KaySsaem

I assumed something along those lines, but wanted to check to see if anyone had heard anything. Thanks. Good luck.

Hey! I was in the Ed Policy program c/o 2017, so if you want I may be able to answer a couple of question. Sorry this is like 6 months late.

Has anyone heard yet?

While many Ed Policy programs do have a K-12 focus, there are at least some that don't. The MPP from Vanderbilt Peabody, for example, has three concentrations one can choose from: K-12, Higher Ed and Quantitative Methods.

Right now I am leaning toward Penn. The program has a lot of the components I am looking for--like the Master's paper--and the administration seems very responsive. I also love Vandy's program, but would rather do a one year program since I intend to do a JD as well and would prefer to minimize my amount of student loan debt. I really like TC's program because of the emphasize it has on the political aspect of education reform implementation (Political Science was my primary ungrad major), but I'm not a fan of New York and it's cost of living. That said, I can't really complain because all three are wonderful options and I'm still waiting to hear back from some law schools I applied to as well. (I'd rather do the master's first, but decided to apply just in case Ed School applications didn't go well). By the way, where do you live in Japan? My second major in college was Asian studies and Japan was my area of concentration. It is probably my favorite country to visit--in fact, I spent my winter break traveling in Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Tokyo and Okinawa.

Seaglass, thank you so much for the info. While TC has never been my first choice, I was freaking out--the Education and Politics program is super cool imho. The $9K is probably listed because it is merit aid awarded in the hopes to get you to attend regardless of all of the other offers they knew you would get. It is probably completely separate from the financial aid office's work. Congrats on an amazing sweep this application season Heather.

As to the people still waiting, my guess is that if the portal says they are waiting for official transcripts that means you are in. If they rejected you, why would they need your transcripts? When I checked my status last night it had that notification and I got my acceptance this morning. P.S. Times in this message are based on Korea time, not EST.

Hi guys! I'm so happy--just got my acceptance letter to the MA in Education and Politics program! Anyway, as I was going through the Admitted Students Site, I was very disappointed. It showed me a financial aid award letter that had literally no award--not even loans. I am very confused. Is this my financial aid (nothing) or does the site just show that but my financial aid hasn't been awarded yet? I emailed financial aid and got an automatic response that I should expect to hear back in a few days. Since I need to start making plans for next year ASAP (international move back to the US from Korea and all), I wanted to know if I should just eliminate Columbia TC from my options or wait until I hear back. FYI, I submitted my FAFSA several weeks ago and an update to reflect my taxes three days ago. Best, KaySsaem P.S. I never got the email about applying for housing. Going through the Admitted Students Site was the first I heard about it.

I'm fortunate enough not to have to worry about that Cambridge winter.

Hey guys, Good luck! I wanted to take a moment to thank y'all for the support and discussion over the last couple of months. That said, I gotta say all this talk of 3 pm is driving me crazy. I teach in Korea and 3 pm only a bit over an hour away here. I've been fine until now because I taught all morning, but I have no classes for the rest of the day. Now I have nothing to distract me (at least nothing as engaging as my students). Considering that I am mostly likely to hear back around 5-8am Saturday, I wonder how I'll be able to sleep tonight. I'm pretty sure even the slightest cell phone ding will make me jump....Oh well. Good luck everyone, KS

I wonder if the reason the M.S.Ed. in Policy decisions seem to be taking so long is because they are waiting to hear back from Ph.D. applicants offered master's positions.

Congratulations!

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that $14K isn't generous, just that it was very strange to see so many people go from very excited to lamenting that they would likely have to reject the offer. I agree. There is much more to life than work.

As to the financial aid question, last night I spent sometime reading the last few pages of the HGSE Applicants 2015 forum to see what people posted. There seemed to be about a two to three week wait between when people were accepted and heard about scholarships. It was actually pretty depressing to read people going from super happy to very pissed at only getting $14K in grants (the case for the vast majority of posters). As to the comments about fluctuating between extreme confidence and lack there, I'm exactly on the same boat. The fact that I got into Vandy's MPP program makes me confident for EPM, but occasionally think about all of the awesome people that I know who attend HGSE and feel really inadequate. I think I fluctuate so much because even though I absolutely love Vandy's program and people, HGSE is still my first choice since it is a one year program. Since I intend to pursue a JD as well, I'd rather minimize my amount of time in school and therefore debt. I know Vandy has the joint MPP/JD program which would allow me to complete both degrees in 4 years, but my research suggests it's much harder to find a job when you do joint program as opposed to two independent programs.

Agreed.