TylerJarvis

Thank you! 
I'm still waiting to hear from 5 more schools though I'm 99% sure I'll take this offer (waiting for financial package info to come in). I realized that I'd be happier with a supportive advisor than a school with a big name. The ultimate goal is to finish up the degree and continue my research. 
UCLA didn't interview me but I knew the professor wanted to work with me; it was just a matter of whether the rest of the faculty believed I was a good fit for their program. I spoke to the POI back in August/September and the vibe was good. He really sold the program. I was worried about the "Chicanx Studies" part of the program because I've done Religious Studies since my community college days (circa 2013). I mentioned these doubts and he reassured me that I would be fine if I got in.
I checked their current grad students page yesterday and they already have 2 other Harvard Divinity School students! Hahaha! I'll be the third. I was bummed about the last cycle I applied to. I can see that if Harvard or Notre Dame took me in 2019 I'd be missing out on this amazing community of scholars. I hate sounding so cliche but it all fell into place, at the perfect time. 

Hi, friends! It's great to see some activity on this forum. This is my second PhD application cycle (I was rejected from every program my first go-around, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!), and I've applied to several programs in Hebrew Bible/Ancient Mediterranean Religions (Yale EMWAR, Harvard CSR, UVA, UNC, NYU, Fordham, JTS). I have received an offer of admission from UNC (yay!) but have yet to hear from any other programs. Wishing everyone the best of luck in this stressful process!

Just heard from two more places. 
Rejected from Notre Dame's history program. Not too surprised. 
Accepted to UCLA's Chicano Studies program (focus on Latinx religion)! Yay! I hope the funding is good. They're still working on that. Phew! One in the bag! ? 
 

I am applying to a mix of history M.A's and Divinity school MTS/M.A's (Chicago and Harvard)! A little intimidated by everything I have heard about admission rates dropping due to covid, but hopeful due to the fact that I think I have a strong profile. I think my one weakness might be my letters of recommendation. I did a year of exchange studies in the middle of my bachelor so I did not really take any classes with any professor for more than one quarter. Good luck to everyone!

Nice!
I applied for Religious Studies at UNC Chapel Hill too, but in my subfield (Hebrew Bible), I know they've interviewed some people already and I wasn't one of them, so I'm not expecting anything there.
Otherwise I applied in the Middle Eastern Studies dept at UT Austin (As mentioned above, I had an interview with three professors in the dept. this week. All people I'd be thrilled to work with. They said we'd hear back in the next few weeks), the NELC program at UCLA, both the Religious Studies and the Divinity School at Duke, the Committee for the Study of Religion at Harvard, and the Theology department at Boston College.
So far I've only directly heard back from UT Austin. Hoping to hear more over the next few weeks.
I feel like my "stats" are fairly mixed. I think I'll be helped by my letters of recommendation, but it took me until a couple of years into my undergrad to figure out that I actually liked school, so that GPA is lower than I'd like. My first masters was better and my second masters doesn't have a GPA, but the grades themselves are high. So who knows? All-in-all, I'm cautiously optimistic. But if it doesn't happen, at least I can say that I tried. The waiting is the worst though, huh?
 

Nice!
I applied for Religious Studies at UNC Chapel Hill too, but in my subfield (Hebrew Bible), I know they've interviewed some people already and I wasn't one of them, so I'm not expecting anything there.
Otherwise I applied in the Middle Eastern Studies dept at UT Austin (As mentioned above, I had an interview with three professors in the dept. this week. All people I'd be thrilled to work with. They said we'd hear back in the next few weeks), the NELC program at UCLA, both the Religious Studies and the Divinity School at Duke, the Committee for the Study of Religion at Harvard, and the Theology department at Boston College.
So far I've only directly heard back from UT Austin. Hoping to hear more over the next few weeks.
I feel like my "stats" are fairly mixed. I think I'll be helped by my letters of recommendation, but it took me until a couple of years into my undergrad to figure out that I actually liked school, so that GPA is lower than I'd like. My first masters was better and my second masters doesn't have a GPA, but the grades themselves are high. So who knows? All-in-all, I'm cautiously optimistic. But if it doesn't happen, at least I can say that I tried. The waiting is the worst though, huh?
 

Nice!
I applied for Religious Studies at UNC Chapel Hill too, but in my subfield (Hebrew Bible), I know they've interviewed some people already and I wasn't one of them, so I'm not expecting anything there.
Otherwise I applied in the Middle Eastern Studies dept at UT Austin (As mentioned above, I had an interview with three professors in the dept. this week. All people I'd be thrilled to work with. They said we'd hear back in the next few weeks), the NELC program at UCLA, both the Religious Studies and the Divinity School at Duke, the Committee for the Study of Religion at Harvard, and the Theology department at Boston College.
So far I've only directly heard back from UT Austin. Hoping to hear more over the next few weeks.
I feel like my "stats" are fairly mixed. I think I'll be helped by my letters of recommendation, but it took me until a couple of years into my undergrad to figure out that I actually liked school, so that GPA is lower than I'd like. My first masters was better and my second masters doesn't have a GPA, but the grades themselves are high. So who knows? All-in-all, I'm cautiously optimistic. But if it doesn't happen, at least I can say that I tried. The waiting is the worst though, huh?
 

Wow, Tyler! That's so cool! Were you interviewed by your POI?
I was totally going to apply to UTA's doctoral program in Religious Studies but decided to apply to the history dept instead. 

Ha! Guess i'll share. 
I applied to Religious Studies (at UNC Chapel HIll and Univ. of Denver), History (at UT Austin, Yale, and UIC), and Chicano Studies (at UCLA and UCSB).
I made sure to contact my POI via email before applying.
My stats are pretty average. 
I have some research experience,
and a master's in theological studies. 
 
 
Ahhhh! And now i have to wait. >.< 
 

I'm applying for Hebrew Bible programs.
Had an interview with UT Austin today that I *think* went well enough. Haven't heard back from any of my other programs yet, but that's not a surprise. It's still early.

I'm applying for Hebrew Bible programs.
Had an interview with UT Austin today that I *think* went well enough. Haven't heard back from any of my other programs yet, but that's not a surprise. It's still early.

I would look for ways to get under the 500 word limit.
I would start by looking at my longer sentences for opportunities to write more efficiently. [15 words] I would write more efficiently. [5 words]