JadedVGC

Thanks for adding context! Do you know if others got interview emails or if they come in waves at all?

Did anyone notice that a Vanderbilt PhD in Education Policy interview request was posted in the main feed today? I find it incredibly hard to believe someone received an interview request on December 23rd, two days before the holiday break. I also noticed that they have never commented on anything else or shared their stats in the "See More" tab next to the thread (i.e., missing undergraduate GPA, GRE scores, etc). I have been noticing this a lot lately (specifically with someone positing a Harvard interview invite two weeks ago despite them saying that interview requests will go out in January) and some people have mentioned that there are fake/troll accounts on GradCafe frequently, but what are your thoughts?

I also contacted many faculty across 15 to 20 programs before reducing my list to just 7! Many were happy to meet to discuss what they were looking for in a student and details about the program itself, or they told me they were not taking students or retiring. I also got lucky that the institutions that I am applying to have multiple faculty members with overlapping or related interests so if one faculty member was retiring, I could just replace them with someone else. Some faculty have personal policies of not contacting students before the deadline which I think should be the standard as it reduces bias in admissions.

Hey everyone! I've seen threads like this in previous application seasons and found their content helpful. Can we get this started for this cycle? Here is the general format to follow: Undergrad Institution: (School or type of school (such as Big state/Lib Arts/Ivy/Technical/Foreign (Country?)) Major(s): Minor(s): (if applicable) GPA: Major GPA: (if applicable) Type of Student: (Domestic/International (Country?), Male/Female?, Minority?) GRE General Test: (Submitted/Unsubmitted) Q: xxx (xx%) V: xxx (xx%) W: x.x (xx%) GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: M: xxx (xx%) TOEFL Score: (xx = Rxx/Lxx/Sxx/Wxx) (if applicable) Grad Institution: (school or type of school?) (if applicable) Concentration: GPA: Programs Applying: (Education/Higher Education/Education Policy/etc.) Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications or conference talks etc...) Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?) Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, etc...) Letters of Recommendation: (what kinds of professors? "well-known" in field? etc.) Relevant Coursework: (what quant/qual classes did you take?) Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: (Such as connections, grad classes, etc...) Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome) School - Program / Admitted/Rejected/Waitlisted/Pending on (date) / Accepted/Declined School - Program / Admitted/Rejected/Waitlisted/Pending on (date) / Accepted/Declined School - Program / Admitted/Rejected/Waitlisted/Pending on (date) / Accepted/Declined

Someone posted that they got an interview from Harvard for the PhD in Education program on December 16th. I have a hard time believing that since the admissions office said interviews will happen in January 2025. Does anyone else have some insight on this? It could be a fake/troll post.

I applied to the Higher Education Ph.D. program!

Hi everyone! Harvard: Education Policy & Program Evaluation Stanford: Higher Education UMich: Higher Education (Public Policy Concentration) Vanderbilt: Education Policy and Leadership Studies UPenn: Higher Education UW-Madison: Education Policy Studies UC Irvine: Education (Policy and Evaluation Concentration) All are Ph.D. programs, and I am happy to share my stats/application materials as a point of reference.

Hi everyone! I have been a long-time lurker on this forum, watching others discuss and apply to master's and doctoral programs for a few years. Now, the time has come for me to apply for PhD programs in either higher education or education policy this fall! However, I am quite concerned about what exactly "GRE Optional" means in practice rather than theory during the application review by faculty members. I have been studying for around two months already, and I am very nervous about my prospects of earning a high score in both sections (verbal and quantitative). I am considering taking it just once and determining whether or not to submit it depending on my official score. I have spoken to numerous high-level faculty members who offered me mixed advice about submitting the GRE despite it being optional. Some say that most faculty members do not care about whether you submit it or not. Others contend that it's risky not to submit it as they may not weigh other aspects of your application despite being a "holistic" process. It is honestly hard to get a straightforward answer from any faculty member about this because it "mostly depends". For context as to why I am quite nervous about submitting or not taking the GRE, here is the list of the schools/programs I am applying to (ignore Cornell since it is not an education program): Harvard GSE - Ph.D. in Education (EPPE Concentration; GRE Optional) Stanford GSE - Ph.D. in Higher Education (GRE Optional) University of Michigan SOE - Ph.D. in Higher Education (PPPE Concentration; GRE Optional) University of Pennsylvania GSE - Ph.D. in Higher Education (GRE REQUIRED) Cornell University - Ph.D. in Public Policy (GRE Optional; Not an Education School but Applying Anyway) Columbia University TC - Ph.D. in Economics and Education (GRE Optional) Each school has various perspectives on the GRE, and many of them stress that it is one of the less important factors during the application review. My current plan is to study for the next 6 to 7 months for the GRE, but I do not expect to do well since I am terrible at taking standardized exams. I guess my main question revolves around how should I truly interpret "GRE optional" given the competitive nature of these programs? I have reached out to all of these programs and they try to diminish it's importance within the holistic review process or they just straight up say that it doesn't matter that much. But I frankly, do not believe them. To provide additional context, I am happy to provide my personal application stats as well if needed. TLDR: what are your thoughts on competitive programs that list the GRE as "optional"?

Got into the MSED in Education Policy program part-time! Posted my acceptance stats as well

Mine says decided as well for the MSED in Education Policy program! Very nervous.

I would expect emails since I received my acceptance notification last year via email! There is a good chance we hear tomorrow.

Yep that is my hunch as well! I'm predicting tomorrow or Friday.

I received my admissions decision for the Higher Education MSED on March 3rd 2021!

Hi everyone! I am pretty sure decisions will come out either this or next week based on when I received by decision last year (I was accepted to the Higher Education MSED).

Hey everyone! I am applying to the UPenn GSE MSED in Education Policy Program (Part-Time) after the completion of my M.A. in Higher & Postsecondary Education at Columbia University, Teachers College! Very nervous, and I have a 3.831 GPA for this semester.