rollofthedice

What area do you intend to concentrate? This is an important factor. I went to Emory a few years ago. For me it came down to the faculty (I wanted to work with Lewis Ayres and Ian McFarland) as well as money (Emory's was a lot better). As for PhD placement, this is much more contingent on your area of interest and how rigorous you structure your curriculum. Emory's placement during my time was not great, but that started to change the past two years. If you describe your situation a little more I might be able to give you a more detailed response. good luck.

I was rejected by UVA last year. I emailed them on March 20th because I hadn't heard at that point and was sick of waiting. They office assistant wrote me back that day informing me of the decision. I don't think the letter came for another week and a half. Let's hope they get their act together this year. Seriously.

Thank you, achowa00. I hope to make the decisions process as quick and painless as possible. I was wait-listed at several schools last year, to no avail (BC, oddly, didn't even do a wait-list last year...or so I was told when they turned me down). I know it is not a fun position to be in. Did you apply for History or Theology at BC? Let's hope a few others decline offers to increase your chances!

This morning I received a phone call from my potential adviser at Fordham informing me that I had been accepted and recommended for a competitive funding package. It was a nice, personal conversation and he said that official information would be arriving from the Graduate School within the week. He also said that they request all admittees to accept or decline by April 1. I applied to Historical Theology, by the way. Not much news beyond that.

I received two letters today from the theology program at Loyola of Chicago....both telling me I was wait-listed. One would have sufficed. The letter(s) indicated that they had already made their decisions on primary candidates. I suspect those receiving offers should be hearing shortly...if they haven't already.

I am in History of Christian Life and Thought (primarily Early Christianity/Historical Theology). Looking forward to working with Kolbet and Anatolios. It is such a relief to have an option on the table, for sure. I dont know what the situation is with systematics. it sounds like they may not have sent stuff out yet? who knows. best of luck to all.

I posted this on the other page but thought i would let you all know that I was accepted to BC this afternoon. I just got an email from the Grad Director. Accepted to Theology program with funding. I assume the rest of BC's offers will go out very soon. Best of luck to those still waiting.

I just got an email from Boston College Grad Director. Accepted to Theology program with funding. First acceptance in two years and twenty schools of trying. Pretty excited. A little shell shocked. I assume that most initial offers are going out this week as a result. Best of luck to all of you still waiting.

I've been curious about the marquette situation as well. I have no idea whats going on with that. The last few years, it seems like Marquette was on the late end of march in getting back to applicants. If anyone hears anything, do share!

Got my MTS at Emory with thesis work under the supervision of Lewis Ayres and Ian McFarland. I visited UVA last year and had great conversations with Mathewes, Hart, and Jones. I had a long correspondence with Mathewes via email and he was very approachable. Obviously, none of that got me an acceptance. I think that, because Wilken is retiring, they assumed that I would not have someone to supervise a Patristics focus. When, in fact, my interests are not so rigidly historical. I tried to explain my interests better this year in the personal statement. We'll see how that goes. As for the competitiveness of UVA: I think that the lower first-tier/higher second-tier schools that offer reasonable money will be receiving as many apps as the top programs in the country. There just arent enough slots to go around. The sheer numbers suggest that even smaller/less prestigious programs like UVA, Brown and Indiana will be equally as competitive as an Chicago, Emory, Yale, Princeton etc because demand exceeds supply...by a long shot. It does sound like Hart would be an excellent match for you. Having two Masters degrees is also en vogue these days. I think that goes a long way with many admissions committees. That is a sure strength compared to someone like myself who only has one. It seems to me that, recently, two masters degrees is becoming more of a rule than an exception. I know at Emory many of the Bible students had to go to Columbia Seminary for a ThM to even be considered. As a theology student, a ThM just wasnt practical or feasible. and now, the waiting game.

I applied to 6 schools last year. Was wait-listed at two (ultimately no offers). I was accepted to Durham (in the UK) but financing and finding employment for my wife would have been near impossible. I had to decline, though it is an appealing program. Expanded the list to double the size this year for one last "hoorah". My quantitative score was abysmal last year, though i had a 700 verbal and 5.5 Analytical. I raised my math by 100pts this fall but it is still quite poor. I hope it is enough to get me over the hump at least at one program. We will see. Someone even tried to tell me that my 3.75 MTS GPA was a liability. That makes me a tad bitter. At UVA, I am interested in working with Mathewes, Marsh, Hart, and Jones. My background is actually in Patristic theology, but my interests are more constructive than simply church history. At Fordham, Demacopolous and Papanikolaou would be my primary focus. Demacopolous has been really nice via email correspondence. Moving to NYC would be somewhat daunting though, eh? What about you?

Back when i was applying to MTS programs I got into Yale but not Harvard, though Yale offered very little money making it prohibitive. I think that when it comes to the Mdiv there may be less to worry about regarding admission, and more to worry about regarding financing. But I did the MTS, so i relied solely on academic scholarship and not denominational ones. This was a little while ago, though. Things may certainly have changed (especially in the current economic climate). best of luck!

Hey all, I have never heard of a 730+ cut-off. I have definitely heard rumors that places like Duke-Yale-Chicago (but especially Duke) won't touch an application with a verbal lower than 700 and a cumulative lower than 1350-1400. I think that at most other programs, high 600s with a higher cumulative (And obviously a high writing score) ensures that your GRE's wont get you eliminated. As the profs always say, these scores dont get you in a program, but they will most certainly knock you out.

Anyone else notice the few postings about Marquette recently? This seems rather early for them. They are usually one of the last ones, right? Anyone know anything about this?

You mean Dec 3, right? Ridiculously early. Theology, Ethics, and Culture must be on a different timeline than History of Religions...unless things have drastically changed since last year (which I doubt). My understanding is that UVA's theology program is the earliest deadline and the last to lat you know. Last year I had been rejected at 5 schools accepted at one UK (Durham) without funding, and it all came down to UVA. After waiting through mid-March I finally emailed the graduate admissions secretary and she gave me my status over email. that was on March 20. I dont even know when the official letter came. I can tell you this much: This year, I got an urgent email from Kevin Hart on Jan 22 informing me that they were missing 2 of my 3 reference letters (which turned out to be a mistake) and that they were going to begin deliberation in the morning. This means that they sat on our applications from Dec 3 to Jan 23. WTF? I wonder if their decision making process is structured differently than other schools...say, private ones, like Emory, Duke or Vandy that seem to get on the ball much quicker with a later deadline. I cant understand a delay of that much time. I agree with your rant though. Why the hell does it take 3.5 months to hear one peep out of these people? Shouldnt they be hammering out a short list and a sufficient wait-list in a manner of weeks, not months?!? We are at a disadvantage from the get-go...except, of course, the fact that we have this little forum.

Hey all, I made it through several cuts last year at BC only to be axed in the final round. I found out the first week in March (mind you, I called the admissions office...the letter didnt come for another week and a half). People who were cut in earlier rounds found out mid-late February. As for ND, I think their interview weekend is in late Feb. Hope that helps.

I completely understand your frustration. The process does play out differently for each applicant. However, I can tell you that the majority of students who were admitted at Emory in recent years were admitted to work under Jordan and Farley and concentrated in issues of deconstruction, gender studies, and pretty much anything that falls outside the realm of "traditional systematic categories." If you proposed a course of study on Barth at Emory, Ian McFarland and Joy McDougall would pretty much be it...and to be honest, McFarland is far stronger in that suit. You would not garner enough support from other faculty to warrant an admission. Even if you had some practical element, this would not be enough to put you over the top. Also, the practices program does not get you admitted. You have to be accepted to the area of concentration first, and then the committee on practices reviews your application at the end. Therefore, the majority of Practices students at Emory are doing ethnographic studies in Religion, and not necessarily "practical theology." (Note also that the practices funding comes from Lilly, the Religion program funding does not.) With all due respect, demondeac, I highly doubt that your lack of theological orthodoxy had much to do with it. I know of only one current theology PhD student who could be considered theologically orthodox. Only one. The phrase "not orthodox enough for emory" is somewhat of a contradiction in terms! I dont know if it was a bias against your outlook as much as the sheer competition for limited spaces at that point. Also, last year theology took two of its own students from Candler (which is unheard of at Emory! they pretty much shun all Candler students as a general rule.). That pretty much wiped out their selections for the year. I think only one other person from the outside got in. That means you were competing for one spot rather than 3-4. I think this had more to do with what went on in your case than anything else. Last year's situation at Emory probably had very little to do with you at all. I dont know if that is a good thing or a bad thing ? Like I said in the previous post, with Jordan leaving it may start to balance out a little more, but that will take time. And, at some point when the economy gets better, they will have to replace Jordan. Whoever they pick at that point will be a strong indication of where the department is headed. Either way, having gone through the app process at Emory on the ground, I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. I know most of the profs from first hand experience. To be completely honest, I tried last year to get into the Historical Studies program to work under Lewis Ayres (my masters adviser). My interests in historical theology also had a practical element so i applied to practices. I got burned pretty bad in the process (turned down for interview weekend but wait listed til April when they finally told me No). With Ayres gone, I was a little fed up with the program. So I didnt apply to it this year. But I did apply to Emory's Institute of Liberal Arts (along with about 12 other programs!). And now the waiting game. Best of luck in your other options.

I thought I would toss my "two cents" into the discussion about northern and southern schools regarding evangelical students. (full disclosure: I am a former Emory masters student who almost went to Vandy). I think it has less to do with a "Southern Bias" against evangelical students than it does with the prominent professors at those institutions. The reality at Emory in recent years was that most applicants wanted to work under Wendy Farley or Mark Jordan (the two most senior faculty members in theology). Ian McFarland is sympathetic to more confessional positions (as are some faculty members in Bible and History), but he just doesnt have the clout. As a result, the applicants who get the most support are the ones whose interests most align with Farley and Jordan, not necessarily McFarland or McDougall. However, with Jordan leaving soon for Harvard, the situation may become a little more balanced...maybe not. I would assume the situation is similar at Vandy (though I can't speak from experience). I would assume, one way or another, that the perceived bias has more to do with the particular faculty members and the ways in which ones evangelicalism comes across in the application as opposed to a general prejudice against all students of that stripe. All that being said, an evangelical student may find that they have only a few conversation partners at either institution. Any way, best of luck.