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I really liked Gruber's Complete GRE Guide. The one I used was for 2012 because I took my test in 2013. I'm certain he has an updated one out now. It provided general strategies for attacking the questions as well as strategies specific to the sections. It also had a long vocab list and a complete breakdown of all the math you might encounter in the Quant section. The book also includes practice tests. I was able to find it for free online but it appears to be pretty cheap on Amazon as well. It's definitely math heavy, which is good for you. I basically used that book to review all my math and then took practice test after practice test, perfecting my strategy and timing. I basically took every single practice test I could find anywhere which totaled to probably 7-9 practice tests total.

I think the first thing you have to do is review all the math that will be on the test, however anxiety provoking and daunting that may feel. I don't know what your budget is. If it's high, you could get a tutor. If it's not, you could get a GRE study guide instead. I actually found ones online for free (do a google search and see what you find). Usually, study guides will outline all the math you need to know along with sample problems and then short quizzes. I set a date for my test and then created a study schedule for how many topics I would cover per day. On the weekdays I would study a few topics of math and then on the weekends I would take quizzes to brush up on what I had learned. I did this every night before bed and after work. If you feel like you'll need a lot of time to review your Quant, then set your test date for many months from now. Apps aren't due until Dec 1 at the earliest so you could set your test date for September and have several months to study. I find that the most important thing is to be methodical. Create an actual physical schedule either on a spreadsheet or google calendar and be detailed about how you split up your time. For example, "Monday I will review area formulas and Tuesday I will review linear equations." If the study guides you find aren't teaching you enough math in the way you need, try Khan Academy or again, googling. When I need to brush up on random math concepts, I've found that there are awesome videos and websites out there that break down the math into more basic language that are designed for high schoolers. Research statistics may seem like something totally removed from high school math but it's not. There are elements (especially in Regressions) that will pop up when doing statistics math. If you feel ok with research stats, you can do GRE math! I am a true believer that everyone can do the stuff they teach in high school. It's just a matter of finding a way to digest the knowledge in a manner that works for you.

I completed a Master's in counseling and was admitted into a counseling PhD program this year. I will say that a Master's in counseling is VERY useful if you are planning on doing a PhD in counseling. While I got interviews for clinical spots, I did not get any offers from them. That is NOT the case for everyone. One clinical place I interviewed at, a grad student had a master's in counseling. I think if you decide to do the master's, definitely make sure you not only do research but get published and present. Publishing takes a LONG time so get started ASAP so that you can actually claim something is in print or already printed when you apply. That will make you more competitive for all programs. Your master's courses will also translate almost completely for a counseling program but maybe only a few will for a clinical.

The cohort for UPenn's education policy program is also extremely small. When my friend was accepted, she was only one of two people. So I think rejections can also be taken with a grain of salt. The best way to at least secure an interview is to make sure you are a great fit with the person you are applying to work with. I don't know that a Master's in Education Policy will make you more competitive for a PhD program. Instead, perhaps you could email your POI at Penn and see if they could give you useful tips. See if there are ways to get involved with research where you are currently located. Or be involved with the field in some other way that doesn't involve paying out the nose for another M.S.Ed.

So Penn GSE is really diverse. We have a number of international students, especially Chinese international. Overall, most programs can be pretty white and female leaning, as that is just the overall demographic of most education fields in the US. However, classroom composition overall is always very diverse when it comes to race and ethnicity. Not so much gender. It's pretty heavily female. The school itself is very multicultural so education is often framed around multicultural competency. I don't know a lot about the Teaching, Learning, and Leadership program so I can't speak on that program specifically unfortunately. However, I can say that my overall impression of the school and from my friends in other programs is that the professors and instructors are always looking for multicultural perspectives and encourage multiple opinions. In my program, for example, we did frame most things within an American cultural context since we would be working with clients in the United States. But there was always the philosophy that since the US is so diverse, you will likely work with people who are operating from multiple cultural contexts that are not necessarily "traditionally American." So the perspectives of international students and students of color on how to work with clients are appreciated and valued. Penn GSE also makes heavy use of adjunct faculty. Professors and adjunct faculty don't have TAs per se. But PhD candidates can teach their own classes once they have taken the required courses and gotten the required experiences. You might be taught by a tenured track assistant professor or tenured professor. But you might also have an adjunct faculty member or PhD candidate who is instructing with a teaching assistantship. If I am being honest, I will say that adjunct instructor quality can vary a great deal. I feel fortunate in that I have only ever had 1 negative experience. All my other classes taught by adjuncts have been great. They were experienced in the field and were a wealth of knowledge. My other classmates have not been as fortunate as me. Interestingly, the person I had a negative experience with ended up getting a tenure track position elsewhere so to some degree it means being tenured or adjunct may or may not mean you'll be a quality instructor. Again, I can't speak for the specific instructors in the TLL program, but my overall experience with instructors is that they are willing to meet with you and are always very friendly and warm. The issue is actually pinning them down to get face time with them. It's almost always easier to grab them to talk after class. You definitely need to exercise your assertiveness skills to be friendly but firm in meeting with them and to be proactive in communicating your needs. The faculty are always willing to help but are not necessarily going to approach you. You'll need to approach them, multiple times if necessary. The TLL Program at Penn is pretty rigorous as well. The internships are in schools around the area and if you know anything about the Philadelphia school system, it's in dire straights right now. So you'll be in a VERY high need area with very high need, often times minority, students. It can be pretty stressful and demanding, but having worked in these schools and worked with these kids, it can be incredibly rewarding. The experience will definitely prepare you for pretty much anything else a classroom could throw at you. Overall I really liked being at Penn GSE. The students are very active and they're always planning social events for grad students. It's a diverse student body and I had friends of many different backgrounds. I really appreciated being able to interact with such a diverse group of minds and get such diverse perspectives. Philly is also a great city. Penn GSE overall is a smaller institution than TC though, so thats something to consider. It's got a homier feel but TC may also offer more by way of resources and connections. Sorry for writing you a novel! Hope this helps!

Hi everyone! I went to Penn GSE for my master's in mental health counseling and have friends who completed or are completing various educational programs in the school. Some include the International Educational Development Master's and Ed Policy PhD. So if you have any questions about what it's like going to school at GSE, the campus, and the experiences people have had in the program let me know! You can ask them here so others can read as well or you can PM me. If your question is about specific professors, please PM me. I may or may not be able to comment. Cheers!

Nice. Good luck to you!

Yeah no problem! What were your POI's initials?

My POI's initials were CH.

@tanm55 I emailed my POI today and she responded to say initial invitations have gone out. I assume anyone who hasn't been outright accepted or rejected is on the waitlist.

If these are APA accredited schools, then you can look at their outcomes tables to decide whether they are worth it for you. Focus on the internship match rate and how many of their people are matching at APA accredited internships. Those numbers usually indicate what kind of training people are getting and how competitive their students area among other applicants. It's also helpful if the school tells you the kind of places their students are getting matched at. If they're mainly getting matched at college counseling centers but you want to work in a hospital, then it may not be the program for you. If the program isn't APA accredited, I'd recommend not going there. Many internship sites require that you be at an APA accredited school in order to apply and why limit yourself?

As someone who has spent significant time in all 3 cities and knows people in all three, I would say just go with the program you feel the best about and don't worry about safety or crime. I have a friend doing his MD/PhD at Hopkins and has been there for 7 years at this point. He has not had any experiences with crime, loves the city, and wishes more people saw it for its positives. As another person stated above, Baltimore's reputation proceeds it. Like living in any city, there will be neighborhoods with higher crime and lower crime. Baltimore is patchier and less segregated with its no-go areas but with living in all populated areas, the main rule is to just be mindful of yourself and where you are. I have a friend who has lived in a few different areas of San Francisco and felt unsafe sometimes in her neighborhood, even though SF is generally considered a pretty safe city. Baltimore is the cheapest of the 3 cities to live in so with your stipend, you'll be able to get a pretty good apartment in a nice area. The Hopkins area especially is very safe and there are plenty of things to do and see in the area. Since I grew up around Philadelphia, went to Penn for my master's, and lived in the city for a period, I have a soft spot for Philly. The University City and Center City areas are perfectly safe to live in. There is crime, but the same crime you get on any campus in a major city. People stealing bikes. Some robberies outside of subway stations. Etc... But the campus is very responsible about alerting people the moment it happens and there are Penn security personnel all over the area. When you're not in Penn, you're in Drexel territory and the same goes for them. You won't have any problems unless you decide to live past 50th street. Philly has a lot of stuff to do as well and is small and manageable, much like Baltimore. If you're looking for a change of scenery, you can't go wrong with either, although I prefer Philly myself. The only thing you might hate is the snow and cold winters.