tabeo

After the event, I decided that I will--just submitted my enrollment deposit this morning! For context regarding the effectiveness of the day, before attending I was about 80% sure I would decline the invitation due to lackluster financial aid. I even questioned why I was taking vacation time to attend the open house, only justifying it using the reasoning that you can't just decline an invitation like that without seeing the program and meeting faculty face-to-face. In short, they sold the program very, very well. I didn't even know that myself! I'll have to check it out. Thanks for sharing the information with everyone! Edit: Aaaand now I feel like an idiot. Meant to vote up SoCalGuy and accidently put it on my own post instead. Does anyone know how to reverse that?

@psych111 / SoCalGuy: I attended the Higher Ed open house on Thursday and bits and pieces of the general open house on Friday. The Higher Ed open house was wonderful! The event officially ended at 8-ish, but I stayed until 11 talking to all of the current students. Very warm and friendly reception. During Friday's open house, the programs scheduled for that day all had separate rooms/auditoriums. I didn't go to those so I don't know specifically what was discussed. The financial aid and housing lectures were informative. I spoke with one of the financial aid advisers who was quite willing to listen to my situation (in short, they don't change the financial aid package outside of extraordinary circumstances) but he was neither dismissive nor uncaring, which was a big change from the financial aid office at my large, public undergrad. I also spoke with Eileen Berger, the Access Services/Disability coordinator. It's clear that she is willing to work extremely hard to create solutions for students with various disabilities, so I would definitely recommend speaking with her if you have a disability or require extra help.

It's for the whole year. I got the same--$20k Direct Unsubsidized. Over $35k unmet need. Yikes.

My apologies for the late reply. The more I hear about what others have accomplished, the more I'm surprised that I got in! I have limited formal higher education experience, but I did work as a Writing tutor before completing my undergrad. I was also a prominent public speaker and proponent of LGBT student rights as a student. I hope that I can move into student affairs and help disadvantaged students complete their degree and avoid dropping out prematurely via the implementation of improved university social support programs. I know what you mean. My GRE scores were four years old and my quantitative score was in the low 40th percentile. Absolutely no idea how I got in. But congrats! You must have made an impression! Considering it, but it's extremely expensive. The required meal plan is about 2.5k a semester and only offers 10 meals per week. It works out to something like $15 a meal. Ridiculous. It would be cheaper to eat out three times a week. I currently live about 40 minutes away from the campus by public transport, 30 minutes by bike. While I'd like to move closer, That place in particular is so much money for so little space. Unless I got a merit scholarship, I'll probably stay where I am. The gym inside looks quite nice though.

Hello Everyone. I've been lurking for some time but haven't posted. I will likely attend HGSE this fall for Higher Education. I will attend the admitted students orientation April 3-4, and look forward to meeting everyone!