PhD Applications Fall '18 Season

[xypathos]

Per a faculty member at Denver, they’ve just begun reviewing applications and don’t anticipate having results out for another month (3-6 weeks per source).

Sorry if Denver is a top choice, they continue to take their time like in years past.

[sd_waco]

4 hours ago, Shmandy said:

Just heard from Baylor and got waitlisted. Here's hoping someone else got a better offer, or that literally any other school contacts me soon.

This is of course anecdotal, but take heart. Baylor is a great place to be waitlisted because it's a fantastic program but doesn't have the pizazz of a Duke, Yale, etc. So typically their offers overlap quite a bit with those places and people often take the bigger name destinations, so they are highly likely to go into their waitlist.

[sd_waco]

So this is interesting. I have it on good (though indirect) authority that Yale didn't make any Systematics offers this year.

Can anyone comment?

[xypathos]

28 minutes ago, sd_waco said:

So this is interesting. I have it on good (though indirect) authority that Yale didn't make any Systematics offers this year.

Can anyone comment?

My source (faculty) confirmed. They interviewed several, including current YDS students but didn't like any of them enough to extend an offer.

EDIT: Some applicants had their app sent to other departments/fields since they had strong apps but weren't appropriate for theology. So, they might still find their way into Yale through another field.

Edited February 16, 2018 by xypathos

[Fontanabush]

Does anyone have any info on where they are in the Harvard process? I know about the recent posts (Congrats!) here, but was looking for an update.

[Averroes MD]

52 minutes ago, Fontanabush said:

Does anyone have any info on where they are in the Harvard process? I know about the recent posts (Congrats!) here, but was looking for an update.

I just received my official acceptance email/letter from Harvard GSAS.

[Rabbit Run]

2 hours ago, sd_waco said:

So this is interesting. I have it on good (though indirect) authority that Yale didn't make any Systematics offers this year.

Can anyone comment?

They did this last year too if I recall. Very strange.

[Fontanabush]

17 minutes ago, Averroes MD said:

I just received my official acceptance email/letter from Harvard GSAS.

Thank you. 

[Sanskriti Prakriti]

Hi everyone! I've been lurking for a while, but my curiosity has gotten the better of me. Does anyone happen to have any insight on Indiana's current admissions? I saw in the results search that there were some interviews, but no notifications have gone out. Compared with last year, they're over two weeks late with acceptances, so I've started to worry. Also, the fact that I didn't get an interview is worrying me a bit. Do they only accept people they've interviewed? Any insight is much appreciated!

[Fontanabush]

One other question. Even though they are the same commitee does anyone know if Harvard Div and Harvard have different notification times?

[KA.DINGER.RA]

Anyone want to claim the UCLA NELC acceptance?

[Averroes MD]

39 minutes ago, Fontanabush said:

One other question. Even though they are the same commitee does anyone know if Harvard Div and Harvard have different notification times?

For the PhD, all decisions are through GSAS, not HDS.

HDS will notify master's candidates for MTS, MDiv, and ThM.

This is my understanding.

 

[kay0213]

1 hour ago, KA.DINGER.RA said:

Anyone want to claim the UCLA NELC acceptance?

I think I can claim it at the behest of my peer from our department. He has not make any decision yet. I will let you know when he decides (of course, I will ask for his permission).

[sd_waco]

Interesting that two UVA rejections have popped up, seemingly at the end of the day today. I was waitlisted on Feb 1, and it seemed that rejections already went out at that stage as well. Would that be likely to mean that they've filled some disciplines with accepted offers at this point? (Although neither mentioned having been waitlisted.)

Edited February 17, 2018 by sd_waco

[ugh2017]

4 hours ago, sd_waco said:

Interesting that two UVA rejections have popped up, seemingly at the end of the day today. I was waitlisted on Feb 1, and it seemed that rejections already went out at that stage as well. Would that be likely to mean that they've filled some disciplines with accepted offers at this point? (Although neither mentioned having been waitlisted.)

UVa keeps multiple waitlist tiers going. 

[kay0213]

Just a heads up, Brandeis decisions are out. Accepted to their Bible and ANE program!

Edited February 17, 2018 by kay0213

[sd_waco]

9 hours ago, ugh2017 said:

UVa keeps multiple waitlist tiers going. 

Say more...how does that work?

[ugh2017]

3 hours ago, sd_waco said:

Say more...how does that work?

 My understanding is that there's a top tier of the waitlist (wording I heard from a professor there). People that they are actively interested in coming. But, they also refrain from sending out rejections to another selection of applications because they frequently miss on their top choices. So last year, a person I know was added to the waitlist on 2/28, but was never accepted. The person was in the second group of waitlisted applications. 

[sd_waco]

29 minutes ago, ugh2017 said:

 My understanding is that there's a top tier of the waitlist (wording I heard from a professor there). People that they are actively interested in coming. But, they also refrain from sending out rejections to another selection of applications because they frequently miss on their top choices. So last year, a person I know was added to the waitlist on 2/28, but was never accepted. The person was in the second group of waitlisted applications. 

So, ostensibly, being on the initial waitlist would be the “top tier” then?

[xypathos]

Yes, more or less. A few schools that are considered quasi-TT (Top Tier) that compete with Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Duke, and the like will sometimes create a backup waitlist because they know that their accepted candidates have likely applied to more prestigious schools and consequently, so have their top waitlisted candidates. So, it's a stop gap measure should they just completely strike out in landing a candidate.

EDIT: They presume, rightfully so, that those backup candidates were subsequently rejected from top schools. So, if they have to go to a backup slot they presume that candidate was either rejected across the board or only accepted into a lesser school so they'd jump at the chance of attending their quasi-TT school.

Edited February 17, 2018 by xypathos

[Almaqah Thwn]

14 hours ago, kay0213 said:

Just a heads up, Brandeis decisions are out. Accepted to their Bible and ANE program!

Congratulations! That's a good program and I know that you were really gunning for it! 

[kay0213]

17 minutes ago, Almaqah Thwn said:

Congratulations! That's a good program and I know that you were really gunning for it! 

Thank you so much, Almaqah! I feel so grateful for this opportunity. I am still weighing my options—Brandeis, Emory, NYU. Could you offer me some insights on my decision-making? 

[RivkahJ.]

5 hours ago, kay0213 said:

Thank you so much, Almaqah! I feel so grateful for this opportunity. I am still weighing my options—Brandeis, Emory, NYU. Could you offer me some insights on my decision-making? 

 

I can answer questions about Emory! It's a fabulous program. Joel LeMon, Brent Strawn and Jacob Wright are all amazing and they really invest in their students. Several of my fellow alumni have remarked that other doctoral programs don’t quite compare in terms of practical prep and investment.

[kay0213]

4 hours ago, RivkahJ. said:

I can answer questions about Emory! It's a fabulous program. Joel LeMon, Brent Strawn and Jacob Wright are all amazing and they really invest in their students. Several of my fellow alumni have remarked that other doctoral programs don’t quite compare in terms of practical prep and investment.

Thank you so much, Rivkah! That’s really helpful! I have heard Strawn and LeMon have done some wonderful research on ANE iconography, but I have also heard that Newsom will retire very soon. I have been trying to find some information about job placement from Emory but could not find it. Would you mind sharing some recent placement record with me? Once again, thank you!

[RivkahJ.]

40 minutes ago, kay0213 said:

Thank you so much, Rivkah! That’s really helpful! I have heard Strawn and LeMon have done some wonderful research on ANE iconography, but I have also heard that Newsom will retire very soon. I have been trying to find some information about job placement from Emory but could not find it. Would you mind sharing some recent placement record with me? Once again, thank you!

 

My recommendation would be to straight up ask LeMon or Strawn about job placement. As for Newsom, Yeah...she's retiring this year, which is why I'm headed elsewhere (DSS is my main interest). LeMon and Strawn are definitely known for their iconography research, but they’re both doing interesting research outside that area. Personally, I also think Jacob Wright is brilliant. Where are your interests in HB?