Andover Newton Update

I received a personal phone call from ANTS yesterday.  Bless them!  They wanted to let me know not only that my application packet had been sent to the admissions committee but that they were going to try to rush things so that I get my answer by March 15th when I hear back from the other schools.  This is another school for which the admissions process has been a pleasure, and it reminds me of one of the reasons I chose the school.  That is, this is a school in which ministry is embodied throughout.  I remember calling my father, very excited, after attending the school's open house late last winter/early last spring.  What had impressed me was the level of genuine hospitality exhibited throughout the day.  I thrive and learn best in an environment in which study and practice are well integrated.  As "radical religious hospitality" is a special interest of mine, the hospitality exhibited at the open house -- if it reflects the school as a whole -- is a particularly exciting thing to have observed (even if my father had a more moderate assessment: "it sounds like they ran a really effective open house"). 

I did re-read my application essays yesterday, having had the perspective provided by relief from the pressure to work on them.  I worry about those essays because they are the least cohesive of all my essays, partially because one of the elements I used to tie together my other statements I left out of this essay.  I also see other ways I could have/should have explained why I chose the school.  On the other hand, I really like some aspects of the essays that were unique to this school, and I was glad for the opportunity to write about those things. 

Overall, I am feeling good, even if a bit worried about my delay on my last school application (MLTS).