The 1998-99 academic year at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis began with a total of 108 new students. This number represents a 15% increase over the number of new students in the previous year. Of the 108 new students, 88 are enrolled in the Master of Divinity degree program, 18 are enrolled in the Alternate Route (certificate) program, and 2 are enrolled in the Colloquy program.

Each year, the Admissions Office at Concordia Seminary assembles a profile of the new students in the Master of Divinity program, analyzing the new students from a number of perspectives. The following data were gleaned from the 88 new students enrolled in the Master of Divinity program for 1998-99:

Marital Status:
43 (49%) are single
45 (51% are married

Traditional/Second-Career:
47 (53%) graduated from college in the past two years (“traditional students”);
41 (47%) are second-career students (working in a vocation other than “student” for the previous two years).

Age:
Average Age – 28.1 years (44 are ’25 years old and under;’ 8 are ’40 years old and older’).

College Background:
84 (95.5%) have a college baccalaureate degree and/or an advanced college degree
04 (4.5%) have no college degree (but have at least 60 semester hours of college preparation, allowing admission under special circumstances).

35 (42%) graduated from Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod colleges
31 (37%) graduated from public colleges
18 (21%) graduated from private, non-Synodical colleges

LCMS Districts of Origin:
In descending order, the top number of students come from the following Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod districts: Michigan (12), Texas (10), South Wisconsin (6), and California- Nevada-Hawaii (5).

“These data indicate that many of the trends observed in recent years continue in this year’s new students,” indicated Rev. Glen Thomas, Vice President for Seminary Relations at Concordia. “Approximately half are married. Approximately half are classified as ‘second-career.’ These trends have been consistent in recent years. It should also be noted that the numbers would change significantly if the data from the new students in the Alternate Route program were included in the calculations. They are usually married, are second-career by definition, and are older.”