Emma Maroon

Oy vey! Just heard from Yale, got accepted to the MDiv! I'm super shocked, I thought that they didn't send out decisions until March??? I still won't get financial aid information until March 15, but it's crazy to hear so soon! Also got acceptances last week from Candler and Princeton - no financial from Candler, but Princeton sent out need-based financial aid, and 80% for me too, RyanD. Still waiting for Notre Dame for an MTS and Boston College for an MDiv. Won't hear from Notre Dame until the end of February, BC won't tell me when. Gonna be a long winter.

I agree that the pro-life issue can be a really difficult twist in the whole "evangelicals are leaving the Right" debate. Christians in my generation seem to be going pretty liberal on gay rights, the environment, and the role of government... but eh, what to do about abortion? I remember reading some statistics about how kids 18-28 are more liberal than their parents on gay rights but considerably more conservative on abortion rights. Is there a candidate that can fill that void? Probably not. So we compromise. It's a bummer. But I loved the discussion of a new vision for the church's role in politics. 'This is the church’s “prophetic role” — not to become the government but to “speak truth to power.”' Instead of getting so caught up in the power struggle of gaining political office in order to "create change," to realize that "when the church gets in bed with the state, the church always loses." We lose our credibility, we lose our voice, and we lose our "moral high ground" to speak into political situations, on both sides, calling for peace and justice in places that it's lacking.If we had the courage to step outside of the power game, we could actually be heard more clearly. Also, I read something by (Tolstoy? I think?) once about Christians in government: ‎"According to Christ's teaching, the good are those who are meek and long-suffering, do not resist evil by force, forgive injuries, and love their enemies; those are wicked who exalt themselves, oppress, strive, and use force. Therefore, by Christ's teaching, there can be no doubt whether the good are to be found among the rulers or ruled, and whether the wicked are among ruled or rulers. Indeed it is absurd even to speak of Christians ruling."

Don't get me wrong! I would love to go to Princeton. They're definitely absolutely super great. I was leaning pretty strongly towards them as soon as I had a chance to visit. Love it. But I've put a lot of money into applications for a lot of schools, and I don't want to waste that money by jumping on the first YES that gets tossed my way. It's pretty probable that I'll end up at Princeton. But just not yet. jdmhotness, I guess that that's what I'll do. I hate to call a great school that I want to go to and tell them that I need an extension... it keeps feeling like a moment from Downton Abbey where Mary holds on her answer for William until she knows if he has the inheritence yet. I know that picking a school isn't like picking a dude. But I still feel queezy. Guess I'll bite the bullet and make the call. Congrats, RyanD! Maybe I'll meet you at PTS in the fall! :-) Drechie, I've been offered tuition funding based on need, but no merit information yet. Princeton is by far one of the least expensive div schools, without funding, and apparently pretty generous. I graduated with a 3.95 GPA but from what I've heard, Princeton is more concerned with references and a statement of purpose than GPA. But I really don't know much. Best of luck applying! Fun times!

Yeah, here's the deal. They told me that I am "eligible" for 80% of tuition, based on need. I'm assuming that once I fill out my FAFSA (still waiting for tax forms), that it'll be confirmed. I'm worried that I'll forfeit some of my financial aid if I wait to let them know about a decision. But also, RyanD, I found the same thing on the website - no info on merit scholarships/stipend stuff until March. How can I make an informed decision in February if I don't even know how much money they'll give me in March? I don't want to just "tell" them that I can't accept yet, because I don't want to risk losing funding. Should I call and ask? E-mail? And I'm also frustrated that a school can put prospectives in this very awkward situation. They give a lot of lip service to the "discernment process" and how they want us to make the choice that God is calling us to make, but then they throw stuff like this at us. Unpleasant.

Got my first two acceptances this week! Candler and PTS. Very exciting. But I have a question and a problem. Princeton tells me that I have to respond by February 20th with my answer. The thing is, I'm still waiting on news from three other schools that won't tell me until mid-March. Don't get me wrong - I love Princeton and would love to attend. But I'd like to make an informed decision with all my school results, including financial aid, laid out in front of me. (Isn't there something about an official "Graduate School" date of April 15?) It seems so rude to ask Princeton for more time so that I can consider other schools, but it doesn't seem fair for them to demand an answer so soon, when I can't possibly know what school is the best place for me and my budget. What's the best way to handle this?

I have no clue, but I would *also* like to hijack the thread to ask: How long can I be expected to wait for a decision on PTS? I submitted last week, and it's rolling admissions. Nothing on the site about it. Just wondering.

Thanks so much to you both! I had my interview last week, and I didn't rock the universe with it (on the spot is always so hard!) but I loved who I spoke with (Ruth-Aimee) and feel like I came away with a much better picture of PTS. Submitted my application yesterday - three applications submitted, two left to go! Sheesh, this is stressful! Presbygeek, how long did it take for you to find out once you submitted your application?

So Princeton Theological Seminary requires an interview. I'm not sure if I should put this question in the "Interview" section or in the "Religion" section - but does anyone here go to PTS and had an interview? Or even if you don't attend, did anyone have an interview there anyway? Or, conversely, does anyone have any idea what to expect when going in for an MDiv interview as part of the application process? I'm not entirely sure what to prepare for.

Yeah, scores vs. score estimates are a bit of a bummer. I got an estimate of 750-800 in verbal, but only got the equivalent of a 700 (166). Quant was right in the middle - I got estimated at 570-670, and BAM, got a 630 equiv. (150). Perfect 6 on writing, so that's got to be worth... something. Still bummed about the Verbal score. I was really rooting for something quite a bit better. They got my hopes up, the rotters. Also, I agree with TripWillis - my essay was LONG, and rambling, and I kept adding things, and saying more things, and didn't even have time to go back and edit it. I guess that that's what they want. Wahoo! *edit* mjj58, here are some official GRE website breakdowns. Hope they're helpful! http://www.ets.org/s...ide_table1a.pdf http://www.ets.org/s...information.pdf

This forum is magical and you all are supremely helpful. Since the above list, I've expanded (with some graciously provided fee waivers from several schools), and now we're looking at - Notre Dame - Yale - BC - Princeton - Candler And Harvard has definitely sounded the siren call for me, and I'm sorely tempted. But the reality is that I do feel called to ministry, and from my visits to Harvard, I don't feel like it's the best fit for me. I wanted it to be - Boston is my favorite city, and a diploma from Harvard is nothing to sneeze at - but the culture on campus, the professors that I spoke to, and the general reputation of Harvard doesn't seem to indicate that this is where God is calling me. Unfortunate, but true. What does "ridiculously hard to get into" mean for Notre Dame? Is there anything I can do at this point to boost my application? (Oy vey, I knew that I should have started a non-profit somewhere in Congo and written a seven volume post-liberal interpretation of Kierkegaard!)

I've heard that about Notre Dame as well. Unfortunately for me, I absolutely fell in love with it when I visited - I'm trying to sound wildly interesting and that ever magical "perfect fit" in my statement, but I guess I'm going to have to prepare for a broken heart. What's the buzz about Candler? I just had a minister friend give me an admissions waiver for it, and I haven't heard much about it before. Worth applying? Finally, Dasein, have you applied yet to PTS? They were a last minute addition for me, but when I saw that they had rolling admission starting in October, I panicked because I don't have all my stuff ready yet. What's the dead with rolling admission? How soon should I get it in to be competitive? I haven't looked at Toronto at all! I'll check them out. *edit* Another question. I haven't been involved in a church, heavily, since my freshman year of college. I got involved in academia instead (not really a substitute, I know) and in college attended a mini-mega church (just under 1,000 attendees). The pastor knows of me - I stayed involved in small groups, and my dad serves pretty closely with him in ministry - but I've probably had three conversations with him in my life. That's pretty much all I've got for pastoral reference. Anyone here attend a mega church? And will this sink my application?

Is there anyone with some experience willing to read over a first draft of my personal statement and let me know if I'm wildly off topic or not? I'm applying for an MTS at Notre Dame, and an MDiv at BC, Yale, and Candler.

Thanks, everyone! Very helpful. Whubbla, I did look at Harvard and Chicago and the flavor of the school wasn't exactly what I was looking for. I'm definitely looking for a diverse school, but Harvard and Chicago seem to have fewer orthodox options than a place like BC or even Yale. My visit to Duke didn't impress me, but I haven't looked seriously at Vanderbilt or Union. My problem is specifically funds for applications. I'm a full time volunteer and am really pinching pennies (I've stopped speeding while driving because I'd have to take out a loan to pay a speeding ticket...) I really can't afford to apply to more than three schools. I also have no real perspective on what schools I'm likely get accepted to.

I'm interested in going for an MDiv or MTS starting in Fall 2012, and as I'm applying I'm curious about my chances and what my stats are good for. I went to a solid state university, but my professors didn't have a lot of information for me on divinity schools and my likelihood of acceptance or funding. I'm hoping that someone here could give me a clue. Some stats: - Undergraduate degree in Philosophy in 2005, 4.0 major GPA - 3.95 GPA - GRE: new scores, so only an estimate - 570-670 Q and 750-800 V As far as undergrad, I did really well, was very active in the department - ran some groups, edited the philosophy journal, founded some other groups - and got to know all my professors very well. I know that I have wonderful recommendations from them all. I wrote an Honors Senior Thesis on Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, and theistic existentialism, which I did very well on, and since my professors were not experts on religion or Dostoevsky, it was mostly independent research. I've had a couple of my shorter papers published in university wide journals, and I came in first place in a university research conference for my presentation of a portion of my thesis. As far as personal stuff, I'm not particularly interesting. I love academia and am passionate about religion and philosophy, and I'm looking to enter some kind of full time ministry that combines a love for service and people and a love for academia - possibly a campus minister of some kind. I'm currently volunteering with Americorps in a year-long construction position, and enjoying it very much. I've spent a year traveling, and volunteered with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks last summer in Glacier National Park leading worship services, I spent last spring in the religious study community L'Abri in England, and then I spent a month as a visitor in an Anglican monastery in England. However, I'm not active in a church community, and I attended a megachurch in college and was fairly uninvolved (I chose to get involved in philosophy instead). I was involved in campus ministry my freshman and sophomore years, but phased out by junior year. I love God and I love thinking about God, and I'm fascinated in particular by Christian mysticism and religious existentialism (Kierkegaard in particular). My religious denomination is flexible, but right now I'm generally Protestant. I want to get an MDiv in order to begin to think about combining community and people with academics and theology. My top schools are: - Notre Dame (for an MTS since I'm not currently Catholic) - Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (most particularly for access to the BTI libraries and professors) - Yale - Princeton Theological Seminary Am I aiming too high? With my stats, is there a chance of acceptance/funding at any of these schools?