NTNerd

I am panicking because one of my letter writers still has not submitted my rec, and the deadline was 12/20. I have been sending spaced out reminders from a month before the deadline, and then every few days from a week before the deadline until now. Will this harm my prospects? My chances weren't great to begin with. Since they get ~150 applications, there is no way they can get through them all in a week, right? Purely because of sheer numbers they must not start reviewing a good portion of the applications until beginning of January? I have no idea how the application review process works, so I'd appreciate insight if anyone has any. Also, should I email someone to explain and beg for mercy? I am applying for NT, so does that mean I should email Dr. Goodacre, NT convener? Or should I email Dr. Chapman (HB/OT), who is listed as the overall program convener? There's probably a good chance neither of them would see my email anyway... Any insights into the Duke GPR process would be appreciated. I really hope they have some leniency with LORs being late....and that perhaps this won't affect me because of how long it takes them to get through all the apps.

how's everyone doing? I've submitted two apps and have two to go (due 1/1 and 1/2). I just read through the entirety of last year's app thread and that was not good for my mental health ???

Thanks, @xypathos!

thanks @xypathos! i will make sure to do all of this earlier next year if I reapply. For now, should I still send out quick emails even though adcoms will start meeting in a few weeks? Or might it just look bad or annoy them to get emails this late?

yeah, my GRE verbal score was pretty low by TT standards....even though I have strengths that should be able to compensate, I fear my app will be thrown out without a second look...you often hear that at TT schools that receive a ton of apps, their first filter to narrow the pool is GRE ?

Thank you so much @Deep Fried Angst and @Epaphroditus! I feel better. If this is information you share on the forum, where are you two studying? I'm new here and still figuring out etiquette, so if people don't really share where they are doing their PhDs, I apologize for asking!

I knew it was important for UK and other overseas programs where you just write a dissertation, but I assumed i wasn't necessary (though of course beneficial) for US programs. I did want to go to SBL to meet profs I'd be interested in working with, but I decided I couldn't afford to lose a week of GRE study time. That additional time ended up making no difference, so I might have made a critical mistake. Someone (though in a different field outside biblical studies) just told me that it's virtually impossible to get into a PhD program (esp funded) without having met someone in person, so now I'm panicking and hoping that it's more true for his field than mine...

NyarkoSan, I feel the same! ?

haha! they are more holy than the ones who had Dec 1 due date!

@Wisconsinblue i had sent 2 spaced out follow-up emails after the prof had agreed to do it, and never got a response. finally called today. and we are working things out.

I am applying for NT, which is obvious planning on Wheaton, PTS, Duke, Notre Dame. At this moment I am freaking out because one of my LOR writers has not responded to any of my follow-ups, and PTS app is due this Sunday. I've heard there's often a few days grace period for LORs, but I don't know how I can find someone with only days to spare ?

Thanks for the suggestions! I will look into those schools. I am also surprised at how dead it is in this forum...if it means there are fewer appllicants...well, I need all the help I can get! Are you currently in a program, or are you applying again this year? If the latter, where are you applying and in what field?

Turkman, thank you so much for the helpful response! I definitely want to apply for more programs but I'm not sure where I should apply to, which is why I was asking for suggestions in the OP. Right now my programs are either guaranteed or almost no chance, and I would like to apply to some programs in between...Baylor would have been great as a middle-of-the-road option (and they have some NT scholars whose work I love), but their deadline was Dec 1. Do you have any suggestions for other programs I should consider? I have had the privilege of being able to interact closely and work as RA/TA for multiple profs, and I am thankful to have very enthusiastic LOR writers. Thanks for the suggestion to not dwell on teaching or apologizing for previous academic experience. I was definitely inclined to dwell on the latter...and 1,000 words would have been used up before I knew it. I am glad to know that, although it happens rarely, it is possible to get into a TT school with lower scores. I will put all my efforts into showing them why I would be a good fit for them, haha. Based on your profile info, I assume you are currently in an NT PhD program? If so, where?

kenshiro, I hope you get in!!

kenshiro, thanks for sharing about your background and experience! i know that it's almost impossible to get into Duke and I wasn't expecting it even before getting my GRE score (i was aware that they reject tons of people with perfect scores)...but everybody can have a "shoot for the moon" school, right? I would think I have a slightly better chance at PTS, but they seem to mainly admit their own masters students as well...I'm trying hard to see if there are any programs I'd be interested in that I have a better chance of getting into, hence the question about second tier schools still taking applications. Where else have you applied or are you applying? What is your second choice after Duke?

Hi everyone! I am finishing up a ThM this year at an evangelical seminary (despite the general reputation to the contrary, my school is rigorous academically and we have students matriculating in top tier PhD programs every year). In addition to two evangelical schools, I am applying to Duke and PTS, which I always knew were long shots. However, after taking the GRE yesterday, I feel absolutely dejected because I only scored 161 on verbal (quant was 164). I might reapply next year, but I'm giving it my best shot this year with a fight to the death, lol. Also, I am wondering if there are any second tier programs that I can still apply to. I would have applied to Baylor, but their deadline was today and by the time I found out there was no way I could have made the deadline. Any thoughts and advice on anything related to apps would be greatly appreciated! I think a few strengths would be that I taught Greek at my seminary for two years, have worked as a research assistant and TA for multiple professors and will have glowing LORs, and also have a very diverse background (I studied science in undergrad, got a masters in business school, and worked in business for a few years before going to seminary). PhD programs like seeing a broad, interdisciplinary background, right? Downsides would obviously be my low GRE verbal score. Also, my MDiv GPA was only 3.78. However, I have a 4.0 in my ThM and that includes a few PhD seminars that I received special permission to take as a non-doctoral student. My business masters GPA was only a 3.42, and my undergrad GPA was an atrocious 2.96. However, neither of those degrees was related to biblical studies...I was studying things I didn't want to be studying and trying to do my best. I hope that programs would look at my good grades from masters programs related to the PhD field rather than completely unrelated degrees, but I realize that regardless of the field, low GPAs look bad. I probably should explain them on the SOP, but how do I explain without sounding like I'm just making excuses? Again, any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!