How do you pay for it?

Thankfully, our SBC seminaries are the best deal going price-wise, and give generous financial aid once you're in-house. I recommend not working at all. It's too much of a load. This means your wife will bear much of the financial load. If you must work at all, do not work more than part-time. You may be able to serve a church on the weekends. This gives you much needed experience and a way to bless God's people and evangelize the lost while you're continuing your preparation.

Remember why you're at seminary. Too many forget and get caught up in just keeping the paychecks coming. Get your degree, but don't forget your preparation.

 

If you can manage to get a full-time staff position at an SBC Seminary one of your benefits in addition to free medical and life insurance is free tuition!

I am currently at SEBTS. I worked part-time for the U.S. Census (in 1999-2000), UPS (2000) , and the SEBTS Physical Plant (2001-2002) during my under grad. degree. I am now working on a MA in Intercultural Studies. I am a full-time SEBTS Staff member (Security). It works out great. I can study in between making my rounds, I receive a paycheck every two weeks, SEBTS pays for my family's health insurance, and I get free tuition!

If you cannot get a job on-campus I highly recommend getting a job as a security guard with a security agency that will allow you to study in between making your rounds. Thus, you can kill two birds with one stone (studying and earning a paycheck).

Yours in Christ,

BibleboyII

 

But what if you're not SBC personally? I understand there's distinction made financially.

BTW, in addition to full scholarships, sometimes with stipends attached, being offered by various seminaries depending on an applicant's grades, you might like to know that the seminary of one of the German Baptist denominations, in Indiana, offers a half-tuition grant to all students and a half-tuition scholarship on top of that to members of the denomination. An extra selling point is that the seminary doesn't issue letter grades for its courses.

 

Just a word of warning here. What Bibleboy said regarding SEBTS is not true at other seminaries. SBTS has far less benefits for employees/students. When we moved from SEBTS to SBTS it was a rude awakening regarding benefits for seminary employees. We were much better off to work off campus than on.

However as Tom pointed out, there are many scholarships available for students. If you are a resident of NC or VA, check into the Kesee scholarship.

Non SBC students: you are going to simply have to bite the bullet or join the convention.

 

When I went to seminary at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) I went on the GI Bill. Can veterans still do that?

 

Non SBC students pay double what SBC students pay at our 6 seminaries, but that's still a bargain compared to other seminaries.

 

That’s also true for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

Yep. I was at Southwestern in the last couple of Dilday years and the first year of Hemphill and it got much more difficult to swing it financially after the Dilday firing because the seminary lost so much financial support. The seminary quietly dissolved the slush fund designed to advance needed tuition money at the beginning of the semester so that students could pay out their tuition expenses over three or four months. They also increased student fees (apparently due to inflation, the drop in enrollment, and loss of financial support) and didn’t have any sort of financial assistance for me when my financial fortunes took a tumble midway through seminary. As a result, I had to drop out for a semester until I could raise enough funds to re-enroll.

If you decide to come to SWBTS, I strongly recommend that you seek employment off-campus. You’ll get paid at least twice what the seminary jobs pay and possibly get real benefits. As far as I know, there is no discount on tuition if employed by the seminary.

One time I was talking to Dr. Hemphill about the struggle to pay for my education while in seminary and he told me that I should quit my job and “get serious” about school and have my wife get a job to support both of us. When I informed him that I was unmarried and did not have the financial resources to simply quit working for two years, he told me that it was my fault for not being married.

 

Maybe I am missing something, but I earned a B.A. (history) while working two jobs, one full time, an M.S.(international relations) while working as a maintenance officer in the Air Force (minimum 60-hour work week), and a seminary degree (M.A.R.), while working as a full time pastor. I am currently pursuing a doctorate and making good progress while teaching full time and pursuing a counseling ministry on the side. I am not superman nor Einstein, but my wife never worked outside the home. You just do what you have to do; sleep is optional, recreation you can save for Heaven.

 

Did you guys who did not receive benefits or free tuition at other (other than SEBTS) SBC Seminaries hold full-time staff positions or part-time? Part-time jobs on the SEBTS Campus do not receive the benefits that I mentioned above.

Oh yeah, one other thing... I guess since the benefits of working full-time at SEBTS are so much better than the other SBC seminaries that helps our friend narrow his choice a bit!LOL

 

Personally, I did not work for the seminary at all. They did not have anything relating to my job skills available at the time, plus I wanted to work away from seminarians and be salt and light among regular folks. My first job was working as a commission salesman at a local department store and then I worked in executive security for a prominent local family.

Sure. If you want the SBC seminary experience, it probably makes little difference which school you choose. Might as well chose the one that offers the most opportunities to graduate without driving you to financial ruin.

 

I am not advocating a sluggard's life. If you're a sluggard, seminary is the last place you need to be But the trappings of this world can make it difficult on you. You have to be willing to sacrifice.

Some seminarians come after having good jobs in the secular world. They're used to having two SUVs, a tv in every room, 2 or 3 vacations a year, and credit card bills out the ears. Seminary becomes a rude awakening.

Then you have the hard-workers, the guys who believe they are not doing God any favors unless they're taking 18 hours, working 50 hours a week, and sleeping two hours a night. I know these guys well. I can tell you where they're buried or the day their wife walked off.

Southern has it in their catalog that they ask that no student who is full time hold full-time employment. (in fact, I believe it's a rule that you cannot have more than 9 hours if you work for the seminary full-time). Other seminaries should, if not require it somehow. It just doesn't work. The ones who somehow survive to a man lament the fact that they were shortchanged and only got a degree, not an education.

 

SBTS has an advanced M.Div that will knock off about 20 hours or so. Rent will definitely be higher there, but I wouldn't think it would be as high as in Nawlunz.

SBTS is the better seminary, by the way

 

Getting financial aid at Southwestern is really pretty easy.

My wife made 37k a year at a school district, I made 20k working part time at a decent sized church, and I still managed to get at least a couple hundred dollars of in-house financial aid every semester that I applied.

If you qualify for the SBC rate, take the time to apply for financial aid, and do the FACTS method, your monthly payment will be in the neighborhood of $100/month.

Likely not a better deal out there, really.

 

Southern is very similar, RandR. While my wife and I never made that kind of money, I always got in house financial aid every semester. They also worked hard to appeal to donors, one of whom paid for one semester for me.

 

I hope that’s true now. I didn’t get one thin dime of financial assistance.

WOW!

I made between $11K and $13K/yr when I went to seminary and they told me I didn’t need financial assistance!

 

BB,
Yeah I didn't want to say anything, but RandR sounds like a rich man to me in seminary terms

 

No kidding!

A household income of well over $50K in seminary is amazing. I doubt most professors had that kind of cash flow.

 

That is why I am doing Seminary Extension... Many of the credits you earn that way will count toward the seminary degree and you can work full time while attending the ext courses. Big savings and gives time to perhaps bankroll some money to carry you through.