yetanotherapplicant Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 I've heard from them (and was accepted). My guess is that if you haven't heard yet, you aren't likely to get accepted with much/any funding, as they had to nominate people to receive Central Fellowships (which guarantees you funding for four years, I think), and they probably would have let you know about it all by now. Though who knows. I was admitted to Soc, Psych, Anthro of Religion. Ah, right. Maybe they could smell the contempt in my personal history/diversity statement (which, as I understand, is crucial for winning university fellowships in the UC system). Or maybe they think my writing sucks. Who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeytwice Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Ah, right. Maybe they could smell the contempt in my personal history/diversity statement (which, as I understand, is crucial for winning university fellowships in the UC system). Or maybe they think my writing sucks. Who knows. The whole admissions process is totally confusing and opaque. But I think not to be underestimated is how well your proposed project fits in with what specific professors are working on. That's the only reason I lucked out in the case of UCSB... but other schools I thought I'd get into I didn't, & vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope313 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 I'm pretty sure I asked this already, but according to the results page, at least one person has heard from the Religion dept. at Toronto (ie, not Theology) regarding the PhD program. Has anyone else heard anything from them, and if so, would you care to share? At this point, they're the only school that I really want to hear from before I make my final decision. I e-mailed them, but got no response. What is going on? I emailed to the Graduate Administrator at the Department for the Study of Religion and this was the response: "We have sent out most of our offers and are just waiting to hear back from one or two before finalizing decisions." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aselfmadewinter Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 (edited) I emailed to the Graduate Administrator at the Department for the Study of Religion and this was the response: "We have sent out most of our offers and are just waiting to hear back from one or two before finalizing decisions." Thanks for that info, that's pretty much what I assumed. When did you e-mail her? I find it kind of weird that I never got a response. I guess it shouldn't be too much of a big deal for me, since I'm already in for Theology in Toronto, but the funding is better in Religion because they have an undergrad unit to TA. Edited March 9, 2011 by aselfmadewinter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Faun Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 (edited) I've heard from them (and was accepted). My guess is that if you haven't heard yet, you aren't likely to get accepted with much/any funding, as they had to nominate people to receive Central Fellowships (which guarantees you funding for four years, I think), and they probably would have let you know about it all by now. Though who knows. I was admitted to Soc, Psych, Anthro of Religion. Awesome, congrats on your acceptance. Are you applying to the PhD program or to the joint MA/PhD? (I am to the latter, in Christianity). I wonder if they have slightly separate timelines for those two pools... I was told the MA/PhD was very competitive, so I'll be quite shocked if they accept me. I heard from a friend who got rejected last year that they finally replied in "mid to late March". Guess we've crept into "mid" March now! Edited March 9, 2011 by The Faun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope313 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Thanks for that info, that's pretty much what I assumed. When did you e-mail her? I find it kind of weird that I never got a response. I guess it shouldn't be too much of a big deal for me, since I'm already in for Theology in Toronto, but the funding is better in Religion because they have an undergrad unit to TA. I emailed her and received the response on Friday, March 4 Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aselfmadewinter Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 I emailed her and received the response on Friday, March 4 Good luck Thanks. Good luck to you too. I think I'm pretty well decided now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeytwice Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Awesome, congrats on your acceptance. Are you applying to the PhD program or to the joint MA/PhD? (I am to the latter, in Christianity). I wonder if they have slightly separate timelines for those two pools... I was told the MA/PhD was very competitive, so I'll be quite shocked if they accept me. I heard from a friend who got rejected last year that they finally replied in "mid to late March". Guess we've crept into "mid" March now! Just the PhD program. Finishing up my MA at Chicago. UCSB rejected me the first time around for MA/PhD. It's really, really difficult to get accepted to any programs without a MA in hand. A lot of schools flat out don't accept people without MA degrees. Also, just heard from Columbia -- rejected! That's the last of them for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aselfmadewinter Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Received confirmation of being waitlisted for Religion at Toronto. Final decisions to come by March 18. Blah. So... Accepted: McGill (TA only, terrible pay), UBC (fully funded), McMaster (fully funded), Toronto (Theology, 50% tuition) Waitlisted: Toronto (Religion) Waiting on: Alberta (probably rejected) I guess if I don't hear good news from Toronto by the 18th, I'm probably going to have to decide between UBC and McMaster. Given that one's a top 30 school and the other isn't, it should be an easy choice, but McMaster is very close to home and has great faculty. Man, I have no idea what to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope313 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Received confirmation of being waitlisted for Religion at Toronto. Final decisions to come by March 18. Blah. So... Accepted: McGill (TA only, terrible pay), UBC (fully funded), McMaster (fully funded), Toronto (Theology, 50% tuition) Waitlisted: Toronto (Religion) Waiting on: Alberta (probably rejected) I guess if I don't hear good news from Toronto by the 18th, I'm probably going to have to decide between UBC and McMaster. Given that one's a top 30 school and the other isn't, it should be an easy choice, but McMaster is very close to home and has great faculty. Man, I have no idea what to do. What is your interest in religion? I am working on Islam and still waiting for McMaster and Toronto. How did you hear from McMaster? I fear I have been rejected there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aselfmadewinter Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 What is your interest in religion? I am working on Islam and still waiting for McMaster and Toronto. How did you hear from McMaster? I fear I have been rejected there. Early Christianity, mostly historical Jesus/synoptics. I heard from McMaster by email twice, one email telling me not to accept anything untilI I had heard from them and then an email with a scanned PDF acceptance letter on March 4. I still don't have the official letter sent by post, for whatever that's worth. Are you Canadian? I noticed that you listed your location as Australia, but you're also interested in Canadian schools, so I figure it was worth asking. I don't know much about Islamic studies at Mac, but I know that it's known for its Religious Studies department and not much else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope313 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Early Christianity, mostly historical Jesus/synoptics. I heard from McMaster by email twice, one email telling me not to accept anything untilI I had heard from them and then an email with a scanned PDF acceptance letter on March 4. I still don't have the official letter sent by post, for whatever that's worth. Are you Canadian? I noticed that you listed your location as Australia, but you're also interested in Canadian schools, so I figure it was worth asking. I don't know much about Islamic studies at Mac, but I know that it's known for its Religious Studies department and not much else. Thanks, No I am not Canadian, but McMaster and Toronto have great faculty members who work on Islam (Shi'ism). In the case of McMaster, Professor Liyakat Takim has come there from Denver since 2009 and I am really interested in working with him. I hope at least I am being waitlisted for Religion at McMaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aselfmadewinter Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Thanks, No I am not Canadian, but McMaster and Toronto have great faculty members who work on Islam (Shi'ism). In the case of McMaster, Professor Liyakat Takim has come there from Denver since 2009 and I am really interested in working with him. I hope at least I am being waitlisted for Religion at McMaster. It never hurts to call or email and ask. I was originaly interested in Mac because of the faculty members, especially Stephen Westerholm and Annette Yoshiko Reed, but as it happens, Dr. Reed moved to UPenn four years ago and I had no idea. The faculty there is still excellent, even without her, and they have excellent funding. Moreover, I suspect that my acceptance letter was rushed out because I mentioned to the grad admin that I had other offers that would expire this month. I assume that they usually communicate via post, and if you're international, that can take a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yetanotherapplicant Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 (edited) Accepted into UCSB's PhD program in religion and culture yesterday evening. It would be a very attractive program if the UC system wasn't broke and could properly fund its students. I'll be declining this offer soon. Edited March 12, 2011 by yetanotherapplicant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope313 Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 It never hurts to call or email and ask. I was originaly interested in Mac because of the faculty members, especially Stephen Westerholm and Annette Yoshiko Reed, but as it happens, Dr. Reed moved to UPenn four years ago and I had no idea. The faculty there is still excellent, even without her, and they have excellent funding. Moreover, I suspect that my acceptance letter was rushed out because I mentioned to the grad admin that I had other offers that would expire this month. I assume that they usually communicate via post, and if you're international, that can take a while. Many thanks, I contacted with the potential supervisor at McMaster and I received an unclear response: "it's an ongoing process". Fingers crossed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philologus Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 On 3/9/2011 at 12:11 PM, Bunter said: I'm sure they have some jockeying going on with their admits. My prospective advisor has been very communicative and eager to answer any questions that I have, I believe, in order to make me accept the offer. Currently as things stand I will accept the offer, but I still havent heard back from 2 programs. One of which I am interested in, the other, not so much. I actually emailed Van Rompay regarding Syriac studies and expressed interest in it for an internal minor, quite funny that we are somewhat on the same page. I did speak with 3 current grad students over the past couple of days, all had wonderful things to say about the program. I hope the best for you, let me know if you get a final answer, My guess is that you are either an alternate for the position to which you applied, or they have space for an extra 1 or 2 grad students and are trying to decide which track to give it to. Either way, no news might be good news. I e-mailed to ask about the status of my application and got a confirmation from Warren Smith that I've been waitlisted. He informed me that I am at the "middle" of the wait-list, that there's a "good chance" they'll get to me, and asked when I will need to have a definite answer. I know that the positive tone need not imply more than that they want to keep me from accepting another offer for now, but it is nice to have this information. My other offer said that we shouldn't feel pressured to make a decision before April 15, but that, of course, they'd like us to inform them as soon as we can. What do you think I should say? Duke is my first choice, and I'm wondering if telling him that I do have another good offer but that Duke is my first choice would help me at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunter Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 On 3/14/2011 at 8:12 PM, Philologus said: I e-mailed to ask about the status of my application and got a confirmation from Warren Smith that I've been waitlisted. He informed me that I am at the "middle" of the wait-list, that there's a "good chance" they'll get to me, and asked when I will need to have a definite answer. I know that the positive tone need not imply more than that they want to keep me from accepting another offer for now, but it is nice to have this information. My other offer said that we shouldn't feel pressured to make a decision before April 15, but that, of course, they'd like us to inform them as soon as we can. What do you think I should say? Duke is my first choice, and I'm wondering if telling him that I do have another good offer but that Duke is my first choice would help me at all. It seems that 'in the middle' could mean that you are the top alternate pick for your "track," but that your track happens to be down the line from a couple of other tracks in terms of preference. I have not accepted the offer yet (am still waiting to hear from one program) but am pretty sure that I will. Perhaps should I accept, than a hypothetical Islamic studies alternate who may or may not be ahead of you in the list would then be skipped over or demoted from the wait list. As well, whoever was offered the spot for your track might not have accepted yet, which may or may not affect the other alternates. The positive attitude is a good sign though. If you are at all interested in sweetening the deal, I would let them know that you are on a wait list for a competitive program. I have heard of people accepting offers, signing all the papers, etc. then backing out in May or June when all is said and done and the other school calls back. I don't think this is frowned upon, because it is how things inevitably work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AurantiacaStella Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 On 3/14/2011 at 9:55 PM, Bunter said: I have heard of people accepting offers, signing all the papers, etc. then backing out in May or June when all is said and done and the other school calls back. I don't think this is frowned upon, because it is how things inevitably work. I really wouldn't encourage anyone to accept an offer earlier than April 15 when there remains the possibility that they might later back out of the offer. This really screws people over on the wait-list. Personally, I certainly understand that the wait-list is a difficult place to be, but I would encourage Philologus to wait out Duke's wait-list until April 15. And then if you haven't moved off the wait-list by April 15, of course you should accept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunter Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Right right, that is the ethical thing to do. I merely meant to express what one could do, and if you wait a while and it looks like you might not get off of the wait list, but wanted to leverage something extra out of ND, one could do so. Approaching deadlines make people act, sometimes with generosity. I really wouldn't encourage anyone to accept an offer earlier than April 15 when there remains the possibility that they might later back out of the offer. This really screws people over on the wait-list. Personally, I certainly understand that the wait-list is a difficult place to be, but I would encourage Philologus to wait out Duke's wait-list until April 15. And then if you haven't moved off the wait-list by April 15, of course you should accept ND's offer. But why respond to ND early when you still might hear from Duke before April 15? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philologus Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 On 3/14/2011 at 9:55 PM, Bunter said: It seems that 'in the middle' could mean that you are the top alternate pick for your "track," but that your track happens to be down the line from a couple of other tracks in terms of preference. I have not accepted the offer yet (am still waiting to hear from one program) but am pretty sure that I will. Perhaps should I accept, than a hypothetical Islamic studies alternate who may or may not be ahead of you in the list would then be skipped over or demoted from the wait list. As well, whoever was offered the spot for your track might not have accepted yet, which may or may not affect the other alternates. The positive attitude is a good sign though. If you are at all interested in sweetening the deal from ND, I would let ND know that you are on a wait list for a competitive program. I have heard of people accepting offers, signing all the papers, etc. then backing out in May or June when all is said and done and the other school calls back. I don't think this is frowned upon, because it is how things inevitably work. I'm certainly interested in sweetening the deal since it's so high on my list anyway, but I'm not sure I am following you. Do you mean that, if they knew that I was on a waitlist at another school whose offer I very well could take, they might offer more money just to get the spot filled before April 15? How would that be better than just offering my spot to someone else if I end up declining their offer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunter Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I'm certainly interested in sweetening the deal at ND since it's so high on my list anyway, but I'm not sure I am following you. Do you mean that, if they knew that I was on a waitlist at another school whose offer I very well could take, they might offer more money just to get the spot filled before April 15? How would that be better than just offering my spot to someone else if I end up declining their offer? I mean that if ND contacts you and asks if you have made a decision, you could write back saying that you are on a wait list for another program but that you need a final word from them before making your decision. This might prompt them to offer you an incentive to just accept their offer, if, you make it sound like you have a good shot on getting off of School X's wait list. This depends on a lot of factors, like how much your potential advisor at ND might want to work with you, and whether he or she has the departmental resources to incentivize you. I have heard of such things from friends, not from personal experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope313 Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Received confirmation of being waitlisted for Religion at Toronto. Final decisions to come by March 18. Blah. So... Accepted: McGill (TA only, terrible pay), UBC (fully funded), McMaster (fully funded), Toronto (Theology, 50% tuition) Waitlisted: Toronto (Religion) Waiting on: Alberta (probably rejected) I guess if I don't hear good news from Toronto by the 18th, I'm probably going to have to decide between UBC and McMaster. Given that one's a top 30 school and the other isn't, it should be an easy choice, but McMaster is very close to home and has great faculty. Man, I have no idea what to do. Hi, have you received your offer from Toronto. I am still waiting for both Toronto and McMaster and I do not know what is happening in these schools. Did you also make a decision? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aselfmadewinter Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Hi, have you received your offer from Toronto. I am still waiting for both Toronto and McMaster and I do not know what is happening in these schools. Did you also make a decision? Nothing from the Religion department at Toronto. I thought they were going to send the rejections for the waitlisters today, but I guess they're still waiting on some people? No idea. I think I've settled on McMaster. Great faculty plus high hiring statistics for PhD graduates and excellent funding make it seem like a winner to me. I know Mac's decision deadline for the first round of acceptees is March 31, so you might hear from them after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope313 Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Nothing from the Religion department at Toronto. I thought they were going to send the rejections for the waitlisters today, but I guess they're still waiting on some people? No idea. I think I've settled on McMaster. Great faculty plus high hiring statistics for PhD graduates and excellent funding make it seem like a winner to me. I know Mac's decision deadline for the first round of acceptees is March 31, so you might hear from them after that. Thanks for the update and good luck in your PhD studies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tristen0919 Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I think I've settled on McMaster. Great faculty plus high hiring statistics for PhD graduates and excellent funding make it seem like a winner to me. I know Mac's decision deadline for the first round of acceptees is March 31, so you might hear from them after that. Congrats on your decisions! I wonder if you find any comments about deferral in the letter of admissions. I'm also waiting for the admission decision from McMaster. But in case that funding does not work out well, I might have to defer an admissions to next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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