Stats needed for MTS?

[doctormelody]

Hi all. I’m just trying to get an idea of the stats required for the MTS at Harvard’s Divinity School or other similar programs. I’ve heard the acceptance rate is a lot higher than one would expect, but also that it tends to be a pretty self-selecting group. I have a BA in an unrelated field (3.5 GPA) but religious studies has always been an interest of mine and it’s something I incorporated into my thesis while in undergrad. My language skills are pretty rusty - stopped just short of getting a Spanish major in college because I was having a mental breakdown and languages have never been my forte. Also, I would have been required to read Don Quixote and try as I might it was absolute gibberish to me. My basic question is, if I took maybe 3-4 classes at a community college or local university and wrote a compelling personal statement, might I have a shot? Or should I just give up now? Honest opinions wanted.

[doctormelody]

Is this a super annoying question? I apologize if it is. I did try to search this forum before I made this topic but maybe I need to dig deeper.

[EarlyXianity]

Your question isn't annoying, it's just a bit hard to answer with detail without knowing more.  The short answer is, if you can afford to apply and you want to, why not? 

In general, most programs are going to look for something they would call "fit." Capacity to do the work (which stats can but don't necessarily indicate) is an important part of that, but they also want to know if your interests and strengths align with those of the faculty, if you're asking interesting questions, etc. 

I would imagine that there are a lot of people with your stats and background that get in to high quality MTS programs, but I don't know the numbers beyond anecdotal evidence. 

I don't know that classes at a community college / local university (mileage varies a great deal with the quality of faculty) will be helpful to build your resume/stats, but they might help you write a better personal statement and have a better sense of the field as you enter, helping you narrow focus for what you want to study and enter with a better working vocabulary for the work you'll be doing.  

It never hurts to call admissions offices, ask them if they have minimum requirements/what it takes to be competitive, and learn more about the admissions process. That would probably be one of the best places to start if you want a more direct answer about whether it's worth your time.  

[doctormelody]

9 hours ago, EarlyXianity said:

Your question isn't annoying, it's just a bit hard to answer with detail without knowing more.  The short answer is, if you can afford to apply and you want to, why not? 

In general, most programs are going to look for something they would call "fit." Capacity to do the work (which stats can but don't necessarily indicate) is an important part of that, but they also want to know if your interests and strengths align with those of the faculty, if you're asking interesting questions, etc. 

I would imagine that there are a lot of people with your stats and background that get in to high quality MTS programs, but I don't know the numbers beyond anecdotal evidence. 

I don't know that classes at a community college / local university (mileage varies a great deal with the quality of faculty) will be helpful to build your resume/stats, but they might help you write a better personal statement and have a better sense of the field as you enter, helping you narrow focus for what you want to study and enter with a better working vocabulary for the work you'll be doing.  

It never hurts to call admissions offices, ask them if they have minimum requirements/what it takes to be competitive, and learn more about the admissions process. That would probably be one of the best places to start if you want a more direct answer about whether it's worth your time.  

Thank you so much, this is incredibly helpful! I guess the “why not” would be that I fear it’s not practical and I’m not sure if I’m cut out for a PhD, which would be my eventual goal if I were to follow this path. Also, I think it would probably be unfair to ask my partner to rearrange our life plans in such a way. 

Thank you so much again for your response, I greatly appreciate it!

[cr615]

On 1/25/2019 at 9:53 PM, doctormelody said:

Hi all. I’m just trying to get an idea of the stats required for the MTS at Harvard’s Divinity School or other similar programs. I’ve heard the acceptance rate is a lot higher than one would expect, but also that it tends to be a pretty self-selecting group. I have a BA in an unrelated field (3.5 GPA) but religious studies has always been an interest of mine and it’s something I incorporated into my thesis while in undergrad. My language skills are pretty rusty - stopped just short of getting a Spanish major in college because I was having a mental breakdown and languages have never been my forte. Also, I would have been required to read Don Quixote and try as I might it was absolute gibberish to me. My basic question is, if I took maybe 3-4 classes at a community college or local university and wrote a compelling personal statement, might I have a shot? Or should I just give up now? Honest opinions wanted.

 

On 1/26/2019 at 11:17 AM, doctormelody said:

Is this a super annoying question? I apologize if it is. I did try to search this forum before I made this topic but maybe I need to dig deeper.

This is not a super annoying question. I think we all share similar anxieties about being good enough for admissions to graduate programs. I can speak from my experience someone who was admitted to HDS, but ultimately decided not to attend and instead pursued an M.A./PhD program.  I don't know what happens behind close doors during admissions committee meetings. My response is based on my own application experience and on conversations with admissions and students. 

You are right that applicants to HDS are already a self-selecting group. I don't think you need to worry about taking courses at a community college or local university unless your grades in humanities classes were particularly weak. Your GPA is adequate for HDS but not stellar (I say this with all due respect, speaking from the imagined perspective of someone in admissions). Therefore, I think shooting to have a verbal score on the GRE of 160+ will boost your chances. I truly do think HDS takes a holistic approach to the admissions process, so if you can demonstrate that you have a compelling reason or pursuing an MTS and an interest in religious studies, that will count for a lot. Make sure that it is well-written. I am assuming that the "unrelated" field you majored in was a non-humanities field. Consequently, they will want to see that you can write well. 

It seems that you have a sincere desire to go into religious studies. Highlight that and explain why! Best of luck!

I want to be clear that this is just one person's perspective based on going through the application process at HDS and being admitted. But then again, much of what we do on this forum is purely speculation. 

 

 

[doctormelody]

19 minutes ago, cr615 said:

 

This is not a super annoying question. I think we all share similar anxieties about being good enough for admissions to graduate programs. I can speak from my experience someone who was admitted to HDS, but ultimately decided not to attend and instead pursued an M.A./PhD program.  I don't know what happens behind close doors during admissions committee meetings. My response is based on my own application experience and on conversations with admissions and students. 

You are right that applicants to HDS are already a self-selecting group. I don't think you need to worry about taking courses at a community college or local university unless your grades in humanities classes were particularly weak. Your GPA is adequate for HDS but not stellar (I say this with all due respect, speaking from the imagined perspective of someone in admissions). Therefore, I think shooting to have a verbal score on the GRE of 160+ will boost your chances. I truly do think HDS takes a holistic approach to the admissions process, so if you can demonstrate that you have a compelling reason or pursuing an MTS and an interest in religious studies, that will count for a lot. Make sure that it is well-written. I am assuming that the "unrelated" field you majored in was a non-humanities field. Consequently, they will want to see that you can write well. 

It seems that you have a sincere desire to go into religious studies. Highlight that and explain why! Best of luck!

I want to be clear that this is just one person's perspective based on going through the application process at HDS and being admitted. But then again, much of what we do on this forum is purely speculation. 

 

 

Thank you so much! This really boosted my confidence, lol. Not to sound arrogant but I’m sure I could do really well on the verbal portion of the GRE as standardized tests (at least in non-math areas) have always been a strong suit of mine. My degrees is definitely in Humanities, lol. I guess “unrelated” was too strong a word. Do you really think this is enough to potentially gain admission without taking any other classes? I have to admit that I am concerned about wasting my time/money (but mostly money as I’m sure I would enjoy the coursework) on something that won’t up mattering anyway.

Also, does anyone have opinions they wanna share about Coursera? Are the certificates worth paying for, or should I just take some classes to gain background knowledge? I’m interested in so many of them and it seems like a fantastic resource but I somehow doubt it carries any weight. 

Edited January 29, 2019 by doctormelody

[marXian]

20 hours ago, doctormelody said:

Thank you so much! This really boosted my confidence, lol. Not to sound arrogant but I’m sure I could do really well on the verbal portion of the GRE as standardized tests (at least in non-math areas) have always been a strong suit of mine. My degrees is definitely in Humanities, lol. I guess “unrelated” was too strong a word. Do you really think this is enough to potentially gain admission without taking any other classes? I have to admit that I am concerned about wasting my time/money (but mostly money as I’m sure I would enjoy the coursework) on something that won’t up mattering anyway.

Also, does anyone have opinions they wanna share about Coursera? Are the certificates worth paying for, or should I just take some classes to gain background knowledge? I’m interested in so many of them and it seems like a fantastic resource but I somehow doubt it carries any weight. 

The thing is that divinity schools and seminaries are unlike other humanities grad school programs. You mentioned acceptance rates being much higher than other programs; that's typically because you do not need any academic background in religion/theology to be admitted (this tends to be more true of MDiv/ministry than MTS students, and varies from school to school). Compelling reasons for wanting to pursue study at a div school/seminary coupled with an "interesting" background are what get people admitted (along with a decent GPA, etc.)

As far as Coursera goes, I wouldn't waste a dime on it. Even the free courses provide very little background knowledge. I took a few courses when it first launched just to see what it was like, and I was unimpressed. Granted, that was 2012, and things have likely changed since then, but I really doubt that the content is going to be worth your time. You'd be better off reading some survey books on your own.

[doctormelody]

1 minute ago, marXian said:

The thing is that divinity schools and seminaries are unlike other humanities grad school programs. You mentioned acceptance rates being much higher than other programs; that's typically because you do not need any academic background in religion/theology to be admitted (this tends to be more true of MDiv/ministry than MTS students, and varies from school to school). Compelling reasons for wanting to pursue study at a div school/seminary coupled with an "interesting" background are what get people admitted (along with a decent GPA, etc.)

As far as Coursera goes, I wouldn't waste a dime on it. Even the free courses provide very little background knowledge. I took a few courses when it first launched just to see what it was like, and I was unimpressed. Granted, that was 2012, and things have likely changed since then, but I really doubt that the content is going to be worth your time. You'd be better off reading some survey books on your own.

This is fascinating. Thanks so much.

[runningit]

If you just want some background knowledge I’d recommend the iTunes U courses by Shaye Cohen (Harvard) on the Hebrew Bible and on Judaism/Christianity, and by Dale Martin on NT (Yale).