conraddy

Healthwise:
One that I've heard from my professor is to find time to read something for leisure that you would enjoy like a novel, especially in between assignments. Another advice I've heard is to really take advantage of the summers as an opportunity to take a vacation and travel. Given the job market, a lot of PhD students feel the need to fill their schedules with resume-building activities. While this certainly helps them in the long-run, it's often at the expense of their personal health and relationships. I've heard some instances where over-activity has led to burnout and eventually frustration with their programs.
Job Marketwise:
So as an aspiring American Religious History scholar, I've also been taking classes in history departments/American Studies departments and one trend that's coming from that field is mastering the art of public speaking and presentation. If you have time, maybe check out toastmasters or attend local TedTalks/public speaking engagements to get a feel for proper public speaking. If other departments are exploring these fields (and my potential advisor and I have also discussed the importance of building this skill), then it would be good to adopt this skillset not just for teaching, but for conference presentations as well, which have historically been hit or miss with people still reading off of their papers (a criticism garnered from both historians and religious scholars I've met).
Another one might be to find a creative outlet for the things you're learning. Some helpful ones include creating your own YouTube channel and create content material for the general public or writing your own blog. Part of finding creative outlets for the skills we pickup in our respective programs is that it will help us think in an entrepreneurial manner about our degrees. I'm anticipating a horrible job market but I'm constantly brainstorming ideas for alternative means of generating value for the general public that I could monetize.

To anyone who has negotiated scholarships/funding before, I’d love to hear about how you went about doing so, when you think the best time to do so is, and any other insight you may have! 

Love that HDS just sent out a non-admissions-related newsletter email!!! Absolutely love. that. for. us. :'-)

I am just really hoping that Chicago can release their M* decisions today...

In my case, the questions on the writing sample were always regarding how it connects to my interest in pursuing further doctoral research.
In one interview, three people from the religious studies department interviewed me at the same time (all with different areas of expertise). It was a quick 20 minute interview and it began with "tell us about your research interests." Unfortunately, I did not prep to answer the question so I stumbled my way through it. I was accepted to the program and the faculty said my interview was excellent. Perhaps I am too critical. Regardless, what I do know is that had I prepped for that answer, it would have been even better. So, make sure you have some sense of how to move about larger questions like "tell us about your research interests," "why did you pick this project?" "what methodologies interest you? regions?" "why us?" "do you have any questions for us?" Each of the questions, including the last one, is an opportunity to give professors information about yourself. You can choose to discuss your writing sample on your own, without them asking for that information: "And that's why I submitted the writing I did, because it shows x, y, z." It will help them connect the dots. (Also don't assume that they will remember your writing off the bat. Get a feel for whether they do).
These faculty members asked me briefly about why I chose the writing sample I did. My sample was also a paper I wrote for a class; I did not edit it, and it was marginally related to my area. Knowing this, I made sure to have a narrative ready on how to help them connect the dots between my sample and my interests: "I chose the writing sample because I enjoyed the subject, it's related to theme x, y, z, which I hope to explore as a graduate student." Just have a narrative ready for how the paper reflects your interests and capacity. I do not think they will push for a detailed discussion of the paper. They may not even have read it throughly. 
In another interview, which was done by my potential advisor, he had already read my file carefully. He asked very specific questions about my background, courses, language preparation. I could tell he was trying to fill gaps in his picture about me. He asked me about my writing sample: why did I choose a paper that's peripheral? Isn't even in my area of studies? Why didn't I choose a paper that reflects my language skills? The paper was interesting, he said, but he was wondering about these questions. So, I gave an answer, linking the paper to my interests and he was content with that. I also told him I could submit other papers if he was interested. And he said sure, and I submitted two other papers and some translations. I think it answered his concerns and I was accepted into that program. 
So I would say: yes be ready to give them answers about the paper but, more broadly, be ready to connect it to your current interests and really explain your thought process in choosing it. How maybe writing that paper influenced your future decisions or interests. The questions they will ask you will be specific to your context, and the gaps they feel they have in your story. Try to think about what they're really asking you to explain, given the questions they have already asked you. Think about your narrative, what information professors have on you, and what gaps they may need to address. Anticipate those—but don't sweat it, and don't over prepare either! 
Super long answer, and perhaps not what you're looking for but there you go!

I'm a current MTS student at HDS and can say I strongly suspect your approach may be able to find a home in an MTS/div school/etc. setting. I personally a more "traditional" (historical/philological) approach but I've met several people now who came here to study one or more of the topics you're studying and even 2 current PhD students (at the Committee for the Study of Religion) who graduated from HDS having done work on one or more of these topics.
With that being said, you may want to look into how these types of programs are seen on the English side of things as you consider your options. I've seen HDS alumni place into religious studies, history, and interdisciplinary/area studies PhD programs, but can't off the top of my head think of anyone who placed into an English PhD program recently (which is not to say it hasn't happened). From your interests it sounds possible, but I would just advise to make sure it is not like analytic philosophy where divinity school degrees are looked upon with suspicion virtually inherently
Feel free to DM me if you have any questions about HDS or master's program applications (this goes for others on the thread too)!

same offer, same feeling. just ridiculous. felt good to fill out the decision survey and write the polite, respectful version of "y'all are out of your damn minds."

just got the acceptance to UChicago's MAPH with $10.5k scholarship. feels like someone threw a handful of nickels at me

@ana21 I think the general advice is to not take out loans if at all possible, but that getting an MA can be a great choice. You can always ask about possible funding for the MA (there are sometimes campus jobs that come with tuition remission). I'd also ask the MA program about their placement rates into PhD programs if that's your eventual goal. 
If you can't get funding, I'd think long and hard about the financial place you'd be in (especially if you already have loans from undergrad!). Some people can make it work one way or another, but many people don't want to take on that burden.
FYI (also for anyone else facing a shutout and thinking about options) Villanova has a funded MA program with a March 1 deadline!
If you don't think you can swing it financially, do work on your app, and maybe consider putting some funded MA programs on your radar in the next cycle, too.

Hi folks! I am currently sitting on the Grad Studies Committee with profs who are reading applications and making decisions. This is what I have learned:
1. This is the worst truth and you're not going to want to hear it, but GRE scores matter a lot. Not to the department, necessarily (most profs are very frustrated that it's a factor they need to consider), but to the university, who wants to look good in terms of numbers. It fucking sucks. It's the truth. This means quant scores, too. ?
2. The committee wants to see that you have a well-articulated set of interests and that your work will find a home in the department. This means outlining research questions that are interesting and viable. What this means differs depending on field. If you're working in post-45 American, for example, do not propose a project on Pynchon, DeLillo, David Foster Wallace, and irony. That project belongs in 1986. It's not viable. Race and embodiment in Octavia Butler? Now we're going somewhere. Make sure the department has at least 2 tenured faculty members whose interests--in terms of theory/method and literary archive--overlap with yours. Check out their CVs and skim the last 3 things they wrote. Note the last grad courses they taught, if possible--these often indicate where their research is going, much better than already-published things. Profs often use grad classes to test out their developing interests.
3. The committee also wants to see that you are flexible and open to developing new research questions. Your SoP should trace a trajectory of thought and project to your future research interests, and your writing sample should reflect that trajectory. If possible, work with a professor to revise your writing sample and tell them you'd like to work it up to publication level. But do not resubmit the same sample and materials the following year. There are a number of these re-submits that have come to the table, and they get tossed out right quick.
4. Visit, if you can. Meet with one or two people in the department. Get a sense of what the campus is like. If you can visit during a regular semester, attend an event that you can mention in your SoP. If at all possible, meet a professor you'd be interested in working with. These things are difficult and may not be possible, but they can make a huge difference in shaping your SoP and how it gets noticed. They stand out.
5. The committee really seems to appreciate when life experiences shape someone's research and work. What can you do, or what have you done, that might ground your work in actual life praxis?
Hope these are helpful. I'm a mere grad student sitting on the committee and not allowed to actually read the applications, but I've been taking note of what the faculty members like and comment on. 

I was shutout my first time. That seems a million years ago now, but I'm in a program that is pretty open about its processes and here are my best thoughts:
1. Really think carefully about the list of schools you applied to. I know for a fact that I was blinded by wanting to go to a place that was a household name, and that I was convinced that the only way to land a TT job was to go to a "Top 10" school. The school I'm at now was not even on my radar the first time I applied. My experience actually being in grad school now for six years is that both of these ideas are odious and wrong. I'm in a program well out of the top 10 but we are well regarded in my subfield and two people from my subfield just landed TT jobs. I truly think who your adviser is matters much more than the school you go to.
2. I really don't think that what you do in the meantime matters in the sense that there's no way you're going to get anything worthwhile into publication before the next cycle starts (unless you've got something going already). I continued working my job. I don't think having publications going in really matters that much for a grad school applicant. The only things that really matter are whether your SOP and writing sample get in front of an adcom who are interested in the kind of work you're doing. I think the best thing you can do is try to become more conversant in your field/subfield by reading important (especially recent) articles/books by scholars whose work interests you, which should result in a stronger SOP.
3. Get members of your committee to look at your SOP and--if they really like you--your writing sample.  [Edit: Sorry, not your committees, your recommenders. I'm too deep in 'job market mode' I guess].
4. Your SOP doesn't need to articulate a dissertation (literally zero people write their diss on what they put in their SOP), it needs to align you with a specific set of scholarly concerns that identify you as a serious scholar who is engaged with the field. What scholars influence your work? What are the specific theoretical questions and concerns that drive you?  Even if you don't "do theory" you should still be able to articulate that sort of intellectual scaffolding that holds up your critical lens. If you can't, then devote the next few months to building it.
5. Understand that the most important aspect of the admissions process is the one over which you have the least control: the composition of the adcom and of a program's current crop of graduate students. You can have a dynamite application with a publication, a 4.0 GPA cum laude, and a degree from Harvard, but if the adcoms at the schools you applied to aren't feeling your SOP, or they already have several students in your subfield, you're getting shutout.  You may have done everything right this year, and being shutout is not necessarily a reflection of the quality of your application. As Captain Picard once said, "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness, that is life." 

From last year I really focused on fine tuning my SoP and WS (including readying an additional WS so I could better target schools’ particular interests). But I think the key for me (not that I’ve had the most wonderful cycle, but better than last year) was rethinking the way I selected the schools I applied to. I think reading new research on your interests and looking at where those folks graduated from (recent grads of course) is a good strategy. Also looking at publications from a potential school’s recent grads is really helpful, because if they have been supporting a grad the last five or six years with your interests, chances are they can support you and will have an interest in doing so. Also I applied to A LOT more schools. I got 80% of my app fees waived, so that helped (if you want more info about that feel free to pm me). I also requested SoP from really successful applicants this time in case I need to reapply and everyone I asked was super generous with providing them, so I sugges you do that too.
Keep your head up and good luck! 

Just got accepted at Penn! Got a call from the DGS, and he said he has more phone calls to make, so there's still hope!

See guys? Yale procrastinates, too. Stars: they’re just like us! 

@Bopie5 Really sorry to hear all the rejections on your end I'm waiting on a bunch (Buffalo's up in the air) so I feel unqualified to say all of this but when it comes to figuring out interests, what absolutely helped me was a gap year. It's a bit more risky applying without an MA at hand, I only felt far more confident about what specifically I wanted to study and what kind of lines of thinking that I want to bring into a graduate program after all my undergraduate work was done. By the time I graduated with my BA in June, I had the exact kind of CV and research experience that I felt far more proud of showing to a program versus applying while in senior year, when I didn't have a single presentation or published paper to my name.
There's def some give and takes, but I found the SoP far more refreshing to write without having school on my chest all the time and I felt I had a greater focus on my work because I had a few months to get away from scholarship. Thus, I was able to return to my research with what I felt were fresher and more critical eyes than I had while writing it. However, during the gap year, I really and absolutely missed school, so if you can find some work to help offset the app fees, the better. And ofc, if you feel you'd be a far better scholar with a Master's degree, definitely take a look at funded MAs. That's the one regret I have this cycle, I'm applying only to PhDs but blanked at looking at terminal Master's programs.

Ah I hope the UCSB and Michigan people feel the same way. This was encouraging to read. I'm already planning/retooling for next year, and WUSTL and Illinois are two that I didn't apply to this year that are already on the list for next time. Holding out some (realistic/halfhearted) hope that it'll work out this year, but making peace with the fact that it might not, and if it doesn't work out this year, it just means I'll be a stronger applicant with more knowledge of programs and myself, more equipped to truly end up in the right place next year.

Really feeling this bullshit today lol

I would very much like to know where/if I am going to graduate school !!

Throwing my hat into the ring of rejected Duke applicants. Surprisingly not that disappointed, and still holding out a bit of hope on other programs. It also doesn't hurt the morale that I just found out a few days ago that I'm a semifinalist for a Fulbright grant... so I can treat my wounds with some nice ego-soothing salve. 
Continuing to wish you all the best of luck with the upcoming decision announcements!

Also, a related query: does anyone know if there are still funded Masters programs accepting applications??

Throwing my hat into the ring of rejected Duke applicants. Surprisingly not that disappointed, and still holding out a bit of hope on other programs. It also doesn't hurt the morale that I just found out a few days ago that I'm a semifinalist for a Fulbright grant... so I can treat my wounds with some nice ego-soothing salve. 
Continuing to wish you all the best of luck with the upcoming decision announcements!

Throwing my hat into the ring of rejected Duke applicants. Surprisingly not that disappointed, and still holding out a bit of hope on other programs. It also doesn't hurt the morale that I just found out a few days ago that I'm a semifinalist for a Fulbright grant... so I can treat my wounds with some nice ego-soothing salve. 
Continuing to wish you all the best of luck with the upcoming decision announcements!

Throwing my hat into the ring of rejected Duke applicants. Surprisingly not that disappointed, and still holding out a bit of hope on other programs. It also doesn't hurt the morale that I just found out a few days ago that I'm a semifinalist for a Fulbright grant... so I can treat my wounds with some nice ego-soothing salve. 
Continuing to wish you all the best of luck with the upcoming decision announcements!

@conraddy check this thread out:
https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/106843-funded-english-ma-programs/
that said, not sure how accurate it is, or whether any are still accepting. Villanova is still accepting, and they offer tuition for both years and a stipend to about 5-7 new admits per year.

Bucknell accepts until Feb. 1.  That might be a little tight because it looks like they want some materials sent directly to them.