Vulpix

I did this for Columbia but not for any of the other schools to which I applied (but that was a special case because the professor was best friends with my LOR writer and so she put me in contact with her). Some professors (at Harvard for sure) have a rule about not speaking with prospective students until they are admitted (although some are willing), just because of the sheer volume of emails and their desire to prioritize focus on current/incoming students. I don't think it's necessary to do this for a MA, and would make no difference on your admissions.

My friend just did her TESOL MA at CUNY Hunter. If you want to be a teacher, unless you get a scholarship or are independently wealthy, I cannot fathom paying NYU 6 figures for a degree you can get at Hunter for $12K. It's a good program too. If you're aiming to be in NYC.

This is purely anecdotal, but the School Leadership students tend to be older than the average in other programs.

The average at HGSE is 4 years. I think it's less at many other schools. The average at my former CUNY grad program was probably 0-1. It really depends what kind of program you're going into. I think 2 years is fine.

I'm not sure if it's public, but I can see that information. There are about 75 in HDP this year and 45 in MBE. I don't really know what that information tells you (Could just be that MBE is less popular, OR that it's more selective... or both... or neither )

I also learned today that there are people who come here and switch programs. It's not common, and I don't know how difficult it is, but it does happen. I met someone today who entered as HDP but just switched to Language & Literacy. But I think if HDP lets you more fully study the types of things you'd be interested in for MBE, but MBE doesn't let you study as much as HDP, you're better off with HDP! Then there's a whole nother conversation about which program is "easier to get into"... I have no idea. You could compare the size.

I don't think they let you apply to both? I could be wrong, but I think they want to see you pick a focus. If I were you, I'd apply to the program that allows you to take more electives to guarantee that you can take as many courses as fit your interests.

Thanks for sharing! Very interesting. I definitely experienced some of the latter in my last year teaching. I always gave students the chance to correct their math tests for basically full credit, provided they showed the work, with the rationale that they learn from their mistakes. Unsurprisingly, this turned into something of a copy-the-smart-kid's-test fiasco, and I knew it was not working. I never figured out a system I was happy with, but now I see how it would be important to have familiarity with these types of classroom issues.

Just out of curiosity, can you share where you see the biggest negative aspects of this, like what areas are these policymakers least sensitive to, or where do you feel like your classroom experience gives you a greater understanding? Are these admins less practical with teacher/student expectations, less aware of issues that teachers face, or something else? I'm just wondering where specifically the problems tend to come in with this lack of experience. I'm coming off of three years teaching, and in a policy program now. I came in thinking "I'm so behind, I have no policy experience, I don't know anything about anything," but many of my peers have no teaching experience and wish they did. I still do know to what extent my teaching background will benefit me or inform my perspectives in the policy world.

She had a 164 Verbal, 5.0 AWA, and I'm not sure about math but it was fine I think. I should add that her 3.0 was from an elite US university, so that helps. I don't know much about PSP but I think HGSE truly does look at the holistic person, so I would just say try to raise the GRE score and write a really good essay. There's no reason you don't have a shot. The admissions people here were telling me how there are so many qualified people who don't apply here who don't believe they would get in, but they would.

FWIW, my roommate here at HGSE had a 3.0 GPA And I don't think she had very compelling reasons for having it.

It's very interesting and definitely a problem. I'm in a policy program right now, and I'd say the majority of us *do* have teaching experience, albeit usually less than 5 years. Those of us who don't have teaching experience either see it as something they're ashamed of, and admire the teachers and wish they had that to draw on, or just don't seem to give a damn that they don't.

I talked to a professor in the IED program and she said that they were not giving much to masters students anymore so that all the doctoral students could be fully funded. So like Levon3 said, it's program-specific.

You're not shooting too high at all, you are shooting for where you know you can be if they look past the GPA. Your GRE can make up for that, as can a really clear SOP. IEDP is pretty awesome. I was totally torn between that and HGSE (which is very obvious if you get bored and read the old threads from this past year). You should definitely apply (and Penn's application is free, so there's no excuse!). That's pretty crazy that UW has a 3.7 minimum GPA. I had a 3.69 in college. My school doesn't round it, so I wonder if that would've counted .

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this topic---I'm all moved into Cambridge and found the information here immensely helpful!

If a majority say this, my guess is that it's your experience/relevant internships and jobs and coursework focus that will earn you the position that you want. So I would say to think about which of the fields would be more interesting to you when it is not relevant to academic/career counseling. Higher Ed probably has a bigger focus on the economics and policy of running an institution, and Counseling will have the psychological and social aspects covered. I think both are relevant to counseling (being aware of the bigger picture situation you are working in).

I also met with a professor in TC's IED program who said that they are intentionally lessening Masters scholarships in order to fully fund more and more doctoral students.

Having spoken to a number of Masters students at TC, it is still VERY hard to get into an EdD program after completing the EdM. Not impossible, of course, but still highly selective and not a given.

Thanks for sharing your gap analysis, as it's inspired me to do mine. I've listened to all the education sector webinars and live-participated in two of the CSO webinar sessions (both of which included audio conversations with future HGSE classmates) and I found them pretty generic and not very helpful. The most helpful were the sector breakdowns, but I still have trouble picturing job opportunities that fit for me and for which I will be qualified. I think IEP has a separate analysis we're supposed to do that comes later or something. I think a lot of my gap analysis has been ruminating in my head since I wrote my SOP (knowing what things I needed to get out of HGSE was an obvious part of that essay), but it'll be good to chart it all. I was talking to my future HGSE roommates (and IEP classmates) and they were also kind of not-impressed with the CSO sessions.

Why not apply! I think in America parents are expected to *try* to help with your undergraduate costs (which may or may not be possible depending on your situation), but after that you're on your own... unless you come from great wealth, I guess.

Yes, definitely, since I don't have any dependents or big medical expenses. But I also made some good choices in spending during that time. I have a lot of friends in similar situations (first year teachers living in the most expensive city in the country) who have not saved much at all. Honestly, not blowing $$ on drinks every Friday probably saves $1000 a year . The fact is, I think a lot of young people ARE in a position to save money once they get a job, but lack the urgent need to do so. It's the people who need to save who often aren't in the position to, unfortunately.

I can't emphasize enough how beneficial it is to work and save up money for graduate school. Right now I'm feeling blessed that I can afford to pay for most of my degree myself, but I realize I'm not only "blessed", I also just saved well for three years and now I'm choosing to spend my money on this.

Just a plug - Penn's application is free! They also gave me the most financial aid. But yeah, most apps cost around $65. HGSE is the most expensive at 80 I think.

I think if your GRE and SOP are strong, you have a good chance at HGSE and any other schools. Financial Aid is very challenging in general, especially as an international student. Most students must take out many loans. I would definitely recommend getting experience and working beforehand, not only for a higher chance of admission but also because it will help you really know what you want to be doing, and that will help you write a more focused SOP. It would also increase your chances of merit scholarships. I think clarity of purpose is everything in an application, and if you can communicate that clearly to yourself, your LOR writers, and the schools to which you are applying, you can be admitted. While there are definitely many students who come straight out of undergrad to grad school, I think for HGSE it is less common, and most students have 3-4 years of work experience. When I visited Penn, it definitely seemed like a younger bunch, and same goes for many other places. In terms of aid, I could be wrong about this, but I think you stand a better chance of getting scholarships from private universities in the US over public universities. Private schools like HGSE have more funding to offer. Public universities would be cheaper overall, but may reserve any grants they have for citizens...

I just clicked the link from Devynne Fuga and am currently trying to log onto the webinar. I had to install a WebEx software add-on to Google Chrome in order to load anything. It's very slowly buffering something for me but so far no success tech-wise. Do you have access and just having technical problems, or just no access? NVM I just re-read your post, I'll PM you the link.