2020 Religion Application Thread

[NTNerd]

37 minutes ago, kenshiro said:

Looks like some more results are up, including a Skype interview @ Duke (I don't think I've ever heard of this?) and Vandy and ND results.

I'm not sure what to make of Duke. My understanding is that Duke interviews are on-campus late in the candidate review cycle. I went in and had an hourlong chat with a potential PoI; does that count?

@kenshiro that was odd to me as well...given that I've seen some people confuse uni with div school programs at schools that have both, I assume that that Duke skype interview posting is for DDS since they send out skype interview invitations around this time, whereas Duke GPR, as you mentioned sends out invitations for (non-competitive) on-campus interviews a bit later in the cycle. 

Congrats on getting invited to interview! Why do you think the email you got does not bode well for PhD applicants? Also, I can't believe they sent at email at 10:32 PM! on a federal holiday, no less!

Edited January 21, 2020 by NTGal

[kenshiro]

3 minutes ago, NTGal said:

Congrats on getting invited to interview! Why do you think the email you got does not bode well for PhD applicants? Also, I can't believe they sent at email at 10:32 PM! on a federal holiday, no less!

The holiday was made for man, not man for the holiday. ? Beggars (amongst whom I very much account myself) cannot be choosers, but I'm glad I was looking at my phone while doing laundry.

As for the Ph.D., well, if there's an adcom interview for the GPR Ph.D. as the result says, then not getting it is not a good sign, especially given that the poster said it arrived 1/16.

Now it's time to go read the abstracts for every publication every DDS regular rank faculty member has written in the last ten years. Sigh.

[NTNerd]

@kenshiro, prayers and best wishes for your interview!

Do you think it's possible that the GPR changed their admissions process that drastically? I guess I'm still hoping that that post is actually for DDS. If the person who posted that reads this, please do illuminate for us and either ease the suffering of those of us freaking out, or drive the knife all the way in ?

[kenshiro]

3 minutes ago, NTGal said:

@kenshiro, prayers and best wishes for your interview!

Do you think it's possible that the GPR changed their admissions process that drastically? I guess I'm still hoping that that post is actually for DDS. If the person who posted that reads this, please do illuminate for us and either ease the suffering of those of us freaking out, or drive the knife all the way in ?

I have no idea. Perhaps it's a side-channel conversation like mine and nothing to do with the adcom formally.

[Averroes MD]

On 1/14/2020 at 11:57 PM, bonhoeffer80 said:

HI @Averroes MD, would you mind help me walk through this part of your sentence?

As far as I know, in the more liberal school - I don't whether this is an appropriate title for them - such as Harvard, Yale, Duke, and Emory the ministerial experience is not their primary indicator compare to GPA, LORs, writing samples, personal statements, etc. Especially for PhD application. Maybe it will tell a different story in divinity schools or seminaries. Please correct if I'm wrong.

And how about in the catholic school such as BC, Villanova, Fordham? Does ministerial experience from protestant church tradition will play an advantage?

 

Thank you. 

So, I take the view that admission to the MDiv and MTS at HDS is far different than getting into the PhD program. The former is far more touchy-feely, and I don't say that in a bad way. What I mean to say is that the admission team (for both the MDiv and MTS) seem to accept people who have a compelling life story and project in mind. This must be more so with the MDiv but I think it's also true for the MTS. Which I find great. Because of this, you find all sorts of cool people doing the MDiv and MTS.

Edited January 21, 2020 by Averroes MD

[rejectedndejected]

Any movement, anyone?

[duckie0817]

1 hour ago, rejectedndejected said:

Any movement, anyone?

Nope, just an email from academia.edu that someone Googled me from the location of one of the places I applied...

[pax et caritas]

1 hour ago, rejectedndejected said:

Any movement, anyone?

I received a call from the Dean of Admissions at Candler today; he told me I was accepted to their MDiv program! Also applied to HDS, YDS, Boston College, ND, Duke, U Chicago, and Oxford (thank goodness for application fee waivers). Fingers crossed.

[Eshearer]

No movement for me yet.  But also no movement from anyone on the forums about the two places I have applied.  So... that may be good?

[rejectedndejected]

4 hours ago, saab said:

Nope, just an email from academia.edu that someone Googled me from the location of one of the places I applied...

Does this happen? And how do I set up such an alert system?  Do schools use google results to screen applicants???

[duckie0817]

4 hours ago, rejectedndejected said:

Does this happen? And how do I set up such an alert system?  Do schools use google results to screen applicants???

I have literally no idea (to all of your questions). Did not mean to cause stress, my apologies!

Edited January 23, 2020 by saab

[kenshiro]

8 hours ago, rejectedndejected said:

Does this happen? And how do I set up such an alert system?  Do schools use google results to screen applicants???

Academia.edu has basic analytics and I believe emails you by default when your profile is clicked through to from Google.

[JDD]

For those waiting on Biblical Studies decisions from PTS, I've been told interviews are happening this week and next week, and decisions will be released Feb. 21 - with waitlist notifications coming a bit sooner.

[kenshiro]

I wonder if everyone comes out of Skype interviews feeling like they bombed?

[xypathos]

23 minutes ago, kenshiro said:

I wonder if everyone comes out of Skype interviews feeling like they bombed?

Personally, every single one, or at least feeling like I was very socially awkward. On the counter, the ones I thought I aced tended to be followed up with a rejection letter.

[NTNerd]

thanks so much for the info, @JDD! I guess I've been passed over ? not surprised since I don't have an M* from PTS, but it still hurts

[xypathos]

14 hours ago, rejectedndejected said:

Does this happen? And how do I set up such an alert system?  Do schools use google results to screen applicants???

Yes. In particular there are schools that have a strict policy of no interviewing *stares at Yale* so faculty use social media to get an idea of who you are. Some faculty violate this but that's a slightly different issue.

Academia.edu is a route that many check to see if applicants use. On a personal level, I strongly suggest people not use Academia as it's a front to steal your intellectual property and monetize it.

I know for a fact that my advisor does extensive searches on everyone they might take on as a student. They also print it all out and keep a folder and for your annual review they show it to you.

You can take that as you will but speaking to my own experience - my advisor is amazing and requires bimonthly meetings with all of their students over a meal. They go above and beyond to cultivate a personal relationship with you, check in on life stuff, make sure you're not studying too much, etc.

[JDD]

@xypathos

What if your name is "ungoogleable" - as in, it is so common, they would have great difficulty determining whether they have found the right person? Is this good/bad?

Before graduate school, I worked in digital marketing where one's personal brand/online presence was heavily scrutinized - one of many reasons I fled that industry - so I'm hoping I don't have to begin the work of creating an online persona in order to get into a PhD program.

[NTNerd]

haha @JDD i have the opposite fear - what if they find me on Google and don't like what they see...it didn't even occur to me to try to disappear from the internet before the application cycle. 

[kenshiro]

2 hours ago, NTGal said:

haha @JDD i have the opposite fear - what if they find me on Google and don't like what they see...it didn't even occur to me to try to disappear from the internet before the application cycle. 

People in medicine do this all the time when they're getting ready to match for residency or fellowship. A good friend of mine still has the Facebook name "Notthedroid Yourelookingfor" and is unsearchable three years after finishing his medical training.

[kenshiro]

4 hours ago, xypathos said:

Personally, every single one, or at least feeling like I was very socially awkward. On the counter, the ones I thought I aced tended to be followed up with a rejection letter.

Well that's somewhat reassuring at least. It seems unreasonable that admission or denial can hinge on one high-pressure thirty minute video chat.

[NTNerd]

15 minutes ago, kenshiro said:

People in medicine do this all the time when they're getting ready to match for residency or fellowship. A good friend of mine still has the Facebook name "Notthedroid Yourelookingfor" and is unsearchable three years after finishing his medical training.

Yes, I've seen a lot of FB friends change their name when they're applying for school or jobs. But...I'm somewhat ubiquitous online, and I would have had to delete a lot of accounts. I didn't really want to do that. Hopefully it doesn't hurt me. 

[xypathos]

4 hours ago, JDD said:

@xypathos

What if your name is "ungoogleable" - as in, it is so common, they would have great difficulty determining whether they have found the right person? Is this good/bad?

Before graduate school, I worked in digital marketing where one's personal brand/online presence was heavily scrutinized - one of many reasons I fled that industry - so I'm hoping I don't have to begin the work of creating an online persona in order to get into a PhD program.

I don't think anyone would hold that against you. Really, it's just them trying to find a means to work within the system that the school setup. I imagine most adhere to the rules but I know faculty that skirt them, or outright break them. For faculty that are deciding between two students, they'll sometimes Skype both of them (separately) and just run it as a "we're getting to know you, so you can also get to know us" and through some cognitive dissonance argue that it's not an "interview."

[rejectedndejected]

7 hours ago, xypathos said:

Yes. In particular there are schools that have a strict policy of no interviewing *stares at Yale* so faculty use social media to get an idea of who you are. Some faculty violate this but that's a slightly different issue.

Academia.edu is a route that many check to see if applicants use. On a personal level, I strongly suggest people not use Academia as it's a front to steal your intellectual property and monetize it.

I know for a fact that my advisor does extensive searches on everyone they might take on as a student. They also print it all out and keep a folder and for your annual review they show it to you.

You can take that as you will but speaking to my own experience - my advisor is amazing and requires bimonthly meetings with all of their students over a meal. They go above and beyond to cultivate a personal relationship with you, check in on life stuff, make sure you're not studying too much, etc.

What if our political leanings and theological leanings are evident on the face of our social media accounts?  Are we S.O.L. for every school whose adcom members are of a different political/theological bent?  I am worried that my extracurriculars will sink me. I've said some pretty jerky things online before (cough...twitter).  How devastating is all that stuff?

[kenshiro]

38 minutes ago, rejectedndejected said:

What if our political leanings and theological leanings are evident on the face of our social media accounts?  Are we S.O.L. for every school whose adcom members are of a different political/theological bent?  I am worried that my extracurriculars will sink me. I've said some pretty jerky things online before (cough...twitter).  How devastating is all that stuff?

I think any answer to that question can only be speculative.

Every hiring manager I've had in the last ten years has done some basic web searching for me, and the competition for RS PhD spots is much fiercer than for most job openings. Why take the risk? Unless the whole adcom are luddites, odds are someone's going to have a rummage.