Anyone Visited Schools Yet?

[redreverend]

has anyone visited the schools where you are applying to PhD programs or Masters programs? If so what was your impression of the school, the program, the faculty, etc.?

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

I haven't visited any yet, but am going to UMass in about 1 month. I've also made plans to visit OSU next January before classes since it's so close to home. The other 3 I'll wait on acceptances (or not) first.

I also just realized this is in the religion section.

Edited November 16, 2009 by ScreamingHairyArmadillo

[pea-jay]

This isnt Religion related, but I do recommend checking out programs in person if at all possible. Check out my post on this

[11Q13]

I'm taking a 3 day layover in NYC on my way home to LA in mid-December, I'll be visiting Yale and Harvard if I can. Harvard seemed a lot less accommodating about popping in for a visit that wasn't in one of the designated "student visit days/weeks," but this will be my only chance. Anyone have experience visiting Harvard on their own like this? I'm applying to 4 other schools but visits just don't seem possible with my budget.

[LateAntique]

I've only been able to visit one of the schools (Duke) and they were exceptionally nice. I only live a few hours away, so I pop in for guest lectures from time to time.

When I was going to apply to Harvard, I went up there to visit with some professors. I've never been made to feel more stupid in my life.

[11Q13]

When I was going to apply to Harvard, I went up there to visit with some professors. I've never been made to feel more stupid in my life.

can you elaborate on that..? When i visit i could give them the witty come back you though of the moment you left

[LateAntique]

can you elaborate on that..? When i visit i could give them the witty come back you though of the moment you left

I won't name names, but I had a professor who just sat reclined behind his desk with this smug, uninterested look on his face. He checked his watch every 2 minutes. Complex questions were met with simple, half-hearted answers that didn't even really answer my question. I see you're applying to the div school there, so it will probably be different. I have a professor who is an alum and he said that it was too "touchy-feely" for him, so maybe they're actually nice over there. There was no witty response - just "What a bunch of douches. I'm applying to Duke."

[Sparky]

Mm...no personal experience with either Harvard. But theology as a whole is sort of a douchy discipline, I think ("odium theologicum"...you all have heard this term, right?).

Incidentally, there are several people at my current school who came from Duke Div, and they are all (a) perfectly wonderful people who ( thought the people in Duke's Department of Religion (not Div School) were "asshats--and I can say that because they're all atheist sorcerers and going to hell" (his words, not mine ). (But you're applying to Classics, not Reln, right?)

So maybe it is a div school/academic department thing? I am at a university, and we consider ourselves somewhat unique in our non-douchiness.

[LateAntique]

Mm...no personal experience with either Harvard. But theology as a whole is sort of a douchy discipline, I think ("odium theologicum"...you all have heard this term, right?).

Incidentally, there are several people at my current school who came from Duke Div, and they are all (a) perfectly wonderful people who ( thought the people in Duke's Department of Religion (not Div School) were "asshats--and I can say that because they're all atheist sorcerers and going to hell" (his words, not mine ). (But you're applying to Classics, not Reln, right?)

So maybe it is a div school/academic department thing? I am at a university, and we consider ourselves somewhat unique in our non-douchiness.

Duke's Religion Dept (not Div) is full of professors who are awesome people, and I know very few atheists who actually teach there. I really only know the NT and Early Christian people, but most of them are Christians. I wonder if your friend has students or professors in mind. Either way, most of the NT Ph.D students (if not all) are Christians on some level. I am applying to Classics, but they have close ties with the Religion program and I anticipate taking a seminar in that program every semester (Classics requires their students to take 4 classes a semester, so it won't be hard to get in on a seminar there). For anyone interested in NT/Early Christian Stuff at Duke, here's what I know specifically:

Mark Goodacre is awesome. He's pretty brilliant and an exceptionally nice person. He has upset the apple cart with his research on "Q" (or its non-existence) and I always like people who are iconoclasts.

Joel Marcus (in the Div school) is the kind of guy you wish all of your professors were like. He does a lot of work with Mark and is just an all-around cool guy.

Liz Clark (Religion) is retiring, but if you get in next year you can probably still take a class or two with her. She's in phased retirement. She's a HUGE name in Early Christian studies, has a really wonderful teaching style in seminars, and is again a nice person.

J. Warren Smith (Div) is another Early Christian guy. He's a Methodist minister with a love of the early Church and the Fathers.

Stanley Hauerwas is not called the "swearing theologian" for nothing, but...he's honestly one of the most Christian people I've ever met. I met him after a roundtable he was involved in. I figured he would blow me off, but he took like 20 minutes to talk to me about Duke's program.

This is just a small list of the professors with whom I've had a lot of interaction and they're all really great people.

[Sparky]

::goes and asks people she knows::

::returns::

"I meant the students. The faculty owns all."

"The students. If Jesus came back he would fit in with the faculty there."

"Are you on drugs? Never say anything bad about Duke, ever."

"Hauerwas and Jesus can fight it out for the place at God's right hand." (Response: "Hauerwas could make God grow a second right hand to sit at.")

Sorry for the confusion and any offense. I really, really, really did not mean to imply any sort of smear on the faculty. At all. It's tops in the world for a reason.

And honestly, I have no personal experience with Duke (not applying there, either). This is from ex-Div students, giving their perspective on Ph.D students there. And they all said that the Ph.D students felt roughly the same way about them. ;o) So maybe it's more of a Div/Rel rivalry there?

Eh. What do I know.

[LateAntique]

::goes and asks people she knows::

::returns::

"I meant the students. The faculty owns all."

"The students. If Jesus came back he would fit in with the faculty there."

"Are you on drugs? Never say anything bad about Duke, ever."

"Hauerwas and Jesus can fight it out for the place at God's right hand." (Response: "Hauerwas could make God grow a second right hand to sit at.")

Sorry for the confusion and any offense. I really, really, really did not mean to imply any sort of smear on the faculty. At all. It's tops in the world for a reason.

And honestly, I have no personal experience with Duke (not applying there, either). This is from ex-Div students, giving their perspective on Ph.D students there. And they all said that the Ph.D students felt roughly the same way about them. ;o) So maybe it's more of a Div/Rel rivalry there?

Eh. What do I know.

I could maybe see that, except a lot (most?) of the Ph.D students come from Duke Div's MTS program. Now maybe there's an MTS/Ph.D vs M.Div rivalry I don't know about. The M.Div kids get ALL the money, so the MTS kids are stuck paying their way - though they get a sweet ride in Ph.D land.