SCGH

Looking forward to going to the visit days soon, but always good to get a head start. Some questions for you: 1. How are the facilities? From what I can tell, classes are mostly in Larsen and Gutman - 1960s monstrosities! Are they as dated as they look online? Any classes at Longfellow? 2. How big are the classes generally? Good interaction with profs outside the classroom? Office hours? 3. Did any of you live in on campus grad housing (eg Cronkhite)? How is the community feel? 4. What was the best part of your experience? 5. What was the worst part of your experience? Thanks in advance!

Seems like their main issues were related to lack of an intimate/personal connection - the words "factory" and "diploma mill" were used. That said, they did tell me that if you were motivated and persistent, you can have a great experience at TC. My main reason for applying was 1. It's in a big city like NYC, 2. It's huge with great dedicated facilities and a big faculty with lots of different projects going on and 3. Great history etc. When I applied, I hadn't spoken to any TCers but in the last few weeks I have. I am looking forward to speaking to current students and profs soon however. My main gripes with Harvard are 1. Not a huge fan of Boston, 2. Their facilities look dated (all built in 1960s!). All the folks I've spoken with have nothing but great things to say about HGSE though. So I'm reserving final decision until I visit and speak with students at both.

Harvard has and remains my top choice. I just wanted second and third (and fourth lol) opinions. I had heard from a few TC grads as well who weren't happy either. Why did your friends not like their experience? I had heard TC is more like a "factory" and that only the very motivated can get to know profs/work on research projects etc. it has a huge faculty which is a draw for me and it seems like their facilities are better than Harvard's but overall HGSE alums seem much more satisfied with their experience. Would you agree?

OK - this might be a silly question, but given a choice between Columbia TC and Harvard GSE for Ed policy, which offers a better program/experience? Obviously Harvard is Harvard and it would also be an EdM degree vs the MA at Columbia. Any thoughts? Cost not an issue.

I think the rankings are useful in that they reflect the general perception among industry and academic participants of the overall quality of a particular program. That said, I do not think people should make much over the distinction between a program that ranks 3rd over a program that ranks 7th. The rankings are useful in creating a set of broad tiers, say the top 10 programs in Tier 1, the next 10-15 schools in Tier 2, etc.

What is up with no TC decisions?

Totally get it! I'm looking forward to checking out the facilities and meeting the students and faculty to determine if it's a good fit for me as well. Having lived on the east coast now for some time, I'm used to the brutal winters (in socal we never had "winter" lol). Good luck with your choice!

PerfectSummer, sounds like you eliminated Harvard's program already in your decision making. Curious why? Will you be going to their Visit Days?

Wow that's great! Thanks for bringing the thread full circle. I am planning to go to the Visit Days (EPM) and would love to pick your brain on your experience if you have time. My story is pretty different from yours, but face the challenge of leaving a pretty lucrative career that I don't love to pursue education.

I applied on 1/15 for ed policy as well and just checked my page. Status still says "submitted"

I've decided on HGSE as well. Planning to go to one of the Visit Days - will be nice to meet a few future classmates!

Where are you leaning at the moment?

I wonder what the stats are for those who got into the top 3-5 ed schools and where they ultimately end up going. How does Vandy's yield compare to Harvard or Stanford?

On the prematric website it says if you need assistance to attend visit days to contact the admissions office.

Cool - glad to see you've thought hard about it. Are you going to visit days at Harvard?

What's conditional admission?

What did you decide?

For anyone who's wondering, visit days are Apr 4-6 on campus.

The prematric page works for me but I already had a HUID. NoChance, have you decided where you will be attending?

Woo hoo! Accepted!

Ah cool - never knew about that page!

Where do you see that?

Haha is that you volunteering phil413???

All signs would point to today as the day. We'll see!

And so the wait continues...