travelgirl125

I applied to the Ed.D. program in Higher Ed! I got the confirmation email that my app was received, but there was no word of an interview weekend. I'm assuming there still is one, though? I would guess they would do some kind of Skype call instead for international students?

Hi! I can relate...I just finished up my master's in Higher Ed and my main interest is in study abroad. In terms of coursework, I took two courses focused on globalization and international higher ed policy, but even those weren't exactly my interest. I was one of two people in my cohort interested in study abroad, and it definitely was not well represented in my cohort or in the curriculum. To be honest, it was pretty discouraging and lonely to always have to tailor my papers to study abroad on my own vs. being in a program that spoke about study abroad. However, I do think getting a PhD for free is hard to pass up! I think just be prepared to be the only one/one of few who have have an interest in study abroad. Fulbright is also hard to get so I wouldn't necessarily count on that. I'm certainly no expert but that's my two cents

I believe it's only one per program...this isn't what I've heard from admissions or any official staff, but that is what I've gathered from other students.

Hi everyone! Current Higher Ed student at Penn GSE...we hope you enjoyed Preview Weekend! Feel free to ask me any questions if you still have them.

First of all, congratulations!! That's great that you have choices, and I'm sure you'll get good insight from visiting each of the places. I don't think you need to dye your hair at all, and makeup is totally fine if you like to wear it. However, I would recommend erring on the side of over-dressed rather than under-dressed, given this is the first time you will be meeting with people who could be your advisor. Some outfits I would probably wear myself are: leggings with a dress, a blazer, and boots OR work pants (not jeans) with a flowy top, a sweater or a blazer, and flats. Just my two cents of course. You know you will be fine either way because you've already been admitted, but for the first time meeting with professors I always like to dress more professionally than I would during the school year. For what it's worth, though, when I attended my program's event for admitted students, there was definitely a mix of more casual and more professional dress

My best friend in my program is also 21 and she is not the only 21-year-old in the program! I honestly forget people's age 99% of the time anyway, you are all there for the same reason so it's easy to view everyone on the same level. I would say it's actually harder to be older/married/with kids than it is to be young (in my program, anyway). You'll be fine!!

Good for you!! You will be much happier. There are definitely times when I miss my students/teaching, but then I remember I don't have to get up at 5:30am, deal with discipline issues, grade hundreds of exams, etc., and I feel much better

I hear that Haddonfield and Collingswood are good towns for young people and families that work in Philly, so I'm assuming they're not too far from Glassboro either?

I told my supervisor first, went to teach a few classes, and then my principal asked to meet with me. I walked into the meeting intending to tell him, but my supervisor had beat me to it! That meeting went even quicker than the one with my supervisor. I sensed he was a little more upset, though, but was very gracious and wished me luck

That happens to me so often! There is one really busy intersection right where I work and I almost get hit so many times while crossing (and I ONLY cross if I have the light). I like to just stand there and stare at the driver like, "...are you serious?"

Have you looked into the Middlebury summer language program? It's a really highly rated immersion summer program, but the Italian one is located in California. Other than that, I'm sure the Universita' per Stranieri di Perugia has summer courses. I looked into them myself and believe they have a good reputation, but I'm not 100% certain on that.

I was in pretty much the exact same situation! A couple of things that helped me... 1) The school I was in didn't do a real good job of providing teachers with reasons to stay. There was a large turnover rate not only in my department but in the whole school. You can't help it if the school you're at isn't doing a good job at making you want to stay (not saying that this is the case for you, but it helped me). 2) I absolutely LOVED my kids, but I knew they would be fine without me. Honestly, and this may again not be the case for you, but I knew that my students would "get over" me fairly quickly. They're just kids, after all, and though I had a good relationship with mine, they ultimately are quick to move on to the next exciting thing. Also, if you want to work with students at the college level, you can look forward to developing relationships with them and improving their lives, just in a different setting. 3) Because you know your students will be successful even with a different teacher, you should be comfortable in making yourself your #1 priority. This is your life, your career, and it's your time and effort that you will be dedicating. Would you be able to live the rest of your life as a K-12 teacher and feel content? It seems like the answer is no, which is perfectly fine! You're allowed to be selfish. 4) I was REALLY nervous to tell my supervisor and everyone else, but it wasn't nearly as big of a deal as I expected. Honestly, my supervisor seemed really indifferent to me leaving and was anxious for me to submit an official resignation letter so he could start to look for a replacement. They want their lives/jobs to be easy, too, so don't be too upset if they get over losing you quickly. Again, this was purely from my experience and may not be the same as yours, but I thought it might be helpful to share And congratulations on your acceptances so far!

Okay WHAT!! That is ridiculous. Since I wrote that original post I have learned to cut back on the amount of school work I've done. I obviously do all of the assignments, but I don't really read. It's been working so far! I just wanted to actually have a social life and enjoy the city I'm in rather than stay in the library 24/7.

I completely agree. I'm in a one-year program so it's just insane. I feel there is a disconnect between professors who assign all of the work and who also want to make sure you spend time on "self-care." Granted, I knew grad school was going to be difficult, but I didn't think it would be THIS much work.

Hmm...not quite sure I understand what you mean. I know for me that even if I take one day off of my daily routine, it's hard to go back to it. And the more days I am off of my daily routine, the harder it is! I think I'm definitely a creature of habit.

I would love to hear people's ideas! I am a terribly slow reader and feel the need to understand every word I'm reading. Everyone tells me I need to skim, but I feel like I need to actually learn how to do that! Unfortunately, after week 1 I realized I would not be able to complete everything I had to do and read every single word. So now I stick to reading abstracts, introductions, and conclusions. I take notes and write a 1 sentence summary at the end of each reading.

You already have a Ph.D in Higher Ed? Then maybe statistics or counseling?

Hi! I will be starting a Higher Ed program in just a few weeks. I am one year out of undergrad and pretty much all of my experience is in high school teaching. While I was very involved as an undergraduate student, I have no experience working in the field of higher ed. When I was looking for programs, I made it a point to find one that offered/required a graduate assistantship (and most of them do). I will be working as a GA in an office on-campus 20 hours/week for the year, so I'm hoping that will give me enough experience to get my foot in the door after I graduate I also was applying for full-time positions and was not even getting interviews; that's when I realized I needed to go for the masters degree. Hope that helps!

I'll be starting a Higher Education program this fall, and what I found during my research is that "Higher Education" programs tend to be more administrative, "Student Affairs" programs deal more with students, "Counseling" can be related to mental health counseling or things like academic/career counseling, and "International Education" can focus a lot on education in developing countries. That being said, I think it's the most important to look at each program's curriculum to see what types of classes they offer. Some programs offer concentrations where you can focus on a particular area. I personally chose a program that is pretty broad, as I had no work experience in higher education and wanted the ability to learn about all different areas. (BTW, I'm most interested in international education, too). Also, I think that asking your supervisor is a GREAT idea! I think it's good to vary up your recommenders, so that you don't have all of them be from the same field/profession. Hope that helps & good luck!

Not technically in grad school until the end of the month, but here are my tips! 1) Drink at least 1.5 liters of water a day. 2) EAT LOW-CARB. Seriously. It's the only thing that made me lose weight, but besides that, I feel so much better following this type of "diet." I do indulge in carbs sometimes and while it's enjoyable in the moment, I now feel disgusting in the aftermath. For meals, I try to make 1/2 of my plate vegetables, 1/4 of my plate meat, and 1/4 of my plate healthy carbs (quinoa, sweet potato, etc.). 3) Do at least some form of exercise. I used to be a competitive dancer in high school but stopped exercising altogether in undergrad. Now as I go into grad school I'm hoping to pick up yoga, which I know will help not only my physical wellbeing but my mental wellbeing!

I was using an At-A-Glance planner for two years but just switched over to the Blue Sky/Day Designer planner because it was so pretty and cheap! I got one just like that except it is smaller - it's still daily and monthly, so technically it's the same thickness. However, mine is not 8x10 (maybe 5x7? I'm bad at judging). I got it at Target for $12.

I'm certainly no expert, but have you looked into Student Affairs programs? They seem to be more student-centered than Higher Ed programs, but not as focused on mental health issues. I've seen a few programs labeled "College Counseling" as well, which seems to be different from "Mental Health Counseling."

I'm currently a High School foreign language teacher and I'm going to grad school in the fall for Higher Ed Administration. However, I completely understand your interest in teaching English as a foreign language. I looked into grad programs for that, too, but ultimately, felt that a masters was not necessary to get into the field at first. There are so many certification courses you can take over a few weeks or a summer, and then if you get hired by a school, they might help you pay for a masters down the line. I think you should continue on with your plans of getting your masters in psych, as you may be able to take classes related to teaching, learning, foreign language acquisition, developmental psych, etc. Then you can always do an initial ESL certification over a summer and then have both credentials when you go out looking for jobs. That's my two cents, anyway! Best of luck

The thing that has helped the most for me is having a good planner. The one I have is broken down by 15-minute increments from 8:00am-6:00pm. It helps me block out my day and see where I have little pockets of time to do things. I got it at Staples for $30, if I remember correctly. I also have a tough time staying off of my phone, but I've heard of apps you can download which will shut off certain apps (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) after you've been on them for a set period of time. I will probably be trying those once the fall comes around! Hope that helps!

As someone who has studied/been abroad many times, I still get panicky whenever I have to leave home! I am also very comfortable living at home in the area I grew up in and with my family nearby. Each time I go abroad, even though I know it is my passion and that I am doing something to fulfill one of my dreams, I always get very nervous and anxious. My boyfriend has even made a joke of it now, always pointing out that I'm nervous to leave, but two days into my trip I'm completely fine and enjoying myself to the fullest! For me personally, it's the anticipation of things that get to me, not the actual event itself. Maybe you're dealing with that, too. You obviously have accomplished so many things in your life and have been faced with challenges that you've overcome. This is just another one of those things! My advice to you is the following: Seek professional help if you can. Just talking to someone who has no bias whatsoever always helps me when I'm going through a rough patch. Focus on the present. Even say to yourself, "I know this is bothering me, but I will let it bother me a month from now." It gives you an out, so to speak - you can have fun now because you will "worry" about it later. Chances are that it might not both you anymore at that point! Remember the following that I saw on an admissions blog for a graduate school that I applied to and will be attending in the fall: "Admissions doesn't make mistakes." I attended my Preview Weekend and felt imposter syndrome, too - but you have to remember to have the confidence in the admissions department that they would not have accepted you if they did not believe you bring something great to the table AND that you have so much potential to learn. I hope that helps! Best of luck and remember that you are making the right decision to attend your program. I bet if you chose not to, you would look back on that decision with regret. A professor once told me that if you only stick with things that you know, you'll never be anyone except who you are right now. You are destined for great things and owe it to yourself to try something new!