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I got in off the wait-list in mid-May. A buddy of mine, however, didn't get in until a couple weeks before the fall semester. As far as I can tell, then, I'm pretty sure they let folks in one at a time as spots become available. Totally worth the wait, though. Even my last-minute-admit friend will testify to that. Hang in there.

I say Duke all the way. Check out my comments on the Duke vs. Emory post someone started earlier. I can get more specific about my thoughts on both schools (bear in mind that I went to Duke for the MTS only visited PTS) in a private message, if you'd like. Peace.

I've accepted the offer from SMU in Systematic Theology. Can't wait to start!

The faculty prefer all students to "stay on paradigm" as they put it, but I ended up getting out of all my prerequisite courses except for OT 1 & 2. I showed up on campus coming from a conservative evangelical seminary with a 4-year ThM (essentially a 3-year MDiv and 1-year ThM all in one degree), set up meetings with the relevant professors during orientation, and convinced all but the OT prof (who, as it turns out, doesn't let anyone get advanced placement) that I knew my stuff sufficient to receive advanced placement. So I got to spend 14 of my 16 MTS courses in upper level seminars, directed readings, and courses outside of the department. Granted, I don't think that kind of large-scale course replacement is common, but it does happen. Just make sure to set up those meetings early and bring all of your pertinent prior syllabi for the profs to review. And be ready for some on-the-spot questions to test your basic knowledge in a given area. Best of luck! And please feel free to private message me with any other questions or concerns you might have. Duke is a fantastic place - I hope you wind up there. Peace.

Obviously we could argue for days about which university/faculty/program/degree is better, Duke or Emory. I don't see that being too productive in the end, so I'll just limit myself to the Durham issue. Frankly, I've loved living in Durham. Being within 5 miles of Eno River State Park, getting to hang out on 9th St. or at the Tobacco Campus downtown, going to Durham Bulls games, frequenting the local restaurants and farmers market, experiencing the citywide Duke vs. UNC rivalry first hand, strolling through the expansive beauty that is Duke Garden - I don't see what's not to like! The weather is much more mild in Durham than in Atlanta and it's 2 hours from the beach to the east and 2 hours from the mountains to the west. Plus, Durham houses a far superior university than does Atlanta (both of which shall remain nameless). The other thing I should mention is that there is a free bus that goes from Duke to UNC several times everyday, allowing students to take advantage of the incredible academic opportunities of both universities without having to drive to Chapel Hill at all.

I think a lot of it depends on your approach. But, having recently graduated from Duke with an MTS, I'd say they're the place to be, hands down. The faculty resources of the Divinity School (to say nothing of the rest of the university) exceed Emory's by far. Plus, Durham is a great place to live and there's nothing quite like watching a basketball game with fellow divinity students at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Lastly, I got into 3 PhD programs after graduating from Duke and was wait-listed at two others; prior to Duke my previous two graduate degrees in theology didn't get me in anywhere. Anyway, that's my two cents. Hope it helps.

Not that I'm bitter or anything.

I was accepted last year without funding, deferred, and was turned down for funding again this year. As I understand it, this is the norm for Marquette. Personally, I find it more than a little maddening and somewhat less than charitable. It is quite the tease to offer someone one admission to your school and leave them with essentially no recourse to accept it (without going into massive debt, that is). Thankfully I was offered funding at SMU and so will probably end up there. I think Marquette is a better fit for my research interests but have gone into debt enough at Duke.

No, there wasn't anything said about other admits or how many had applied or the like. I'm not sure what a typical year looks like for them in terms of how many get accepted into which sub-fields or how populated the wait-list is. Last year, at any rate, a buddy of mine was wait-listed (who I thought was a shoo-in) and I got turned down flat, so I'm not sure what to make of their process. I hope they come through for you, though.

I was accepted under the Systematic Theology sub-field and was offered tuition plus a $16k fellowship for three years, to be followed by a $10k dissertation stipend for at least one year. So far, it's my only funded acceptance but I'm pretty pleased with it.

I emailed and asked about UVA as well. The response I got went as follows: "Your application still has no decision. I can tell you that the initial PhD offers have been extended and 3 have accepted and 10 have not responded to date. I also sent out the waitlist letters on the 17th of February, of which 2 have accepted elsewhere. Being Spring Break week, there will be no more decisions made before the week of the 22nd. I will notify everyone of the decisions as soon as they are made." I don't know if that helps much or not, but my hopes for getting into UVA are pretty slight at this point. Peace.

To those for whom it is relevant, I was one of the folks who got in last year and deferred. Well, I found out a couple of days ago that they're not going to offer me funding, so chances are good I'm not moving to Milwaukee. I'm pretty bummed about it but I suppose that's just how it goes, right? I sure wish schools wouldn't tease us like that, though; it doesn't seem right to let someone in and then leave them in a position where they can't afford to take advantage of the opportunity. Oh, well. God is sovereign.

Philosophy of Religion was my first disciplinary track. Theology was my second. I hope you fare better than the rest of us. Keep us posted.

Apparently the 3rd time is not the charm: rejected by Yale...again.

My remaining hope for Yale is in pretty short supply at this point. Thanks for the interaction on the post, though. I'm sure it'll all work out in the end.