theogeek

Received an email from my current school saying I have been waitlisted for a fellowship. I am currently finishing up a Masters and will be starting my PhD in the States next year. I haven't received my official letter yet. Fingers crossed for some waitlist movement!

Another update... so apparently it was a clerical error and I have been admitted to Systematic Theology, the program I applied to. The Mission, Ecumenics, and History of Religions track is jointly administered by both theology and history so I won't be precluded from participation in that! There's also the bonus of my degree being called "Systematic Theology," which is handy because it's what I want to actually teach

Also received my official notice (of rejection) from U.Va. Glad to finally be able to make the decision... PTS here I come!

CGKIMJR, I have not heard from U.Va. either. I emailed Liz Smith, the grad coordinator about this because I knew acceptances and waitlist offers went out a long time ago. In her response from Mar. 7 she said, "You should definitely not give up hope yet, unless you have other offers, of course. But, although your file is very impressive, we can only extend a few offers for the funding and until we hear their decisions, we are waiting, just like the other applicants. The waitlist that we have is very limited, but there is still hope. I do mark the "deny" decisions around the end of March so that everyone is aware of the department's decision. Should you decide to accept elsewhere or just withdraw, which I hope you don't, I would appreciate the same courtesy of your decision, at least on the electronic application. I wish I could give you more encouragement, but our hands are tied, too!" So... I, unfortunately, expect we will get out "denials" in the next few days. Hope this is helpful though. Doesn't "deny" sound better than "reject" haha

Yeah, I know. I'm 99% sure I haven't been admitted. I emailed the grad admin and said I was under the impression offers had been made so if I haven't heard, should I expect rejection and she explained that I should still have some hope. It's not so much that I have much hope left, as that if I accept elsewhere without knowing all my options, and then find out that by some freak luck I did get in, I'll kick myself.

This is not in any way a helpful or productive post... but I just have to say, waiting for Virginia is making me nuts.

They just did - I'm not sure how, or if they do that at other schools. I applied to systematic theology, was told I was waitlisted, and then when I opened the official offer it said I was admitted to a PhD in the area of History and Ecumenics. I guess it sort of depends on your specific interests. For example, my interests kind of overlap between systematic theology, ethics, history/sociology of religions, etc so I could conceivable pursue them in any of those subfields. Some projects though, I'm sure, fit more exclusively into one subfield. I also think that because PTS is a seminary and not a religious studies department, there might more "movement/fluidity" between/across subfields because "ethics" there are "Christian ethics" and history is "Church History", ya know? I guess it would also depend on the school and how competitive that field is for that particular school. E.g., PTS is more well known for systematics than, for e.g. history/ethics, whereas another school might be more well known for ethics and less for systematics. I'm not suggesting this as an overall tactic, but just something to keep in mind and explore when looking at various schools/programs. It would probably also be useful to talk to current students at the schools to see if something like this might be a good idea. I guess it also depends what type of biblical studies you're doing ... if you take a more historical-critical, or sociological approach, there might be some overlap with history/antiquity, but if it is more exegetical/theological, maybe more overlap with theological subfields. I definitely don't know enough about bib studies to really say though.

Just an update ... I received my formal offer from PTS and have been accepted to the History and Ecumenics area of study. I applied for Theology, Systematics. I think I always had it in my head that I was a "systematics" girl but the History/Ecumenics field makes A LOT more sense for my interests, particularly their "Mission, Ecumenics and History of Religions" track. Also a friend who is a former PTS student had recommended applying through ethics because there is less competition (at least at PTS), and said that once you get in, the official "field of study" is virtually meaningless anyway. This might be something to keep in mind for those considering applying in future years. I don't know if it holds for all schools, but if you have a highly popular field of study, perhaps think about if you could "sell" your application to a related, but less competitive field.

Which is comparable to Harvard for e.g., 7 out of 156 were offered admission in that pool for Fall 2014.

9/211 is about 4%, not 0.5%

Thanks everyone! Sorry to hear about your news awells27, but good attitude and it definitely looks like you've been accepted at some amazing schools.

Thanks folks!! It is guuuurrrrrllllll haha, by the way!

Accepted off wait list at Princeton Theological Seminary. Yay!!!! I got an informal email from DGS informing me to expect a formal offer! So happy.

Rejected at Harvard.

Thanks derewigestudent. Do you know what subfield your friend is in (if you don't mind sharing)?