Kompetent

@PhDPolicy2022Hey, I don't mind taking a look. I'm not a current student but I went to HGSE a few years ago.

Hey I was typing as you submitted. I went to the same seminar! I think you got some wires crossed tho. They don’t do EdD anymore. They said they’d do 50 doctoral admits total. Roughly half between PhD and EdLd

@PhDhopeful2022 thanks for sharing. I think the financial strain came from uncertainty more than anything else. I mean with the stock market somehow chugging along, I have to believe that all their endowments are doing fine. Add to that the fact that in 2020 HGSE opened master’s admissions after the normal deadline for the 20-21 school year (to bring it more $$ since master’s students fund a big chunk of the school) + the addition of a permanently online master’s (which they expect will have 90 students)… and it just gets hard to believe that these schools are suffering much financial strain. It really seems like HGSE used the moment to open up new streams of money for themselves. I don’t doubt that admin at the various Harvard schools are pushing that line to reorganize or justify cut or w.e. I’m just a bit skeptical about the underlying dynamics/rationales. In any case, there was a webinar for the PhD today and the admissions people confirmed that they plan to take a full class of ~25 (plus a similar number for the EdLd program). So we’ve got that!

I got 20k loans, 5k Work Study. They said a student's budget would be 72k - 18k (my expected contribution) = 54k. Even their stated remaining need for me after my contribution is 28k (3k short of the aid package) and I think that "need" only accounts for tuition and insurance, not housing and, you know, food. I'm confused about how this all works out. I was expecting to find a small side job, perhaps with the Princeton Review or Kaplan, but my savings are not that large (15-20k hopefully after diligent saving and a summer job) and I'm not sure how I'd even pay the second semester of tuition... Any insights? guess I better look at last year's thread... It's also disheartening that Penn gave me 13.5k and the chance to apply for an invite only scholarship for 10k. Together, those would make Penn (which is like 63k) a little cheaper than Harvard, especially taking into account housing.

Hey, I got accepted into Penn and the letter said I got a 3.5k GA, but I haven't received any info on it. I haven't accept as I'm still deciding where to go. Did you accept already? I got accepted to SS too! Not sure if I'm going yet, but maybe I'll see you in a few months.

Yup. Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeejected. My SOP was pretty weak for that program and to be honest I didn't align all that well since POLS is, well, policy and leadership and I'm more interested in culture/philosophy and leadership. Oh wells.

I hear from a friend (student) at HGSE that they just got blasted with an email to sign up to make phone calls to accepted students next Wednesday. So let's put all our angst on 3/9 and be pleasantly surprised if it's earlier.

I've been lurking here and feeding my anxiety and sort of pointlessly weighing my chances. So I guess I should contribute to give back. Thanks to everyone who provided me those outlets. As for me, well the last couple of months have been: Me - Hey, College, can I come get a PhD? College - Nah, but maybe we'll let you get a Master's instead... GPA: 3.83, majors in Philosophy and German from UC Berkeley. GRE: 164 math, 170 verbal, 4.5 writing Background - 2 years in an AmeriCorps program tutoring/counseling underserved high school students while in college, 3 years teaching at a failing school (TFA), 1 year as a school leader at the same school. Edit - also a former reserve in the US Marine Corps. So a veteran, but ineligible for most Yellow Ribbon programs due to not enough active service. Applied to PhD programs that could combine my passions for philosophy and education, with an anthropological twist. CIS at Harvard, SHIPS at Stanford, ECS at Penn, Philosophy and Education at Teachers College, Social and Cultural Studies at Cal, and Cultural Studies at UT Austin. Stanford and Harvard I know defer to master's pools if rejected from PhD. Well, rejected from both. Waiting to hear back from POLS at Stanford and Special Studies at Harvard. Austin told me no PhD, but offered a 2 year master's. I didn't know they do that. Their website now says you can't get a PhD without a master's. I could swear they didn't have that on the website when I applied in the Fall, but I could be wrong. No word from Cal or TC. Penn: Got a the nicest "rejection" email I've ever received earlier in the week saying I wasn't accepted into the PhD but it was a tough decision. They decided to accept me into the ECS M.S.Ed and said that I would receive the official acceptance later in the week. It was a very personalized and sincere email that even quoted my SOP. I think that reflects extremely well on the program. Like Austin, I didn't know this was a possibility. Today I received the official acceptance, along with a 10k scholarship and a 3.5k GA position. Other posters say this is the max ever awarded, so that is a boost to my spirits. Now I just wait for what's left and try to decide where to go. Best of luck to everyone else!

I started mine with a quote from a student that kinda rings in my ears and speaks to my motivation. It was also a nice opening to the world I'm coming from and the experiences I bring. Actually it was a snippet of restorative circle I had with a couple of kids, do it had two quotes...I hope that was the right way start.

Anyone interest in throwing together a SOP feedback group over the next couple of days? After a good two month of working on my SOP, I have a draft! And I'd love feedback. I am, of course, willing to return the favor. I'm applying for PhD programs, so I only have two weeks. Send me a message and we can exchange emails.

I'm late to the party, but I'd love to contribute!