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Ph.D. applications 2014-2015 chit chat


seroteamavi

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Yeah. I feel pretty bummed out about it (ND) to be honest.

 

It is by far my  best fit. I've been in touch with a couple of profs who were very encouraging. Competitive numbers. Very good references. Forthcoming publications, and a few book reviews. Conference presentations. I've been working so hard for this.... Maybe you guys are right though....

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So, did anyone on here receive an interview notification from Vanderbilt?

I got one of the Religion, Psych & Culture interviews. Phone call on Saturday inviting me to come down for an interview and then email on Sunday with more details. 

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So far my buddies have only heard from UNC, Florida State, and smaller denominational schools. I am surprised nobody has heard from Marquette yet. Wasn't their application due at the beginning of December?

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So far my buddies have only heard from UNC, Florida State, and smaller denominational schools. I am surprised nobody has heard from Marquette yet. Wasn't their application due at the beginning of December?

 

I visited Marquette a few months ago, and the program director told me that they do not really do much with the applications until February at the earliest.

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I think Marquette is planning to do Skype interviews only (or so I heard in October) and the acceptance/rejection notices generally go out around the end of February. So sit tight, guys.

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Hi everyone, I was emailed about a Skype interview for marquette two days ago. I'm not sure if that means anyone who didn't get an invitation to interview is automatically rejected. I was surprised it was so early. 

The Ph.D. program at Marquette has several subfields; which one did you apply to?

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May I ask who your POI is? Have you heard if anyone other than Seow is taking students?

My main POI is Prof. Seow but I have some research interests in common with Prof. Marbury and Prof. Azzoni as well. I don't know for sure who is taking students right now and I am not even sure if Prof. Seow has made the move out to TN yet. Prof. Seow will be heading the Reception History section at the Mid-Atlantic regional SBL meeting at Loyola Maryland in March so anyone going would have a chance to talk with him in person then. Sorry that I can't be of more help; others may be better informed than I am!

 

I presume Marbury and Azzoni are accepting students but I haven't asked them personally. Azzoni is interesting in that she's listed as a Lecturer and from my experience in other universities, lecturers (even those with a PhD) cannot supervise PhD students, though I recognize Vandy may not follow this. Azzoni's C.V. though says Assistant Professor (TT), so perhaps it's simply an error on VDS' part with their website and records in listing her as a lecturer.

I had heard around October or November that Prof. Azzoni would not be staying at Vanderbilt so I didn't mention her on my personal statement, but after applying I was told that she would be staying. Maybe she has been made assistant professor now and the VDS website hasn't been updated yet to reflect that.

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Hey all - I'm late to the game, I've been hanging out in the Comm Studies forums because I figured there was no way I would get into my dream school/program (UCSB Religious Studies).

 

I just got a call today from a POI there though, who left a generic voicemail and just asked me to call back. No answer when I called back. Freaking out now.

Anyone on here apply to UCSB or heard anything from them?

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o...mg..... I can NOT believe it ..... I was accepted.... and they nominated me for the university-wide fellowship ........ I am BESIDE MYSELF...................... !!!

 

congrats!

I'm applying there too, but no news from there still. Can you say, who's your POI?

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I had a few POI's... I am looking at the East Asian Religions track as primary focus. 

 

The person made it very clear this was not a formal offer of admission, and that full admissions decisions won't be coming out for another month or so. Based on the results search it seems like second week of Feb through second week of March is a pretty typical time frame to hear from them. I was also told I won't get funding info until the end of Feb or early March.

 

Which track are you looking to focus on?

Did you apply to MA and PhD? Or one or the other? I applied to the combined MA/PhD.

 

Good luck to you. It is such a great program and really one of a kind... so I hope you get in if it's the best fit for you!  

For me it is the only religious studies program I applied to, because no where else I found has exactly what I want/need in that field. It is seriously a dream come true, and will be if I get to go there (I just can't without full funding though...).

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Wow, good luck to you! I hope that you will get there and get the funding. But it looks like you're almost in!

I'm on Jewish Studies, so you easily can guess who's mine POI :) I've heard that he can be crazy, but he is definitely one of the greatest scholars in my field right now.

 

After I've mailed J.R. who is responsible for grad admissions I've chosen both tracks (as I remember it is possible for them), like MA/PhD and PhD. I have a very good M.A. at HUJ and good LORs, so maybe I'll get through... Maybe we'll even drink coffee there together, ha!))

 

Thanks for the info about the timeline. I will be less nervous at least for a week!

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@jujubean - Congrats! I was in that department for my undergrad and LOVED the time I spent there. Everyone is so nice and supportive, not to mention brilliant and intellectually stimulating. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

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@jujubean - Congrats! I was in that department for my undergrad and LOVED the time I spent there. Everyone is so nice and supportive, not to mention brilliant and intellectually stimulating. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

 

Thank you! And thanks for the offer. 

May I ask, do you know what classes their TA's typically teach? Were you taught by any TA's? What was the level of their involvement?

 

What were your classmates like at the undergrad level? I don't mean to be brash, but my impression when I went there was that there are a lot of spoiled, rich kids mostly all from a single race, with very little exposure to the "real world" ... not even outside their suburban California neighborhoods. The students didn't seem motivated at all in the class I sat in on, even though it was a super specialized class and I figured you had to be in there only if you really liked that subject. I worry about dealing with unmotivated and un-exposed kids every day.... What were your classmates like in your opinion?

Edited by jujubea
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Thank you! And thanks for the offer. 

May I ask, do you know what classes their TA's typically teach? Were you taught by any TA's? What was the level of their involvement?

 

What were your classmates like at the undergrad level? I don't mean to be brash, but my impression when I went there was that there are a lot of spoiled, rich kids mostly all from a single race, with very little exposure to the "real world" ... not even outside their suburban California neighborhoods. The students didn't seem motivated at all in the class I sat in on, even though it was a super specialized class and I figured you had to be in there only if you really liked that subject. I worry about dealing with unmotivated and un-exposed kids every day.... What were your classmates like in your opinion?

 Jujubea your impressions of the student body are EXACTLY why I didn't accept the offer. Maybe the faculty are amazing, but I just could not deal with the undergrads.

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I don't know; I feel like there is a lack of motivation, drive, and focus in undergraduates in general. My mother is a tenured professor at a California school (and has adjuncted at others)  and she has noticed an upward trend in students feeling like they should get good grades without actually putting in any work. Rather than it being specific to UCSB, it might just be a byproduct of the expectation these days that EVERYONE should go to college (even if they don't want to or particularly need to) and a generational expectation (millennial?) that things should just be given without being earned because they show up. Something can also be said for elitism in universities in general. 

I noticed this at UCLA when I was there. I just don't think that unmotivated undergrads are a specific trait of UCSB (as someone who grew up just slightly south of there). 

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Aubstopper, totally valid point. I was in the honors college at UCLA so I felt a bit isolated from there, plus I was an older student who did alot of independant coursework with instructors. I basically felt like a graduate student as an undergrad (the age difference helped). Then getting to UCSB for the campus visit was a bit disconcerting. On the other hand, my best friend is at UCLA right now and he tells me the same thing--unmotivated, entitled, oblivious students. Eek. I hope my undergrads aren't like that when I start to teach!

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