The Man Who Is Thursday

Hi Westcott, thanks for the reply (and glad you like my name, haha). I have actually considered what you suggested. Unfortunately, this school is not a great place to do American religious history (it would have been several years ago, but not any longer). In terms of intellectual history, the early America profs currently there focus more on political ideology than anything else, or the role of women, and expansion into the west. On top of this, being a large, public state school, there is no theology program there, so taking theology classes as well would obviously be difficult, haha. I also had a weird experience with one of the early America profs. I spoke to one on the phone several months back who rather frightened me off from the program, since I was told (in kind but strangely ambiguous terms) that I should probably go somewhere else. I don't know what this person's motivation was in telling me that, but I put the school out of my mind as a result--which is why I'm so surprised to get an offer like this now. Naturally, I have reservations about the program because even one of their own faculty seemed pretty negative about it, so I thought my decision was made for me. Of course, all this money on the table now is what's giving me second thoughts...that is the real issue.

I wanted to thank all of you who have posted in this thread. I really appreciate your advice. I was wondering if I could ask for a bit more... >_> heh You see, I just got a rather large curveball thrown at me. I mentioned earlier that I am trying to make the switch from studying US history to theology. However, I applied to various schools in both of the fields, just to find out what options I'd have. I did not get into any of the theology programs I applied to (which were admittedly few, and they only received hastily completed apps due to time constraints), and I did not get into any US history programs either--until today. The last history program just accepted me with full funding (I don't know why it took them so long, but it did). I only have a week to respond to their offer. I did not expect to get something like that, especially with the lukewarm treatment I got from the school up 'till now. This school does not have a great history program (though not a bad one really), but does not have any professors that are very well known in US history (it used to, but one died and the other retired). On the other hand...it's full funding, and I didn't get in anywhere else. I really don't know what to do with the offer. Theology is hands down my main intellectual passion, and as much as I like US history, the ratio of theology to US history books on my shelf is probably like 10:1 (to give an idea of where my interests lie). I feel like, based on what you've said earlier, that I stand a chance of getting into a good theology program in the future if I spend some time on my statement and refine the rest of it, but that is not at all guaranteed. And though the job market sucks for all humanities, I would think there'd be a lot more (comparatively) job opportunities for US history PhDs than Theology (or History of Christianity). Would accepting this offer permanently rule out theology for me? I don't know how schools react to someone trying to switch if I tried it again later (supposing I earned a Masters' and then tried to apply elsewhere--I'm not even sure I could ever leave with this fellowship, with that much money does it work like a binding contract?). And since we all know that specificity is important, I'd think potential theology programs would wonder why the hell a history person keeps trying to get into their system, and what I could possibly offer with a background in colonial US. Essentially, I feel I'll regret either decision. If I take the offer, I'll regret not doing theology. If I reject it, I'll regret not accepting a massive award in a field that probably has more job security. I am at a loss and don't really have much time to decide...gah. Counsel? Advice? Suggestions? I could definitely use it...I thank you all again for your advice so far. It's been excellent.

Thanks a lot for these suggestions. I will definitely take them to heart. I know that I definitely wrote some sub-par SOPs for most of the programs I applied to, simply because of the lack of time. I had not much opportunity to share them around or get feedback aside from one or two quick drafts. The thing is, I thought that my SOP for ND was far better, but apparently it wasn't. I'll *really* have to work on that (and for the other schools) next year, it seems. The main reason I applied to Masters programs and not PhDs was because I didn't think I had enough direction. I was kind of hoping to straighten that out at the MA level, but I guess the way things work now you need to have a plan even before then. It's crazy. I suppose I will need to just straight up email some professors and ask what to do. I'll just have to...force myself to do it, hehe. Thanks again! I gave up pessimism for lent.

Well, the dust has settled and I didn't get in anywhere. Anyway, not looking for sympathy or anything, so don't worry. To be honest, after the initial depression passed, I'm kind of excited to just have a year off. I've got a job and a place to live, so nothing critical was riding on my acceptance (I don't have any debt, either). Not getting accepted isn't too surprising, as I really had no idea what I was doing and only admitted to myself that I wanted to study theology (instead of American history, my major) in October 2010, which probably wasn't the best idea. Haha. But the point of this thread is to ask advice from all of you who *were* accepted this year. What should I do to bolster my resume in the next year? Take language classes? Teach abroad somewhere? Work at a soup kitchen on weekends? What would you recommend? A little info about myself, I suppose, is apposite. I'm an evangelical protestant (I know, gah! Shun!), with typically conservative leanings by comparison here (though my brethren think me decidedly liberal). Oddly, I have a rather strange love for eastern orthodox theology. 3.94 GPA1360 GRE (660 V, 700 Q) w/ 4.5 for writingOver a year of work experience at a Christian academic organization (still work there now)Working on an honors thesis on a theological topic, and was nominated for an outstanding achievement award by my primary thesis advisor (no word on who wins yet, though I doubt a theology paper can compete with some science whizkid, haha)(Currently) three quarters of French, and two of Ancient Greek (though I'm still taking at least one of those classes this spring) Now, I realize that my GRE isn't the highest, but I think that my biggest problem was the lack of language experience. Though I really have no idea, I'm just speculating. Any advice/ideas on what I should do during this next year? I really wanted to get into Notre Dame's MTS program, but I see that I'm not yet qualified for it. Is it worth applying again next year, or should I just direct my energy towards something more within reach? Thanks in advance. I really appreciate these boards! I should have made more use of them during the whole application process...

Well, didn't get into YDS either. Excellent! Looks like I'll be doing this all over again next year. I may have to ask y'all for some advice on how to do this properly. I really had no clue which way was up this time around. Congrats to those who were accepted.

Yeah, same. maudlin's resume is better than mine as well. Although I still feel like I could've gotten in... I'm just going to blame it on the recession. That has a nicer ring to it than, "I ain't good enough."

Yeah, I didn't want to do that. I think I'll just remove that signature. I thought it was kind of funny, but now I don't really want to go broadcasting that that happened... And this is off topic for the thread anyway. Back to theology!

Ah, no worries. I'd explain the signature if I knew what it meant, but I'm as confused as you are. Duke's Div school called me a week back and I was left with an urgent message to call back. When I did, they didn't know why they called me. As for the other, I got a call from someone at a different school (don't want to identify) that neglected to even identify herself before launching into a huge soliloquy about how if I got into their program and nowhere else I should just quit grad school. I still don't know if I got in or not, but it was not exactly uplifting.

Well, I see here several of the people that beat me out for the ND MTS. Ah well, no hate. Don't worry. I was really hoping I'd get in there, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. [insert Calvinist joke]. Have yet to hear back from anywhere else yet. But I was wondering, those of you with experience here, is it worth applying to these types of programs more than once? I don't know how much I can beef up my resume in a year (though I'll try). Just curious. Congratulations to those of you who have been accepted!

Definitely had a few beers after getting rejected from the dream school. Ah well. Only a few more rejections to go! We're breaking out the brooms!

Oddly enough, I didn't really study much for the second time through (mostly because I just didn't have much time available for it). I studied a lot for the first one, and I think I might have crammed too much and my score suffered. What I did do for the second, however, was focus more on the Verbal. I did exercises from Kaplan's online GRE course, and I reviewed a long list of vocabulary that I had accumulated over the past several months. If you're looking for a book that might help with brushing up on both categories (especially the math), I'd suggest GRE for Dummies. I felt like an idiot buying the thing, but that was a really helpful book. So if you don't mind buying something with "For Dummies" in the title, then go for it. Otherwise, I think the best advice is what people here told me: don't worry too much.

Figured I'd say thank you to those of you who urged me to take the test again. I took it again today and I raised my score from 580V/640Q to 660V/700Q I'll never understand how I got that high on the math (a one-armed, blind chimpanzee is better than me at math), but hey! Whatever works!

Yeah, I think that's what happened to me. Or I just made a bunch of boneheaded mistakes. Mostly, I think the thing was bad luck--at least I hope so, heh. Did you take any practice tests beforehand or anything? Was your score radically different from those if you did? Anyway, yeah, my test is coming up again soon. Thanks for the good luck wish! I wish the same to you! (Also, I'd guess that since you got a 710Q as a history major, that proves you can study for this thing and beat this stupid test at its own game. Haha. Just make sure you direct your energy at the verbal.)

Looks like you and I are in the same situation, roughly (except you managed to get a 710Q. As a history major? How did that happen? Haha). I'm an aspiring history student, and I scored almost the same as you on the Verbal: 580. I don't know how that happened, but it did. I'd definitely suggest you take it again (I'm going to), but do it as soon as possible, since the window will be closing soon (especially with the schools that stop accepting applications in December). What most people on this board have told me, however, is not to stress about it too much (which is what I was doing). If you have that high of a GPA, a good SOP, and good letters of rec, then having a low GRE score is not the end of the world. It might influence funding, which is why you should take it again, but other than that it is not as critical as the other parts of the application.

Thanks for the reply! Your advice is sound. I know that the SOP is extremely important, but I am worried about falling below a cut-off line with the GRE. I guess there's only so much I can do about that, though. Hopefully a retake improves my score...