ASzofer

This will be my first year ever being done with taxes before the absolute last minute. Unfortunately, I owe money, so this is not fun or exciting at all.

Hello OhLaLaSam! I just got back from Visit Day as well and completely fell in love with Vanderbilt and the program! I am about 95% sure on Vanderbilt but won't make a definite decision until I hear back from Harvard (probably next week). It seems like there are a lot of opportunities for graduate assistantships and other means of tuition assistance, which is really helpful as well, and will likely be the determining factor in choosing Peabody even if I do get accepted to Harvard. Plus, it's hard to beat Nashville. What a great town.

I agree with Nicolemae that those were the most pertinent pieces of information. It seemed as though almost everyone had some form of assistantship where they were working and getting at least part of their tuition paid, which is comforting. You didn't miss anything because a lot of people said they actually got their positions after the school year started - so it's not hopeless! It seems like if you are willing to be persistent, you will find something that suits you and that helps you pay for school. I was overall very impressed with Peabody and my program (Education Policy). Everyone seemed friendly and helpful and the school as a whole seems to do a lot as far as connecting students to their futures, whether that be careers right away, PhD programs, or whatever they are pursuing. The school is really well-connected in terms of practicum opportunities as well. Again, I was really impressed and can definitely see myself attending Vanderbilt in the fall!

I picture it to look more like the scene in Legally Blonde... no? Haha. SO I'm writing from Nashville, where I have really fallen in love with Vanderbilt and was all but given a 100% on a graduate assistantship that might cover full tuition (the professor said he is working on it). So excited and now more conflicted than ever. It used to be Harvard was my absolute number 1, but now I don't know. I need a life counselor. And to hear from HSGE so I can at least know where I stand in all this!!

Haha I watched the entire first two seasons of Downton Abbey this weekend. Good show... makes me forget I don't actually have a British accent though.

Absolutely! I'll send you a message when I get back. Really excited about hearing more about the program and meeting some people.

Sometimes I find myself staring at my email account hoping that for some reason, they wanted to send decisions out early this year. It would be so nice just to know. Because if I'm going to Vanderbilt, I have a lot of planning and organizing to do, and I want to get excited about it. But I can't let myself get all focused on Nashville if I'm moving to Cambridge and I just want to knoooooowwwwww. The weather is nicer in Nashville so there's that. Totally with you guys on the anxious dance though. Psyched about going to Nashville on Thursday for the information day though.

I got an email almost a month ago asking me to send my transcript for a community college course I took. Obviously that means they must have been reviewing my application then. They already know whether I am in or not.... I just don't.

Haha clearly it was an automated message. They shouldn't send pointless emails like that. Gets me all jumpy. I just want to know!!!!!!!!!

I realize that this is an older forum topic and thus, no one may be responding to it anymore, but the goals of people who have commented are very in line with my own. I am only entering school at the Master's level at this time and have far less experience than all of you, but edgirl, your interests (and therefore confusions) are completely in line with my own. I want to start on a path that will eventually lead me to doctoral studies and research on the issues of high-stakes testing and school choice, among many other issues in education. I have been a teacher for 5 years and have worked in a charter school, a large suburban public school, and private school, and a rural school during that time. (Rural was actually my student teaching). I have a broad range of experience that has pointed out several of the problems with the current government obsession with accountability and data, but am yet to find a solution. I hope to work toward this in my research. As of now, I plan to attend Peabody's MPP program and hopefully develop a solid foundation for my research. I will find out if I get accepted into HSGE's program in a few weeks, and if I do, that will complicate my decision because both programs are excellent, but Harvard is Harvard (that's the argument I keep going back to). The truth is, I want to know the best program to lead me to solid eventual doctoral studies while being able to pay off whatever debt I incur during my Masters program. (I have a good chance at getting a Graduate Assistantship with Peabody, and almost 0 chance at Harvard, so that will be something I have to consider). In any case, it has been enjoyable reading your advice and questions on here and it is always good to connect with people who share the same passions and interests as myself.

ZeChocMoose, appreciate the info. I personally don't know that I plan on becoming a professor ever, except that it would be a cool job. It was just one of the only positions as an educator that I thought people had potential to make much money (non administrator). I just remember having a professor who described why it was the best job in the world, but obviously, he was really high up the ladder. I don't honestly know if I care about being in a lot of debt as much as I care about doing something I am passionate about. So I guess I feel like the cost becomes slightly irrelevant if I will spend my life regretting not taking an amazing opportunity. Mind you, my parents totally disagree and seem to think I'm a fool for being willing to take on debt when I am currently debt-free and doing OK. They remind me on a very regular basis that I have no safety net haha.

Don't be silly Nicolemae! The purpose of this forum is to share information and I love how passionate you are about Vanderbilt and the program. Obviously my end goal is to have the best career, so I'm trying to figure out what my clearest path to that will be. Unfortunately, I do not have a life counselor to give me black and white advice.

I'm very with you on that. I mean, even my parents, who are very skeptical about the idea of me taking on a bunch of debt, feel that if I get into HSGE that it's worth it because the Harvard brand (as you said) carries so much weight in the world. But we're all going into Edu fields, which until you become a professor, really don't lend themselves well to careers of high monetary reward. But as long as I can make ends meet with my loans, I'll be OK and I've got some money saved up to put towards it. My end goal is to be an education research analyst. I don't know. I want to be Diane Ravitch. I want her whole career path. Haha. But really, I want to research and write about my findings to guide policies in edu. I was a teacher for five years, and I am disgusted by the government's lack of understanding about what works in terms of real-world student education. I'd like to end up back in Chicago, working for the Chicago Public Schools or influencing them in some way, but I am open-minded as long as I am sharing my understanding of education and working to make a difference in the field.

I was actually just thinking that today because I was offered to meet with someone regarding a potential really awesome GA opportunity at Vandy and as I drove to pick up food started to reconsider my "Harvard is Harvard" argument. If I got an amazing assistantship, thus getting my tuition paid while gaining amazing experience... well that's definitely something to be considered. Plus, I seriously love Nashville. You know what, LBessmer, I think you're right. I thought I read somewhere on the website that tuition was $40 K a year, but I may have been looking at undergraduate. It is 36 credit hours total at $1,265 per hour (this year) so it is about the same as HGSE. That's a relief. I was thinking I'd be out 100 K if I didn't get any funding (factoring living expenses). And I don't think HSGE offers many assistantships to MA candidates. I asked. I was told that nearly all assistantships go to PhD candidates. Well... I guess there is no point in weighing the options until I have an idea of what funding I get and where I get into. I'm really looking forward to the Vanderbilt Visitation Day next weekend though.

I would sell my left arm on ebay to go to HSGE. (OK, that's a bit dramatic, but yes, it's worth the loans.) Hell, I'm very very seriously considering Vanderbilt which is a two year program, so double the loans, and even though it's an amazing program, it doesn't carry the name weight of Harvard. I mean, it's Harvard.

m26, you have an amazing GRE Verbal and a really solid AWA, along with a respectable Q. I think your GRE score is more than fine. Not sure what specific program you said you're applying to, but I don't imagine those numbers will do anything but help you. I'd say a 169 Verbal is nailing it I have found it interesting to watch the results page and look at people's numbers for different programs. Engineers and math majors always have really high Q scores and low AWA, Edu people and English people obviously have the opposite. But what I've found most interesting is that most of the people who are the top across the board are in really random programs like philosophy PhDs. Just my observation over the past few days. GAH why isn't is March???

Haha I actually just noticed in your signature that you wrote "good thing I'm not going into math, huh?" next to your Q score. So funny. I had to re-teach myself every single math concept I have ever learned to take that stupid test, all the while thinking... good thing I am not going to need this at all ever and am spending months teaching myself how to determine the volume of geometric shapes. And I mean, I still ran out of time on every math section of the thing (and of course I got three of those instead of verbals). Every day is one day closer to knowing.....

I am 28 and except for the idea of moving now that I already own a condo, I feel it's the perfect time to start. For me, personally, if I hadn't worked for a few years first, I wouldn't have known exactly what I wanted to pursue. I don't think age is what matters. It's knowing what you want to go for and having the passion to do well at it. No one knows exactly what each school is looking for. I am hoping to meet a lot of people at varying degrees of experience in my program - it is that kind of diversity that makes for the best learning environment.

Yeah, every time I see an email, I think ahhh! Oh, never mind. Viagra ad. False alarm. That was so nerve-racking with the GRE too. That moment where you have to click "cancel or view scores" and you just think well there it is! My friend had a funny story about that actually because he and this other girl were leaving at the same time and he was pretty happy about his score and she was bawling and they were in the elevator together. He said, "I had no idea what to say/do. So awkward."

I think different schools just do things differently. I got the "big envelope" from Loyola Chicago. I requested materials from HSGE and got some of those in envelopes back in October. But I'm noticing on the results page that most people are getting accepted to their programs via email. It took me a while to even believe Vanderbilt after I saw the email. I kept thinking, what if they just sent this accidentally? Then I started getting a lot more emails. Haha.

Oh the self doubt!!! I sent all of my applications out very early in December so I've had plenty of time to convince myself I wasn't getting in anywhere. We all sent in the best application we could produce so that's really all we could do, right? I've been dreaming about Harvard since I was 12 and this was the first time I felt qualified enough to even send an application out there. Anyone else sort of miss the days of big envelope vs. small one? I saw my Vanderbilt acceptance email while chatting about something totally mindless on FB. Not quite the same as coming home to a big envelope. Although I do remember getting accepted to Fordham for undergrad with a small envelope. But still, it would be pretty cool to walk into my vestibule and see an envelope from Harvard that wouldn't fit in my mailbox!!

Thank you for the response!!

I'm going to India and Thailand and just blowing some money before I take out a bazillion in student loans. But you know, you only get one life.

Hello everyone! I am new to this site but love all of the information. I sent out my HSGE application (M.Ed in Education Policy and Management) on December 1, so it has been a whole lot of waiting. Just heard that I got accepted to Vanderbilt's Peabody last week and Loyola University of Chicago the other day (In case I decide it's smarter to stay at home and work full time while getting my MA as I do have a mortgage). GRE Score: V 159, Q 153 AWA: 6.0 GPA: 3.70 career, 3.9 major Work Experience: 5 years as a teacher. One in an urban charter school on Chicago's south side, one in a rural school in Ohio, and the rest in a large suburban public school in the suburbs. I am also an administrative assistant for an IT company, editing documents and print media that come from India. Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): Public Research Experience: No professional research; however, I did several projects throughout undergrad on the injustices of public school funding and co-founded a campus organization researching the No Child Left Behind Act, leading demonstrations. I was chosen to represent the student body in a community-wide debate against charters and school closures. Applying for PhD or Masters: Masters, 2013 Program: Education Policy & Management What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Vanderbilt MPP (accepted), Stanford POLS, Columbia TC, Northwestern (Haven't actually applied yet for they have a really late deadline) and Loyola U of Chicago (accepted) Does anyone else's heart palpitate every time they see an email? HSGE's program is pretty much my dream program. I read about it and get doe-eyed pretty much. That being said, I realize it's a stretch. Especially since I have a pretty weak GRE verbal.

I recently received notice that I am admitted to the Education Policy program at Peabody and will be driving down to Nashville for Master's Visitation Day. I'm going to arrive Thursday night and stay through the whole weekend. (I figure, why not make a vacation out of it if I'm taking two days off of work?) Does anyone know when you're likely to hear about funding or assistantships? Should I contact professors directly if I am interested in an assistantship? Vanderbilt is certainly not a cheap school, and although I am dying to go... well, I have a mortgage and stuff. On a related note, I don't know anything about getting enough loans to cover the tuition if I don't get enough funding. When I filled out my FAFSA, I was told I'd be eligible for up to $20,500, which is not enough. Where do people get the rest? Also, I haven't seen anything about the acceptance deadline? Looking forward to meeting some potential new peers!