jujubea Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 Being a Californian myself... And having lived in several other states and countries .... I think that while this is certainly a generational issue, it is also specifically a California issue, as it seems quite magnified/exacerbated there. Shoot, I was hoping for some better news :/ Maybe I'll try and speak with a few of their current TA's.
tsgriffey Posted January 30, 2015 Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) 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? Since I transferred, I was at UCSB for two years so I honestly cannot give any observation about lower-division general classes, but I think there is a good opportunity for the introductory courses. I've had one graduate student teach one of my courses (he is one of my favorite teachers of all-time; now he is a professor at Miami University) and have attended several courses with graduate students. Regarding undergraduate students: interesting question and discussion. I've been to three different colleges in SoCal at the undergrad level and didn't find much of a difference in effort. I think there is a pretty even split among those that care and those that do not. I, obviously since I'm trying to go to grad school in the subject, was always one of the most interested and motivated undergrads (if not the most). Religious studies is particularly interesting because it is a less popular major due to it not being seen as very "practical" so, as a result, you have people that are mildly interested and just trying to coast by and those that feel the decrease in earning potential is worth studying their intellectual passion. In my experience, there are more of the latter than the former. I think it's a great idea to contact some current T.A.'s and grad students. I'll continue to mull this over and post anything else that comes up or send you a PM. Edit: forgot to post info about demographics. There is a lot of diversity at UCSB and, while it is true that the majority of students are well-off white kids, the attitude and curiosity toward different cultures has been really positive. I've especially interacted with many of Middle Eastern descent (often Muslim). The majority of students that I've come across are intelligent, conscientious, and motivated. If there was a faculty member that more specifically fit my interests, I would be very happy to continue at UCSB. Edited January 30, 2015 by tsgriffey jujubea and doobiebrothers 2
wanderingtheologian Posted January 30, 2015 Posted January 30, 2015 The Ph.D. program at Marquette has several subfields; which one did you apply to? Hey sorry this is soooo late. I applied for Historical. But the original email seemed very generic and seemed to come from the entire department.
doobiebrothers Posted January 30, 2015 Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) once again congrats jujubea on the acceptance! Edited January 30, 2015 by doobiebrothers
jujubea Posted January 30, 2015 Posted January 30, 2015 Thank you, tsgriffey! That was super helpful. Please do share if more comes up. And thanks again doobiebrothers It's a bittersweet acceptance, as it is the hardest to make work for my family. Just way too expensive out there! But we'll see what the funding package brings..
rock34 Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 I've been wait listed at Baylor via email today. Does this basically mean that I won't receive a decision until mid-April?
wanderingtheologian Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 I've been wait listed at Baylor via email today. Does this basically mean that I won't receive a decision until mid-April? Basically. Unless people begin to make decisions!
wanderingtheologian Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 BTW, congrats. Being wait-listed is not the worst thing in the world!
thesimpleton0417 Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 When do most of these schools begin handing out their decisions? I applied to Toronto, McGill, and McMaster.
2TJ Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 so when's the Duke interviews?? I didnt get the invite so I'd like to know how soon they'll prob make their decisions
queer chaos Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 For anyone applying to Boston University - I heard from my advisor this week that they hadn't even started looking at apps yet. But they do hope to have the decisions by March 1. pcato1 1
newenglandshawn Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 For anyone applying to Boston University - I heard from my advisor this week that they hadn't even started looking at apps yet. But they do hope to have the decisions by March 1. Wow! That seems late - based on what they seemed to have done in years past. I'm assuming you're talking about the Graduate Religion department, by the way, and not the School of Theology (to which I applied)? Perhaps there are on the same timeline, though, since there is overlap with the faculty in both programs?
doobiebrothers Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 On that note, anyone who applied to Harvard for Religion: apps of the top applicants have been under review since last week, and there has been at least one committee meeting that I know of. Source: I have a friend who works in admissions there
queer chaos Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 Wow! That seems late - based on what they seemed to have done in years past. I'm assuming you're talking about the Graduate Religion department, by the way, and not the School of Theology (to which I applied)? Perhaps there are on the same timeline, though, since there is overlap with the faculty in both programs? Talking about the School of Theology. They do still plan to have results out by March 1 and move quickly. I know my advisor at least planned to start reviewing things this weekend.
pcato1 Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 Northwestern's results are out - check your ApplyWeb account to see them
2TJ Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 so when's the Duke interviews?? I didnt get the invite so I'd like to know how soon they'll prob make their decisions anyone? I saw the Duke interviews went out on the results page, just wondering about the time
doobiebrothers Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Cambridge divinity applicants: the funding meeting is this morning. Good luck!
scritch Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Congrats to those who received interview invites from Notre Dame! Anyone know what discipline they were for? I applied for CJA, so I'm wondering if all the invites went out already.
Averroes MD Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Cambridge divinity applicants: the funding meeting is this morning. Good luck! How does Cambridge divinity differ from the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies for the student of Islamic studies? Can one apply to both? Is there a difference in funding for international students? Is it like the difference between Harvard divinity and Harvard GSAS? Thanks!
TheCappadocian Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 (edited) Congrats to those who received interview invites from Notre Dame! Anyone know what discipline they were for? I applied for CJA, so I'm wondering if all the invites went out already. It seems likely that all of them have gone out. I received an invitation on Saturday (having applied for CJA), and it seems some other people did on Sunday. The e-mail said that they invited approximately twice as many applicants as they can offer spots to. So this is a real interview situation. Edited February 2, 2015 by TheCappadocian
liquidmountains Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Has anyone heard anything from Yale? A few days ago I got a very terse e-mail from someone in my subfield inviting me for an interview. They did not mention a date or time and haven't responded to the e-mail I sent back.
matthew2725 Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Nothing from Yale yet...liquidmountains, what's your subfield?
liquidmountains Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 U.S, this e-mail was so vague I made my first ever forum post to investigate
wanderingtheologian Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Yeah, looks like a few were sent out Saturday, Sunday and today. Any idea why ND does that?
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now