Vulpix
-
Posts
563 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
3
Posts posted by Vulpix
-
-
7 hours ago, Mochi- said:
Hey everyone,
I recently just started looking at education graduate schools and am looking for a little guidance.
Currently, I'm at a top 15 US News institution and have a 3.93/4.00 (I have a 3.94/4.00 in the area that I would be getting my certification). In addition, I belong to student government and a few international social advocacy (where I hold a couple leadership positions). On top of that, I'm also a resident assistant and have summer experience being a program assistant at a non-profit that served K-6 students.
My primary interest is working with 9-12 students (secondary education). So far, I think I am going to apply to Harvard (TEP), Stanford (STEP), Penn (Urban teacher program), and Columbia (TESOL maybe?).
Am I reaching too high or will I be a competitive applicant? I haven't taken the GRE yet, but my standardized test scores (ACT/SAT/LSAT) have all been in in the 97th+ percentile, so I'm hoping for a decent score.
I'm just really not sure what I'm doing right now and there seems to be so much less concrete advice out there for education graduate school than there is for law school/medical school.
I would really appreciate any advice. If you want to point me at programs to look at or drop a reality check on me, either would be appreciated!
Your GPA and scores will be just fine, and your experience seems right. There's no reason you wouldn't get into some or all of these schools. If you want to be a public school teacher (or private for that matter), I really think you should consider financially your situation and how these very expensive programs may or may not match your needs. It's my opinion that you should go to a school like Stanford or Harvard if they offer a program that is rare or unique in some way that you cannot experience elsewhere. (For example, I wanted to be a teacher, so I did my masters at a very affordable CUNY while I was teaching full-time. It was only at the end of that experience I realized I wanted to study something different that only a few schools offered). I do not see any reason to go into debt for a professional teaching certification.
-
7 minutes ago, dear_valentine07 said:
question: has anyone else received access to their harvard email yet?
Nope, I doubt we'll receive that till the summer, or May at the earliest.
-
I would also say Fulbright would be more impressive, unless Cornell has a lot of significant research opportunities.
-
I opted to go to Hunter over TC for teaching because of the significant price difference. I am so glad I did. I have heard not so great things about certain departments and student experiences at TC. That being said I am not familiar with your program. Hunter's quality was average, but for the cheap cost I can't complain.
-
All the schools I have just declined/accepted have asked me to take an exit survey in which I list all the other schools I was accepted to and which one I picked/didn't pick. Your state school doesn't do that? I thought for their own admissions data collection they'd simply ask you in an anonymous survey what other schools you were considering. At least, I had the opportunity to share that in surveys from all of my schools.
Actually, NYU never asked me. But Penn, Columbia, and Harvard all wanted to know where else I had applied to and gotten into.
-
23 minutes ago, travelgirl125 said:
True! I already have some debt for undergrad that I figured I'd be paying for 10 years, and I can't really see myself not working in education in some capacity. But I can definitely agree with the fact that you never know what your life will be like 10 years down the road, much less 1 or 2 years!
At this point I'm just relieved I know where I'll be for the next 12 months!
-
7 hours ago, EDU1988 said:
I am wondering where everyone is looking to live and how far you are commuting in? We just signed on a place 3 T stops from Harvard Square. Are you all mostly looking in the heart of Cambridge (within walking distance) or a commutable distance by T?
I'm going to try to get HUH apartment with some cohort-mates as close to campus as possible. I want to be able to walk to campus and make the most out of my year (because personally, I know that if I live far away, I'm going to want to go home early and not go back for any reason). I also want to be able to be at the library late and get home, but the T stops running after like midnight/1, and I don't want to feel like I have to leave early or not go to a bar in Cambridge because I won't be able to get home. If this was NYC I'd feel differently.
Mostly I just know myself, and I know that if I'm physically outside of Cambridge, I won't be on campus as much as I would want to be for things like guest speakers and other events. I'm intrinsically lazy (despite getting into this amazing school!)
-
8 hours ago, travelgirl125 said:
I am currently trying to decide between two schools, both of which I am going to have to take out loans to pay for the entirety of the program (looking at between 70k-80k for either school). If I felt like I was going to have to pay 80k + interest back in loans, I would have an extremely tough time going through with that.
However, we're all planning on working in education here...are people taking advantage of Public Service Loan Forgiveness? From my understanding, if you qualify for an income-based repayment plan, you could just be paying 10-15% of your discretionary income every month towards your loans. Then, if you work in public service for 120 months while making a loan payment each month, the remainder of your loans gets forgiven.
I don't often see people talking about this and I'm wondering why? It seems like a no-brainer to me, so I'm worried that there must be a catch somewhere!
A lot of us, I think, are moving out of public service, or more often, the unknown. We can't guarantee we won't pursue a PhD or work for a private charity or God knows what. Those of us who know we probably won't be in schools on a daily basis, at least.
-
34 minutes ago, dancedementia said:
Just wanted to chime in. I'm one of those people who decided to attend a top-tier masters program at a private university vs. much cheaper public universities. I did it for the prestige and because I truly believed that my higher-ranked institution would open more doors for me. Halfway through the program, I realized it was a terrible choice. I could not afford to live in the Boston area anymore. I had a small scholarship, but it barely made a dent in the tuition. Coupled with high cost of living (even in the cheaper areas of town), the cost of parking (!!!), some prior student loan debt that was due (private loans, so no forbearance/postponement), and just the stress of grad school in general.... I had to drop out of the program.
I was doing well - 4.0 GPA, multiple research commitments and conferences, making great connections. But for someone like me, who absolutely hates debt and has seen how destructive it can be (one of my cousins is still paying off student loans 30 years after she graduated and struggles to make ends meet, one friend committed suicide because he just couldn't make any more payments, etc.)...... well, I realized that in the end, it's not just the program but what you do with it. If I had taken the less-prestigious institution, I wouldn't have had to work 2 jobs to pay my tuition and would have had more time to network and attend conferences. I would have been able to live closer to campus, so I could be more involved in research and student organizations. The worst thing is, that one year at Private Institution cost me $90k in student loans, all of which I still need to repay. Had I chosen my in-state public institution, that $90k would have been more like $20k, which is much more manageable.
I'm not a Dave Ramsey addict who believes that all debt is bad, but everyone has a line that they are uncomfortable crossing. For some people, that line may be as high as $200k (looking at you, lawyer/b-school/med school friends). For others, anything above $50k all-in is a no-go. For yet others, $10k is already a big red number. For me, I was not comfortable taking out the amount of debt that I did, and if I were to go back, I'd gladly trade some prestige for the peace of mind that comes with not having so much debt.
tl;dr -- think about your own values and what you're comfortable with paying. Don't let other people's perceptions of prestige or ranking sway your own gut feelings.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I wish you so much good fortune in the future! I agree it's such a personal choice. The only reason I personally know I can opt for the more expensive option is because I have no existing debt and will need to take out less than $15k (hopefully less than 10k) in loans. This allows me to be optimistic about my future finances. While I'd be comfortable with a little more debt, id be so unhappy about it that I would probably opt for a different program.
I also want to echo the idea that your existing resume and personal ambition can play a big role in your earning potential after Harvard. For example, I don't expect to earn as much as my classmates coming out of HGSE because I am new to my field whereas many of my peers will already have a background from which to get better jobs than me. Unlike them, I am not getting a masters to raise my future prospects, my masters right now represents only a springboard into an entry level carrier, so I have to be honest with myself about that.
-
24 minutes ago, graciasadios said:
On Monday, I went to the Open House for Admitted Students. I honestly found a lot of it to be a repetition of the HGSE website and therefore boring. However, it was great to be in Cambridge with my SO and confirm that HGSE is a good decision for me. I only have three noteworthy things to share with you all:
- At the Fin. Aid session, the speaker mentioned something really important. He said that HGSE does not include Federal Grad Plus Loans in your fin. aid package while most other universities do. He said that a majority of HGSE students take out Grad Plus Loans, but that HGSE does not include these in your fin. aid package because they are not guaranteed; you have to pass a credit check in order to be approved for Grad Plus Loans. He said almost everyone qualifies, but they don't want to you to depend on that loan without reckoning with the eligibility requirements (i.e. credit check). Grad Plus Loan applications start July 1st via studentloans.gov.
- The average starting salary for a HGSE M.Ed. alumnus is $57,000. This was mentioned during the Fin. Aid session. The speaker said he got number from the Career Services Office. I just sent an email to the CSO to inquire what the average starting salary is for alumni from my program (SLP).
- I know @Heather1011 mentioned that professors generally do not do research with M.Ed. students because of the short timeline (9-10 months depending on the program). This is true. However, during the Faculty Panel session, several professors explained that they are working with former M.Ed. students who have kept in touch or stuck around after graduating. It seems like the only research opportunities for current M.Ed. students are: 1. do it yourself 2. get a part-time job somewhere on-campus during the school year.
For the sake of repetition:
- Boston is confusing as fuck. I consider myself a master at public transportation, but I got turned around once because the Green Line has 4 different routes: Green B, C, D, and E.
- HGSE is a friendly place.
I found Boston so simple! Granted, I arrived at South Station and just took the Red Line straight to Harvard. I got turned around a bunch in Cambridge near Harvard Yard and all the different schools, though.
Thanks for the info about starting salary, I had not heard that before. Seems pretty logical... entry level education jobs (slightly higher than starting teaching salaries).
-
7 hours ago, Heaslch09 said:
So here's my rundown with a decision date approaching. I was accepted into the EPM program, offered $15,000 grant, $5,000 work study and $20,000 in loans. I have about $3,000 in my savings account (It's hard enough making ends meet teaching part time) to make the move to Boston. So assuming costs to live in Boston for a year in addition to tuition, I'd have to take out conservatively around another $25,000 or so in private loans to finance my degree. So I'd be adding on $45,000 to the $40,000 I have in loans for my undergraduate degree. My friends, family and former professors all have wildly different opinions on whether $85,000 is a responsible amount of debt to be taking on. They say you shouldn't have more student loan debt than you'll make a year, and I can't imagine starting at $85,000 with just an Ed.M., even if the degree can ensure me a job. Is anyone else in a similar position? I just feel totally dejected. I'd love to go to Harvard, but I think financially it makes more sense to stay and try to find a full time teaching job in my area.
You might consider reapplying in a year or two when you have more savings. I happened to not even come to the realization I wanted to apply here until I had been working three years (teaching). Even though HGSE gave me ZERO aid outside of loans, working and living within my means has meant that I have enough savings to make this a low risk in terms of the amount of loans I'll need to take out (I'm not sure how much yet, but I'm aiming for the smallest loan possible.) Personally I might put Harvard on hold for a bit, there's a great chance you'd be accepted again when financially you're in a better place...
-
12 minutes ago, Levon3 said:
Well, I think you only need to care if you plan to teach in a DOE school, which I doubt you'll do with your degree.
Oooooh, if you're talking about Masters +30/+60, I know all about that pay scale. I thought you meant for jobs in the private sector or other education jobs. Considering the degree I'm going for isn't for teaching, that's why I wasn't sure why the difference was significant (besides for the fact that you can ostensibly acquire more skills/knowledge with more classes).
-
58 minutes ago, Levon3 said:
That's really for residents of New York, where payscales/professional certifications are determined by the type of masters you have.
Thanks. Weird/interesting. I live in New York, and plan to move back there after HGSE, so I guess I should care about this... but eh
-
41 minutes ago, ClassicalEducator said:
I'm not in your field, but I was actually wondering the same thing myself. I contacted Johns Hopkins (among many other schools) and was taken aback by the response I received. I know that they require all applicants to hold a previous MA, which probably cuts down on their numbers significantly. Aside from that, I cannot personally see what might make them such a force when considering the caliber of other schools.
I didn't realize Johns Hopkins required an MA. Do they mostly attract PhD/EdD candidates then? I wonder why they do that.
I was equally confused when I was applying to TC, because they have an MA or M.Ed option, and they consider the M.Ed the "advanced masters" (so it was 30 credits vs 60 credits, or something like that). You needed to have an existing MA in order to apply straight into the M.Ed option, I think. But I couldn't figure out why I would want a "fancier" masters (unless I knew I was going for the PhD after) so even though I already have an MSEd, I applied just to TC's MA option. I figured it was cheaper and still got me a degree in the field I wanted.
-
3 hours ago, GAPeachyKeen said:
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences Heather. I had to cancel my participation in Open House after being diagnosed with bronchitis (blah!) and an ear infection (pretty sure I haven't had one of those since I was 5). Anywho, your notes were super inspirational and make me want to submit my deposit now. Thanks!
Feel better!
And my notes are definitely biased based on my own attitude and feeling there, but I'm glad they were inspirational!
-
15 hours ago, cokpala said:
Hi all!
I am also applying for the 2017-2018 school year, and also starting researching about two years ago. Programs do change! I've been working on updating my info, as well.
I am looking at MA programs in International Education. I graduated from a UC in 2010 and have been working in education (elementary and secondary, domestically and internationally) for the past five years. I'm on the West Coast, in the SF Bay Area, so I'm looking at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, USF, and Stanford but am most interested in programs on the East Coast- Penn, Harvard, Colombia, and NYU. Any other suggestions for schools are more than welcome!
Thanks for starting a thread for 2017!
Yay International Education!
Something that was very interesting to me recently as I was accepting and declining my offers for International Education were the exit surveys --- HGSE and Columbia both had me select which other schools I applied to, which were clearly the ones that they consider their competitors. For IE/IED/IEP, there are really only 10 or so programs of note in the entire country that actually focus on this issue. It seems that you've identified all of them already... the only others are Vanderbilt, UCLA, perhaps GWU or other DC schools.Something that still baffles me is that Johns Hopkins is consistently ranked #1/#2 in education, yet I've read of almost no one this year or in previous years on this thread who has applied to it. I wonder why that is? It's got major name recognition like Vandy/Stanford/HGSE/Penn/TC etc....
-
I like the idea of this poll, and voted. However, I did find it hard to categorize (as clear as the options were), because I feel like a lot of us go through some kind of systematic pro/con comparison at *some* point in our decision process, but then perhaps *ultimately* leave it up to a gut feeling. I just chose my school after doing a lot of systematic comparisons and deciding that such data wasn't very helpful anyway.
-
4 minutes ago, ravyn said:
Thanks for responding!
Even $950 is too much (it's only 80 dollars less than I am paying now in a 4 bedroom), now that I am thinking things through. I know a girl in the sociology phd department at my school and I think she pays $700 per month in Queens. A met a girl recently (not a student, though) who pays $670 a month (she said it's newly renovated). I think I'll go a bit out into Queens or Brooklyn. $850 will be my absolute max. As long as it doesn't take more than 45 - 50 minutes to go to Manhattan, then I'll make do.
I think 50 min out of Manhattan at < 850 is a reasonable expectation, you should be fine
-
45 minutes ago, marature said:
Thanks, and whatever it is, perhaps we'll meet at the next CIES conference! It seems like students from most of these programs attend...
I definitely want to!
-
6 minutes ago, marature said:
no... I have the feeling it's going to be right down to the wire with me! thanks for the feedback about the courses being practical.
Good luck, I'm sure you'll be successful wherever you go!!
-
22 hours ago, GlobNomad said:
Good for you @Heather1011. (although judging from your conversations here, it sounds like Harvard had always been your choice and you just needed an excuse to make that choice which it seems you got. I personally am still leaning Penn for next year!).
Funny thing is that I was *definitely* leaning Penn for the longest time. If you go back and read old posts, I'm sure half of them were me saying "I hope I don't get into Harvard, I just want to go to Penn now!!"
Originally, I only wanted to go to TC. I'm glad I rolled with the process though. I'm sure either school, I would have no regrets!! (Well, TC I might've regretted, because it seems that people do! But Penn and HGSE, I haven't heard much negative).
-
4 minutes ago, marature said:
thanks Heather! very helpful! btw, you already probably know this, but I was looking at the courses at HGSE again and you were right - the IEP courses are more focused on policy than skills, and some of the more skills-focused classes that I saw earlier are no longer being offered. however, the curriculum is more flexible so you could still pick the skills-focused courses that interest you, and it sounds like the Kennedy School has opportunities as well. All the best! It sounds very cool...
Have you decided for sure yet?
I initially thought that IEP courses were more policy than skills, but in listening to students, it sounds like they are very pleased with how practical the courses are, and this was one of the big pushes that the program faculty was communicating, that they have a focus on implementation. Either way, I intend to take the classes that I know will give me the skills, so it's all good
-
This is a ridiculous question, but coming from NYC, I'd really like to know.... how bad is the cockroach scene in Cambridge?
-
Some GRE advice (coming from a strong writer/vocab): look over the essay expectations for the GRE. Although most of us are strong writers and will get a good score regardless, it was extremely helpful to know the *kind* of writing they are looking for on the GRE. You don't need to practice writing essays, but the GRE is a game and you have to know what they want. Apparently, length is appreciated (so type fast!). In one of my essays (the one that's about a big philosophical idea), I made sure to just hit them hard with lots of historical facts and current events so they knew I could relate a broad aphorism to real things going on in the world. They love that kind of stuff. All those GRE study books have really great tips for the essays.
As for studying math... good luck !
- Cat Time and Chai_latte
-
2
Fall 2017 Applicants
in Education Forums
Posted
Very smart to seek out the best financial decision, and yes, merit aid can go a long way (especially at Vanderbilt compared to the rest of these... NYU and HGSE are a longshot in terms of significant aid). If you are certain that you want a doctorate later, then going to one of these schools is more worthwhile than if you didn't, because the name will stick out for you later (but your undergrad institution will presumably stick out also, so that shouldn't be the biggest factor).
This probably isn't what you want to hear, but the best decision I accidentally ever made was to work (teaching) for 3 years before doing my Harvard masters. I didn't plan any of it this way, but in those three years I managed to save up enough to pay for my degree without going into much debt (just a little bit of loans for next year). This makes me confident that even in the highly unlikely event that the program is a bad fit or not worthwhile, I won't have traumatically screwed over my future income. Although getting a masters over with quickly is very appealing (which is why I jumped into one I didn't want at the CUNY), working and saving up money was inadvertently the best thing to happen to me, and something I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who wants to go to an expensive school.