Rajiv

I am one of the atheists at Yale Div. There aren't many of us, but it really has never been an issue. I suppose it would depend on what classes you take, but pretty much every course I have taken (including an intro to NT course) didn't involve much "practical application" of texts - it does come up in seminar discussions sometimes, but the scholarship you're expected to produce has a much more historical-critical bent. That said, I think part of the reason that it is less of an issue for me is because I study Asian religions and thus spend a lot of time away from the Divinity school. Also, nobody has tried to convert me or anything like that; students and faculty are very non-judgmental.

I'm pretty sure Columbia and Texas have sent out their PhD decisions already, though perhaps there are some waitlist-related decisions to be made. Not sure about MAs or Chicago.

I'm not entirely sure, to be honest; I guess it depends on the concentration. I'm in a pretty non-traditional one as far as YDS goes (Asian Religions). 2 of us applied to PhD programs this year and we both got in to our top choices, so I guess that bodes well. If you're interested in doing a concentrated MAR, it's important to remember that you have the resources of the larger university at your disposal. I take half of my classes at the Divinity School and half "downtown" (in other words, not at the Div school - for me, it was mostly at the Dept. of Religious Studies, but people do other things as well). You have much more flexibility in terms of how you design your course of study in the concentrations, since it's mostly up to you and your advisor (I think everyone has to take two bible study classes and 4 semesters of language, but the rest is open). This helps when it comes time to apply to PhD programs, since you'll have completed coursework and written papers that are more in line with your interests. Of course, it's also helpful that you'll be able to get good letters of recommendation from well-known faculty. This is not to say that the Divinity School alone doesn't provide enough opportunities to do this, but it's something to keep in mind. So, I guess, to sum it up - I'm not sure how it compares to places like Harvard or Chicago, but you wouldn't be closing doors that would otherwise be open by going to YDS.

This might not be that helpful, but the year I applied (2009) there were something like 550 total applicants (to YDS as a whole), and a little less than half got accepted. I'm not sure how the acceptance rates vary with the MDiv and MAR programs, but I think they usually try for an incoming class that is more or less evenly split between the two. I've heard that the MDiv program is slightly easier to get in to, but again I'm not certain. If you're applying to one of the concentrated MAR programs, then this probably doesn't mean much. I think the way it works is that the admissions committee first accepts people into the MAR program at large, and these semi-admitted applications are forwarded to the advising faculty for the specific concentration. So it's possible to be admitted for the comprehensive MAR but not be admitted to the concentration. It's sometimes possible to switch into a concentration after you enroll, though. If you have any other questions about the YDS, let me know!