Does anyone know anything about divinity admissions...

[Jufarius87]

for a first degree (M.Div)? I realize that in most cases one should not care about prestige in ministry education, however I am contemplating going into military chaplaincy and then continuing my education for a Th.D or Ph.D and teaching at the university level which means where I study will affect my placement.

GPA: 3.8/4.0

GREs not req'ed

ECs: Treasurer of political organization on campus, V.P of Campus Mock Trial Group, Board Member for Church.

Honors: PBK, probably Summa Cum Laude

Does anyone know what they are looking for in these kinds of admissions? I've heard everything from "its law school admissions without the LSAT" to "sincerity (in respect to desire to pursue ministry) in the essay is most important"

Furthermore, does anyone know what a good Div school would be? Beyond the obvious H/Y/Duke etc.

Many Thanks in Advance!

[Philmajor]

I can't speak directly to the MDiv degree but I attend UChicago Divinity. I know that the competition to be accepted is fierce and that they receive many more applicants than they can accept. This year the MDiv area accepted 4 students out of 150+. Although there isn't a cut-off for GRE you need to score at least 1200 (perhaps MDiv don't need GRE?) and have great LORs. Have you tried contacting the admissions department with your questions - they're usually very helpful; especially at this time of year!

[Jufarius87]

UChi is actually the one "prestige" school that Im not applying to (partially because no other school req'ed GREs, partially because Chicago the city scares me)

That said, it is a great school, congrats to you!

That 4 out of 150 number scares me if thats for M.Div admissions, for future reference I guess my top choices are Duke and Yale (I think their admit rate is better than that but Im not 100%).

Adding to my prior info, no ancient language background (2 semesters of german both As), Pastoral/church offical LORs will be excellent, 1 good LOR locked for academics, dont have another prof who "knows me" so the other academic LOR might be generic.

[Philmajor]

The GRE can be scary but it's not as horrible as you might think. I found the math section to be the hardest and with some studying and tutoring help I managed to get through it. The vocab and writing were actually easier than I thought and I didn't study more than a few hours for the vocab section.

UChicago is outside of the downtown area - it's in Hyde Park and it's nothing more than a regular neighborhood with some sketchy areas that you learn to stay away from. Getting to downtown isn't difficult but I find that I only venture into the city for specific reasons and not to just hang out - but that's me and I'm sure others will have a different opinion.

Remember, graduate school is difficult and pretty much a crap shoot so the more places you apply the better your chances of being accepted.

[luvalicious]

This is only in reference to UChicago and the GRE, as I'm not in your field, but; I'll be attending there in the fall in a different program, but I'm somewhat familiar with the city and like Philmajor mentioned, you could spend just about your entire life in Hyde Park if you really wanted. In fact, it can feel a bit isolated down there. Also, in regards to wanting to apply to schools that don't require the GRE, I am curious to know whether it is because you don't want to take it or because you have taken it and not done well? If it's the second, I took it twice and didn't do as well as I believe I'm capable, but the rest of my application was good enough that it didn't hurt as much as I feared it might. I only ask because many people think the test scores/GPA are the most important part of the application and sometimes it isn't. I'm not telling you that you have to take it, either, but it may help you get funding. Every program looks for different things in a candidate, but in general the better your letters of recommendations and personal statements are, the better your chances. Hope that help.

[Jufarius87]

admittedly, I didnt do as well as I thought. In my defense, a GRE rep actually told me before hand I could take the test and not send my first results if I decided to retake like you can with the SATs.... so I essentially took it as though it was a practice... not that this matters, I dont think it is a valid excuse, I should have done my own research on GRE rules.

V: 540 about 66th percentile

Q: 730 about 91st percentile

Q: 4.5 about 66th percentile

not bad, but probably not UChi worthy either.

maybe my 3.8 would be good enough to counteract it. idk.

[Jufarius87]

my references will be excellent I think. I've known my pastor since I was 12 and I've worked with him/done sermons on his break ... so yea. And one of academic refs is coming from a Phil prof whose class I broke the curve in. :-) Need another academic LOR though.

[Philmajor]

Your GRE scores are not horrible. The Q is higher than mine and I'm sure you could retake and up your verbal and writing numbers; especially now that you know what to expect.

If you're interested in UChi get your application materials together, write a really strong SOP and send it in - I never thought I would be accepted into the Master's program and I was, didn't think I'd get into the PhD program and I did!

[Philmajor]

jafarius87 - I may have quoted incorrect admission statistics. I just looked back and last year UChicago admitted 19 MDiv students - the previous year was 16 MDiv students. I know that this year funding was an issue and I believe that will be a concern next year too. However, I wouldn't let that dissuade you from applying assuming you retake the GRE or submit the numbers you currently have.

[demondeac]

For Div School I would suggest The Divinity School at Wake Forest University (not to be confused with the Baptist Seminary in the town of Wake Forest). I received my MDiv in 07 and had a really great experience. Academically it can be top-notch if you take the meaty courses (and there are easier "ministry" courses for those who don't). Wake is a great nationally recognized university (#30 on US News), but they have a good balance of understanding that the MDiv is still ministry preparation and not a 3 year MA, so chaplaincy would be a possibility. One of the chief of chaplains is a friend of the Divinity School and has visited several times. One of my classmates did a chaplaincy program with the Navy during school, with a commitment when he got out.

The school is small by design and post-denominational (ooh a "post" buzzword!), and an interesting blend.