I actually had a pretty good experience in London, but I also had my undergrad profs sit me down and tell me some horror stories before I left. At first I didn't believe them, but after awhile I realized they weren't just blowing smoke. I kept my mouth shut and my eyes open, and I managed to dodge most of the crap. Some of my friends weren't that lucky, so I try to give people the same warnings I was lucky enough to get. It's like the academic version of the JOPA.
One of your best resources for navigating academia is a trusted professor. Someone who can go to bat for you and offers a no-bull assessment of you and your work. Unfortunately, because of the economy PhD programs are flooded with overqualified applicants and their funding has been slashed, which is bad for you. If you want to be competitive at some of these programs and/or get a full ride, we're talking top GRE scores, 3.8+ GPA undergrad, MA with honors, MA thesis that is bullet proof, LoRs that claim you walk on water written by respected scholars, and plenty of independent research to back it up. P.S. they expect you to have published at least 1 article in a scholarly journal, they just won't tell you that. Personal/Academic statements need to be flawless. Programs that once had an incoming class of 15 with funding are down to 3-5 people, and you may be competing against inside candidates. So you may have 900 people competing for 2 slots.
Some of the best advice a prof gave me was about funding. Namely, you shouldn't have to take out thousands in loans to finance it. They should have TA/RA positions, grants, and other work opportunities, and you can often tell their level of interest in you by how much funding appears for you. If you need to take out a small loan to finish, that's fine, but if they're asking you to cough up $30,000 to start- it's another way of saying they're not interested.
Fester, last time I checked the Corps wouldn't send you off to study the finer points of Islamic theology on their dime. If the OP wants to study theology, he'll have to do it in a civilian institution and I don't know whose dime or time he'll be doing it on- especially in a PhD program as a military officer. Not may places let you do a PhD part-time or distance, so they end up being mutually exclusive for someone who's AD. If he wants a better answer, he should see if he can track down the MARADMIN to see what is current.
One of your best resources for navigating academia is a trusted professor. Someone who can go to bat for you and offers a no-bull assessment of you and your work. Unfortunately, because of the economy PhD programs are flooded with overqualified applicants and their funding has been slashed, which is bad for you. If you want to be competitive at some of these programs and/or get a full ride, we're talking top GRE scores, 3.8+ GPA undergrad, MA with honors, MA thesis that is bullet proof, LoRs that claim you walk on water written by respected scholars, and plenty of independent research to back it up. P.S. they expect you to have published at least 1 article in a scholarly journal, they just won't tell you that. Personal/Academic statements need to be flawless. Programs that once had an incoming class of 15 with funding are down to 3-5 people, and you may be competing against inside candidates. So you may have 900 people competing for 2 slots.
Some of the best advice a prof gave me was about funding. Namely, you shouldn't have to take out thousands in loans to finance it. They should have TA/RA positions, grants, and other work opportunities, and you can often tell their level of interest in you by how much funding appears for you. If you need to take out a small loan to finish, that's fine, but if they're asking you to cough up $30,000 to start- it's another way of saying they're not interested.
Fester, last time I checked the Corps wouldn't send you off to study the finer points of Islamic theology on their dime. If the OP wants to study theology, he'll have to do it in a civilian institution and I don't know whose dime or time he'll be doing it on- especially in a PhD program as a military officer. Not may places let you do a PhD part-time or distance, so they end up being mutually exclusive for someone who's AD. If he wants a better answer, he should see if he can track down the MARADMIN to see what is current.