ûl ʾašerātō

I'm a current MARc student at YDS studying Hebrew Bible. Firstly, I think you were wise to apply to UGA's program. Though you're right that it is relatively unknown, Dick Friedman and Baruch Halpern are first rate. I would not have expected a public school to have offered such generous funding for masters students (though I do see that you are in state, which probably helps). While YDS is undoubtedly much larger than the Religion department at UGA, your cohort for Hebrew Bible at YDS is probably much smaller than you might think. I believe that there are currently 3 Hebrew Bible students in my 2012-14 cohort (not counting Second Temple Judaism students who generally take the same classes as HB students). So, I have gotten to know the HB professors here quite well in my first 1.5 semesters. So, do not operate under the assumption that you will simply be some anonymous student at Yale. Additionally, Yale puts their graduates into top PhD programs every year. This year alone the second year students have received offers from top tier institutions (including Yale and Harvard). Every top-tier program in which you'd want to study HB currently has graduates from YDS: Yale, Harvard, Chicago, Hopkins, Emory, etc (I realize there are excellent programs that don't have YDS grads, like Texas, UCLA, etc., but you get my point). 
 
So, while UGA would be a great place to study HB, I do not believe it will offer you the same opportunities as Yale. Good luck in making your final decision. If you have any further questions about the program, feel free to PM me. 

Qaus-gabri is absolutely correct. UT Austin has to be the top program in comparative semitics right now. I'd probably put Chicago second. Though 5 years ago Chicago was definitely at the top of semitics (under the supervision of Pardee), they're having a lot of faculty turn over right now, and it remains to be seen what the landscape will be like when the dust settles. 
 
You should take some time this summer to seriously consider what your interests are. You should especially consider job prospects in various fields after completing your doctoral studies. As everyone knows, the job market is dismal. This is especially the case for semitics PhDs. Right now, the best you could hope for with a semitics PhD is a renewable lecturer position. I'm at Yale right now, and both semitics professors here are in non-tenure track positions. In numerous conversations I've had with both of them, they have strongly recommended against getting a semitics PhD. If you have an interest in Hebrew Bible, you should look into HB/ANE programs (my list you refer to above is a good starting place). These programs will afford you the opportunity to study semitics and still provide you the remote possibility of getting a tenure track position somewhere (emphasis on remote). I'd be happy to recommend a few programs from my list for you to look into further. 
 
Best of luck with your applications. 

I think phdapp's comments here are very helpful for clarifying some of the consequences that follow selecting a school.
 
If you go to some schools (probably the ones phdapp recommends), there's a good chance you'll emerge from them thinking thinking places like Fuller and Wheaton are beyond the pale, that you and an extremely small, homogeneous set of people are the only true/real Christians. You might think you are continuing a historical tradition, but you'll only be able to maintain this illusion if you don't read much of the writings of earlier "Chrisitans." This is what some people want.
 
Or, you can decide you don't already have all of the answers before you've started thinking about them, and go somewhere else, and perhaps end up believing that the people at Wheaton haven't strayed from "the conservative views of the Bible"(!!!!).
 
My advice, if you have confidence in the strength of the conservative side in theology, understanding of the Bible and church history, you'll be fine choosing from a lot of places. (I think the recommendation to look at Gordon-Conwell is a great suggestion, for example. It's a conservative school, but you're in collegeville and you could take some classes from other places). If you're scared though of ending up a bit different at the end of your education than how you began it (and from the positions of other people who never studied these topics), there's nothing the rest of us can do to stop you, but that's the reason why the rest of us don't take those places seriously.

Oh yeah, one more thought (gosh, arguing and offering advice is much easier than writing a dissertation). If you, shavedice, do want to do college ministry, Duke, PTS, and perhaps Candler (which I know less about), might be great places insofar as you're in the middle of collegeville. A lot of Duke MDiv students even serve as RAs in the Duke dorms.
 
Sorry if I was harsh Tollelege (but the internet is sooooo much fun to argue through). I see your point. I think I was mad because I was trying to distinguish the conservative-friendly big-name schools from the not so conservative-friendly schools (which, it seemed to me, you lumped together; ND being a separate case, of course). From a conservative perspective, there is a huge difference between Duke and HDS.
 
Also, I think you're right that, in certain ways, conservative churches are going to be suspicious of someone from Duke. But, if he keeps his conservative bona fides (e.g., is involved in a conservative church in the area) (and trust me, even some of their PhDs get hired at extremely conservative places), I think many (certainly not all) conservative churches would love somebody who (they think) beat the liberals (i.e., the people at Duke) at their own game, especially for a college pastor. I grew up in a very evangelical non-demoninational church, and people thought this guy who went to PTS was the smartest guy ever, and entirely irreproachable from any outside critique because he went to the (to them) liberal PTS (which I don't think those people understood was different than Princeton U., but that's another story). I guess here though, shavedice would know best about his own exact context.
 
And your right, the list he gives probably suggests the schools he should go to, yet, I suppose, I was responding to his comment that he also really wanted to challenge himself, suggesting, to me, that he might be interested in coservative-friendly places that also include other perspectives.

You should talk to Prof. Bob Cargill about what you're interests are. He is more than capable of pointing you in the right direction. 

Qaus-gabri is absolutely correct. UT Austin has to be the top program in comparative semitics right now. I'd probably put Chicago second. Though 5 years ago Chicago was definitely at the top of semitics (under the supervision of Pardee), they're having a lot of faculty turn over right now, and it remains to be seen what the landscape will be like when the dust settles. 
 
You should take some time this summer to seriously consider what your interests are. You should especially consider job prospects in various fields after completing your doctoral studies. As everyone knows, the job market is dismal. This is especially the case for semitics PhDs. Right now, the best you could hope for with a semitics PhD is a renewable lecturer position. I'm at Yale right now, and both semitics professors here are in non-tenure track positions. In numerous conversations I've had with both of them, they have strongly recommended against getting a semitics PhD. If you have an interest in Hebrew Bible, you should look into HB/ANE programs (my list you refer to above is a good starting place). These programs will afford you the opportunity to study semitics and still provide you the remote possibility of getting a tenure track position somewhere (emphasis on remote). I'd be happy to recommend a few programs from my list for you to look into further. 
 
Best of luck with your applications. 

For Comp. Semitics, I don't think UT Austin can be beat right now. Huehnergard and Pat-El, Plus Hackett and Kaplan, and very strong Arabic faculty. Of course Chicago and JHU are great, esp. for ANE etc.--but if your interest is *linguistics* UT should be at or very near  the top of your list.

I'd say live in New Haven has its ups and downs. I'll assume you're familiar with weather in the NE (and Princeton would have basically the same weather), so I'll skip all if that. On the upside, New Haven has a lot of the perks of living in a larger city: numerous restaurants, bars, theaters, shopping, etc. I love New Haven pizza, which is had at a few well known places around town. Also, New Haven is very walkable for the most part (esp. with the assistance of the Yale shuttle services). There is plentiful housing in East Rock, which is the most popular place for graduate students to live. On the downside, New Haven is a lot like living in a large city: traffic, parking, crime, and high rent prices are all an issue here. Now, I should say that the crime is largely theft. So, it's not like living in Chicago, which had something like 500 homicides last year. You should expect to pay $1,100/mo for a livable one bedroom apartment in east rock at minimum. Most single graduate students who live off campus share 2-3 bedroom places to save money.

In the end, I enjoy living in New Haven. I love the local restaurants (the Italian place 2 blocks down know our "usual" order, and always chat with us when e pick up our pie). There are a ton of university sponsored events going on all the time. Most of them include free wine/beer and food. But, I definitely wish living here was more affordable.

I'd say that whether or not you'd like living here is largely contingent upon whether or not you'd enjoy living in a more urban environment. If you're OK with dealing with traffic, parking problems, a large homeless population, and minor crime (no one I know has had a problem since I've been here), you'll probably enjoy living here. If you tend to shy away from the drawbacks of city life, you might not like New Haven as well as you might like Princeton.

I hope you will remember as you read this that it is merely my experience, and not necessarily indicative of everyone's experience. But, I hope you find it helpful all the same.

There's a dual degree b/w the MTS and the JD at Harvard. Note, it's a dual degree, and not a joint degree. You may want to look into that. Students apply to the other program during their first year - and with the registrar, you work out your course work. However, I think this will just drastically increase your debt levels. There have been a number of MTS students at HDS who have gone on to law school. So, it has been done... As someone who has worked for a few years in a large and leading corporate law firm, and a legal non-profit, I do suggest you get your feet wet by working as a paralegal of sorts first before attending law school. Law schools don't provide much financial aid, so I think it's good to be certain you want to attend law school before you take on 100k+ in debt.

Coolidge: There has been a MTS in Islamic Studies who works for the State Department as  Presidential Management Fellow (PMF). The PMF is a pretty prestigious program and great way to establish a career in various federal agencies. Once you do your two year fellowship, you're automatically hired in some managerial position by a federal agency, and the pay is actually very good. It's also highly competitive. The format of the program has changed this past year. Previously, your school had to nominate you. Now, anyone can apply, but there are more rounds/tests.
 
http://www.pmf.gov/about/index.aspx
 
Now, I think this isn't something to "bank" on as you will be competing against people who have degrees in public policy, international policy, foreign affairs, law, public health, etc. These are the more common PMF degrees.  I couldn't find the website that tells you about alumni, but there is one HDS alumn who did Islamic Studies who completed the PMF. Yes, one. But, the program does like a diversity of applicants. Also, I think that the number may be more reflective of the fact that very few MTS's apply overall, and less representative of "chances" you'll have. 
 
In terms of HDS MTS's who do not pursue doctoral work, there are a number that work at Harvard after they graduate. I know one person who is working at the library doing special collections stuff, and another who is working in an administrative position. I know another who teaches at a Catholic High School. There's another who is selling international immersion tours to school groups. There are a few who work for non-profits and such. The joke around Cambridge is all the barristas here have PhD's. AS others have mentioned, overall, the degree does not make you desirable as an employees (obviously, as how can studying Foucault's reading of Augustine OR your knowledge of the Zen Buddhism's implications for phenomonology prove that you're really good at, say, filing paper or doing data entry...employers could care less).
 
If you specifically want to work on counter-terrorism, perhaps there's a more suitable degree such as public policy, international relations, or international security studies? I don't think these programs are necessarily well-funded either, but perhaps they will be better avenues to a job that deals with your interest.

It sounds like YDS would be an excellent fit for what you're talking about. They offer ordination for Episcopalians and are among the top schools in academics. With the exception of a professor here or there, I don't believe you can expect to get a better faculty. The MDiv program is a 3 year program with ministry requirements, but they also offer considerable flexibility for you to pursue academic interests. Additionally, they also have the STM degree, which is a 1 year academic masters degree that a number of students who decide they want to go on to doctoral work end up pursuing before applying to PhD programs. Given that it might be the case that you pursue a PhD then go into ministry, having your two masters from YDS would be a fantastic set up for academia and ministry. Also, if you decide to go down somewhat of a middle route, and seek to teach at a very small undergraduate college or something where they are heavily focused on ministry, many of these schools (as well as a large number of seminaries) require a professional ministry degree for their faculty. 
 
If you end up getting enough financial aid to make 3 years possible at YDS or HDS or Chicago (though you've already said they only offered 50%), I would highly suggest pursuing that option for you. 
 
Good luck making your decision!

It sounds like YDS would be an excellent fit for what you're talking about. They offer ordination for Episcopalians and are among the top schools in academics. With the exception of a professor here or there, I don't believe you can expect to get a better faculty. The MDiv program is a 3 year program with ministry requirements, but they also offer considerable flexibility for you to pursue academic interests. Additionally, they also have the STM degree, which is a 1 year academic masters degree that a number of students who decide they want to go on to doctoral work end up pursuing before applying to PhD programs. Given that it might be the case that you pursue a PhD then go into ministry, having your two masters from YDS would be a fantastic set up for academia and ministry. Also, if you decide to go down somewhat of a middle route, and seek to teach at a very small undergraduate college or something where they are heavily focused on ministry, many of these schools (as well as a large number of seminaries) require a professional ministry degree for their faculty. 
 
If you end up getting enough financial aid to make 3 years possible at YDS or HDS or Chicago (though you've already said they only offered 50%), I would highly suggest pursuing that option for you. 
 
Good luck making your decision!

A friend was offered by GSAS Religion Committee and he will be turning it down. So, there may be some hope for the Religion waitlist.

I just surprisingly got an acceptance from Brown Religious Studies. Very thankful and relieved. My first (more or less certain) acceptance so far. 

I'm currently at Yale Divinity School, pursuing an MAR in Hebrew Bible. 
 
I do not believe that PTS is what it has been in the past, but that much can be said about a number of programs. C.L. Seow does excellent work, but I'm not really familiar with the other HB faculty. At a place like PTS you will get the chance to spend more time focused on theology of the HB as opposed to a place like Yale or Harvard (even less so than Yale), where you will spend more time focused on critical approaches (though, those approaches can be varied). 
 
If you want to be at a place where theology and exegesis intermix with good comparative work, I would highly recommend considering Emory. They are one of the few programs accepting multiple students each year, though that doesn't necessarily make it any easier to get accepted there. The HB faculty are top notch, and they are still building the program into what it will someday become. 

http://www.yale.edu/graduateschool/financial/stipend.html

Yale offers their religious studies doctoral students $27,300 per year for at least five years with that amount potentially going up incrementally year over year (last year it went up around $800, if I remember correctly). If you have a family, they offer full health coverage (no monthly payments, no co-pays, nothing) for every member of your family at no cost to the student. Yale expects you to teach, because they want to train you to become a professor, but you don't get a stipend in exchange for teaching.

Getting admitted to these schools is far more than a numbers game.  You certainly do not need a 4.0 to be admitted to any of them.  I know people who have been admitted with 3.5 GPA's and GRE's as low as the 75th percentile, and some were rejected with 4.0's and perfect GRE's.  Like another said, it's the total package that you bring.  There's a stubborn myth sloshing around this forum that one absolutely needs this or that GPA and GRE score in order to be admitted.  These schools don't want robots with perfect scores on everything.  In fact, some of the schools you mention have been known to be suspicious of 4.0's and perfect GRE scores, because it (sometimes) reveals a kind of intellectual rigidity that does not do so well in graduate studies in religion, theology, etc.                

What about getting a Master's at Maryland and then trying to re-apply for PhD programs? I know it's probably a bad idea: re: a bird in the hand, and because it would make getting a PhD take that much longer... but I'm wondering what my chances would be of getting into a 1-5 school (or Ivy) after getting a Master's first...

Ok, I have decided against Columbia. UCLA is now my top choice. The only issue is moving my fiance to LA, but he already has a PhD in CS and previous work experience, so hopefully finding another job (albeit after only 1 year in his current job) will not be too hard.

Negative feedback for posting a result???

I'll be in Boston, not at HDS . Good luck!

Indeed. See you this fall!

Don't think anyone else applied, but finally got denied from UMinnesota Religions in Antiquity MA.

It definitely varies dramatically from school to school. This is called the "yield rate," and factors like cost, program prestige, number of similar programs affect it. It is interesting that you ask about this, because I am absolutely convinced that some applicants have never given this any thought. On another forum I frequent, posters are always writing as if the number of people in the class is the number of people accepted, when they are NOT the same thing. (For instance... a class may have X number of people, with Y number of people being in-state... if the in-state people makes up, say, 80% of the class, the poster will write that of accepted students, only 20% are out-of-state, so out-of-staters have almost no chance of acceptance.) Or, when someone asks how many people are accepted to programs in X subject (meaning, what percentage of applicants), posters will give the average class size (let's say 35 people) when that is NOT how many people are accepted (and meaningless, anyway, when we don't know how many people applied.)

I'm speaking of masters programs, but the general principle is the same.

I applied to UT-Austin for the HB/ANE program in MELC. As tt503 suggested, the department is up and coming with regard to the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East program. However, you always have to consider credential and curricula when deciding on a department. Although at present the curricula at UT-Austin might be stronger than Harvard (which I believe is true), the credential of Harvard is nearly at the top of the top tier institutions. I'm not saying that it is unanimously declared the best option for all departments or areas of study, but its reputation in the academic community is superb. tt503 was also correct in suggesting that Harvard's department is traditionally classical in its focus.

I spoke with Hackett about her and her husband's (Heuhnergard) move from Harvard to UT-Austin. She suggested it was mostly due to the fact that UT-Austin has committed itself to becoming a first-rate institution in all programs, including the humanities. In the present economic climate, this is an obviously rare determination. While most institutions are cutting funding from the humanities (not the money-maker department at any institution), UT-Austin is investing in the humanities. I think UT-Austin is well on its way from being a very good MELC program to being an excellent one. I'm not sure how long it is going to take for UT-Austin's credential to catch up to its curricula, but with the determination that the university is currently showing, I do not believe it will be long.

Having made these comments about the department in general, I will say that with Hackett at the helm I believe that the department will continue adding focus in the area of ancient studies. Indeed, they are still adding faculty in this area. So, you should scrutinize the faculty in your specific area of study to get a better idea of how the department can serve you.

Generally speaking, I agree with tt503: if you're choosing between Harvard, Chicago, Princeton and UT-Austin, you're going to be in an excellent department wherever you end up.