HDS MDiv decision count down. how to cope and misc questions

[mdiv2014]

I wish there were a 7 week sleeping pill to put my life in suspended animation......

Due to my extreme uniqueness and obvious(?!) fit to HDS (i am a long-time alum active in harvard alumni assoc and have a link to a certain hds professor....please tell me that counts for something), I am only applying to HDS. 

I'll either be selected in the first round or not at all. The ad com will either 'get me' or not. I've played out who is a voting member this year, who is a non-voting member, how many student and alum readers are there and what their influence is. Reminds me of how a harvard prof hired a private detective to find out WHO was on the tenure com. and what the criteria was.....his findings made for entertaining reading back in the day but now i understand his turmoil.

I have not told friends - as i did not have a reply to the possible "What? You weren't accepted this time? Why?"

friends, i need to stop obsessing and get on with my life. One book is published, two others are 'close'. I have travels ahead and legitimate business concerns but at least once a day i reopen my application and ponder. i have deleted it and saved it from the trash can. please tell me to permanently delete it.

Thanks for hearing my vents.

I guess I'm looking for the ultra-secret HDS MDiv admissions rubric. Does anybody have a copy? 

[Macrina]

The MDiv is not a difficult program to get admitted to. I'm sure you'll be fine.

That being said, your anxiety and "obsessing" seems to be a bit more than is typical. Is there someone you can talk to about that? Or coping mechanisms that might help? Exercise, more sleep, etc?

Good luck with your application and with the wait.

[MBIGrad]

You might consult my good friend Sam Adams, I think he's from around your area....just kidding.

[Kleets712]

HDS MDiv has a 50% admit rate - I hope that helps calm your anxiety. 

[Averroes MD]

OP - I am in the same boat as you.  I applied to HDS for the MTS degree and I am on pins and needles...

 

Decaf - Is the HDS MTS admit rate also around 50%?

[xypathos]

MTS rate is lower than MDiv, but still - I get the feeling that 50% is too high. I recall some outdated posts of the acceptance rate for MDiv being closer to 30-40% and I would imagine the economic decline of '08 sent more people applying to graduate school as a means to reinvent themselves and pursue 'back burner dreams.' Though, since the economy has improved some, I imagine the rate has increased but I doubt it's as high as 50%.

[Averroes MD]

MTS rate is lower than MDiv, but still - I get the feeling that 50% is too high. I recall some outdated posts of the acceptance rate for MDiv being closer to 30-40% and I would imagine the economic decline of '08 sent more people applying to graduate school as a means to reinvent themselves and pursue 'back burner dreams.' Though, since the economy has improved some, I imagine the rate has increased but I doubt it's as high as 50%.

Thanks for your reply.

[Kleets712]

Current student involved with admissions here - it's closer to 48, but 50% is a good rule. It's one of the dirty secrets, but many current MDivs would like to believe it was higher. 

 

MTS fluctuates - 30-45% depending on the year. 

[doobiebrothers]

I wish there were a 7 week sleeping pill to put my life in suspended animation......

Due to my extreme uniqueness and obvious(?!) fit to HDS (i am a long-time alum active in harvard alumni assoc and have a link to a certain hds professor....please tell me that counts for something), I am only applying to HDS. 

I'll either be selected in the first round or not at all. The ad com will either 'get me' or not. I've played out who is a voting member this year, who is a non-voting member, how many student and alum readers are there and what their influence is. Reminds me of how a harvard prof hired a private detective to find out WHO was on the tenure com. and what the criteria was.....his findings made for entertaining reading back in the day but now i understand his turmoil.

I have not told friends - as i did not have a reply to the possible "What? You weren't accepted this time? Why?"

friends, i need to stop obsessing and get on with my life. One book is published, two others are 'close'. I have travels ahead and legitimate business concerns but at least once a day i reopen my application and ponder. i have deleted it and saved it from the trash can. please tell me to permanently delete it.

Thanks for hearing my vents.

I guess I'm looking for the ultra-secret HDS MDiv admissions rubric. Does anybody have a copy? 

 

I've been where you are, and from what I know of admissions I will say the following:

 

If somebody claims "extreme uniqueness and obvious fit" on an application, it might come of as very off-putting to the readers. One of the easiest things to sense from an essay is that sense of entitlement and arrogance, and it is a major no-no; those kinds of applications go straight into the garbage pile, regardless of other (usually stellar) qualifications. I'm sure you are indeed a great fit, in which case probably the best thing to do is to keep doing all of those wonderful things that make you a great fit--reading, writing, thinking, volunteering, hobbies, hanging out with friends and family, etc. As for the "secret admissions rubric" I wrote something about that recently: 

 

 

Please, relax and enjoy these next seven weeks of your life. I am sure you will get in and you will be very happy, but the level of stress that you seem to be putting on yourself does not seem to be very healthy.

Edited January 27, 2014 by doobiebrothers

[doobiebrothers]

also there are no alum readers, and "voting and non-voting members" doesn't work in quite the way you think it does; it's more fluid than rigid. Just don't call the office too much, or send flowers or weird gifts. Posting on grad cafe is fine, although some of the people in the office are on here and might recognize you; just something to think about.

Edited January 27, 2014 by doobiebrothers

[sacklunch]

You're a Harvard College alum? If so, stop worrying. 

[Averroes MD]

OP - I emailed the HDS admission staff way too much and now regret it.  They will think I am a crazy person.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Averroes MD

[doobiebrothers]

no they won't think you're a crazy person unless your emails were crazy; the threshold for crazy is quite, quite high. (think sending embroidered stuffed animals with the staff names stitched on the chest) that's weird. emails? not weird. everyone working in the office was once a go-getting type A obsessive compulsive perfectionist who applied to Harvard, so THEY GET IT, and are very sympathetic. Again and again, just curb any arrogance or entitlement--we like to send those people to the law school

[Averroes MD]

no they won't think you're a crazy person unless your emails were crazy; the threshold for crazy is quite, quite high. (think sending embroidered stuffed animals with the staff names stitched on the chest) that's weird. emails? not weird. everyone working in the office was once a go-getting type A obsessive compulsive perfectionist who applied to Harvard, so THEY GET IT, and are very sympathetic. Again and again, just curb any arrogance or entitlement--we like to send those people to the law school

Hey, thanks for your reply.  Yeah, nothing THAT crazy.  

But, now you got me scared about the arrogance part, eek!  It's hard to balance "selling yourself" and not coming across arrogant...

 

I guess I'll just have to wait... a month and a half to go........

Edited January 31, 2014 by Averroes MD

[doobiebrothers]

i was EXACTLY in your shoes when I applied the first time: obviously a very qualified candidate who was also very insecure about it. You will get in, I'd bet $50 bucks on it. And if you don't, and you reapply, your chances then go very, very high because they LOVE to see the kind of tenacity that makes people re-apply. If this is really your dream, a no won't stop you. That's how I feel this year about my PhD app to your alma mater: I will get in. If not this year, next year, or the year after. Not out of arrogance, but out of a genuine love for my field, for my professors, and a deep knowledge that this is the right place for me and I am the right person to do this work that inspires me. If you feel the same, and this is not a cliche because I have seen it countless times especially at the div school, it will happen.

 

On a slightly sappy note, the div school is truly a magical place. It is where much of Harvard's superficiality, powermongering, ends-justify-the-means ugliness dissipates in the tranquil sun that filters through the oak leaves. Anyone blessed enough to be a part of that wonderful community will come out of it very, very strong in their faith; perhaps not the faith in a traditional deity, but an abiding faith in the potential for religious education to radically reshape our world into something lovelier and more compassionate. 

 

*end rant* tee hee hee

[Averroes MD]

i was EXACTLY in your shoes when I applied the first time: obviously a very qualified candidate who was also very insecure about it. You will get in, I'd bet $50 bucks on it. And if you don't, and you reapply, your chances then go very, very high because they LOVE to see the kind of tenacity that makes people re-apply. If this is really your dream, a no won't stop you. That's how I feel this year about my PhD app to your alma mater: I will get in. If not this year, next year, or the year after. Not out of arrogance, but out of a genuine love for my field, for my professors, and a deep knowledge that this is the right place for me and I am the right person to do this work that inspires me. If you feel the same, and this is not a cliche because I have seen it countless times especially at the div school, it will happen.

 

On a slightly sappy note, the div school is truly a magical place. It is where much of Harvard's superficiality, powermongering, ends-justify-the-means ugliness dissipates in the tranquil sun that filters through the oak leaves. Anyone blessed enough to be a part of that wonderful community will come out of it very, very strong in their faith; perhaps not the faith in a traditional deity, but an abiding faith in the potential for religious education to radically reshape our world into something lovelier and more compassionate. 

 

*end rant* tee hee hee

 

Thanks for the words of comfort.   Much appreciated.

[Averroes MD]

Must. keep. waiting. patiently.