Cat Time

Thanks so much for the helpful info and congrats on the award!

That's good to hear---it sounds like you've got a strong narrative for your applications and that's very important.

Does anyone have an idea of what the GPA's/GRE scores of admitted POLS students tend to be? I know this isn't published, but info often has a way of getting out somehow!

I have seen many cases of people with low GPAs in one major getting into graduate programs in other fields after having switched majors and showing that they can excel there, and your focus on mental health issues is much more strongly linked with your new major than your old one. Be sure to make it clear in your applications that the 2.89 doesn't represent what you'd bring to the program!

Prestige can be a never ending cycle. I've seen STEM students put down arts students as a whole, med students put down business students, business students put down law students, law students put down public policy students (I've also seen Yale law students ridicule HLS students, most of whom didn't get into Yale) , and policy students put down others, all based just on faculty/ school. Things can then be broken down within schools, with some people looking down on certain concentrations and programs, and then of course after graduation the focus shifts to job prestige. I think it's true that education isnt generally considered as prestigious as some other areas, but HGSE is a great school and the people who are going to look down on it probably aren't worth impressing in the first place and would not limit their concern with prestige to which school someone attended. Besides, I think that most people (and most people can't rattle off various Harvard acceptance rates) would automatically be impressed by the Harvard label and wouldn't think much about breaking prestige down within the university. I must also say, and this is just from my experience, that education students as a whole are some of the most friendly. If that's because the ultra competitive, prestige driven type A's are more drawn to other areas they consider superior then I'm glad that happens.

Excited to have you here Lisha! Let me know if you need any help with the non-quant portions of the GRE.

Thank you A!

Good luck to all! I am a Canadian who is considering applying for the Traditional Student Award to study in the US, but I can't find much about it apart from the award website. Does anyone have an idea of the selectivity of the award and who/what they tend to be looking for?

Great to have you here cokpala!

Can't wait to hear more about your experiences Heather...you'll need to change that signature soon!

I am generally interested in how to increase academic engagment among youth from low-income families, and more narrowly I want my studies to help me answer the question of how the higher education/K-12 links can be strengthened to facilitate this. For inspiration I look at a program at a nearby university which engages inner-city youth and adults by allowing them to take free courses in art, politics, and a range of other subjects, and I want to help expand programs like this and make them more common. This issue cuts across the various program concentrations I've seen, which is why I am looking for something flexible (the Special Studies program at HGSE is something I'm drawn to). I have also thought about PHD studies but I don't think the 5+ extra years of school is for me! What about you? I know you said your focus is on African-Americans in education, but is there a specific issue related to that which you are particularly interested in?

It seems like you've got a very strong background in education and I'm sure being an Ivy graduate doesn't hurt! If you need any help with your GRE preparation I'll be glad to lend a hand (at least with the verbal and writing portions--I'm not so hot with math)

It's no biggie. I can see where JW is coming from and I was going back and worth on whether I should post in here anyway, because while the posters in this thread have been very helpful and I'm sure there are 2016-2017 lurkers reading, I know you 2015-2016 applicants (and soon to be Harvard students!) have different issues to deal with.

Sorry for bothering you! I will start a general 2017 thread.

I know it's early, but I'm starting this thread because I think some Fall 2017 applicants already have questions/concerns (early preparation shouldn't be conflated with undue fretting!) , and it might be best to have a thread like this to keep things separate from 2015-2016 issues. As for me, I am applying to Master's programs and am particularly interested in those which emphasize interdisciplinary study and flexible course choice. My professional background is in higher education, though I also have extensive volunteer experience with K-12 students, and I want to learn more about how I can strengthen the higher education/K-12 connection to the end of increasing academic engagement among low-income youth. Academically, I have a BA in political science (4.1/4.33 GPA) and scored 170v/155q/5.5 on the GRE. Best of luck to all and if anyone wants to trade SOP let me know!