Loseric

For those applying to Harvard, how long are your personal statements? To me, the 1500 word limit seems excessively long, particularly when other schools request 500 words or 1-2pages at maximum. Just wondering!

OP, I wish I could offer you some more helpful advice, but I'm basically in the same boat as you, right down to an identical GPA and schools I'm applying to. Honestly, when I was starting out in the application process I could written a virtually identical post - so, solidarity! I see you've taken the GRE and have a good score - that's important. I drove myself crazy studying for the GRE because I believed that a high score could hopefully balance out my GPA. (I made sure my scores surpassed the average GRE scores at all the schools I'm applying to, so at least I know I'm in the top group for something!) The jury's still out on whether the GRE idea works or not (applying right now) but I've emailed with enough admissions departments to believe it can only help. They've all insisted that the applications are viewed holistically, which I hope is true. Even the schools with the 3.0 requirement have said that it's not a hard and fast one, and an application won't be thrown out solely for that reason. If possible, sell that 3.1 in-major GPA as much as you can - schools like to see that your area of focus was also your strongest one. Don't worry about the majority of your student life experience being only in your fifth year. Plenty of people who are successfully admitted to these programs don't have any higher ed experience at all, so it's certainly not a requirement. Admissions will only view your experience as a plus, and won't hold it against you for a silly reason like it being in your fifth year. Breathe a sigh of relief on that one, okay? Focus on writing a compelling personal statement, getting as many higher ed experiences as possible so you get a good feel for the field (this will help with writing your personal statement too), and getting to know recommenders and expressing your graduate school aspirations to them so they can write great letters for you. I hope that helps. Good luck!

Just because you didn't receive the answer you wanted and don't like the "system" doesn't mean you can be snippy to the several posters who took the time to respond to your question with thoughtful, helpful answers.

Hello! I'm applying to Master's programs in Higher Education administration: Harvard UPENN Stanford Northwestern Vanderbilt UMich Michigan state Boston College Columbia UVA

OP, I am in the same boat. My recommenders are all at my undergraduate institution and I am across the country, so as much as I would like to, I can't give them a simple gift, like baked goods, in person. They'll be writing 10 LORs for me, which I know is a big investment of their time, and I want to show some appreciation. Would a $10 or $15 gift card to somewhere like Starbucks included with my thank you notes be inappropriate? (I'd send it AFTER the letters were written, of course.)

Thanks for the details on the HE info session! It sounds like it was really informative and gave good insight into the program. Now I'm even more sorry I missed it, darn. I checked the website this morning and it looks like they don't archive the info sessions, either. Honestly, you didn't miss much last night, particularly if you got an overview of admissions info at the HE session. They did something similar with demographics (location and degrees people were applying for), had a financial aid staffer speak about the types of aid available and how funding works for the doctoral programs. Then the admissions rep came on and went over the application, piece by piece (statement of purpose, recommendations, tests, etc.) They allowed for five questions after each session, which is what took up the bulk of the time. As for the Q&A, I can only liken it to a shark feeding frenzy as everyone jockeyed for their question to be answered, most of them very rudely. People were asking questions in all caps, repeatedly, and about topics we weren't even discussing at the time. What I found frustrating was the staff answering the questions usually picked very specific questions that only applied to one person or a small subset of people. Considering they were strapped for time (the session even ran over by about 20min), it didn't seem very wise. Most of the other questions addressed what you'd expect: if they have a minimum score for the GRE, who to use as recommenders, etc. Hope that helps. I'm excited to find a fellow HE person on here! Where else are you applying, if you don't mind sharing?

Thanks for the input, midnight streetlight. Based on your advice and that from my professors, I'll be concentrating more on my SOP and LORs instead of worrying about the GRE.

I did. I couldn't believe how chaotic the chatroom was and how rude some people were with their questions. I almost wish they'd saved the questions until the end, it might not have been the best idea format-wise but I think the session would have run more smoothly. Considering they must do these online info sessions every year, it seemed very poorly planned to me. Coloradogirl, when was the HE session, and was it for MEd or PhD? I wish I'd known about it! Would you mind sharing some highlights?

I'm applying to education schools, and my program is higher education administration. My scores are as follows: V: 163 (91%ile) Q: 157 (71%ile) AW: 5.0 The average scores for my #1 choice school are V: 83%ile, Q: 66%ile, and AW: 4.7, and their averages are the highest out of all the programs I'm applying to (for example, one of the programs only wants a minimum of 300 combined). However, my GPA is very poor (2.9 from a top 5 school) and I had been hoping to get a very high score to help to offset that low GPA. If the rest of my application was great, I'd feel a little more comfortable with my scores, considering they're above average, but I doubt my scores are high enough to even start compensating for that GPA. I'm also not thrilled with the AW score, but programs vary greatly in how seriously they consider that component, so I don't know if I should worry or not. So, should I re-take? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks again, lilgreycells. I'm sticking to programs out of state, actually, because my state doesn't have any decent education programs. So, I'm open to applying wherever as long as they have a respectable program. I'd prefer a 1 year program, but the more I search, the more rare it seems those are

Thanks for sharing this! That link is impressively comprehensive.

Thanks again, michigan girl and ZeChocMoose, you've given me some food for thought and made me more open to considering longer programs. I was pretty dead set on doing a 1 year program, because I am on the older side (27) and I want to get out into the workplace ASAP. I already feel very behind in this field and I fear doing a 2 year program will put me even further behind professionally. I have already had a very difficult job search in the field (essentially, every job I have applied to has told me they want a Master's, which is why I'm even going to school in the first place), so I was imagining just having a Master's will help tremendously. On the topic, can either of you recommend some HEA programs? It looks like I'll be applying to both 1 and 2 year programs now and making the decision based on which ones I get into.

Thanks so much, lilgreycells and Michigan girl. I've emailed some of the schools on my list and asked them the same questions about GPA and admission rates. I also found the Penn blog late last week, which has been super informative and helpful. My reason for only applying to one year programs is because I feel so behind in this discipline already because I lack professional experience, so I want to get out into the workplace ASAP. Should I be considering 2 year programs? Or, can either of you recommend some strong one year programs?

Bumping this...does anyone have advice or suggestions?

Hi everyone, I know there have been a few of these posts lately, but I'm hoping some of the current Higher Ed program students and veterans can help me out here. I'm asking for some advice on my chances and suggestions for schools to apply to. About me: 2.9 GPA from a top 5 school GRE: haven't taken yet, but probably ~160 Q, 160+ V Strong recommendations from administration/student affairs mentors and a professor. Strong essays Lots of residential life and student affairs experience at the undergrad level, but no professional experience. What I'm looking for: I'm interested in a one year Higher Education administration program, not too research focused, with a mandatory internship/assistantship component so I can gain some professional experience while studying. I'm interested in learning about the history and challenges of higher ed, but not as much about policy. Tuition is not a major concern: paid internships would be nice, but are not necessary. My professional interests lie in first year/transitional experience, admissions, advising, development, or residential life. (Yes, I realize that's very broad! I'm hoping graduate school will give me an opportunity to explore those interests and narrow it down a little.) Schools I'm considering: Harvard, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, UPENN, UMich, and looking for more. Questions: I know my GPA is awful, and it worries me greatly that I won't be admitted because of it. I am planning to apply to about 7-9 programs to (hopefully) improve my odds of getting into at least one. Do I even have a chance at the top tier schools? Can a low GPA be overcome if the rest of the application is excellent? Is it professionally more valuable to go to a school ranked highly for Education or highly for Higher Ed? What are acceptance rates like for Higher Ed Admin programs? Any recommendations on other schools that I should research/apply to? Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks, all!

When looking at graduate programs' websites or the web, they (sometimes) list their acceptance rate. Unfortunately, this acceptance rate is for the whole program and not by individual programs. Specifically, I'm looking at a Master's in Education, which, of course, has many sub programs underneath it. I know some programs are more competitive than others, but I can't figure out a way to get those stats. How do you know how many students apply to your specific program? Second, how do you find out many students are enrolled in each program (another detail rarely listed on websites)? I'm trying to get a good idea of my chances here, and general acceptance rates aren't helping, unfortunately. Lots of schools encourage applicants to email them with questions. Is this something I could ask admissions committees about and expect a truthful answer?

psychapplicant, thanks for asking this question. I have similar interests in higher ed and have also been debating where I should apply. If anyone has any programs to recommend (or stay away from, as above!), I'd be interested in them as well.

Thanks, everyone, for the helpful replies! I'm a little disappointed that a good GRE score won't wipe out my bad GPA, but I kind of expected that. Looks like it's time to worry some more. I guess this just reinforces my need to apply to as many schools as possible. I had been worried about how to get my recommenders to help me with that. Is asking a recommender to do LORs for 8-10 schools too much, or is it as common as I see here?

I'm interested in applying to a Master's program in Education, Higher Education Administration specifically. For the past year, I've applied to many university administrative jobs and had no luck at all, as they all require (or "strongly prefer") Master's degrees. So, this is why I'm here. I already feel like I've wasted a year of my life in applying for jobs and not being successful, and I don't want to waste any more time. I need to get into a good Master's program on my first try. Tall order, right? So, here's my problem: I have a poor GPA (2.9) from a prestigious private university. I will have excellent letters of recommendation and a strong statement of purpose. Have not taken the GRE yet (will take in October), but I think it will be fairly strong, ~320. My GPA is my biggest worry and I fear that it will keep me from being admitted at most schools. I have been really pushing myself to study for the GRE so I can maximize my scores there. I think I can get a 170 (or close to it) in verbal, but math is more difficult for me and the best I'll probably be able to do is a 160. I'm really hoping my GRE will be my selling point and enough to overlook my awful GPA. Here are my questions: 1. Will schools overlook a bad GPA for a great GRE score? 2. Knowing my situation (i.e., one shot at getting in to grad school), how many schools would you recommend applying to? 3. For graduate schools, is there such a thing as safety schools/reach schools/etc.? If so, how many would you suggest applying to in each category? Thanks much in advance from this grad school applicant newbie!