Febronia

You have an unending penchant to presume and embellish in order to press your myopic agenda. For example, you've metamorphosed my initial statement so much that I have to conclude that you're no longer talking to me. Additionally, one mistake that you continue to make is believing that numbers undeniably substantiate a claim. Another error is that you keep referring to numbers wholly unrelated to the subject (i.e., Duke, and now, Harvard's MDiv stats). If the four schools in question hand-delivered you the strongest possible evidence, you would create a way (i.e., mentally) to deny it. You really let your cards show with your last two sentences (above). Frankly, I'm fearful that paranoia is getting the best of you. Perhaps some meditative prayer and yoga would help.

Instead of giving you my honest opinion, I think the best way of ascertaining GTU's reputation is to see what the job placement rate of their graduates is and where they place them (research universities, liberal arts colleges, seminaries, post-docs, etc.). Anything else is too subjective and manipulable. Look at the cold, hard data.

Yeah, it's a crap shoot. Unfortunately, the objectivity of the law school application process is only made possible by over emphasizing quantifiable metrics like the GRE and GPA. I can see why such a mechanical process of admission isn't amendable to the kind of critical and creative thinking encouraged by Phd. programs. I just want to know my odds! Haha.

This whole process is so nerve wracking! I wish applying to Phd. programs was like applying to law school in that you can quite accurately determine ex ante your odds of admission. We need something like this: http://www.hourumd.com/

This year all departments at Yale are being required by the graduate school to interview students before offering them admission.

http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2012/jan/11/grad-school-divided-over-interviews/

Some subfields of the program were already doing this. Although I don't know, I think these will almost certainly be telephone interviews in most cases.

I am applying for Princeton Theological's MDiv program and am stuck on the essay ps/sop. The give some guidance but I was hoping someone else could add further guidance and possibly some general do's and dont's. Below is their description. Thanks in advance.


Princeton Theological Seminary seeks to enroll students who (1) are committed to Jesus Christ and to Christ’s church, (2) have gifts, previous education, and experience that indicate potential for leadership, and (3) have the capacity to undertake serious academic preparation for the ministries of the church. To assist the Admissions Committee in its task, we ask you to write an autobiographical essay addressing those experiences, academic pursuits, and areas of involvement that have brought you to considering this vocation. In preparing this essay, you may wish to reflect on your religious experience and development , your sense of call to ministry, your significant relationships, your style of leadership, academic areas in which you have had particular interest or difficulty, your vision of the future, or other factors that you think relevant. Your essay should be between 750 and 1000 words in length, but should not exceed three typewritten pages and will be most useful if marked by selectivity of relevant data, conciseness of style, and careful preparation. We recommend preparing the essay in an separate program beforehand, be sure that you submit your best work, and copy/paste into the field below.

I usually feel ok about my chances until I think nationally. Most of the programs I'm applying to will accept one person in my subfield; do I really think I'm the single most promising NT student IN THE NATION?! I often don't feel like the most promising NT student in any given Taco Bell. Yet, ignoring the presumption, I push on.

This year all departments at Yale are being required by the graduate school to interview students before offering them admission.

http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2012/jan/11/grad-school-divided-over-interviews/

Some subfields of the program were already doing this. Although I don't know, I think these will almost certainly be telephone interviews in most cases.

This year all departments at Yale are being required by the graduate school to interview students before offering them admission.

http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2012/jan/11/grad-school-divided-over-interviews/

Some subfields of the program were already doing this. Although I don't know, I think these will almost certainly be telephone interviews in most cases.

I can think of a number of places that are strong for either Syriac -or- Ethiopic, but if you're wanting both of them, it's going to be a shorter list. The place that stands out the most in my mind is Duke. Lucas Van Rompay would be a wonderful person to study both languages with. The department of Semitics at CUA is also strong in both areas, although their funding is not the best. The list expands if you consider places with cross-registration/exchange agreements--for example, Brown for Syriac and Harvard for Ethiopic.

Heyooo...

I'll bite.

You find yourself in a very fortunate position. Kudos! You're one of a very small minority, of this I'm more than sure. By "constantly promote themselves" I'm not implying that a student walk around giving an elevator speech to every individual they come across, or have a portable placard following them everywhere while illustrating their greatness. You would be amiss, however, if you did not think that the individuals competing for the multiple fellowships out there don't have to find a way to set themselves apart from everyone else. Don't take my word for it, though, just look at any fellowship/graduate school application. Letters of recommendation, Statement of Purpose, Personal Statement. What on Earth are these things for? I feel you all are being too literal about this stuff. People have the ability to NOT be a pompous ass, you know? Let's be rational! The 28 virtual pages of posts within this subsection of the forums attests to individuals that are, by hook or by crook, attempting to figure out how best to promote themselves. Do you disagree? The metamorphosis of the forums didn't go through some magical Kafkaesque switch up. Heck, that's why there's a "The Bank" section in the first place, right? People have, likely, been coming here for ages to figure this stuff out. Most don't even sign up! Heck, there are 2 guests reading this post right now! Hence, after 4/15 (when scholarship/admittance deadlines are passed) traffic here drops almost substantially, as everyone goes back to their cave to scheme up a new approach. If you have somehow managed to scrape by without being forced to take stock of your accomplishments, you are a better human than I.

This is what America is all about! For the most part, we are an ultra competitive society and most everyone wants to be the best at what they do. You have to prove that you've got what it takes, though, because nothing comes easy! We are disagreeing on one of the multitude of ways by which an individual goes about getting their accomplishments noticed. NOT on the philosophy behind self-promotion, however. So let me switch up...

We have discussed the point behind placing a highly relevant, important (at least to the person with the award) fellowship after their name within an email signature. It seems I'm in the minority when I say that placing it there is not a faux pas. I disagree that it's pretentious to do so, and really question the motives behind someone who would think along those lines anyway. I see that someone made the argument that it possibly might seem to be self-conscious. Um...tja.

By the way, are any of you NSF fellows? Or have something equivalent to the NSF? I don't, but the debate would have more teeth if any of you did.

P.S.: You seriously stop. Go to your signature. Delete the fact that you're a TA. And THEN send the email? Are you trying to save virtual forests? What in the world does your including that information to an irrelevant e-mail recipient matter!? I'm not getting it!

P.S.S.: I'm most def not getting the entire create a webpage to list your C.V. over simply placing ONE or TWO at MOST important (both to you and academia) Fellowships or scholarships in your signature. Ya'll are on an entirely different level it seems.

Being number one on the wait list comes with a fair amount of torment. Especially when it's my first choice. Argh. This is a long shot, but if you're out there, accepted-and-decision-making student, I'd be curious to know if you're leaning towards any side of the bittersweet either/or. You know, just to get a sense. No pressure. Nope, none at all

And it would be pretty funny if you're currently wait-listed at a school to which I've been accepted, and have BC on hold for that reason. That would be funny, indeed. During these times of impatience and minimal sanity, humor is a haven

I'm finishing my first year at HDS and on top of having top credentials recs and so forth you have to "fit." I would say a lot of the fits are "non-traditional", but they are still specific. For the MTS, Womens Studies in Religion and Queer Theology are the mainstays, half of our student body is gay and I'd say at least 75% would identify themselves as feminist. Are you gay? Are you a feminist? If you answer is no to both of these then your research interest are not aligned with about half of the school. Of the half that are left you have traditional biblical studies and theology and non-Bible related religion focuses. If you want to study something relating to the Bible that isn't feminist or queer you're really applying to about 1/4 of the spots.

I was admitted because I've had some blow your mind experiences at the borders of Christianity Judaism and Islam in addition to having really good stats and recs. But I know I was admitted near the back of the pack because I only got partial funding. As much as it irks me, and you it seems, an unshaven lesbian from Wellesley that's never opened a Bible but has good stats and wants to study feminist theology will probably be admitted before you. Before you knock yourself too hard consider the possibility that it wasn't that you didn't meet their "fit" requirement, but that they would have not "fit" for you.

Allah yebarik feek...awwalan, I want to say that I love your username, it brought a smile upon my face, because I've been saying those two words repeatedly the past two weeks.

It's a really tough year for admissions, especially for Arabic. Although it would have been better if you applied to more programs, there's no use remorsing now, but it's good to know for the future. You still have hope in Columbia, which tends to admit a good number of students for the MA program in Arabic literature. From what I heard, they only admit two students a year for the PhD, although I'm not sure.

There's no doubt that you're competitive for these programs. There aren't many students who have lived and studied Arabic in the Arab world, much less those who are close to fluency in the language. Don't give up - if you were waitlisted at Yale that means you have a strong background for future study. The main issue is that you didn't apply to enough programs. We all get rejected for one reason or another - it's really a crap shoot, hence the importance of applying to multiple institutions.

I'm not sure what your interests in the Arabic literary tradition are, but Yale seems to be more focused on the medieval, classical periods. Hala Nassar is now leaving, which I'm sure isn't too good for those interested in modern Arabic criticism.

You have many options, which I'm sure you know, when it comes to studying Arabic. I can only guess which country you were in, but it must have been a bummer to leave. I was supposed to be in a country of similar characteristics for the span of this year but was denied a visa to enter. You just have to plan around it. If beginning a PhD in the Fall is no longer an option by April, there are many other things you can do to improve your application. I think the most important thing is language acquisition - French, German, even Persian, depending on your interests.

All I can say is that you must not fret, a year off may be a good thing in the long run, and will give you access to programs that are even better for your field than the ones you applied to this year. Work on improving your app by studying other languages, and perhaps engaging in a long term research project. Get in touch with professors early on.

I wish you the very best in your endeavors, do not worry, you still have a shot, but if there is a next time, apply to more schools.

I'm at Harvard Divinity and can confirm and deny a couple things, at least about the Master's level.

First, unfortunately it is very true that an MDiv will have a better chance of coming away an expert in Queer or Feminist theology than knowing anything important (personal bias) like Early Christian theology. A lesbian cohort of mine who graduated from Wellesley has loved the course offerings, but was not at all embarrassed when the topic of the New Testament came up and she couldn't even name the books of the New Testament. I myself was aghast to say the least. The school is about as left as it gets and I'd say a conservative figure for the percentage of homosexual students is 50%

As far as a lack of rigor, I think that is either misplaced or a misunderstanding. Because Harvard Div is pluralist it means in a New Testament class you will have Unitarian Universalists, Muslims, etc reading the New Testament for the first time, which anywhere else would be pretty unheard of at this level. For that reason, introductory classes might not have expectations as high as other top tier seminaries, but that doesn't mean the work load or rigor is any less really. Having a strong background in Bible I never felt like I was held back by others or that the professors were dumbing things down for them. The upper level stuff is as tough and rigorous as it comes, many course offerings having requirements that imply that you would need to have begun completing them prior to matriculating in order to even qualify to take them before you graduate. As far as languages go, at least for Greek and Hebrew, we do in one semester what most places do in a year, half the class usually drops out, and the work load is obscene.

The other thing about Harvard is the number of departments we have. There is the Center for Women's Studies in Religion which is kind of it's own thing, The Center for the Study of World Religions which is also kind of it's own thing, the Divinity School as a whole, the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations which isn't part of Harvard Div but shares a lot of faculty, the Center for Jewish studies, the various language departments, and the separate history, politics, business, philosophy, etc. The variety of resources produces an extremely broad array of graduates, from the Queer Theologian that can't name the books of the Bible, to the Semitic Philologist that spends their free time memorizing paradigm charts of dead languages.

Honestly my experience with HDS hasn't been "lefty" at all. I have several friends over there, and have/am taking classes there through the BTI. Sure, they offer courses that are "lefty" but they also offer courses just like any other div school. The dozen students I know from HDS seem pretty normal theological, not any different from my friends at BC. Meh.

I guess I'm just used to plenty of atheists/agnostics studying this at the grad level? For most classes, unless specifically labeled as such (pastoral), I could care less about someone's faith, ect. I am an agnostic, if it matters.
shalom

Harvard is famous for pushing the theological envelope and the obscure. A while back someone made mention of their work with pagan religious traditions and transgendered imagery or something to that effect---that's the kind of thing that they love--the stuff that lefty liberal arts college professors find their niche and get wet-dreams over. Gross. It's not a bad thing, it's just that HDS' program has been getting so far "out there" in the aether than it's hardly a Divinity school anymore, according to virtually every professor who wrote me a recommendation for Harvard this time around -- and according to multiple recent grads who went there to study theology. If you are looking for that sort of secularized approach, look no further, you'll likely get an acceptance and good funding to do so. Here's the rub with HDS though -- although you might not have anyone to work with specifically at HDS, at the masters level you can take the Invictus route and be the master of your own fate and captain of your own soul, your own destiny -- by carving out your own program. AND, and this is great -- you can work with many other schools and libraries surrounding HDS in the Boston area. There's some great resources and faculty available at the Graduate schools and the Boston area religion/theological consortium.

In sum, sometimes to find a reputable school to cater to your needs you need to fandangle a little bit, because you don't want to end up some place really small, with no funding, because you're doing something new which pushes the envelope! Go big!

all my fingers are crossed.

I called yesterday and spoke with Carmen Gordon and she said that Sara, the other woman in charge of notifying applicants, was out sick. Also, the DOE didn't authorize a release of funds until late in the day on March 1st. So, that means that they were not able to make the calls on the first, but they planned to start yesterday and will likely finish by the end of the week. She also said that if you do not hear by the middle of next week, you can call and get confirmation either way. She said they were also behind on calling people yesterday because of the huge amount of calls they were getting from nervous applicants like myself who just wanted to know what the deal was. But I couldn't help myself!

So, if you haven't heard yet, there is still hope. If you have heard, CONGRATULATIONS! (and plz post and let the rest of us know! )

hope this is helpful. Good luck!

I thought a PhD specific thread would be helpful...

Ancient Christianity at Yale

I would strongly recommend one of the schools of the Boston Theological Institute, because then you can take classes at any of the others. They are very different places, with a very broad spectrum of theological approaches, but that makes it a great place for ecumenical work. And they all have different strengths, so if you went into any of these programs focused on taking classes throughout the consortium in the areas strongest for specific schools, you would come out with an incredible education, probably better than any individual school could give you. There are some individual programs that would be considered stronger than the individual BTI schools, but I think it would be hard to find anything that would compare to the strength of the consortium as a whole.

Of course, this advice assumes that you actively scross-register at the different schools. Too many students don't.

Andover Newton, Boston College, Boston University, Episcopal Divinity School, Gordon Conwell, Harvard Divinity School, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Saint John's Seminary

It depends on the individual school. I went to HDS, and the rule for us was 50% of our courses at HDS. But each school has its own policies.

There are several universities where you can do a dual M.Div./J.D. degree. At some of those, (Harvard and Yale for sure, probably others), you can apply to the M.Div. first and then apply for the JD the following year after you're already in the M.Div. program. You'd have to take the LSAT at that point, but not *this* year, if it's the timing that's the concern.

The advantage to this would be that you might be able to take a few classes at the law school during your first year, which can help you make sure it's what you really want to do before taking on tons of debt, and may increase your chances of getting accepted to the JD program (assuming that you do well in those classes, of course.)

I wouldn't be surprised if the number of fellowships turns out to be higher than that, though. It says there was funding for 27 new fellowships last year, and if you look at the list of new 2010 fellows, there were actually 67. I received the Javits in August, after being on an alternate list, which seems like it may actually be pretty common... I know that sometimes fellows graduate, get other fellowships, or drop out, thus freeing up more spots over the summer months...But I honestly don't understand how it works...

Also, Superpiepie, to counter your arguments about the legitimacy and importance of literary studies....

In Western Europe in the heavily-Christianized medieval era, any and all texts from the Classical world dealing with aspects of Classical (pagan) religions were considered unfit and destroyed. It wasn't until after the Crusades, and the sacking of major cities and libraries in the East, that manuscripts heavily encrusted with jewels and gold leaf were brought back to the Western world. They were stolen and brought to Europe for their physical worth, but scholars translating the texts into Latin and, ultimately, into English, realized that these were Arabic translations of ancient Greek texts by philosophers that had long since disappeared from the Western world - Aristotle, and Plato, chief among them.

Had it not been for these scholars and their translation and transmission efforts, we would not have our current Democratic government in America, because no one would have heard of the democratic principles espoused by the Greek writers.

Also, in the medieval period, anyone who wasn't trained in a University as a doctor was not allowed to practice medicine - this despite the fact that midwives and village wise men knew vast amounts of information about the medicinal properties of native plants. Women who practiced traditional folk remedies were labeled as witches. Yet, today, doctors trained at places such as those you have listed in your signature, themselves, tout the effectiveness of natural medicine and "alternative medical approaches" and they're working on legalizing Marijuana for medicinal use. Why? Because despite all our best efforts in technological advancements as regards pharmaceuticals, ultimately most of the medicines on the market are derived from the knowledge of plant properties. And that knowledge was begun, expanded, and passed down in books that were written in Latin, in Chinese, in languages other than English, hundreds of years ago, and translated to English by people working in literary studies and trying to preserve the rapidly-disappearing knowledge of earlier peoples as regards the health benefits of plants and minerals.

I reiterate: without the (usually English and Comp. Lit.) people who do this sort of work, advancements in other fields just don't happen.