Fall 2021 Religion PhD

[Athanasius]

Anyone applying to Oxford for New Testament? I saw some results posted but I have no idea whether those apps were for a different subject area than mine. I'm pretty sure Oxford doesn't do interviews. Can anyone confirm or this? 

[thiscalltoarms]

  On 2/18/2021 at 1:53 AM, TylerJarvis said:

Congrats on getting in somewhere! Especially after 4 years! And especially this cycle! That’s a big deal! Where’d you get in? Or are you keeping that close to the vest?

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Fordham Theology- systematic theo track. I’m still in shock even after a few days and an official call from Fordham.   Doesn’t feel real. 
 

And somehow I’m still really stressed about my outstanding apps. Probably no more results until Monday or Tuesday. 

[ke0817]

  On 2/19/2021 at 11:40 PM, Athanasius said:

Anyone applying to Oxford for New Testament? I saw some results posted but I have no idea whether those apps were for a different subject area than mine. I'm pretty sure Oxford doesn't do interviews. Can anyone confirm or this? 

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Hi! I'm one of the posts, but my subfield is Systematics. I have no idea how their system works though!

EDIT: Any chance you also applied to Cambridge?

Edited February 20, 2021 by ke0817

[crossroadsph]

  On 2/20/2021 at 12:36 AM, thiscalltoarms said:

Fordham Theology- systematic theo track. I’m still in shock even after a few days and an official call from Fordham.   Doesn’t feel real. 
 

And somehow I’m still really stressed about my outstanding apps. Probably no more results until Monday or Tuesday. 

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Congratulations again! I understand what you mean. I’m awaiting the results of two applications and one of them will be officially out by Friday. The other, I will definitely be waiting for that.

[Athanasius]

  On 2/20/2021 at 12:47 AM, ke0817 said:

Hi! I'm one of the posts, but my subfield is Systematics. I have no idea how their system works though!

EDIT: Any chance you also applied to Cambridge?

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Thank you for the response and congratulations! I am finishing up my app for Cambridge at the moment. I know that I missed the funding deadline, but I am going to take my chances with outside funding if I get in. I just wonder whether or not applying after the funding deadline decreases my chances for admission? 

Edit: did you interview?

Edited February 20, 2021 by Athanasius

[ke0817]

  On 2/20/2021 at 1:46 AM, Athanasius said:

Thank you for the response and congratulations! I am finishing up my app for Cambridge at the moment. I know that I missed the funding deadline, but I am going to take my chances with outside funding if I get in. I just wonder whether or not applying after the funding deadline decreases my chances for admission? 

Edit: did you interview?

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I have no idea about Cambridge, haven’t heard back yet so was curious.

I interviewed with Cambridge in mid-January, but didn’t interview with Oxford.

[beorn1968]

Hey everybody.  on a friday night, here is to all of us! solidarity!

 

[crossroadsph]

A question for those who may or may not have experienced this: what could you do if you're wait-listed, apart from waiting? 

[Deep Fried Angst]

  On 2/21/2021 at 9:16 AM, crossroadsph said:

A question for those who may or may not have experienced this: what could you do if you're wait-listed, apart from waiting? 

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There's a couple things to do depending on your situation. 

If you have an offer on the table from another program but are on the waitlist at your dream school, let that dream school know you have an offer. Email the head of the grad program, say you have another offer but your first choice would be their school so you want to know where you are on the waitlist. There's always a (small) chance that them knowing you have another offer may make you more desirable in their eyes. They're not magically going to find money for you, but they might rethink your position in the waitlist line. 

If you are only waitlisted, you can always inquire where in line you are. But this should probably be a one time email a month or two after initial acceptances have gone out (an initial inquiry is also fine; you want to know the outlook). Any more frequent and they will know that you haven't got in anywhere. Not a bad thing, but desperation is never a good look. 

Lastly, if you are only on waitlist(s), start developing your backup plan. If you are slated to graduate, you will need a source of income if these apps fall through. Start that process now. You can always back out of a job application/interview process later if you get accepted to a school. But waiting until all hopes are exhausted may put you way behind other spring graduates in the job market. 

[thiscalltoarms]

  On 2/21/2021 at 9:16 AM, crossroadsph said:

A question for those who may or may not have experienced this: what could you do if you're wait-listed, apart from waiting? 

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When I was waitlisted at two schools last year, I went super intense on my AAR paper applications. Kept me busy and I think the AAR presentation that came out of it might have played a role in putting me over the top this time. I did 98% of the paper between February and March last year. 

[CafeConGabi]

Other than interviews, has anyone heard from UNC's Religious Studies? 

I think I'm just waiting for a rejection letter at this point haha. ?

[_Athena_]

  On 2/22/2021 at 12:32 AM, CafeConGabi said:

Other than interviews, has anyone heard from UNC's Religious Studies? 

I think I'm just waiting for a rejection letter at this point haha. ?

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Acceptances for UNC have already been sent out. I know of one person who was waitlisted, but I don't know if they're sending out more. So sorry that I can't be the bearer of better news!

[CafeConGabi]

  On 2/22/2021 at 1:53 AM, _Athena_ said:

Acceptances for UNC have already been sent out. I know of one person who was waitlisted, but I don't know if they're sending out more. So sorry that I can't be the bearer of better news!

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Meh. That's life. I just wish they'd sens out a physical rejection letter so I can mentally move on. 

[beorn1968]

Not to be a broke record but has anybody heard anything besides radio silence from UVA?

[alizeh55]

Just read a wholesome thread on a Facebook group called “grad school memes with relatable themes”:

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/GradSchoolMemesWithRelatableThemes/permalink/716233179258090/
 

The comment section is similar to our thread here. A lot of reassurance and solidarity. The only thing that sucks more than the waiting period is applying in a COVID year, and as passionate and hardworking students and academics, we deserve better than to wait for months only to open rejection letters and question our self worth and scholarship. Critical thinking, especially within the field of religion, is never easy in a world where assimilation is the norm. I know for me personally, this academic journey has subjected me to a lot of ostracism. So we should all take a moment to remember that we are resilient,  badass, and deserve better. That is all.

❤️

[crossroadsph]

  On 2/21/2021 at 5:52 PM, Deep Fried Angst said:

There's a couple things to do depending on your situation. 

If you have an offer on the table from another program but are on the waitlist at your dream school, let that dream school know you have an offer. Email the head of the grad program, say you have another offer but your first choice would be their school so you want to know where you are on the waitlist. There's always a (small) chance that them knowing you have another offer may make you more desirable in their eyes. They're not magically going to find money for you, but they might rethink your position in the waitlist line. 

If you are only waitlisted, you can always inquire where in line you are. But this should probably be a one time email a month or two after initial acceptances have gone out (an initial inquiry is also fine; you want to know the outlook). Any more frequent and they will know that you haven't got in anywhere. Not a bad thing, but desperation is never a good look. 

Lastly, if you are only on waitlist(s), start developing your backup plan. If you are slated to graduate, you will need a source of income if these apps fall through. Start that process now. You can always back out of a job application/interview process later if you get accepted to a school. But waiting until all hopes are exhausted may put you way behind other spring graduates in the job market. 

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My situation is that I'm waitlisted but with offers from other schools. It seems, though, that getting an answer to the question of where one is on a list may be more difficult than I thought. It is likely that the situation will be no different than before I even found out that I was waitlisted. Maybe they would consider bumping me down if I did, even if I assured them of my interest.

I don't know if that's true across the board, but this process has had me on edge and distrustful of those on the other side sometimes. It will require a lot from me to be charitable and patient toward them. 

I guess moving on isn't such a bad idea, is it?

Edited February 22, 2021 by crossroadsph
Edited last section

[zbsrdcdg]

Hello! I was accepted to two programs so far and the package is widely different. Like by 12 k? What would be the median package? I guess I am not sure what to look for. Thanks!

 

[_Athena_]

  On 2/22/2021 at 12:43 PM, beorn1968 said:

Not to be a broke record but has anybody heard anything besides radio silence from UVA?

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I just got an email from them about graduate diversity resources and almost had a heart attack but no word on admissions results yet!

[cosmo92]

  On 2/22/2021 at 8:57 PM, _Athena_ said:

I just got an email from them about graduate diversity resources and almost had a heart attack but no word on admissions results yet!

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I got the same email, had me fooled for a second lmao

[beorn1968]

maybe thats a good sign

[beorn1968]

  On 2/22/2021 at 8:57 PM, _Athena_ said:

I just got an email from them about graduate diversity resources and almost had a heart attack but no word on admissions results yet!

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looks like some english applicants got  diversity emails too, maybe it is a good sign for you guys. Just hope we get news soon.

[True_hope]

  On 2/22/2021 at 8:37 PM, zbsrdcdg said:

Hello! I was accepted to two programs so far and the package is widely different. Like by 12 k? What would be the median package? I guess I am not sure what to look for. Thanks!

 

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I think it depends on where your institutions are located. I have seen some data sets which described Phd stipends in various schools, you can google this phrase "phd stipend data." They described most schools provide 1.2 times of average living expense in their town. For example, NYU gave 35-40k, Emory gave 32k, Vanderbilt 25k in TN. 

[_Athena_]

  On 2/22/2021 at 9:16 PM, beorn1968 said:

looks like some english applicants got  diversity emails too, maybe it is a good sign for you guys. Just hope we get news soon.

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Oh, that's interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[zbsrdcdg]

  On 2/22/2021 at 9:25 PM, LUCASH said:

I think it depends on where your institutions are located. I have seen some data sets which described Phd stipends in various schools, you can google this phrase "phd stipend data." They described most schools provide 1.2 times of average living expense in their town. For example, NYU gave 35-40k, Emory gave 32k, Vanderbilt 25k in TN. 

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Wonderful! I will check that out now!

[amam]

Waitlisted at BU school of theology. Disappointed. Not sure how hopeful I am of getting off the waitlist. Tired.