GAPeachyKeen

I just submitted my enrollment deposit. It's official!

One other thing to consider is the sector that you plan to work in long-term. There are loan forgiveness programs for teachers and folks who work in public service. Of course these programs are for federal loans. https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

This almost exactly mirrors my current position. I applied to Harvard and was accepted into the EPM program after considering it for the past few years. I too received the exact amount of grants, work study, and loans that you received.This, as you know, will cover most of tuition but will leave a huge gap to cover the remaining fees. I had a conversation with a current EPM student/former colleague yesterday and I asked her whether or not it was worth the debt. As loaded as that question is, she was able to give me a pretty solid response from her perspective and from the experiences of others. With that being said, your work experience going into Harvard will largely impact the job that you're able to secure. Of course networking, interning, and relationships with the right people will also improve your prospects but it doesn't hurt to have a great resume going in. She also suggested that success in the program means being able to have a laser-like focus on what you'd like to achieve by receiving this degree. If you're not yet sure of what that is or if you need more time to build your resume, I'd say wait. I'm giving this perspective instead of directly addressing the money issue because things can happen/pop that impact your ability to save or there's a chance that you may not be readmitted (I knew a person who this happened to). So as a person in your position, I think the best question to answer is "is it worth it".

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!

Yes, work study was included for those who qualified.

I'm hoping so. I received 15K in grants + 5K in work study. I definitely wasn't prepared to see this aid package. I don't know how to feel. Guess it's time to hit the old external fellowships/scholarships trail.

I've had an opportunity to chat with several current students at Harvard U who are parents. I've included some of their recommendations below: Cities near Cambridge that are cheaper and have good schools Arlington, MA (<20 mins away) Somerville, MA (<15 mins away) Watertown, MA ( <20 mins away) Affordable Childcare options Daycare cooperatives like Bigelow Cooperative Daycare Center Playgroup coops Best campus-affiliated apartments for families Peabody Terrace Botanic Gardens Sorry that this list is so short. I'll continue to send updates as I learn more.

What was the age-range of their children? Any advice on childcare, general expenses, etc?

Welcome! I too am awaiting the financial aid package before finalizing my decision, but I'd like to be prepared in the event that the results are favorable. I'll be connecting with a parent who's currently at the Business school and I will share her thoughts here soon.

Hi All! I've started a new thread for those who've been accepted and will be parents while completing a program at HGSE. Feel free to forward this thread to others who might be interested.

I'm starting this thread to connect with past, present, and future students of any of Harvard's graduate programs who are parents. I'm hoping that this thread can become a resource for general advice, housing tips, child care recommendations, enrolling in local public schools, time management, etc.

OH MY GOD!!! I WAS ACCEPTED. I'M IN TEARS!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think that there is any verified certainty, just hope. The results page seems to be booming across schools today so I hope that we'll be in that number.

Gracias!

I'm not sure that I'm strong. I think this is my attempt to prevent a nervous breakdown.

Nothing here. I'm going to take a deep breath and carry on with my day. If it happens today, I'll be super relieved but if not I'm committing to be okay.lol.

This is the emotional roller coaster that I just went through while/after reading your message.lol

Absolutely. Time will go by much faster than you think though; we'll know our application status before you know it. Can you believe that it's already March 4th?

Thanks so much for the insight! I've heard the same about the AW score from a current student. A 4 is the bare minimum that candidates should have for any chance to be accepted. Someone on this thread posted a compilation of stats for admitted students and there were several 4s. Some programs at Columbia and Johns Hopkins do not require the GRE so its not surprising that the verbal and quant do not weigh as heavily for Harvard.

Hi there! My stats are as follows (using the order of importance of app materials that you suggested): SOP: succinct and decent, but could have been much better. (this may actually get me rejected) LOR: 1 professor (department chair), 2 former managers (one of whom is a current student in the EPM program at HGSE) Undergrad Info: Spelman College; 3.64 GPA (magna cum laude); departmental honors for senior thesis Resume: completed competitive, 2-year service program; currently working for an education reform non-profit (nearly 5 years with ed reform non-profit in total) GRE: verbal: awful quantitative: embarrassing AW:4 (I'm a mother of two small children who weren't interested in my need for study time.) I'm not sure how to feel about my chances for admittance, but applying was definitely worth the try.

I have some recruitment experience with an organization that receives 1000s of applications every year. We have lots of man power for application reviews, but still used an automated system to sift out apps that didn't meet the minimum requirement. I can definitely see this being the case for such a highly sought after grad school like Harvard's.

Hi everyone! I've been creeping around on the gradcafe site for a while now. I submitted my application to join the Ed Policy and Management program at HGSE but I'm almost certain that my GRE scores and SOP might diminish my chances. Anyone, for those who have completed a Master's program before, even if it wasn't with HGSE, what are your thoughts on the ranking of the application components? Between the SOP, LORs, GRE scores, resume, and undergrad GPA, how would you rank these in order of importance?