Alyosha

I've been thinking about applying to seminary for quite some time now, and I'd greatly appreciate some advice and guidance! I live in Boston, but I'm originally from the Midwest and am the first person in my family to attend college. I double majored in English and philosophy at Boston College, where I was a member of the Arts and Sciences Honors Program, and I studied abroad at Oxford University during my junior year (specializing in Romanticism and 19th century continental philosophy and aesthetics). While at Oxford, I became pregnant, but I still returned to BC for my senior year and made plans to graduate on time with my class. However, my plans basically fell apart, and I ended up failing a few (but not all) of my classes the first semester (due to incompletes that became Fs) and withdrew completely from the second semester (after my daughter was born and I fell into a deep depression). I never stopped dreaming of completing my BA, however, and, several years later, I finally managed to return to Boston and re-enrolled at BC. I ended up graduating a full decade later than my peers, and in the process I failed to finish my honors thesis, due to the demands of juggling school/work/single parenthood. As a result, my transcript has several withdrawals appearing on it, and my GPA sank due to those Fs I had received (although all of my other grades are As and Bs). My final GPA was just under 3.3 (but would've been over 3.5 otherwise), and my final GPA in English was a 3.6, in philosophy a 3.5. I'm wondering how this will affect my chances of getting into a good graduate school, and how I should explain all of this (my pregnancy and depression, etc.) in my statement of purpose. I'm also still trying to figure out which degree program is right for me. For a long time, I assumed that I'd pursue a Ph.D. in English literature, with the goal of eventually entering academia and becoming a literature professor. I'm still very much interested in studying literature (and also philosophy), but I want to focus specifically on literature and religion. Should I do this by pursuing a traditional MA/Ph.D. through an English department, or is it better to study at a seminary or theological school? I find myself increasingly leaning towards seminary, and thinking that the MTS makes the most sense. At the same time, however, I find myself also seriously considering a ministerial vocation. I don't necessarily see myself in parish ministry, though, but rather community ministry, perhaps as a university chaplain or religious educator. So should I set my sights on the MDiv instead? In an ideal world, I'd want to pursue both, to experience the full breadth of a ministerial education but to also have the opportunity to specialize on the scholarly topics that interest me. I consider myself a progressive Christian (with ties to both Unitarian Universalism and the United Church of Christ), and I'm interested in the divine feminine, sacred sexuality, comparative religion, mysticism/religious experience, and spiritual formation and direction. I'm currently employed as a part-time church administrator for a liberal UCC congregation (prior to that, I worked as an admin assistant at the UUA for several years) and as a self-employed massage therapist (which ties into my interest in embodied Christianity). My dream school is HDS for a variety of reasons, but I'm also open to Andover Newton, BC, BU, and Episcopal Divinity School. (In fact, I've been thinking about applying to EDS's certificate program to get my feet wet, sharpen my credentials, and better discern my call, but I can't afford graduate school without substantial financial aid and don't know how much aid, if any, I'd receive for a one-year program.) I prefer to stay in Boston, but I'm also open to Union in NYC and the GTU in the Bay Area. Also, I don't know if it's better for me to align myself with the UUs or the UCC - theologically, I consider myself somewhere in between (perhaps too Christian to be 100% UU, but too radical to be 100% UCC). Does it make a difference if I don't seek ordination? If I do ultimately decide to become ordained, how common is it to pursue dual standing? Would choosing one over the other affect my chances of being admitted to any of the BTI schools (in particular, I'm thinking of HDS and ANTS, which are popular with both UU and UCC seminarians)? Last but not least, I haven't taken the GRE yet, but am planning to do so this summer. What scores would help make my application a competitive one and help counter my low GPA? Should I take the GRE before or after the changes are made in August? What else should I be doing to make myself an attractive applicant to HDS and the other BTI schools? I really apologize for the long, rambling post, but, again, would be extremely grateful for any advice you could provide!