MDiv options... What are my chances of being accepted?

[bperk]

Hello everyone,

I am currently wrapping up my final junior semester of undergrad at a smaller (roughly 1000 students) Christian University (former Bible college) and am set to graduate December of 2024. I am planning on (and excited about!) pursuing an MDiv after graduation. I am curious if anyone can offer insight on my chances of being accepted into the Mdiv programs of the following schools, as these institutions are atop my list (in no particular order):

- Duke Divinity School

- Harvard Divinity School

- Yale Divinity School

- Princeton Theological Seminary

- Vanderbilt Divinity School

- University of Chicago Divinity School

Like I said, this is my current list of schools and I'd be honored to be admitted into the Masters of Divinity program of any of these schools; I am extremely anxious about my chances of being accepted into any of these schools, so in order to gage who I am as an applicant, here is a little bit of my resumé and interests:

- 3.6 GPA ~ I expect to graduate around this number, or slightly higher.

- Double major in (1) Preaching and Church Leadership and (2) Bible and Theology.

- Two summer internships~ one at a Church and one working with a missions organization in South Asia (I will be interning at another Church this upcoming summer).

- A part of two separate "social unity/social justice" student organizations/clubs on my campus.

- I come from the evangelical nondenominational Church.

- I am interested in practical theology, theology of sexuality, ecotheology, and of course, pastoral studies. 

Obviously, this is not my full resumé, but there are a few highlights. I am confident in my writing abilities, but still fear that I may not be admitted to the schools on my list. If anyone is able to help me grasp what my chances may be with each of these schools, along with why I may/may not consider one of these particular schools, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

[MaryHildegard]

Hi,

Sorry to jump in and recommend a school you didn't mention, but I have to recommend the Boston University School of Theology (which, disclaimer, I graduated from in May). They have a faith and ecological justice certificate and a center for practical theology, and they hired a new professor last fall who teaches queer theology. They also offer great financial aid -- I know Unitarians who turned down HDS because BU gave them more money! I got full tuition with a 3.4 from my BA in economics, and lots of people get stipends. Feel free to ask me anything about it. I feel really confident you would get in. 

I would encourage you to look at the course list for Harvard Divinity (it's publicly available) and think: are they offering what I want to take? HDS is a great school, but it's not a school where their primary goal is preparing people for Protestant pulpit ministry. This isn't to say there aren't students there with that as their aim, but their course offerings aren't primarily geared toward that demo the way they might be at, say, Duke. It's also a lot more religiously diverse; this is neither a bad thing nor a good thing, of course, but it isn't a school where nearly all of the other MDivs are going to be some flavor of Protestant. 

I think the Princeton Farminary (https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/departments/farminary) is really cool, and Yale Divinity offers a joint degree with the environmental science department, so if ecotheology is your main interest I think you should direct your app focus toward them. 

[bperk]

On 11/27/2023 at 8:48 PM, MaryHildegard said:

Hi,

Sorry to jump in and recommend a school you didn't mention, but I have to recommend the Boston University School of Theology (which, disclaimer, I graduated from in May). They have a faith and ecological justice certificate and a center for practical theology, and they hired a new professor last fall who teaches queer theology. They also offer great financial aid -- I know Unitarians who turned down HDS because BU gave them more money! I got full tuition with a 3.4 from my BA in economics, and lots of people get stipends. Feel free to ask me anything about it. I feel really confident you would get in. 

I would encourage you to look at the course list for Harvard Divinity (it's publicly available) and think: are they offering what I want to take? HDS is a great school, but it's not a school where their primary goal is preparing people for Protestant pulpit ministry. This isn't to say there aren't students there with that as their aim, but their course offerings aren't primarily geared toward that demo the way they might be at, say, Duke. It's also a lot more religiously diverse; this is neither a bad thing nor a good thing, of course, but it isn't a school where nearly all of the other MDivs are going to be some flavor of Protestant. 

I think the Princeton Farminary (https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/departments/farminary) is really cool, and Yale Divinity offers a joint degree with the environmental science department, so if ecotheology is your main interest I think you should direct your app focus toward them. 

Thanks for the insight! I've heard good things about BU in the past, but admittedly, do not know as much about their programs/faculty compared to some of these other schools. As this process continues for me, maybe I'll reach out to you personally with questions! Thank you so much!