CherieC.

My story is definitely of an underdog. I graduated with a 2.7 GPA from a state school with a STEM background. I explained that as I was juggling my years of undergrad, I was also working 2 part time jobs to support my mom who's a single parent. I'm happy to breakdown my application: No GREs. Work Experience: I've been out of school for 6 years. I've worked at a non-profit serving low-income students before getting noticed by and transitioned to Yale. My work experience is all in secondary and higher ed. I'm currently in a managerial position, and is the youngest one out of my team and the only one with a bachelors (everyone else on the leadership team has a double Masters or a PhD). I think it helped that I was already in a university setting since I was applying to the Higher Education Program (HEP), and with my promotion to Program Manager it made sense that the next step was to get a Masters to better serve students. Volunteering Experience: I volunteer extensively and it's all geared towards serving disadvantaged students in the higher ed space (which was my case for going to HGSE). My resume was carefully crafted to supplement my SoP. SoP: Authenticity really is the key here. I spoke about my story of growing up homeless, being the first in my family to go to college, and how it aligned with my goals at HGSE. My intentions for going to HGSE were carefully laid out, in addition to what made their HEP program so special. I did extensive research by speaking to HGSE alumni and dug deep into their website. LoRs: I asked people who worked with me on a daily basis for 4 years (with the exception of my current Executive Director who I've known for two years). This included someone I supervised, a colleague who saw me transition from my old job to my current one, my current ED. Make sure you ask people who TRULY know you and have worked with you closely who can attest to your strengths and faults. As someone who's also in admissions, besides your SoP, LoRs are the only other way we get to see other facets of the applicant so choose wisely. I hope this helps! Happy to answer any questions.

I got into HEP!