Acceptances/rejections/funding in MTS/M.A./M.Div for 2014??!!

[Instanoodle]

In the past week I've gotten into UChicago, Duke (RS, not divinity), and my wildcard school - Boston U (IR/religion) - all MAs with good funding opportunities.

 

My broad interests are in Islam and sociology.  If anyone with similar interests is at Duke or UChicago, I'd love to pick your brain as I start the task of making exciting but tough decisions.

 

I'm still putting good energy out there for everyone in limbo! I, too, am waiting to hear back from HDS...

[W.Churchill]

Congratulations to everyone who has heard and gotten in! As for me, I have a permanently open tab on my laptop (and cellphone telephone) to a website that informs of the number of days remaining until March 15^th. It’s a Saturday. That is going to be a super fun weekend.

[sacklunch]

Since several of you are in/applying to Duke's MA in Religious Studies, feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions. I am about to finish up in the program and have been very happy since I have been here! If you want to study in a program that literally only requires you to take one class - the rest is up to you, within religion, classics, philosophy, history, theory, anything at all related to 'religion' - you would enjoy your time here. Not only that, but our program, because it takes only half a dozen students a year, yet has the resources of a giant religious studies/divinity faculty, comes with the benefit to work individually with professors. I have done six ind. studies in my two years here, and all of those were not difficult to find! We also have been quite successful in our doctoral placement, including several of us admitted to top programs already this season (several of us in at various departments at Duke). 

 

cheers

[FlorineseExpert]

Are all decisions for a program usually sent out at the same time? If I haven't heard back from the UChicago MA is that a "no" and can i stop refreshing my inbox?

 

If so, I'm okay; I'm into the Duke MA and am waiting on the Candler MTS and Yale Div MAR. Still would be good to have options.

[Safaliy0]

Dear Florinese, 

 

I applied to Duke as well for the MA and haven't heard anything. Hopefully they are preparing a generous funding package...  

[Café com Leite]

Ugh to schools that won't release aid decisions until the first week of March and want a decision within about 7 days.

Perhaps they'll budge and give me another week.

 

xypathos, you should definitely ask for an extension on the deadline for those schools. I'm in the same boat and had 3 schools that wanted decisions before the end of Feb. and I emailed asking for an extension until March 20. Two of the schools were very helpful and agreed to extend it without further questions, the third was less helpful and said they wouldn't extend it and emphasized that if I hadn't returned a decision by the deadline the offer of scholarship AND admission would be withdrawn (which I didn't think was right). I understand a little because it was a big scholarship and they wanted to offer it to somebody else if I didn't accept, so I can't blame them too much. It was difficult to turn them down with such a great offer, but I'm holding out for something big!

 

In my email I just explained that I would like to consider multiple competitive offers before making a final decision and won't hear back from several schools I applied to until March 15. I gave myself a few extra days because I know last year some of the results went out even after the 20th, so I hope that's not the case this year or I'll lose my mind! You could probably also invent a brilliant reason for why you need an extension, but my thinking was that if this is possibly the institution I'm going to try to impress for the next 2 years, honesty is probably the best policy. Long story short, it never hurts to gracefully & graciously ask for an extension, the worst that can happen is them saying no and the deadline stay the same.

[Alex Madlinger]

I'm in at Duke but I don't think I can handle only 50% funding when compared to another offer with full funding & stipend.

[CathyP47]

xypathos, you should definitely ask for an extension on the deadline for those schools. I'm in the same boat and had 3 schools that wanted decisions before the end of Feb. and I emailed asking for an extension until March 20. Two of the schools were very helpful and agreed to extend it without further questions, the third was less helpful and said they wouldn't extend it and emphasized that if I hadn't returned a decision by the deadline the offer of scholarship AND admission would be withdrawn (which I didn't think was right). I understand a little because it was a big scholarship and they wanted to offer it to somebody else if I didn't accept, so I can't blame them too much. It was difficult to turn them down with such a great offer, but I'm holding out for something big!

 

In my email I just explained that I would like to consider multiple competitive offers before making a final decision and won't hear back from several schools I applied to until March 15. I gave myself a few extra days because I know last year some of the results went out even after the 20th, so I hope that's not the case this year or I'll lose my mind! You could probably also invent a brilliant reason for why you need an extension, but my thinking was that if this is possibly the institution I'm going to try to impress for the next 2 years, honesty is probably the best policy. Long story short, it never hurts to gracefully & graciously ask for an extension, the worst that can happen is them saying no and the deadline stay the same.

 

I thought everyone had until April 15 to make decisions on whether to accept an offer? See this link:

 

https://www.cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/CGS_Resolution.pdf

 

Are these schools just not part of the resolution? That seems crazy that they would ask students to decide before April 15. Good luck to you, in any case!

[Café com Leite]

I can only speak to my experience, but it seems that the April 15 resolution doesn't hold much influence, even for some signatories (although I know others, like ND, do abide by it). Its non-binding and there is no "enforcement" body over whether schools that sign it actually comply, so in effect it doesn't appear to mean much. I asked the school that required a decision about the April 15 resolution and their response was that it is something that the general university agrees to, but it doesn't apply to individual departments and their admissions decisions. That sounds like a distinction without a difference, but as I said, with no enforcement what's one to do?

[Alex Madlinger]

Every MA that I've bee accepted to has given me until April 15th to decide. That's Duke, Wake Forest, and U of MN.

Edited February 27, 2014 by Alex Madlinger

[CathyP47]

Not sure if anyone here has applied to Boston College, but I got an email today that I was accepted to the MTS program!! Funding information to follow via snail mail.

[FandT1]

Received a call from Candler today. I got accepted and should hear back about a scholarship March 15.

Also, I'll be going to Vanderbilt on the 20th and 21st of March for Scholar Days. If any of y'all are going, I'll see you there.

[marXian]

I can only speak to my experience, but it seems that the April 15 resolution doesn't hold much influence, even for some signatories (although I know others, like ND, do abide by it). Its non-binding and there is no "enforcement" body over whether schools that sign it actually comply, so in effect it doesn't appear to mean much. I asked the school that required a decision about the April 15 resolution and their response was that it is something that the general university agrees to, but it doesn't apply to individual departments and their admissions decisions. That sounds like a distinction without a difference, but as I said, with no enforcement what's one to do?

 

There's no official enforcement, but just about every school and every department in the country abides by that deadline as a courtesy mostly to each other so that all schools have a more or less equal opportunity to make admissions decisions and woo their prospective admits (and to give students some time to make the decision.)

 

There is definitely precedent for leverage on this point. That a school would threaten to withdraw financial support and the admissions offer is, in a word, total garbage. I don't know what school that is, but if they really want you, they'll give you a more reasonable amount of time to decide (i.e. until April 15.) Almost every school that has an annual admissions process (as opposed to a rolling admissions process) abides by this, so really, there's no reason any school should think it's too special not to.

[Safaliy0]

I'm in at Duke as well with 45% funding. Don't think I'm going to accept though but I will wait until all my offers are in. 

 

Applied: UChicago Div, Harvard Div, Duke, UPenn, UToronto, Hartford Seminary

Accepted: UChicago, Duke

Rejected: 

Waiting: Harvard Div, UPenn, UToronto, Hartford

[boywholived]

Declined a Yale MARc offer today and a Duke MA offer on Thursday. Hope that helps someone on here.

[xypathos]

The school in question, Union, has given me an extra week to consider their financial aid package - so two weeks total, rather than the proposed one week turnaround.

 

That said, I really love the school and the city A LOT but Union is very strapped for finances and financial aid will be a large contributing factor for me. The Department I'm interested in is retiring their head, and while engaged in two search committees presently, doesn't intend to replace the retiring head until Fall 2015 at the earliest. That's straight from the Dean - faculty and students I've spoken with have said they'd be surprised if someone is named before 2016, probably closer to 2017 since it is an endowed chair.

 

The Academic Dean, during our meeting, really kept making it clear that Union just doesn't have a lot of money - at all. Several of the faculty have stated during semi-private conversations that they're surprised Union is still afloat, namely attributing it to Columbia who saved Union from shutting down. It bothers me to attend a school that is so hard pushed for finances, despite Union's wonderful reputation.

 

So, I'm hoping that I get a tuition waiver or say roughly 70%. That would make me strongly consider it, but I feel Vandy and Yale (if accepted) are financially better off and therefore likely to make a better offer if I'm accepted.

 

Anyway, I'll find out about aid within the next week from Union. We'll go from there.

[turktheman]

I heard back from Yale yesterday through email. I was accepted and like everyone else will hear back March 15.

[Alex Madlinger]

Anyone know when we'll hear from ND's MTS? That's the only school that could sway me from my present choice, and the only school I haven't heard from yet. I'd like to get this season over with an accept an offer.

[RedDoor]

The school in question, Union, has given me an extra week to consider their financial aid package - so two weeks total, rather than the proposed one week turnaround.

 

That said, I really love the school and the city A LOT but Union is very strapped for finances and financial aid will be a large contributing factor for me. The Department I'm interested in is retiring their head, and while engaged in two search committees presently, doesn't intend to replace the retiring head until Fall 2015 at the earliest. That's straight from the Dean - faculty and students I've spoken with have said they'd be surprised if someone is named before 2016, probably closer to 2017 since it is an endowed chair.

 

The Academic Dean, during our meeting, really kept making it clear that Union just doesn't have a lot of money - at all. Several of the faculty have stated during semi-private conversations that they're surprised Union is still afloat, namely attributing it to Columbia who saved Union from shutting down. It bothers me to attend a school that is so hard pushed for finances, despite Union's wonderful reputation.

 

So, I'm hoping that I get a tuition waiver or say roughly 70%. That would make me strongly consider it, but I feel Vandy and Yale (if accepted) are financially better off and therefore likely to make a better offer if I'm accepted.

 

Anyway, I'll find out about aid within the next week from Union. We'll go from there.

 

Yikes, thanks for the update. Was pondering applying to PhD programs there next year, but I might avoid it now. Any reason they're in the gutter financially? Wiki says they have an endowment of over $100 million?

[seroteamavi]

Anyone know when we'll hear from ND's MTS? That's the only school that could sway me from my present choice, and the only school I haven't heard from yet. I'd like to get this season over with an accept an offer.

 

I understand that decisions will be made quite soon.

[xypathos]

What field are you looking at? I know they're in the process of replacing two professors now and obviously a third in the fall. So your department might be okay, I'd have to ask. I'm also not sure what the standard offer is for PhD students.

I'm not sure what is driving the financial woes other than the practical. Union really pushes social justice, a field that generally doesn't result in alumni capable of generous giving. I was told that this has hurt the school.

The school came really close to shutting down in the 90s, being bailed out by Columbia. As per current faculty, the school has yet to recover from that decade.

Yikes, thanks for the update. Was pondering applying to PhD programs there next year, but I might avoid it now. Any reason they're in the gutter financially? Wiki says they have an endowment of over $100 million?

[xypathos]

How did you get an early result from Yale?

I heard back from Yale yesterday through email. I was accepted and like everyone else will hear back March 15.

[turktheman]

I should edit that second sentence: "Like everyone else I'll hear back from Fin. aid March 15."

I know from reading past posts here that Yale makes a few early announcements each year. So far as I can tell, this is done at either random or else according to some secret Yale gnosis.

[yuanzhu]

Hey guys, new to the thread.

I, like many of you on here, am holding out for HDS to inform us on MTS acceptances. I'm really happy with UChicago, and they're a great fit given my interest in Tibetan Buddhism, but HDS seems like a special place as well. We'll see if I even have a shot!

Edited March 3, 2014 by yuanzhu

[jstudemeyer]

I'm new to thread as well,

I see I'm not the only one waiting on HDS for an MTS announcement. I had the nerve to apply for a PhD at Harvard and had my application re-directed to HDS a few weeks ago; did anyone else have this happen?