer human beings applied, so they can't let me in--despite my superlative fineness.  For once in my life, I'd like to get a letter detailing that, although I'm super mediocre and have little talent to speak of, the applicant pool was filled with even bigger losers, so the institution has been forced to approve my lousy application under protest.  I'd much prefer the latter to the former.  No such luck as yet.

And yet if I made a typo on my 10 page writing sample, my app would be thrown away with great haste.  Seems fair. 

If I could speak to this @rejectedndejected , I know a couple of people attending HDS and the admissions committee often admits people without any contact with prospective advisors or campus visits. No interviews are given either, so it really seems that it is solely about the strength of the application.

I almost always agree to this but as someone formerly well acquainted with YDS - they strongly encourage prospective M* students to visit campus and/or interview with Admissions or a faculty member. By strongly, I know for a fact that good, strong applicants were only denied because they did not have an Adcom/faculty interview on file come review time and didn't feel that the applicant wanted YDS hard enough.
YDS is probably the outlier on this but since they stress the importance of campus visits and an Adcom interview several times on their site, I always encourage applicants to tread lightly in opting not to make themselves known to Admissions folk. To be fair, I've seen a handful of students admitted without visiting but they had strong applications that there was no real use debating.

Why on earth does Yale not let people apply two years in a row?  Does anyone know this?

Harvard doesn't technically have a ThD anymore but they don't have less doctoral slots to consider. ThD was just condensed into the PhD program since they found the distinguishing between ThD and PhD trivial since they had the same requirements and ThD students suffered on the job market b/c so many schools went "What's a ThD? Nah, we'll take the PhD from Harvard applicant instead." There's more at work there but that's neither here nor there. Also, Yale is looking at closing their Theology subfield per theology faculty there but that's a different matter.
At two other schools I've worked at, we didn't know how many M* students we could actually take (by way of dole-ing out scholarships) until early to mid-February. Acceptances extended beyond us knowing were to two groups: 1) Top applicants and 2) Those we have no intention of extending any decent scholarship to, so we're expecting them to pay significantly.
We also occasionally waited on releasing decisions to weak applicants that we expected weren't going to fair well anywhere else and certainly not get a scholarship. This way, our hope, is that they were desperate and would take our offer and the loans that it would require. It's certainly unfair and cruel but divinity school admissions is becoming more and more cutthroat so Provost/Chancellor-level offices are forcing us to play by unfair rules.
On the flip side of a March 15 release - everyone finds out together. If they're anything like my current place, they start reviewing apps on a certain date and make decisions ASAP. The decision sits in a database until a certain time (sometimes for months) and then get sent out in batches. H&Y simply wait until 3/15 and hit Send for everyone.

Seriously--congratulations.  Does Baylor interview?  Did you have any hunch/inclination that you were going to get in?  I can only imagine what it feels like to open a letter of acceptance.  Has to be cathartic and surreal. 

To those who haven’t heard back, here’s a word of (hopefully) comforting advice. To start with an annoyingly cliché but true suggestion: try your best not to take rejection too personally or as an insult to your intelligence or capacity. Let me explain. People have repeatedly mentioned on this forum that applicants with “very good or near perfect stats” get rejected to Phd programs all the time. This is entirely true; I’m an example. When I applied to Phd programs a couple years ago, I had a 3.95 undergrad GPA, 3.9 grad GPA, and a GRE of 170V/164Q/5.0. I had a very good writing sample, a publication under my belt, and great recommendations. Naturally, I applied to 7-8 top schools. But I was rejected to ALL of them—every single one; I didn’t even receive an interview! As the weeks of waiting went by, I fell into despair. Why had I worked so hard and spent thousands of dollars? I thought about giving up on academics altogether. 
Here’s the silver lining. I was determined to find out what had gone wrong and try again. As it turns out, there were two things I had messed up. First was the statement of purpose. Without going into too much detail, the description of my academic background and interests was rambling, imprecise, and stale. There’s an art to writing statements of purpose, and I didn’t pay any attention to it. I kind of just figured “Hey, I’m a good writer, let me write about myself.” Don’t do that. Get profs to look at your statement. Second, my declared research interests were too narrow and didn’t fit very well in any of my desired programs. It’s worth repeating: FIT is everything. I had friends with much, MUCH lower stats get into amazing schools because their research interests fit hand-in-glove with the departments.
So, I’ve applied again this year, but I really did my homework this time with my SOP; I adjusted how I framed my interests; I had professors look over it. I took some more classes; I changed a bunch of other things (I also found a more relevant recommender). This time I’ve received a handful of interviews, and I reasonably expect several acceptances (fingers crossed). The moral of this story is that, yes, it’s incredibly discouraging to hear nothing and get rejected. And perhaps for some this will suggest moving on to another field. But for those who are determined to pursue doctoral studies, don’t give up. Revise your whole approach to your application and try again. This sort of story is not unique to me; I know many others who applied three times before they finally got into top-tier programs. Now they are thriving in their fields. 
Apologies for the long post; I hope this encourages some of the disheartened out there. Find out where you can improve your application. Your points of weakness may be different from mine. Work on those areas throughout a year (or two), and jump back in the ring!
 

Last year or so HDS' GRE scores for M* applicants was leaked and I shared it here, I think (maybe it was the Reddit sub, I'll check). They were holding an admissions event in China to recruit wealthy students and GRE scores were on some staff material that was left laying around. Through a friend of a friend a screenshot got forwarded to me. In short, GRE V scores for M* students is/was in the mid to high 150s from what I recall. Q scores are largely ignored unless you're interested in something rather analytical or heavy interests in philosophy. Writing scores are rather important but I can't recall what their guidelines were.
MAR/MTS applications are more competitive but not by a huge margin. YDS' was sitting in the 40s, admitted wise, last time I made any hard checks. Chicago admits about 12 for their MDiv, which seems like it would mean significant competition but as the Director once told me - on a heavy year they get 20 applications. Not that long ago they maintained a near 100% acceptance rate. Then again, applicants to elite M* programs in Religion tend to be self-selecting and there's a bit of a poor perception of them (I can't afford it, I'm not smart enough to get in, don't have the pedigree, etc...) among applicants. In reality, they tend to be well funded, not that competitive, and they favor more whole-person analysis than their respective UG schools.

I don't think that it hurts your chances of being admitted to solicit a decision notification.  It's just that it behooves schools to notify their top choices quickly, so that they can coax such students into attending their programs.  Hence, if you don't hear quickly, IMO chances are you weren't a top choice, and are likely not admitted. It's a correlation and not a causation. Perhaps you are the fallback, on an unofficial wait list of sorts. 

I'm just curious- how is this the case? As far as I could see it was just (hard) vocab and high school Maths with some nasty trick questions. I didn't grow up in the States, and I didn't find it to be culturally alien. What cultural factors did you find?

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.

To which programs are y'all applying?  Let's get this thread cracking, as its like 10 days to zero hour for many programs, no?

Anyone else freaking out?  Anyone hear from Rice?

It seems like whenever I've applied to anything in my life, I always get a courteous letter explaining to me that I'm one of the finest human beings ever, but that unfortunately, that year was the most competitive year in human history, and that a whole host of even finer human beings applied, so they can't let me in--despite my superlative fineness.  For once in my life, I'd like to get a letter detailing that, although I'm super mediocre and have little talent to speak of, the applicant pool was filled with even bigger losers, so the institution has been forced to approve my lousy application under protest.  I'd much prefer the latter to the former.  No such luck as yet.

I have crossover interests in Bible and Liturgical Studies.  Sadly, I chose to apply to their Bible program instead of Liturgy, only later to find out that Bible is far and away the most competitive for admissions.  So I prettymuch sowed my own poison on that one.

I have checked the status of my app every day since Jan. 15.  Without exaggeration.   If decisions do not post tomorrow, I am going to have an anxiety attack, and then yell at a stranger for no good reason.

It seems like whenever I've applied to anything in my life, I always get a courteous letter explaining to me that I'm one of the finest human beings ever, but that unfortunately, that year was the most competitive year in human history, and that a whole host of even finer human beings applied, so they can't let me in--despite my superlative fineness.  For once in my life, I'd like to get a letter detailing that, although I'm super mediocre and have little talent to speak of, the applicant pool was filled with even bigger losers, so the institution has been forced to approve my lousy application under protest.  I'd much prefer the latter to the former.  No such luck as yet.

It seems like whenever I've applied to anything in my life, I always get a courteous letter explaining to me that I'm one of the finest human beings ever, but that unfortunately, that year was the most competitive year in human history, and that a whole host of even finer human beings applied, so they can't let me in--despite my superlative fineness.  For once in my life, I'd like to get a letter detailing that, although I'm super mediocre and have little talent to speak of, the applicant pool was filled with even bigger losers, so the institution has been forced to approve my lousy application under protest.  I'd much prefer the latter to the former.  No such luck as yet.

Lol yea. What sadist's idea was it to release (1) all the decisions on one day; and (2) have said day be in mid-March?!