Fall 2021 Religion PhD

[alizeh55]

2 hours ago, Athanasius said:

So sorry to hear about folks who didn't get in to their top choices, or, for some, any choices. Remember that a rejection doesn't reflect your potential or intellect. A couple of notes for encouragement:

I did my first masters at a TT school in the US; the Ph.D. program there is notoriously difficult to get into. A sort of true legend floated around there when I was attending. One student who graduated not long before I started was rejected outright from their PhD program in NT. He waited another year and applied again. He was accepted without funding and turned it down. He applied the third year and was accepted. 

Turns out, he was incredible in the program. He finished quickly, wrote an outstanding diss. and was immediately hired by one of the best schools in the world. He was one of the most successful students in recent years and yet he was rejected.

 

Many of the great scholars that have shared their application stories with me have told me about the many rejections they received. These same scholars have won awards, edited prestigious volumes, written groundbreaking monographs, etc. So, whatever you do, don't allow rejection to knock the air out of you for too long. If you care enough to anguish on grad cafe about this, you probably care enough to be good at this. Take heart fellow sojourners. 

Thank you for sharing this. I completely agree that rejections are just a part of the process, and this is extremely true even for some of my own experiences in the past. However, it is *so* hard to come to terms with that in the moment! Hoping we can all gain the courage to see the brighter side in the next days and weeks.

[_Athena_]

3 minutes ago, alizeh55 said:

Also, I saw that someone posted an acceptance to NELC at Harvard but there were no rejections listed, which makes me wonder if the Religion dept. has already accepted their handful of students, but they just haven't posted their results... 

Hmm, I hope that means that CSR is not far behind rather than that they've already sent out acceptances. Thanks for the info!

[thiscalltoarms]

Five spots for 150 applicants at BU-STH. Harvard only take 4 music PHDs. Holy crap. What is going on this year- obviously, we all kind of know, but I'm still dwelling on the possibility that:

 

1. there are MORE applicants (bc ppl are unemployed? Bc GRE is waived? Why else?) 

2. there are less spots (because of covid effects on funding, faculty time/energy?)

3. I also know a significant number of final year masters students at both my alma mater Masters programs that decided not to apply this cycle bc “pandemic academics is hard enough with an application cycle to deal with”. 

 

Premises 1 and 3 seem to go together weirdly. Maybe more undergrads are trying to jump the MA stage and flooding places like BU? 

 

I'm just puzzling through it all. My need to diagnose and understand complex systems is what makes me a systematic/constructive scholar... And why I secretly love Whitehead I suppose.

Edited February 23, 2021 by thiscalltoarms

[_Athena_]

Is it just me, or do minutes feel much longer than 60 seconds this week? Still waiting to hear back from five programs...

[TylerJarvis]

Just now, _Athena_ said:

Is it just me, or do minutes feel much longer than 60 seconds this week? Still waiting to hear back from five programs...

My whole week consists of checking my email, trying to focus on something else for five minutes, checking the time to realize it’s only been two minutes, and then checking my email again.

[_Athena_]

1 minute ago, TylerJarvis said:

My whole week consists of checking my email, trying to focus on something else for five minutes, checking the time to realize it’s only been two minutes, and then checking my email again.

I feel all of that, plus obsessively checking the GradCafe results page. ?

[_Athena_]

An email from the director of graduate studies at UVA somehow went directly to my spam folder today. I'm waitlisted! Here's an excerpt:

"As you may have heard, the department is only admitting four students this year, so that we can allocate more funding to advanced graduate students who are facing a very difficult job market. With 120 applicants, and only four spots this year, the competition is unusually tough, and unfortunately, it is unlikely, though not impossible, that a spot will open up for you in the PhD program. Please let us know if you have any interest in being admitted into the MA program. We would be delighted to welcome you as an MA student, but you indicated that you would not consider an offer of admission to the MA program."

That last part is kind of funny, considering I am already getting a MA degree...

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by _Athena_

[beorn1968]

24 minutes ago, _Athena_ said:

An email from the director of graduate studies at UVA somehow went directly to my spam folder today. I'm waitlisted! Here's an excerpt:

"As you may have heard, the department is only admitting four students this year, so that we can allocate more funding to advanced graduate students who are facing a very difficult job market. With 120 applicants, and only four spots this year, the competition is unusually tough, and unfortunately, it is unlikely, though not impossible, that a spot will open up for you in the PhD program. Please let us know if you have any interest in being admitted into the MA program. We would be delighted to welcome you as an MA student, but you indicated that you would not consider an offer of admission to the MA program."

That last part is kind of funny, considering I am already getting a MA degree...

 

congrats on the waitlist.  feeling doomed myself lol

[_Athena_]

5 minutes ago, beorn1968 said:

congrats on the waitlist.  feeling doomed myself lol

I'm sorry to hear that! This app cycle is just the worst. With only 4 spots available for the whole department, it almost feels like no one should have bothered applying at all...

[sayf]

11 minutes ago, _Athena_ said:

I'm sorry to hear that! This app cycle is just the worst. With only 4 spots available for the whole department, it almost feels like no one should have bothered applying at all...

Hi, do you know how many spots there are in a "regular" cycle? To put things into perspective. 

[CafeConGabi]

20 hours ago, zbsrdcdg said:

Rejection letter from BU theology. This was my top choice. Who knows what they want?  I have held 3 research positions experience, I have a MA and MDIV, fluent in Spanish/french and various academic articles/reviews. I am definitely bummed, but happy for those that got in or waitlisted. Congrats! 

 

Damn. That sucks. How does one all this experience and credentials and still not get in? Yeah, okay, sure "fit" but damn. I'm so sorry. ? 

[_Athena_]

5 minutes ago, sayf said:

Hi, do you know how many spots there are in a "regular" cycle? To put things into perspective. 

Not sure about UVA, specifically, but I know many programs have about 10-13 spots in a regular cycle.

[CafeConGabi]

19 hours ago, amam said:

Sorry to hear of your BU rejections guys. It's been a sad year for applications. I don't even know what to say. I got in touch with my POI to inform him of my being wait-listed. He was empathetic, noting that they had over 150 applications this year and only had a slot for 5 students. I think that number is cruel to be honest. It's just a sad year to be applying. I'm honestly tired.

5????? That is cruel. : ( 

[CafeConGabi]

2 hours ago, _Athena_ said:

Is it just me, or do minutes feel much longer than 60 seconds this week? Still waiting to hear back from five programs...

Whaaat?! Oh gosh. How are you so patient??? 

[_Athena_]

Just now, CafeConGabi said:

Whaaat?! Oh gosh. How are you so patient??? 

Oh, I'm definitely not. ? I'm so antsy it's not even funny. But I'm down to 4 programs now since hearing from UVA!

[sayf]

13 minutes ago, _Athena_ said:

Not sure about UVA, specifically, but I know many programs have about 10-13 spots in a regular cycle.

Thanks! wonder whether these numbers are going to normalize for the next cycle or not...

[CafeConGabi]

Just now, _Athena_ said:

Oh, I'm definitely not. ? I'm so antsy it's not even funny. But I'm down to 4 programs now since hearing from UVA!

Good gravy! I sure hope the wait is worth it though. I also hope a spot opens up at UVA for you. : ) 

[_Athena_]

1 minute ago, sayf said:

Thanks! wonder whether these numbers are going to normalize for the next cycle or not...

Well, at Yale, the department was given the choice between not accepting any applicants this year OR accepting applicants but at a reduced capacity for 2 years in a row. It's possible that many departments have chosen the latter option, but who is to say...?

[amam]

8 minutes ago, _Athena_ said:

Well, at Yale, the department was given the choice between not accepting any applicants this year OR accepting applicants but at a reduced capacity for 2 years in a row. It's possible that many departments have chosen the latter option, but who is to say...?

If the latter, that is scary. lol

[sayf]

13 minutes ago, _Athena_ said:

Well, at Yale, the department was given the choice between not accepting any applicants this year OR accepting applicants but at a reduced capacity for 2 years in a row. It's possible that many departments have chosen the latter option, but who is to say...?

That makes sense. Even the big schools have taken a massive hit. Got waitlisted to two school based on reduced intake for this year. So my experience corroborates with option 2. I think more schools should have suspended admissions, to be honest but I don't know the implications for that. At-least that way, a lot of candidates would have saved the energy to apply. 

It's a crapshoot, really. And if I am not mistaken, Yale does not take a very large cohort to begin with. So reduced really means almost next to nothing for a lot of these schools. 

Edited February 23, 2021 by sayf

[_Athena_]

For anyone who applied to Harvard CSR: I was told by a friend in the program that decisions will be released this week. May the odds be in our favor!

[alizeh55]

sharing  this masterpiece from Facebook:

 

”Reply to rejection: Thanks for your interest in rejecting me. After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your rejection. Please note that I have received a record-breaking number of competitive rejections this year and your unsuccessful rejection does not mean your rejection is not good. In light of this, I will still attend your school this fall and I am looking forward to see you on campus soon.”

[dougy]

7 hours ago, alizeh55 said:

sharing  this masterpiece from Facebook:

 

”Reply to rejection: Thanks for your interest in rejecting me. After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your rejection. Please note that I have received a record-breaking number of competitive rejections this year and your unsuccessful rejection does not mean your rejection is not good. In light of this, I will still attend your school this fall and I am looking forward to see you on campus soon.”

???

[True_hope]

12 hours ago, _Athena_ said:

For anyone who applied to Harvard CSR: I was told by a friend in the program that decisions will be released this week. May the odds be in our favor!

Awesome! Anyone who applied to U of Chicago or got some information from there? 

[TylerJarvis]

1 hour ago, LUCASH said:

Awesome! Anyone who applied to U of Chicago or got some information from there? 

I have a friend who interviewed there a couple weeks ago. That’s all I know though.