MBIGrad

Does anyone have an idea of which universities interview, which do not, and in which it's a mix? I thought I had heard that Yale's faculty is now expected to interview all candidates, but I know that not every school does.

Answer to first question: "No."

Clash of Clans

Work.

At Yale, each professor (I'm not sure whether level matters) is afforded one recommendation, and out of those they cut the list and submit it to the grad school. At Princeton, professors of an area confer and submit two finalists, one or two of which are selected. This only applies to Ancient Mediterranean Religions faculty, as these are those with whom I've spoken. From what I've heard, and of course none of us probably truly "know," the 'pre-arranged adviser' is indeed nonsense, as per furtivemode. However, I do think that having someone on the faculty who could see themselves advising one's research through dissertation would be requisite.

I think that it will break you. Don't include it.

Did any other Ancient Mediterranean Religions/Ancient Christianity/Biblical Studies folk apply to Cornell, UVA, or Boston U?

Karl Sandberg's "German for Reading Knowledge" has been the standard for decades. You'll notice, if you look, that it costs a whole lot of money online, because it is out of print. Here's a neat trick: http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~rfburger/language/German%20for%20Reading/

Anyone going to the MWSBL annual meeting in Bourbonnois, IL Feb 7-9? If so, whence are you going? I am looking to carpool with someone from somewhere around Cleveland, OH.

I've heard from a reliable source that many of PTS's faculty double as CIA undercover ops....weird.

I would make it a music video in the vein of "What Does the Fox Say?"

Just send the Graduate Administrator a couple of "Benjamins" in the mail, and it will all sort itself out.

Just put "Devry University"

Anyone know about FSU's current doctoral funding, or about their Religions of Western Antiquity program in general? (Specifics, beyond what one would find out from the web site and a quick chat with the profs) I had heard that their funding to admitted doctoral candidates could be low.

My application process is definitely "stress free." I'm not sure what it is that everyone's been complaining about. Condensing your entire career into a lucid, compelling, and attractive two page document? Child's play. Finishing a 20-30 page writing sample that is perfect in every way? No big deal. This process is cake! I haven't been stressed in, I'd say, at least five or ten minutes.

Also, speaking of Europe, Gordon Conwell has a program that funds one of their graduates per year to take on a second MA at St. Andrews. In the same vein, I had an undergrad mentor who had just come from Oxford (and another good friend faculty member from a Cambridge PhD), and they didn't make it sound as though those schools are known for their academic rigor; not that they don't have great facilities and faculty. If you have money, Biola University near LA has a three-year Philosophy of Religion/Ethics MA whose main purpose is to place students into tier 1 PhD programs, and they've done this with hundreds of students over the past ten years. Also, conservative. For what it's worth, I think that learning how to traverse the contours of the academy as a conservative can be a very valuable experience, and only available at non-conservative schools.

No, FSU allows electronic recommendations, but once requested, you can't format, edit, resend the requests until you have turned in the rest of your application. I put in one of my profs emails in wrong, and now I have to have my entire application in before I can resend the request. I guess I'll finish the writing sample...

Phil Harland's web site, podcast, etc... are worth looking at.

Yale's stipends are closer to $30k, their acceptance rate is about the same as everyone else's ("low").Their insurance is considerably better than elsewhere.

The stipend is $16k and isn't supposed to cover summer. All this really does make Yale look like a knight in shining armor, especially has one a family. By the way, for those who receive an assistantship and still end up driving pizzas (as I am now), you can get a lot out of Phil Harland's "Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean" podcast while out on deliveries.

Yes, UT requires that too.

Yes, that is a good reminder. I posted this because those devolve into trivia and debate, and it is nice to see in the signature box what schools to which everyone is applying.

Yes, I've heard that. Good to know all that about Boston, very helpful. Concerning Brown, I looked at their Religion and Egyptology programs, but they don't have anyone doing my stuff; otherwise, I'd be all over it. I've had several profs who did their PhDs at Brown, and it seems to do all things well.

I'm with you, sir. Someone correct us.

Not to go all "corny Nike t-shirt" on everybody, but here goes: Nuff said. Or perhaps it's not enough. Whether you are applying to MA or PhD programs, post whither you're applying; everyone is interested. Also, anyone get any apps in yet? I got mine in to UVA and UT and will be turning in Harvard and UNC this weekend. By the way, anyone applying to Harvard, BU, FSU should be reminded that these are schools to which one must send physical official transcripts (lame).