xypathos

Of these schools, presuming mainstream academia, the only ones worth doing (assuming you have a choice) is Penn, Yale, and Brandeis. That said, I'm pretty sure Penn is shutting down their Biblical Studies field or at least no longer accepting students for it for a while. The reality is that any of the top schools are capable of giving you more than sufficient preparation for a PhD program in the Hebrew Bible. This preparation of course becomes much more easy if you know you want to do that coming in and don't sway. In reality, you should look at Harvard, Yale, Chicago, PTS, Duke, Vanderbilt, and maybe a few others. At the master's level, go where the money is.

There were no "planned" group outings. Sometimes we collectively went to a Predator game, movies, happy hour restaurants (we're all grad students, no one wants to pay full price!), BBQs at the apartment, or more likely hung out on the couch and watched a movie. As long as you were doing something and making an effort, you're good. The only times I ever saw someone get dinged was when they locked themselves in their bedroom or spent every waking moment away from the apartment, hanging out with friends. They know you're a grad student and many of us also worked. They're not oblivious to that. They just want to see an effort.

i had married classmates that lived in the Disciples House. That said, while I attended for parties for social functions, I never saw the inside of a suite or bedroom so I can't tell you how big they are. That said, they made it work. I can say though that I didn't know anyone living there with kids, if that's a concern/need.

I didn't see the video but I've worked with people with disabilities, particularly intellectual and developmental. Generally, that language is meant that they're not living with parents and/or institutionalized (group homes, etc). My roommate for two years and I had separate bedrooms, split by a bathroom on the second floor. Downstairs was a spacious galley kitchen, living room, and a shared large back porch. No one there had a pet but I don't recall them saying they weren't allowed.

Not in the residence I lived in. They've since added 3-4 other residences so I can't say for sure.

So one covered tuition and the other one? I'm presuming from your tone that it was worse. Anyway, absolutely do not take out loans for a PhD, even just to help augment living costs. You're not the first to decline an offer and try again next year. You can go work for a year, try to hop into a one year program, etc. I'd also suggest reaching out to your POI at the school's and/or the director of graduate studies for the department. Explain your situation and see what they have to say. Odds are they won't have more funding for you, but they might have resources and/or suggestions.

I think a bachelor's and master's in engineering, in addition to a master's in theology, would make you a hot commodity!

So private schools can broadly be separated into two categories: day school and boarding school. It's as they sound, day schools end at 3-4 and then there's some extracurricular work and students go home. Boarding schools, easy enough, the students live there. Some do both but they generally "specialize" in one or the other. The jobs increase in abundance if you have multiple subjects and/or skills that you can bring to the table. For instance, if you only want to teach religion you limit your options. But, if you have done coursework and have an interest in teaching history, literature, philosophy, etc, then your options increase. An increasing number of your more privileged boarding schools are looking for candidates that specialize (say religion) but are qualified to teach in Humanities broadly. My friend at St. Paul's, for example, primarily teaches religion, but they also teach the occasional course in existential literature in the English Department, religious history in the History Department, or ethics over in Philosophy. You'll also be expected to take up some amount of administrative or "residential life" duties. Working as a "dorm parent," coaching a sport*, advising students on courses and/or college applications, supervising volunteer experiences, etc. These all get factored into your workload. I * coaching because sometimes you're legitimately coaching if you played a sport in high school or college, and sometimes you're really just handling the administrative duties but they still call you a coach. Of the people I know teaching at boarding schools, especially the more privileged ones, one of the perks I've heard passed around is the networking you're able to do with parents. Namely, and these are all rumors (in the sense that I don't have names), that parents have gotten to really love their kid's teacher and when their kid graduates, they make some phone calls and a well regarded university is willing to offer you a position on their faculty. Some teachers have also only had their master's degree and leveraged these connections to get into PhD programs, though these are also rumors. On the church side of things, I know for a fact that episcopal chaplains at elite boarding schools have been able to leverage connections and end up as a bishop (making six figures with hefty benefits) or landing a cushy church job in a highly desirable area. EDIT: The National Association of Independent Schools is the largest networking and job site for these positions. Their main website is here and their job listings here.

@sacklunch makes great points on leveraging your PhD in non-academic jobs. People do it, but your colleagues (and more so bosses!) will always ask, "What the hell are you doing here?!? Wouldn't you like to be teaching?" Say what you will about the job market but unless they're plugged in and fellow academics, many of them will either 1) See you as some kind of weirdo that couldn't get hired at a school and/or 2) Someone to be weary of. You're biding your time and will jump ship as soon as you can. Basically, someone that can't be trusted and someone not to give long-term projects to. Of my friends that haven't gotten a safe full-time academy job, some went into administration. I have two friends that work in student affairs, one as a college chaplain and the other runs a school's Office of Religious Life but it's a purely administrative job. Some went into teaching at boarding schools which can be fairly lucrative, salaries in the 40-60k+ but it comes with housing and they legitimately have the summers off. One teaches at St. Paul's in NH and makes significantly more than 60k. I also had two former classmates go work for the foreign service at the State Department! A former M* classmate from VDS also works at the State Department but in their Office of Religion and Global Affairs. Some went into non-profit work. Jobs are there but yea, probably none that directly utilize your PhD outside of teaching at an elite boarding/prep school. They have significant curriculum and financial well-being that teachers can teach seminars in their respective areas, something you aren't going to find much of anywhere else.

As a VDS alum: Merit aid only covers tuition. A very select few are offered stipends. It only covers the academic year and there's no housing included in aid. That said, while housing is not included, there are avenues to pursue! Some of my VDS classmates worked in Res Life and were able to secure an apartment in one of the dorms in exchange for services. There's also the Disciples House that is basically on campus and open to VDS students. It's first come, first serve so reach out now! Finally, there is also Friendship House (It's also called Our Place Nashville). You share an apartment with a Nashville resident (separate bedrooms, etc) that has a developmental disability. You don't provide ANY medical care or anything like that, but you are required to share the occasional meal with them and be involved in the community. I lived there for two years and it was absolutely amazing! The program heavily subsidizes rent in exchange for you being an active member. That said, they will kick you out if you stop participating and attempt to take advantage of them for an almost free apartment. I don't know what rent is now but I was in the first cohort and it was $400/month in a REALLY nice apartment.

But do they offer other courses in the realm of Hebrew Bible? I suspect not, especially if Hebrew isn't offered. Have you also looked to see if it's housed in another department, such as Near Eastern Languages. Are you sure your institution and the second institution would permit you to take courses there? Sure, schools often have inter-institution agreements but often scheduling them to fit your schedule is a hassle. None of us can say if it's a waste of time. That said, if your ambition is to get a PhD in Hebrew Bible, you need a M* degree and extensive coursework in that field. Also, second or more master's degrees in language intensive fields like Hebrew Bible or New Testament are not uncommon. Many go to a middle of the road, even very lowly ranked school and climb to another school. There's no shame in that. That's hard but just pursue tangential areas. I had friends that taught religion at private schools, worked for publishing houses, some went to work for NGOs or the State Department (Civil and foreign service). I had classmates at VDS that volunteered for local campaigns and now work for US Senators, Reps, think tanks in DC, or state politicians. Just identify what some of these interests are for you and pursue them as you can, even as a volunteer since you'll still be making connections.

Duke has arrangements with a number of small UMC churches. They are willing to pay Duke MDiv students to work there as basically their summer pastoral intern. Sometimes you more so work alone, sometimes there's another pastor to help mentor, and sometimes it's lay mentorship. I don't know how the funding currently works but friends that went there made 2-3k/month and most often free housing. Some lived in the parsonage, others made use of an apartment or room offered by someone tied to the church. So, 6-12k over the summer and not having to pay for housing. The arrangement is sweet if you identify as UMC. An Episcopal friend did it for a summer and got in a massive amount of trouble with his bishop later on for it.

To another school or from like PhD to Master's? Cause I've seen the latter. I've only seen the former at the M* level when the applicant was a bad socio-political fit.

Same sentiments as @bigsh, largely. ThM are often treated as a cash cow for a university but if you go to one that you did your MDiv or one that has an established reputation as being a feeder school, it could work. They often have later deadlines because of the very situation you've found yourself - getting shutout from every school and now needing a Plan B. That said, ThMs have a hit or miss reputation on these forums. If you have a particular area that you know you want to focus on (moral theology) and enough material to have an inkling of an idea for a thesis, great! If you still don't know and want to spend time poking around, avoid a ThM at all costs. There hasn't been a lot of discussion here on ThMs and funding so I can't help much there. So while places like Yale, Duke, etc tend to offer some funding, I don't know if any routinely offer all/mostly funded post-MDiv routes. Maybe others will be able to chime in there and suggest programs!

That's going to vary a lot. I saw it at Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Vanderbilt, etc. There are people that fully recognize and cherish the perspective that a Divinity School student has to offer to a class, committee, and/or the school as a whole. There are also some that are fully aware that getting into Divinity School is astronomically easier than say law school, business, or undergrad. As such, you will be viewed as less than. This doesn't always play out in public but often in snarky conversations overheard in dining facilities, the library, or wanting to take a class outside the Div School and the professor wanting to meet with you in order to gauge/screen your aptitude/preparation. At Yale, I think every year that I was there, there was an op-ed from an undergraduate student about div students having not earned their right to be at the school. Occasionally a professor weighing the benefits of Yale still engaged in the practice of producing clergy, etc. Divinity School students aren't the only ones to face this "prove yourself" problem. I've made several friends that were graduate students in School of Ed that found themselves having to justify being on campus.

Faculty, Admissions staff, and depending on the school upper level students are sometimes used as a "reader." Admissions reviews every application before it goes up to a vote. Mainly to certify that it's actually complete and also for content. Content screenings are generally merely a formality but every now and then you hear of someone applying to a progressive program and they let it "slip" that they're deeply homophobic, racist, antisemitic, etc. I obviously don't mean "My views are still evolving on this..." but more like "I'm in a white nationalist heavy metal band back home in Idaho, and hope to engage in some street preaching while at your fine institution." These never make it to the vote process. Generally every application is reviewed by two people. Sometimes bare minimum thresholds are set and if these aren't meant then the application is read by one person and sometimes no one (they get screened out via an analytics program). This latter bit is rare but it happens. I've seen some real doozies! Usually screened out applications get assigned a student to verify that the boot is appropriate but these are rarely overturned. Student readers vary from school to school. Some don't use them at all. Some use them as a basic: Could you see this person as a contributing member of the school? But, they don't get an actual Admissions vote. Some schools let students vote. Student readers are important in the process, after all they're going to be your peer, but their opinion isn't given much weight with good reason.

Acceptance chances are good at all of them. Probably north of 70% at all but Yale. It's still high at Yale so don't worry. Funding is trickier. Duke's aid is generally bad, though UMC M.Div students get the most due to summer funding. Realistically, I'd expect somewhere around 25% aid package. PTS gives PCUSA students 100% tuition by default, or at least has for years. It's also traditionally been the case that non-PCUSA students are capped at 80% aid. BU - probably 50% but they also sometimes surprise year to year. YDS - 50-75%. Outside of Episcopalians, I think most students have had to take out small loans or pursue additional scholarships. There's been a push among higher up Yale University administration that the divinity school needs to become a profitable enterprise.

Confirming @akadiva's point. I'm an alum and was asked to sit in on a "applicant discussion" last month b/c they had specific questions about working as clergy full-time while being a PhD student full-time. Which is the position I found myself in while a student at GDR. Low and behold, turned out it was an interview of the applicant. I think they said everyone opted for remote interviews but yea, I can't speak to what tracks didn't/did interview.

I'll share limited advice as I transferred PhD programs but in Religious Studies: 1) You need to leave on good terms with your current program. You'll need at least one LOR from them. If you can't get one it's likely to trigger a red flag for someone. 2) Be prepared to essentially start over. I went into one program with a MA and got 12 credits. Did two years and left with the blessing of the program and all of my LORs came from them. My final school (I'm done and graduated, working) accepted 9 credits from my previous PhD program. 3) Socially, it was weird AF. I came in with enough credits to be a second year but felt like a first year (yet struggled to relate with them), yet also felt ready for Comps. Because of #2, if you're going to transfer, I'd do it sooner rather than later. That said, bailing year one does look weird but you also need to protect the integrity of what you want to research and not settle for something less. I had an advisor in my MA that shared a story of having to completely retool their dissertation b/c the people qualified to supervise it had left and the school didn't replace them. Got it done, hated every step of the process! Find a confidant you can speak to, maybe the Director of Graduate Studies for the department, just share your struggle. You need someone more experienced to help you walk through this process. I was lucky in that my advisor at School #1 was best friends with my soon to be advisor at School #2, and they walked through me through the application process and Advisor #2 planned out my studies to try and recoup time lost.

Seconding @sacklunch - you're mistaken on all accounts. 1. The UK PhDs that are well represented/respected come from UK scholars, by and large. They often attended highly elite boarding schools, did their BA at Oxford or Cambridge, and stayed on for a doctorate. They are a cut above your run of the mill scholars. Yes, absolutely, there are acclaimed US scholars that went to the UK for their DPhil. But guess what? The good ones landed highly competitive scholarships and their work reflects their overall ethic. 2. No one is questioning their scholars. We're questioning their institution taking advantage of gullible students. 3. What rankings, specifically, are you referencing? There's not a strong contender for Philosophy Gourmet like there is Religion/Theology. 4. I interviewed at Oxford and was granted acceptance but alas no aid. My POI walked me through the draft, step by step, with feedback until we knew that it would pass their committee. He said, literally, they're expected to do this for every US student. 5. You don't "hide" from critical scholarships. You find a hole in their argument and just blow it out of proportion. That's how their scheme works. Etc., Etc., Etc. You're reading our criticism as being negative of UK schools. Their scholarship is, by and large, sound. What we're critiquing is how their administrators handle US applicants and because of that, how they're perceived when they return Stateside looking for a job. EDIT: Also done with my PhD but I like to stick around and offer advice. That said, I'm an Episcopal priest and knew that I would be headed into church work with minor/medium interest in the academy.

My advisor's mantra: Leaving college we're all faced with the ultimate decision: Do I face the fact that I need therapy or postpone it and go to grad school and make it everyone else's problem?

To add onto @True_hope's argument. British universities are 1) known for allowing a dissertation that wouldn't see the light of day at a mainstream school and/or 2) use American students as the cash cow our student loan system is, taking us in and pushing us back out with a very poor dissertation, but with a PhD/DPhil none the less and they get $100k+ for it, knowing that you're all but unemployable in the US and abroad.

Some of these results may be legitimate but FYI - we get a number of troll posts/results around this time every year.

As someone that lived in Atlanta on a PhD stipend, it's rough going. At the end of the day, I don't know a single student that did it. I've yet to meet a single student at any institution that accomplished it either. We had partners, some were independently wealthy, parents footed the bill, student loans, and/or PT work. Some school's like Yale offer stipends around 33k but very few of us (PhD grads and hopefuls) stand a chance to attend Yale. You're far more likely looking at a stipend of 20-25k, probably.

Yes. Often the stipend for M* students is in the 10-15k range but that varies by school.