Levon3

I don't know of any school's website that has a "search by interest" option. If you aren't already familiar with the notable scholars in this domain, I don't understand how you are sure you want to study this. One thing you might try is: run a google scholar search for your theoretical interests, read some articles and develop a running list of people you'd be interested in working with based on their work. Some of them may be at Peabody, but you may determine that you are a better fit with a professor elsewhere.

Yes. That's a typical price for sharing a 4-bedroom house with 3 other grad students.

I suggest going to the program's website, browsing the faculty pages, and reading some of their research to decide whether there are professors who work in the particular area you are interested in.

You can open a bank account before you get here. I did that on ally.com, then just changed my address once I had a US address. Online banks also tend to have lower fees.

Probably lower. I don't know about "way" lower. It can also be difficult to be an effective administrator without teaching experience.

I also sent a bottle of wine to each recommender (in the US) with a personal note of thanks. It seems like a good quality tea would also be appropriate. Just sending the note with the gift is fine. It also seems fine to mention that you have a new email address and you hope to stay in touch.

Depends on the program. I definitely had classmates who were fresh out of undergrad. However, I think experience helped me focus my goals for my master's degree.

Hi @Brittany LaWil, I don't know how anyone but you can answer that question. Frequently, people in pursuit of opening a school obtain EdDs, as they are often the more practically-focused degrees. If you decide you'd rather do research and become a professor, then a PhD may be a better choice. From there, deciding on a program is a very personal endeavor. Do some research, and find a school with professors or projects that best fit your interests. I don't know that many PhDs are specifically geared to prepare you for both pathways; from what I have seen, PhD programs funnel students toward academia, whereas EdDs are aimed at training you to apply research in the field. It seems like you've got a start at identifying your interests. Keep researching until you've got a refined focus. Best of luck with your search! Edited to add: You can do both (teaching at Uni and opening a school) with either a PhD or an EdD; it's just that the degree itself will most likely emphasize preparation for one or the other.

Nashville is getting more expensive. You may be able to look into low-income apartments that are within bicycling distance if you won't have a car. I don't know of much that's within walking/biking distance and is also affordable unless it's income restricted. Those can be on the sketchy side, so do your homework. The bus system here is terrible but along certain routes you may be able to work it out. Again, my advice is to find the affordable place via craigslist or other apartment finders, then see if you can map out a doable route.

Found it on craigslist. Nashville is really pretty small, so you don't have to limit your search to certain neighborhoods. I'd find a place that's affordable, then just Google map it to see how far it is. Keep in mind that traffic can be bad, though. If it takes 20 min via an interstate, it's probably closer to 40 at rush hour.

I was clearly wrong in my comment that there's less reason to pursue advanced degrees in education. (I was speaking from a state where master's degrees aren't required.) That's what I get for speculating rather than looking up facts.

So the program assistant didn't offer any advice on whether it was crucial to attend? Have you asked your advisor? I imagine she could give you a good idea of the import of this foundations course.

I agree. I really notice a difference in view sometimes. I am also frequently struck by the rarity of people from low SES backgrounds in my grad school and in my profession. I know very few people in my current circles whose parents didn't go to college.

This has been answered multiple times. Check here for a recent version:

@Gabrielle, HGSE's masters acceptance rate was 53% a few years ago when I was admitted. I don't remember whether that was on the HGSE website or on US News & World report, but it was a credible source. Nevertheless, it's comparable to other top-tier schools of education. The fact of the matter is that there is less reason to pursue advanced degrees in education as compared to many other fields, making some of these programs less competitive. Moreover, often the masters programs are bulked up to fund doctoral work, resulting in a lot of acceptances. This, of course, means that many will look down their noses at the ed school, but if your goal was to gain prestige and feel superior to others, my guess is that you wouldn't have chosen this field either. So, I don't let those comments bother me. The PhD and EdD programs at Harvard have lower acceptance rates than many of Harvard's other schools, and there are plenty of people in them who have perfect GREs + amazing intellects. The last two quotes you shared don't actually seem derogatory to me. I'm glad we have gritty (as in, perseverant) 30 year olds trying to change the field of education, and OF COURSE professional experience is considered along with academics. By considering professional experience, HGSE admits many who were perhaps undermatched in undergrad, but have proven that they are tremendous leaders, genuine doers, as well as transcendent thinkers. ALL of the graduate programs at Harvard consider professional experience in tandem with academics. You will certainly find people who want to assuage their personal insecurity by belittling the ed school, but it is a great school, full of incredible people who do go on to change the field of education. Congratulations on your acceptance!

@nta920, my undergrad gpa was lower than yours, though my grad gpa was higher. I have about the same amount of work experience and also no publications, and I still managed to get into the school I wanted. The whole package is assessed, so I worked really hard on my SoP, asked strategically for LoRs, and studied for a few months for the GRE.

Check here http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/

It is a no-brainer if you are sure you'll work in qualifying circumstances for 10 years. I couldn't guarantee that, and didn't want the loans hanging over my head for 10 years anyway. I personally feel that that's a long time to be burdened.

I live in East Nashville (about 15 minutes from Vandy) and pay $325 for my room in an apartment. The stipend is plenty if you look around.

Congratulations!!! And, yes--this is the freakout place! I'm still dancing about it occasionally, and it's been 3 weeks since I was accepted!

No--pretty sure nobody outside the city doe cares about a fancier masters. I think TC just offers it to cater to that large market.

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.

That's really for residents of New York, where payscales/professional certifications are determined by the type of masters you have.

I'm so excited for you Heather!! I think I'll always a little bit wish I had gone to Harvard, so I was silently pulling for those of you making the choice this this year. Best of luck to all!