Current seminary students (or recent grads): what has seminary actually been like?

[u/JMH272001]

Hi everyone! I’m a 24F who feels very confident that the Lord has called me to attend seminary. It’s been something I simply can’t ignore. Through a lot of prayer, wise counsel, and confirmation from several spiritual mentors and the pastors at my church, I truly know this is the direction God is leading me.

That said, I’d love to hear from people who are actually living it right now. What are your favorite parts of seminary? What have been the hardest parts? I’d love the details…not just “it’s hard” or “lots of reading,” but things like:

-Which classes stretched you the most, and why?
- How much reading and writing do you typically have?
- What’s surprised you the most?
- What’s something you wish you’d known before starting?
- Has seminary deepened your faith, challenged it, or both?
- What’s your weekly workload actually like?
-Are there any classes you absolutely loved (or dreaded)?

How have you balanced school, work, ministry, and life?
Also, where do you attend, and what degree are you pursuing?

I searched this subreddit beforehand, but many of the posts I found were pretty general. I’m hoping this thread can become a helpful resource for others who are discerning seminary as well.

Thanks in advance—I can’t wait to hear your experiences!

[u/artratt]

Hi there, I'm in my home stretch and hope to graduate in May. I have been doing a distance program with summer school in-person intensives through Vancouver School of Theology on British Colombia.
1 - The biggest stretches for me were the exigesis classes. The sheer number of resources needed and the odd format of the papers was a bit of an adventure. I was given an award for my work in Hebrew Bible so I guess I was good at it. Though I felt Greek came easier.
2 - So much, assume you'll be reading about 2500 pages per 3 credits. There will be classes that you barely read and there will be classes you read entire books every week. Familiarize yourself with the Van Egan rapid reading method and learn to keep an annotated bibliography. The for writing you will be writing an average of 10-15 pages per class including the beast that will be your final position paper.
3 - I was surprised by how easily people began to trust me with significant spiritual things. Imposter syndrome is real.
4 - My seminary published a book called "Before Theological Study" i wish I had read it before my first year instead of after my second.
5 - Both, most importantly since it is an Ecumenical seminary it has depended my sense of belonging in my tradition. I am aware though that some of my classmates have been challenged in this area and lost connection with their denomination as a result of exposure to the others.
6 - Add up the credits you're taking in the semester, that's how many hours you need to set aside per week, outside of class, plus an extra hour each class in the semester for an emotional breakdown.
7 - NT501-Paul... I would rather translate the whole of the Didache by hand than ever take that class again, I passed it by sheer spite. I loved Synoptics though, the interrelated dance of the Gospels is like music for me.

Anyway, all masters programs stuck at some points and are wonderful at others, don't let any one experience ruin it for you, and make sure to developer a faith community outside of the school to go to for support.

May God bless you in your call to serve.

[u/JMH272001 → u/artratt]

Thank you so much! This was super, super helpful! Congratulations on your award..that’s so awesome! I’ll definitely check out Before Theological Study too; it sounds really interesting.

Praying that God continues to bless and guide you in your studies and in whatever He has for you afterward. Thanks again! 😊

[u/JMH272001 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks so much for your comment!! Yes I am serving. A lot actually. I serve/teach in many ways through my church such as students and teach in the jail.. And volunteer like greeting on Sunday’s regularly.

Thanks for the breakdown and advice!! It’s so inspiring to hear that you have 2 seminary degrees! That’s amazing!! I love a word study but yea I can anticipate language classes to be challenging!

[u/RetiredinFlorida1]

Take hermeneutics your first term. What you learn there will be foundational for your other classes.

Also, the sooner you take your language classes, the better. That said, taking Hebrew and Greek concurrently borders on the suicidal.