The Concordias charge a fortune, but they lack a football team and real scholarships.
bruce-church (http://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Missouri Seminaries Are Leaders - In Charging Too ...":
I did some research on the top eight most expensive seminaries, and it seems the headline on this post ought to read that the LCMS seminaries are the 6th and 8th most expensive seminaries in N America, or maybe even 5th and 7th most expensive. The reason is that
I know that Ft. Wayne and St. Louis offered fairly generous scholarships in the past, but had to dial those back after a few years since money was getting tight. Those blanket grants to student never come close to paying half their student bill, and do even less now, I believe, and besides that, there's nothing about any grant to every student on either seminary's web site.
References:
$835 knocked down to to $335 per credit hour for all students at McAffee School of Theology:
http://theology.mercer.edu/about/cost-to-attend.cfm
The Greek Orthodox pay 80% of tuition for all students for seven years of school--4 at college and 3 at seminary:
http://www.hchc.edu/hellenic/admissions/scholarships-continued.html
"This scholarship provides for 80% of tuition for four years for all incoming students in both Hellenic College and Holy Cross."
Three year M. Div. at Holy Cross seminary, p. 11:
http://holycross.hchc.edu/assets/files/Catalogues/HolyCrossCatalog2010.pdf
Vanderbilt provides scholarships that range from full tuition plus stipend to just one-third off tuition, but doesn't say whether every student receives a scholarship:
http://divinity.vanderbilt.edu/admissions/tuition.php
Full Tuition Scholarship at Notre Dame seminary for all M Div students:
http://mdiv.nd.edu/first_time_visitors/full_tuition_scholarship.shtml
"All Catholic lay students admitted in the Master of Divinity program receive a full tuition scholarship for three years."
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GJ - The smells and bells Lutherans ought to consider conversion before entering seminary, to save themselves from a huge pile of student debt. Notre Dame gave me a full scholarship for the entire PhD program, plus a fellowship for several years to provide extra income.
4 comments:
From Holy Trinity ROCOR Sem, Jordanville, NY:
Seminary fees are $5,500.00 (U.S.D.) per year. This amount includes $3,000.00 for tuition fees, and an additional $2,500.00 for room and board. The charge for room and board, however, may be commuted by work for the monastery and seminary during the academic year. An additional fee of $25.00 is levied for late registration. $25.00 is charged for entrance examinations. Auditors are charged $375.00 for each audited course (per academic year), not exceed the amount of regular tuition ($3,000.00) per year.
Fees for courses taken via correspondence towards the B.Th. degree are charged at the rate of $ 75.00 per credit hour, comprehensive examinations and graduation fees amount to a flat fee of $ 175.00. No more than 4 semesters of courses taken via correspondence may be counted towards the B.Th. degree.
Fees for the external program leading towards the Certificate in Theological Studies (HEGIS 5623) are assessed at $ 100.00 per semester exam taken.
Narrow-minded, Now I can see why the WELS pastor reportedly went Russian Orthodox. If he had to attend their seminary to colloquy over, he could pay that expense out of pocket easily. The LCMS makes former RCC priests take a year or two of Lutheran seminary for colloquy reasons, but that ends up costing them a lot of money. No wonder the LCMS doesn't get that many former priests to switch to Lutheranism anymore even if it means having a wife and possible kids.
BTW, for those who wonder, ROCOR means Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
See also:
LCMS Seminary Cost Scandal:
Fabulous Costs To Support Posh Professor Salaries, Sept 17, 2011:
http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2011/09/lcms-seminary-cost-scandal-fabulous.html
Thanks, Bruce. I really think the aim of the LCMS is to train more pastors via the SMP route. I'm not going to bash distance ed in itself, because it is very valuable, but the SMP is a "Reader's Digest" version of sem and caters to the "everyone's a minister" mentality. And the way the districts allow vicars to administer the Sacraments, it's really no big deal to them.
When I was considering Fort Wayne, even the guys running the SMP discouraged it. Yeah, maybe some of that is job security, but the program is subpar and only hits the high points. Greek is not even required. I've never heard a pastor say he received too much education and preparation for ministry. At least the SMP puts more of the financial burden on the parish.
Thanks, also, for clarifying "ROCOR." I just take for granted that everyone knows what it means, for I have some family in ROCOR. Their rector and I have had some rather intense discussions regarding faith-plus-works and original sin.
Thanks for the comment Narrow-minded.
I propose that the pastoral ministry and financial situation of the LCMS seminaries, and synod, is so bad, and the funding priorities are so far off course in the LCMS, that the fat lady has sung for Walther's non-hierarchical church and ministry model. It's over. Finished. Kaput. It seems without a decently robust hierarchy, it's every congregation for itself, and the non-hierarchical synod has proven to be a sad joke on many levels, including discipline.
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