PhDHigherED

I just created the group. You can search HGSE Ed.D. 2013 or use this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/140977039414090/

Hello Ed.D. admits! Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend the open house this week. It just wouldn't work out with my schedule. Hopefully, I will be able to rely on some of you for the highlights . Have any you made decisions yet? If so, would any of be interested in joining a Facebook group to keep in touch before August? I'm especially interested since I will miss out on meeting you at the open house. It seems like you have to have to add someone besides yourself in order to start a group, so PM me your name and I can get that going.

You can find the ranking methodology here: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2013/03/11/methodology-best-education-schools-rankings I tend to think the specialty rankings are less reliable because they are derived completely from the peer assessment survey which asks education school deans to rank institutions according to their perceived quality. These perceptions may reflect reality, but I think you can find cases where that is not the case. For example, Penn State is ranked #4 in my field (higher education). There are historical reasons why they are perceived so highly, but I think it would be hard to make a case that their current program is superior to HGSE, Stanford, UPenn, and Vanderbilt (among others). The overall education school rankings do include some empirical measures, but still rely heavily on the peer assessment surveys. I think it's helpful to take all the rankings with a grain of salt and look for a program that is truly the best fit for your interests. But, clearly, prestige matters a great deal and the ranking can be a helpful indicator. You might just have to dig a bit to find out how close the rankings match reality.

The survey portion of the rankings is sent to academic administrators and asks them to rank institutions by their perception of quality. Working in a Provost's office, I have seen the survey for undergraduate institutions come through the office. They also use several empirical measures alongside the peer survey results, such as funding, GRE scores, and acceptance rates. But, yes, this is a pretty thin way to rank programs. The speciality rankings (e.g. higher education, etc.) are even less reliable, in my opinion. At least in education, they are based entirely on the peer survey results. It's been a year or two since I have really investigated the methods, but this is what I recall. It may have changed since, though.

I know! I was sure that I was going to be rejected from Harvard after hearing bad news from Penn and SUSE.

Thanks very much, @EW33!

Congratulations @JHampton! I received a phone call and was accepted into the Higher Education concentration as well. I'm shocked!

HGSE connected my scores to my application before I even submitted it. On top of that, they took the scores I sent when I took the GRE in September 2011, meaning that I did not have to resend the scores for this application season. So they do keep the scores around the office. Hopefully they will be able to make the match for you quickly!

The Penn GSE admissions blog just posted that all invitations to the PhD weekend were sent yesterday. I didn't get the invitation, but am looking forward to the recruitment weekend at Vanderbilt! Here's the link: http://penngseadmissions.blogspot.com/2013/01/update-on-doctoral-applications.html

I didn't receive anything either and share the same hopes! In the past, invites have been sent on the third Thursday of January, so we'll see what tomorrow brings!

I received the financial aid email too. The email did say that it was sent to all applicants. The website said we need to complete the form before we hear our admission decision. I guess I won't procrastinate on taxes this year!

I applied to the Ph.D. in Higher Education (SHIPS).

I applied to the Ed.D. in Higher Education. Looking forward to walking through the process with you all!

If all the check marks are green and the payment is shown as received, I think you're all set. Mine says "Application Submitted" on the right side above the checklist. I also received a confirmation email letting me know everything submitted successfully very soon after I submitted everything.

I was at 1,499 words for the Ed.D Statement of Purpose. Personally, I found other institution's tighter length requirements more difficult. But, if you're having trouble reaching 1500 words, I would focus on the quality over the length. I'm sure the admissions committee will not mind a concise essay, especially if well-written. I had a professor that would always say, "Exhaust the subject, not the reader." Probably good advice in this case.