Sinope

::waves:: I'll be at the visit day this Monday, if anyone else plans to be there.

I didn't get much specific feedback from acceptances about my writing sample, but the advice I was given was that readability and coherent logic is more important than erudition (not that the latter's irrelevant either!). That is, your professor presumably knows a lot about the specific subject within which you're writing your paper, so doing detailed research and finding something new is important for a class. The professors reading your writing sample, on the other hand, may be relatively inexperienced in your specific field; what they care about is whether you have good, clear writing and an argument they can follow. (Example: I asked my SO, who isn't in the field at all, to read over my writing sample. His first response was "this is actually intelligible!") So, when I asked my professors what would be the best use of my time in improving a paper to become a writing sample, they said that improving its flow and style would be more fruitful than doing more research and writing more footnotes. Correct any flaws in facts or logic that your professor pointed out, if possible, then have multiple friends look it over. Obviously, you should still be saying something interesting and non-obvious within your field, but in terms of maximizing results with your time, that's what they advised me.

In Hebrew Bible, they said that they've sent out the first round of acceptances, but that they may have one more spot open. From what I've heard, that's pretty typical for Emory -- they tend to invite people gradually, up to very late.

I had to make my decision last week (. . . long story), and while my SO wasn't an overriding vote, he was a factor. Both schools are at the top of their field, though with different strengths; both, other professors assured me, would give me equally strong starts in the job market. So without a clear career preference, I did let personal reasons intervene. (Not just my SO, but the question of living somewhere where I know I'll have a community I like, vs. somewhere where I don't see myself putting down roots.) Career matters. So does whether or not you're happy outside the classroom for the next five years.

I'm a master's student in religion at Yale. As I understand it, departments decided whom to nominate last week, but the admissions committee -- this week, I believe? -- decides whom, out of those nominations, to accept for PhDs. So, don't be worried that you haven't heard anything yet. Hopefully it'll happen relatively soon.

Genghis, I'm so sorry to hear about the rejection. I see on your sig that you applied to a number of places, and most haven't gotten back to you yet; many schools are only starting to make their decisions now. There's still a very good chance that somewhere else will send an acceptance, or that you'll get in on a waitlist if other people turn down the offers -- just look at all the waitlist offers that happened last year! I'm very concerned that you're feeling that way. Do you have a local friend, someone you trust, whom you could talk to or visit for the evening? I know that things seem difficult right now, but they can and will change. I think that you said in another post that you're from Singapore; if so, then you can call 800-221-4444 or 000-227-0309 to talk to someone about how you're feeling. Please consider calling them or calling a friend if you're considering doing something serious.

Why no option to check more than one? As an Episcopalian, I'm pretty sure I fall squarely in both of the first two categories. . .

I just discovered this forum this morning, while mildly panicking preparing for my first formal interview, with Emory. I tried to do all the standard prep things (preparing answers for why I wanted to attend there, why I thought I'd be a good fit, what their department's personality was, what books the professors had written, etc.), but I think that the most helpful prep I did was to a) relax, and prepare articulate answers about myself. For instance, in the notes I made myself to prepare, I made sure to write out the names and authors of books I'd been reading and thinking about lately, issues that have been interesting me of late, etc. It meant that I could use those as concrete starting points to talk about things that I'm genuinely excited about, which is definitely important. Also, for what it's worth, both this and the other (informal) interview I've had were really enjoyable experiences, with professors who wanted to talk about interesting things in my field, not just grill me for the Right Answer. I'm sure that the latter kind of interview happens too, but I don't think it's the norm. Best of luck!