writegirl

I'm going to Richards' Entrepreneurship in the Education Marketplace at the same time!

Definitely. I was pretty intensely frugal in my years out of school, and paid all of my undergraduate debt as well as some family debt. So yes, I understand why I don't "need" the money, but using up such a huge chunk of hard-earned savings is a scary thought! Stanford's program is looking more appealing because of the financial situation and because it's likely just as good as Harvard's, but Harvard would put me in driving distance to my SO, so I can't deny that's biasing my decision. Either way, I'll be sitting in on a class at Harvard on Thursday, and I'll let you all know what I think if you're interested! I will be at the April 1st open house, and if anyone wants to meet up for a coffee or bounce ideas off regarding decisions, I'd be happy to meet in "real life"! If it helps, I'm in the TIE program, in my mid-20s, and work as a sci-fi/fantasy/writing instructor for K-8 kids. A huge motivation for pursuing graduate school was that I felt pretty isolated working out in the suburbs alone, and wanted to meet other dedicated teachers.

Yeah, definitely need to suss out the glamor that is Harvard, and the reality of a graduate degree. I'm making a list tonight of "What would make 50k worth it?" and see it the way an investor would. I'm in Cambridge now, and soaking it all in, trying to imagine if I could see myself here! The housing market is truly insane here, that is for sure!

I also got nothing but loans. I'm expected to contribute $22,000. It's pretty dejecting now that the "high" of getting in has faded, and it's all about the money. I keep getting skeptical voices in my head about whether graduate school is really worth all this money, or whether this is all a money-making scheme.

Me too. Receive $10k from Stanford, and $13,500 from UPenn, but nothing from Harvard so far...

Yeah and need doesn't take into account how aggressively you paid off loans in the past or how long you've been making your current income. So I'm not holding out too much hope for aid.

Thanks for the info, everyone. Yeah, I saw that list, and it seems unlikely my plan in CA will apply. Still, while it's an annoying charge (and the gym fee!), it's not tempering my enthusiasm. To have 9 months where I get to be the student, and not the teacher is going to be glorious. I fly out to Boston next week to check out the area and meet some people before the official visit day!

Well, I got the official "package" today as well. Grrr the mandatory healthcare coverage is over double what I pay now, and I have a really good plan right now... to waive that fee, it looks pretty difficult. Fingers crossed for the financial aid package this week or next? How is everyone else doing now that life has calmed down? I'm self-employed and shutting down the business in order to go to grad school, and it's been a tumultuous week to say the least.

I'll be there Friday! Then, flying straight to Stanford (with a stop in Atlanta?!) Flights were crazy expensive for me since I couldn't book tickets until a few days ago. Excited! Though I am horrid with transitional periods. Many more months of work to go, and I'm itching to go to grad school tomorrow.

Well, I'm in the TIE program, and it looks like TIE specific Open House is April 1 and Stanford's is April 4. So I will just have to do many cross country flights. And I guess if the general admitted students day is the 4th, I will just have to miss it. There's no way I could make a decision without visiting both schools, since there doesn't seem to be that much about Stanford online!

I hope it's not April 4 That's the date of the Stanford open house. I'm already torn between the two, and it would be worse if I couldn't go to both open houses.

OH man. I was in front of students earlier as I found out minutes before my class started, and I'm finally getting to watch the video. Waterworks galore!

It's April 1st. I found it under the Masters specific program link.

I don't know if I'm temporarily stupid from shock, but I can't figure out when admitted students day will be. Anyone know?

I got in! I'm going to cry.