doobiebrothers

harvard nelc should come out next week, if last year is any indication

yea but i'm worried the weather is gonna push back notifications this year

from what I know of the adcoms, the schools are very good at giving "special" applicants a thorough read; that means if you are an older student, have an unusual academic profile, or have anything else that stands out in your file (as long as you addressed it in your essays or somewhere else in the application) you will be considered quite closely on your own merits. it actually is quite beneficial to be an unusual applicant; you stand out from the crowd in a good way! as to the resume, I do have to admit it is not usually given too much weight, unless there is something exceptional. your publications would probably be seen as exceptional, so I am pretty sure those would have come up in conversation. Guys this is easy to say but hard to do: let's try to enjoy this *tee hee hee* liminal space between knowing and not knowing

from what I've seen, at least of the graduate-studies world, the people in the know (on the committees) know what science-po is. congratulations you two! that's amazing!

I'm pretty much 100% sure my file has been read and the decision has been made by the adcom, and now I'm waiting for the dean to rubber stamp the yes's and the no's. I want to email my POI desperately, but what if it's bad news? better to have 10 more days of blissful ignorance.

guys hds decisions go out the second friday of march. you won't hear anything, good or bad, before then. pm me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's what it is. (for the last three years running) edit: around the second week of march; 13-15th

altered DNA

yea from what I remember it matters who writes your letters only because their reputation as scholars matters; nothing else at all is taken into account-certainly not gender or minority status of the writers! that would be bizarre on a committee, I think.

what is the difference between a D.Min and a ThD?

1050 words; double spaced 3 1/4 pages. It was interesting because at first I insisted on 1500 words and was willing to risk being auto-rejected for length, (I HAVE TO SAY ALL THE THINGS) but now looking back the shorter version is concise, polished and much better. Thank god for adamant friends and excellent editors

from what I was told by a student who got in last year, Harvard CSR will announce acceptances at some point between the 17th and 19th of february, barring snowpocalypse

this is great! thank you so much!

i was EXACTLY in your shoes when I applied the first time: obviously a very qualified candidate who was also very insecure about it. You will get in, I'd bet $50 bucks on it. And if you don't, and you reapply, your chances then go very, very high because they LOVE to see the kind of tenacity that makes people re-apply. If this is really your dream, a no won't stop you. That's how I feel this year about my PhD app to your alma mater: I will get in. If not this year, next year, or the year after. Not out of arrogance, but out of a genuine love for my field, for my professors, and a deep knowledge that this is the right place for me and I am the right person to do this work that inspires me. If you feel the same, and this is not a cliche because I have seen it countless times especially at the div school, it will happen. On a slightly sappy note, the div school is truly a magical place. It is where much of Harvard's superficiality, powermongering, ends-justify-the-means ugliness dissipates in the tranquil sun that filters through the oak leaves. Anyone blessed enough to be a part of that wonderful community will come out of it very, very strong in their faith; perhaps not the faith in a traditional deity, but an abiding faith in the potential for religious education to radically reshape our world into something lovelier and more compassionate. *end rant* tee hee hee

livenlearn--if you're interested about my bonafides as an admissions committee member, please pm me, but don't trash my thread. thanks.

go bruins!

don't know if this has been posted, but it's good resource! http://www.howigotintostanford.com/touch.php

I had six, but I'm an older student

no they won't think you're a crazy person unless your emails were crazy; the threshold for crazy is quite, quite high. (think sending embroidered stuffed animals with the staff names stitched on the chest) that's weird. emails? not weird. everyone working in the office was once a go-getting type A obsessive compulsive perfectionist who applied to Harvard, so THEY GET IT, and are very sympathetic. Again and again, just curb any arrogance or entitlement--we like to send those people to the law school

this article is amazing!! thank you so much for sharing, I should send it to my students, as this works equally well for undergrad admissions

also there are no alum readers, and "voting and non-voting members" doesn't work in quite the way you think it does; it's more fluid than rigid. Just don't call the office too much, or send flowers or weird gifts. Posting on grad cafe is fine, although some of the people in the office are on here and might recognize you; just something to think about.

I've been where you are, and from what I know of admissions I will say the following: If somebody claims "extreme uniqueness and obvious fit" on an application, it might come of as very off-putting to the readers. One of the easiest things to sense from an essay is that sense of entitlement and arrogance, and it is a major no-no; those kinds of applications go straight into the garbage pile, regardless of other (usually stellar) qualifications. I'm sure you are indeed a great fit, in which case probably the best thing to do is to keep doing all of those wonderful things that make you a great fit--reading, writing, thinking, volunteering, hobbies, hanging out with friends and family, etc. As for the "secret admissions rubric" I wrote something about that recently: Please, relax and enjoy these next seven weeks of your life. I am sure you will get in and you will be very happy, but the level of stress that you seem to be putting on yourself does not seem to be very healthy.

some advice for the harvard applicants: harvard does not 'officially' interview. However, if you just happen to be in town over the next few weeks, mention it to a few POI's and go to their office hours; it's like a back-door interview, and it works pretty darn well.

I don't know the policy world well but as a reader you have an interesting story, you sound like a good and kind person, and a compelling reason to go back to schoool. Sound like a winner to me!