<p>I have just submitted an application to be a special student at HDS. I would ultimately like to pursue an MTS and teach. Does anyone know anything about how special student decisions are made? This year they extended the application deadlines, but not for the special students.</p>
<p>Special Students at HDS are non-degree-seeking students that pay full tuition. Acceptance is not difficult. GREs are not even required.</p>
<p>May I ask how you plan get the MTS? And how you plan to teach with only an MTS? Are you seeking to become a director of religious education within a particular religious organization?</p>
<p>I honestly do not mean to be harsh here, but on the face of it your plan sounds to be rather ill-advised.</p>
<p>I have been wanting to return to school for some time now. I have thought a lot about where and what to study as my academic interests are quite varied: philosophy, history, German, and theology. I am looking to educate, challenge, and stimulate myself on my way to educating others. </p>
<p>Being older, I am not a traditional student. I have been out of college for 25 years where I have been working in the business world (and parenting). In fact, guiding my children through their rich education has been one of the primary drivers of my desire to seek a vocational transformation.</p>
<p>To that end, the scholarship opportunities at HDS have always appealed to me, and this was confirmed by the day I spent there in Oct. I was deeply engaged by the lecture I attended and the discussions I participated in with various faculty and students. Post graduate studies with theological underpinnings seemed appropriate for advising young students at a secondary independent institution (where I would someday hope to find a position). While teaching is important to me, being a student myself again is also important. </p>
<p>I welcome more of your thoughts.</p>
<p>Thank you for the clarification. I had assumed – quite wrongly – that a university-based teaching career was your goal. </p>
<p>If you wish to find employment in advising of some sort at a religious secondary school, then a few MTS classes surely cannot hurt.</p>
<p>I have no idea what the normal academic (or other) qualifications for such a position might be, so I will bow out here.</p>
<p>I wish you every successs.</p>