Vulpix

I have never encountered anyone looking down upon HGSE. If anything, I think WE are the ones with an inferiority complex, and not the other way around

You have to check each program's curriculum requirements. I think some are more restrictive than others. But generally you can enroll in any classes you want as long as you also meet those requirements.

^Sorry I don't have a lot of advice on finances Best of luck to you though. Just on the discussion of "Is HGSE worth it?" career-wise... we are all getting jobs right now. Another thing HGSE has taught us is to dream big, believe in yourself, and go after what you want, not just what you can get. So people are also turning down some 'lower' jobs as they have legitimate chances at really advancing their careers.

HGSE doesn't care WHO writes your letters, just that they are strong and know you personally. I don't think doing well in an online class would be the way to go with that.

I believe Harvard GSE offers a *few* classes through Harvard Extension School online.

I don't think it weighs more or less with people who are hiring, but I do think HGSE has a larger alumni network from which to find jobs.

Most of my complaints, upon reflection, are more personal issues during my year at grad school and not related to HGSE itself. However, I'd say my biggest complaint is the spectrum in quality of classes. There are AMAZING classes and then there are classes that are terrible. And unfortunately, few people seem to be able to avoid taking at least one dud, which is a shame given we are only here for one year, even one dud feels like such a waste. I guess that's really my only complaint... I know international students have some more challenges...

That last sentence is kind of problematic to me. What makes you think a teacher can't be "super"? This is an ed school --- teachers are supposed to be respected. Isn't your friend intelligent? Isn't his/her classroom teaching experience extremely valid when going into ed policy or whatever field? $65,000 is a good starting salary for education, I don't think the comparison to Harvard College is at all relevant because of the reasons stated above, students go into much more lucrative fields. I don't think you'll find an ed program with a HIGHER starting salary.... and if you yourself have more experience, then yours will be higher. There are plenty of students here who were making more than $65K before HGSE, and they obviously expect to make more after. In terms of critical thinking, I would caution everyone to not think that the few current students you see at an open house day, and the lack of professors present, is representative. I can't imagine there are many masters programs that have students with much MORE experience than HGSE students (considering MOST people get their masters degrees in their 20s, I don't really know what you expect overall), and in my experience, it is the younger students with fewer responsibilities who tend to volunteer with admissions to represent their cohorts at open house events --- i.e., you're not going to see a representative sample of experience (the moms who run schools are not available to talk with admitted students on Saturdays--- same for the professors who have lives and kids). As a student at HGSE, I have had unprecedented access to personal relationships with my professors, the ones I choose to pursue. And this is coming from someone who went to an extremely small college for undergrad and is used to very small classes. Also, my program professor was also not able to make it to my admitted students' day last year, and I worried that was a bad sign, but he is nothing but accessible. Scheduling these things are not easy, these people are incredibly busy and generally DO make the time to talk with students as much as possible. I do, generally speaking, agree with the camp that thinks that coursework here is not overwhelming, but I was in a rigorous undergrad program and am comparing to that. I believe HGSE is really the whole experience, the things mentioned before. That being said, it really depends on the classes. There was nothing easy about most of the classes I took, but others were less intellectually stimulating than I might have hoped. I have complaints about HGSE, but overall I'm happy I went.

Well, very few internships are more than 20 hours a week anyway, and if you're a full-time student I doubt you'd take on more than that.

If you are looking to teach, I would go for the cheapest option among those three because they are all reputable and you will get a teaching job regardless.

My internship is not paid, so international students can definitely do that. I know many international students with internships. In terms of managing it, well, I'm doing it for credit, so it's like it's one of my classes. I also have good time management

I have heard from people at HGSE who chose HGSE over Stanford that the reason had a lot to do with the fact that the MA paper was going to be all-consuming (that's what they were told at admitted students day) and they wouldn't really have time to do internships or anything like that. IMO, building your resume through actual experiences is more important than a paper.

I call what I did "internships" because they weren't projects, they were formal roles with/at organizations. I would say I have had three "legitimate" internships and then one that could arguably be called a project but that's a lot of detail haha. In the fall, I went to my internship's office ten hours a week, and worked on their education program. In the spring I am interning with two very large (you've heard of them) international organizations, one for 20-30 hours a week, the other 1-2 hours a week. I had to interview for both of these internships and both of them were sent to me by my HGSE professor. I had to have backgrounds checks and I have an @email for one of these orgs, so it's definitely a formal internship. All of my internships have been directly related to my career interests, and there is a *crosses fingers* good chance right now that my current one will turn into a very good job.

I have some reliable intel on the admissions rate/process for IEP students this year, so if you were accepted or rejected and are curious, feel free to PM me.

I think it should go out at once to everyone and should be on the site. Is it completely blank? I would say it probably means not getting anything but call them and ask, they're very nice.