tehkatt

I'm sorry to hear about your rejection, but if it's any consolation, I met the admissions director during an open house last year and she mentioned quite often that HGSE is searching for passionate individuals dedicated to education and want to see that aspect somewhere in an application. She also said that the admissions committee doesn't categorize applications by GPA or GRE scores but examines each file holistically. Hopefully that'll help give you an idea of what they're looking for. Anyways I was accepted to their Language and Literacy program. I'm currently finishing up my senior year in a 4 year B.A. and multiple teaching credential program at a state university, which means I've been working in elementary schools since my freshman year and am currently doing student teaching. I have a lot of volunteer experience in the community, having worked 3 years volunteering at a children hospital's on-site school program, 2 years working in an adult literacy program and 2 years doing leadership work with fellow literacy volunteers. I had a fairly strong SOP, great LORs, my GRE scores were decent (V600 Q680 A5.5) and my GPA is ok (3.70 CUM, 3.94 UPPER). One of my LORs was from a HGSE alumni, although I'm not sure what effect that had on my application, if any. Also the fact that I'm fluent in another language besides English helped me when applying to Language and Literacy (according to my alumni professor), but I'm not sure how that factors into other programs. As for potentially negative qualities, I am young (I was 20 when I applied), lack any solid teaching experience in my own classroom and don't have any research experience. Tuition and fees come to be around $37k, with living expenses being estimated around $20k.

I heard from UCSB today. Acceptance in an Education Masters, letter was dated 3/3 (Which baffles me why they wait until 3/20 to notify me).

Got into Harvard GSE for Language and Literacy!! Now I'm torn about how to possibly choose between schools. My parents nearly passed out when I called them

I think any grad student who cooks every meal has too much time on his or her hands.

Got a small thin letter from Stanford yesterday, which sent me into an emotional frenzy right before going to work. I'm ok now but the blow of not getting into my dream program was pretty hard at the moment. Luckily I got into my #2 choice but two rejections in a row have given me a mean case of impostor syndrome that I honestly wonder if I got into grad school on a fluke rather than my credentials. I only applied to 3 schools so it should be expected I get more rejections than acceptances but this whole process is not good for my self esteem. The silver lining of this whole matter is that I'm finally getting out of the Bay Area, which has not treated me kindly in my undergraduate years.

I need to post in this thread to boost my self esteem after writing about my rejection in the other topic. But I got into UCLA!!!! YAY! I'm going to grad school! The acceptance came about 2-3 weeks ago but I'm still ectatic since it's such as relief that I know I'll be going somewhere come Fall 2008. Also UCLA was my #2 choice, I'm originally from LA and it'll be great to come back home I'm going for a MA in Social Science and Comparative Education, focusing on Race and Ethnic Studies in Education. I'm particularly interested in second language acquisition, bilingual education and linguistics.

Rejection was a while ago but got punted by my #3 choice last month, which kind of stung since I got into #2 a week before and had been lulled into a sense of complacency and ease.

I hear Barefoot Coffee Roasters in Santa Clara is pretty good but I haven't been there myself. It seems to fit the bill for low couches and an artsy atmosphere that you may crave. But if you're looking for simply excellent coffee, go to Cafe Bello in San Francisco. It's in the Glen Park district, right off the 280 and while it may lack ambiance, the espresso based drinks are excellent, probably the best in the area.

Does anyone know the chances of getting housing at Weyburn if you apply for the lottery? I was accepted for a Masters program (yay!) but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get a housing offer (boo). Also how long would it take to walk from Weyburn to say, the middle of campus? I can't really tell on google maps since I'm not familiar with the terrain and other factors (uphill, downhill, if there are crowds to navigate, etc.). THANKS. I have to admit I'm pretty excited. I'm from LA and have been going to undergrad in the Bay Area for the past 4 years and am SOOO HAPPY I'm coming back home!