studyordie

Congratulations to tyler1 and academiccricket, after the email which I posted above I received another one from UVa saying I'm waitlisted. Could be worse, could be better.... One other thing, my on-line status has not been changed and still says pending. Also, I had emailed an inquiry on Friday as to my status, so they may not be emailing everybody who is waitlisted, the email I got had attached the letter they are sending me. If you haven't been bothering them like I have they may just send you the letter without an email, I don't know.

Email response from UVa this morning: The final decisions should be made this week, so notifications should go out next week via US Mail. Last week was spring break so everything just came to a stand still, but, like I said, should resume this week.

congrats retiredwaif- claremont would be a great MA, I hope I can join you in the used-to-be-freaking-out-because-you-thought-no-one-would-even-acknowledge-your-application-club

I've been keeping up with a very active philosophy forum (http://community.livejournal.com/who_got_in/89823.html) because one of may apps, actually my best shot at this point, is to Villanova's philosophy dept. A Ph.D. student on that forum will be transferring from a decent program he seems to like to a top-10 program because, as in our fields, it's ridiculously hard to get jobs and a ridiculous pedigree helps. He said he is doing so with the full support of his current profs and he has now been accepted at more than one top 10 program. One would assume he did not get into those programs the first time around or he would have been there in the first place. My question, which has absolutely no bearing on my situation right now, is whether or not this sort of thing happens in the fields that we represent? I posted this separately so it will stick around after the pages in the main thread flip, I'm especially curious if any of the contributors around here from top programs (Chicago, UVa) have seen people coming into there programs from "less prestigious" Ph.D. programs.

Thanks UVA Student, that is really helpful info from where I am at right now. I am planning on reapplying next year as an in-state student if nothing works out this year, so if money is tight then it might actually make me look more attractive. Please keep sharing if you learn more.

Theological orientation is going to alter rankings for each individual applicant, but one factor that ought to be considered apart from such orientations is the ability to leave somewhere and then get a job in the open market. That is what I think Reno's article (First Things) really fails to consider. I like that our discipline doesn't have a universally respected system of rankings analogous to Leiter's lists for philosophy because it makes it more likely that authority within the discipline will rest upon those with the best ideas and not the best pedigree. Or in other words, it reduces bullshit. Not that this will ever be eradicated, but we are better off when reputations are not crystallized and the mystery of "who's on top" is left for those who are willing to do the leg work and figure it out according to their own criteria.

NRMscholar-The only things I know of Chicago are from last year's forum but I do remember reading a post that said the Div. school emphasized they do not usually pull as much from their own MA students as they did last year, so take that for what it is worth, I believe that was specifically talking about Philosophy of Religion.

Now we have an "accepted via website" for UVa, posted today but dated for the 25th, congrats to whoever you are, are you Theology, Ethics and Culture? Are you certain you are accepting? How does it feel to get a golden ticket? Are you too cool for forums? If I don't get in may I live vicariously through you for the next four years? OK... I'm done now. Seriously, congrats.

This is the first year I'll actually be observing Lent, though I've been an admirer of the practice for a few years now, so I'm pretty excited/nervous about it. I'm giving up wine and trying to get back in the habit of a time of daily devotion with my spouse. This is my terrible Ash Wednesday joke that I made up this morning: happy Ash Wednesday!

If the person who posted their UVa waitlisting in results search is around I would be curious to know if your on-lines status has changed from pending to waitlisted. Thanks.

jcesharps- Where did you see this? I can't find it on this site, I checked my on-line status and it still says pending.

Ya, I just looked back at last years records and I didn't read carefully enough before, I found one person that got notice of their rejection on March 4 by emailing the graduate secretary, later in March someone spoke of it being strange they had notified some people in the beginning of the month and some not at all at that point. Both I and a friend currently have unanswered emails in the inbox of UVa faculty so it doesn't seem they are talking yet (or they don't care, or both), I'll be calling the grad. secretary on Friday though to see if she knows anything by that point.

eskidd- I checked the records from last year and it seemed everyone found out about UVa at the very end of February/ beginning of March, and it read as though they were waiting for letters. This year they of course had the "check here if you want the decision by email" box, which I checked, so I am thinking we might know something by the end of this coming week, especially if we're receiving emails. Also, here is a question for anyone who has any insight into the ongoings in Charlottesville: if I am not in a Ph.D. program next year my wife and I might very well be living in Virginia for purposes of employment. I looked at the residency requirements and I would qualify as an in-state student for the following school year if this scenario comes to pass, has anyone ever heard of that helping at UVa at the Ph.D. level? It was the issue that occupied the last page of the application so I'm hopeful, but I could also see it being an MA issue and not mattering at all at the doctoral level. Ooohh, one more thing. theostudent, I think amdg09 was talking about MA acceptances because he mentioned Villanova and from a phone call over there it seemed their Ph.D. apps were not being reviewed as of two weeks ago (I'm speaking of the philosophy dept., since they have no theology Ph.D. but do have an interdisciplinary theology/philosophy spot in their philosophy dept. I am very much hoping to get.)

During one of my bitch fests the other week my wife said she would work and I could stay home and write for the rest of my life. When she saw how readily I agreed she backed off. Honestly, writing's what I want to do. Teaching Intro to Philosophy or Theology to communication-major undergrads for ten years on the way to tenure would be, at best, a mixed blessing.

I hear you deamondeac, I am starting to think my only real shot is Villanova. If this year has been all for naught, next year I am going to go for a one year Master's in filing as many applications as I possibly can and simultaeneously apply to nursing school. Who knows what's going on in Charlottesville though? I just noticed that last year they ended up offering somebody who applied for the Ph.D. entry into the MA program, if they wanted to not charge me any $ that would be pretty tempting.

Congrats rollofthedice, that has got to feel great. You'll be my inspiration if I'm doing this next year. I urge you with the most utter sincerity to accept the offer :wink: !

No interview, I honestly didn't have the best app there given how competitive ND is, if I do end up reapplying there next year what faculty interests are there that correspond to the intersections between contemporary Continental stuff and theology? My app basically just talked about Cyril O'Regan a lot and given that he's never heard of me I didn't feel that great hitting the "submit" button.

eskidd- Good luck on your apps, we applied to similar places so I hope we are both on some of the same short lists right now. Thanks for that info into ND's systematics program. I am on the way to Rome, so to speak, so your post just put ND back onto my list of apps for next year if I come up dry this season (since by then I will be in communion with the Systematics faculty, Benedict, and that crazy German Bishop). In the mean time, however, it is unfortunate they do not make that rule more explicit, as I wasted 45$ and a ton of time on that application. I only applied to 5 schools due to a lack of time, so I would have applied somewhere else if I would have known that.

For the programs weighing heavy on my mind I am guessing Vandy has got to be notifying the "chosen ones" soon or they will risk their faves being wooed elsewhere and UVa has probably narrowed down their field to the admittees plus two or three folks on the bubble (I'm thinking Theology, Ethics, and Culture).

Congrats academicricket!! I love D.C. I have heard it is difficult to get funded there but I also know of somebody who is being well taken care of so I hope you end up like him. CUA is on my list for next year if the next couple of months don't go very well. I received a letter from Villanova yesterday and.... they needed a transcript. The truly sad thing is that it kind of felt good that a program has at least recognized I am actually alive. The wait is brutal but luckily I have a thesis to distract myself with :roll: .

My guess is that they have a few times of mass emails/letters when its time for acceptances, rejections, etc. ... and the rest of the time they are just not going to bother mailing or emailing something out, unless they want you and they need you to do something, like send in a missing score or transcript. I think they see our fees as paying for their consideration, not their personal attention.

deamondeac, if you're referring to the online indicators of what you've turned in, I know I've seen at least a few posts around here about how inaccurate they can be. One person even spoke of still having items "missing" months after acceptance. Maybe Harvard's on the ball enough to be worried though, who knows?

I've always heard it helps at Princeton if you're a Presbyterian, but maybe that's just what the rest of us say in our non-Presbyterian ressentiment.

It can't be determined for the post that was just put on Results Search, but everyone else who has heard from UVa and has posted here has been History of Religions- Buddhism, which one can certainly imagine getting less apps than Theology, Ethics, and Culture and thus processing those apps more quickly. I'm going to hold off on the email for other reasons too, but if any Theology, Ethics, and Culture people do email somebody over there please share.

I just deduced my first defacto rejection as Notre Dame has invited its faves for interviews toward the end of this month, but has somehow forgotten to contact me .