vega maudlin

Well, that's fair. I loved the atmosphere -- it was intellectual and intensely invigorating. I would not at all have described it as 'cutthroat', partially because everyone was so warm and good-humored, and partially because -- although the academic standards were extremely high -- it never seemed that students were pitted against each other or attempting to 'beat' one another (which is what I think when I hear 'cutthroat'). But look, here I am objecting to your definitions of terms! So perhaps I simply fit right in. Yuanzhu, I do know many people who love it there, and it also seems there are many who found it too rigorous/cutthroat/stressful/intense/etc for their tastes. It may depend on your temperament.

Again -- I never heard or experienced this when I was there, and I've never heard it from my friends who are doing MAs or PhDs there now. But it does seem that I am in the minority, on this board at least!

I have to chip in here. I was an undergraduate at the U of C and took many classes at the Div School while I was there. I never experienced the 'cutthroat' atmosphere described by the poster above and was a little startled (upon visiting masters' programs elsewhere) to hear the U of C described in those terms. Frankly, the vast majority of classes I took felt like extremely collaborative enterprises, and the intellectual atmosphere and chance for good conversation were unparalleled. Now, granted, I was an undergrad, and it may have felt differently for the M* students in particular (who were all competing for the same spots). But this was simply my experience.

If you live near the Baltimore conference and it happens to be convenient to attend, go for it. If not, I'd use your first semester to get the hang of the program. MDivs are three years, right? You have plenty of time to go to SBL.

I just turned down an offer from Princeton RMA -- I hope it helps someone -- and am now deciding between Yale NT and ND CJA. If you are high on the waitlist on either of those places and would find it helpful to PM me, you should feel free.

No, she took the offer. That said, I don't know how many they accept/year.

I have a friend who was accepted to UT Austin (I'm pretty sure in RAM).

I feel like I should say something to this, and -- just by taking a quick mental tally -- I'd estimate that at least 2/3 of the students my year were not coming from Catholic undergrads. The student body runs conservative, but the theology professors fall on more of a spectrum.

At least some went out; I know of four people who have heard. Notifications have been happening via email instead of phone.

Well, I could certainly be wrong. I know the year *before* that, I got my results around March 12 or so.

They've actually only started looking over MTS files, as far as I gather -- you'll probably hear in mid-March?

They said during the interview weekend that they would make calls on Monday.

Do you mind sharing which was your first choice school (and what program)?

I mean, they gave you an interview having *already* seen your GPA. It's not like it's coming as a surprise to them and they clearly didn't see it as an adequate reason to eliminate you as a candidate. That said, they WILL (almost certainly) ask you about it in the interview, so have a well-formulated response for them and keep your cool.

I... actually didn't ask him. If I had to take a guess (and just glancing over the subfields now) I would say Theology and Religious Reflection, but that's only a guess.