JR14

That makes a lot of sense! It's just a shame that HGSE would have such a small endowment given that it seems to be a great school at a university with an incredibly large endowment.

Unfortunately, I think the idea is that this is Harvard and they don't need to give decent financial aid in order for students to go there. Seems a bit mean spirited for students who probably aren't heading into especially lucrative careers after the degree, though.

This is the response I got when I emailed the Financial Aid office: We use various criteria in determining your eligibility for specific awards, and unfortunately you did not qualify for a Federal Work Study Award or Federal Perkins Loan. Later in the year if funding becomes available and we are able to adjust our eligibility requirements we may award these funds and would notify you of the change if this is done. Since there is no guarantee of additional funding we recommend that applicants make their admissions decision based on their current financial aid package. Hopefully this helps answer your questions- best of luck and have a good day.

I got the max grant, but they paired that with an unsubsidized loan that doesn't come anywhere near covering program expenses (and nothing else). It would be nice to have a conversation and learn a little more about their methodology. Yesterday they weren't answering the phones -- understandably -- but I think I'll also try to get in touch with them somehow.

samda, I think need based grants are capped at $14,000, so if that's what you got then you're in good company. The Facebook page shows a lot of people with that same grant.

ltrujizzle, I'm honestly not sure. Need some time to think about it, do the math, hunt down more funding sources. You're probably risking less by going to Harvard than by going to a different (unfunded) program, since the resources once you get there are fantastic... but it's still a huge gamble. (Which we all knew before applying, of course.)

Yeah, about those financial aid awards... Is anyone else feeling like they just got hit by a bus? Exactly where is that "Remaining need" money supposed to come from?

I've been lurking around this site but feel like I should contribute given the topic. I finished an Erasmus Mundus Master's a couple years ago. The scholarships for third country (non-EU) students are fantastic, though the fixed stipend means that students in countries with a lower cost of living get a much better deal financially than students heading to expensive Western European countries. The academic quality of the program will depend 100% on what universities you're placed in -- or at least, that was the case for my program. Good luck to all of you! And an edit, to respond to some previous posts -- keeping in mind I'm coming from the point of view of just one person in one of these many different programs: have2thinkboutit, I *think* you're talking about Erasmus, not Erasmus Mundus. Erasmus is just European study abroad; Erasmus Mundus is an umbrella system containing specific Master's and Ph.D. programs that include study at at least two different universities, usually in Europe. It's a related but separate program, and even in Europe people usually won't know what you're talking about when you say you're doing "Erasmus Mundus." pdh12, just moving around during the Master's was a treat, but Ph.D. programs sound a bit more intense if that's what you're heading into! Realize that you'll have to deal with housing and the local language in each location. If you're the kind of person that likes to dig into academic topics and you don't want to emerge until you graduate, Erasmus Mundus will be a shock, but if you don't mind a lot of your learning taking place outside the classroom, one of these programs could be great.