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PhD applications for 2013-2014 chit chat...


11Q13

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So, just bouncing ideas off you smart folks...

 

Apart from the academic side of things, which I'm also hammering out, I'm trying to weigh my options in terms of where I'd like to be with social/family life during and at the end of my doctoral program

 

If you were a single, relatively young guy, probably looking to start a family hopefully before this decade ends, who is about to begin a doctoral program where you would be stuck for 5 or 6 years, would you rather:

 

Be in an expensive, big, fairly youthful, exciting city with lots to do, where you will have to live modestly and rent a room in an apartment you'd share with three other people (presumably strangers)

 

or

 

Be in a smaller, university town, live modestly perhaps, but modestly after having enough money to buy a small home and/or car with your stipend...

Edited by 11Q13
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I'd lean towards Boston. AA is great and all but it is somewhat limited in size and its distance to other larger, more interesting areas in Michigan. Boston has a lot more going on both as a city and as a nexus of higher ed. You'd have no shortage of resources and scholars to potentially tap between BC, BU, and Harvard. And let's not forget about the great accents and getting to be the quiet Boston intellectual who gets the girl's number and shouts through the window "HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES?" I mean, seriously, Boston sounds awesome.

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Not to diminish how important funding is....but is one program a better fit for you (in terms of research, relationships to professors, socially, etc.) than the other? Money is certainly important, but finding a program that you feel that you can contribute to and be (generally) happy with is vital.

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I'd lean towards Boston. AA is great and all but it is somewhat limited in size and its distance to other larger, more interesting areas in Michigan. Boston has a lot more going on both as a city and as a nexus of higher ed. You'd have no shortage of resources and scholars to potentially tap between BC, BU, and Harvard. And let's not forget about the great accents and getting to be the quiet Boston intellectual who gets the girl's number and shouts through the window "HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES?" I mean, seriously, Boston sounds awesome.

 

In my experience there was a palpable schism between the "Boston girls" and the women associated with Harvard  (don't know if it would be true for the other universities like BC, BU), alas, the former weren't interested in/impressed with us intellectuals...perhaps a phenomenon related to growing up with Harvard in your back yard. Boston is a fun city, though.

 

Not to diminish how important funding is....but is one program a better fit for you (in terms of research, relationships to professors, socially, etc.) than the other? Money is certainly important, but finding a program that you feel that you can contribute to and be (generally) happy with is vital.

 

 

Yeah as I mentioned, I'm still sorting out those details. I've only received the one offer email from BC with few details, but Michigan is essentially throwing money at me for travel and summer funding, so that aspect is at least relevant to this quality of life issue, which is what I'm getting at I guess.

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I just got the call from the Duke Th.D. program.  ACCEPTED!!!   I could not be happier.  No GRE . . .  EVERY AGAIN!!!!

 

Congratulations! Was that you who posted on the results page? I'm just trying to get a feel for how many people they've notified already.

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Anyone want to claim the University of Chicago Religion wait list and specify the program? 

 

Edit: looks like someone else just posted from Amer. Religions so it might be the same program.

Edited by crackthesky
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I'm sorry. That happened to my professor at Chicago and he ended up at Santa Barbara. Which track did you apply to?

My track was Hebrew Bible. I had heard that about 40 people applied to the HB track in NELC/Divinity School combined and of those 40, only 3-4 were "admissible". I know nothing more than that and that "fact" came to me through a reliable source.

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Looks like someone just found out about UVA via website, congrats! anyone want to claim it/ do you have any info about whether other offers were sent?

 

That would be me! No e-mail or anything yet; I just randomly checked the website and it had a decision posted with a link to a form letter saying that I'd been accepted and more info would be forthcoming. Sorry, no info beyond that, but I'd recommend checking your online app status. And it's always possible that different programs are posting notifications at different times, so take this with a grain of salt.

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My track was Hebrew Bible. I had heard that about 40 people applied to the HB track in NELC/Divinity School combined and of those 40, only 3-4 were "admissible". I know nothing more than that and that "fact" came to me through a reliable source.

Do you have the option of speaking to faculty to find out why?

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