hitomimay

From my mother yesterday after my first acceptance: "Great! Now we can find you a nice husband!"
Thank you mother? As if getting my PhD was really the more socially acceptable cover-up for getting my MRS degree?

Hi Grace,
 
I wouldn't worry about your GRE scores and GPA, they are decently sufficient enough to survive the first cut-off to remain in their pool of applicants where they will look at the rest of your application more carefully. That being said, your essay is key, I cannot stress this enough. You need to make sure you make an extremely compelling reason why you're interested in higher education administration, and why you need the degree AND the institution to help achieve your said goals.
I just have one question for you, what exactly is your interest? You say you love working with low-income communities, yet you want to work in higher education administration. Are you trying to increase access and opportunities for low-income students into higher education? If so, are you looking to help those who have already made it into college, or those K-12 students who are trying to apply to college? These are two very different sectors with different approaches to a common goal. So you want to be very specific in your essay what your goals are, and show that you've done your basic research. Your background is also a little scattered in education, which makes it a little difficult to pinpoint where you want to go with this degree (half are K-12/low-income, half are higher ed admin).
Nevertheless, I highly recommend you apply, the worst case scenario would be they'd say "no" and you'd try again another year. There's a lot to learn from the application process/experience on its own. Hopefully the information I provided was a little helpful. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask me!

Since no one's replied yet, I thought I'd give this a go...
I think first off, the Masters depends on the region. I was a TFA Detroit CM in 2010-2012, and multiple institutions offered a Masters including UofM and Oakland U. These programs were run by the institution themselves, and we took the classes alongside other non-TFA applicants. TFA has a separate TFA alternative certification program that was run by UofM at the time that was tailored to TFA only, but the Masters were not and they were optional. Keep in mind, for Detroit anyway, that means we had to pay out of pocket (and out-of-state!) for these degrees. Other regions I know receive a stipend to get their Masters, so they didn't have to pay, which was pretty cool. Once again, it depends on the region. Also, we had to take the GREs and apply to these Masters programs, and while you had a better shot at getting in than regular applicants (probably considering you already have the requirements necessary to be admitted as a TFA CM in the first place), it's not a guarantee.
Also, the University Partnerships that are shown online? Those are not designed for TFA. What it means is... if you had applied to medical or law school for instance, they'd allow you to defer your admission for 2 years, which is not an option available for other admits into their programs. Also, after TFA, should you be admitted (not guaranteed) after your application, you could receive a scholarship or additional stipend.
Personally, since UofM was going to be almost $40,000 for me, I chose to do my Masters with USC online. It made my schedule more flexible, and I could interact with classmates and faculty in real-time from the comfort of home (so I could grade papers on the side or finally get some food in my system, heehee).
Let me know if you have any further questions, I'd be more than happy to help.

Lol! Clearly this is our duty and only purpose in life.

Hi there,
 
As a former teacher who went through a Masters program, I need to stress a few things. First off, if you're a certified teacher in multiple subjects, especially in high-need content areas (math and science usually), you should be able to receive a few interviews regardless of a Masters. Now, a number of districts and states have gotten rid of the education-tiered pay system. For instance, a few years ago in Detroit, if you had a Masters, you would reach a higher level on the pay scale, so the degree over time paid for itself. However, as of last year, they removed that system and froze all the pay levels, so my Masters didn't help me any.
Also, there's a number of governmental programs that will cover all your Masters loans should you be teaching at a Title I school as a science or math teacher for 5 years. Note however, this incentive is ONLY for math and science (high need content area). Thus, if you intend of staying at a Title I school for that long, and will be teaching math or science, a Masters may be worth your while because your loans would be forgiven in that time. If your content area is different, then I would sincerely reconsider paying full-tuition.
If you reapply to other programs again (a number of them accept students all year round, for instance USC's MAT program online), you may get a few scholarships. I know a few friends who received 2/3 tuition scholarship.
Lots of things to consider I know, but I hope I gave you some food for thought. It is better than sitting on top 60k worth of debt, like I am at the moment.

Hey, your best bet is to attend AERA (http://www.aera.net/). It's held in May every year, has its own journal that you can publish in, or you can present papers and posters there. It's the biggest Education conference of the year with over 25,000 attendants.
Specifically, look into Divisions within AERA. They range from policy, higher education to educational psychology. I believe your best bet is the Ed Psych division. Feel free to ask me questions if you still have any.

You can also consider looking up the hot faculty in the field of Economics and Finance of Education. Check who's articles are often gospel in this field and taught in courses, those prominent in literature. For example, USC's Rossier School of Education has Dominic Brewer and Lawrence Picus. I also really liked USC's program and financial package, and wanted to pursue quantitative methods, so this worked out nicely.
As for GREs and background, I'd say everyone who's "quant" in my program has minimum 750 on their Quantitative Math score, most with perfect 800s from what I have deducted. A high Quant score is a must if you wish to enter any program as a quantitative methods researcher.
We as quant people all also have a strong background in quant, so we come from math, econ or science backgrounds. Obviously, this is not a requirement, but a strong quant background is a good indicator of how well you'll do in these types of methods.

Hi BF,

Actually, interestingly, I found myself in a very similar situation as you. I was a Biology undergraduate student, and wanted to pursue teaching. First off, I joined Teach for America (and while there is a lot of traditional vs. nontraditional certification controversy that other people might start arguing about), which I found to be an extremely awarding experience. It allowed me to teach in inner-city Detroit, and the program also offers Masters programs in Education (ranging from MATs to Masters in Education Administration) with nearby universities in the community (for example we could choose between University of Michigan to Oakland University). I however opted to choose my own Masters program with University of Southern California (USC), whom a few years ago has it available online. The interface and communication and bonding between classmates and professors are incredible, it's like Skype and Google+ on steroids! Anyway, their online program is IDENTICAL to the one offered on campus, so I received a USC education all the way in Detroit, from the comfort of my own home.
Now 2 years after earning my BS, and now at the end of my TFA commitment, I'm starting my PhD in Urban Education Policy come this fall at USC.
I hope I gave you a few options to consider, and if you're still interested, you're always welcome to PM me or just reply on here. Best of luck!

From my mother yesterday after my first acceptance: "Great! Now we can find you a nice husband!"
Thank you mother? As if getting my PhD was really the more socially acceptable cover-up for getting my MRS degree?

As a teacher, the last day of school is June 15th. I've been counting down days left from 100 days, and now we're at 14 days left. These last two weeks seem SO AWFULLY LONGGGGGG. I've been banging my head against my whiteboard ever since. =.='' I want to stop being the teacher and start being a student!!! ><''

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/admissions/live/class_profile.html

Masters are not as selective as Doctorates, and you can see these statistics on US News Rankings or even on some university's websites. Generally, Masters acceptance rate is anywhere from 30 - 60% of all applicants, while Doctorates are usually below 10%. But it depends on the school, and it depends on the department and field. For instance, Higher Education tends to be more competitive.
You can always call the department you're interested in and ask. They're very helpful and nice.
If you have questions, feel free to ask me.

Honestly, I think what major you choose is irrelevant. I was a Biology major before this. What matters is truly your statement of purpose, and your experience. Try to find professors who are in Education-related fields and see if you can volunteer in their research, or volunteer at a child development clinic and use these experiences in your SOP. Also a strong GPA and GRE score won't hurt. But long story short, major doesn't matter.

I second this. As a current HGSE student (not in the Master's program, but I work with faculty members who are on the admissions boards), I can safely say that people in the Ed.M program come from all professional backgrounds and experiences, and this is especially true of the Psychology-focused programs. What is more important, as hitomimay states, is a clear interest and 'narrative' that is evident in your SOP. I would make your decision about what to major in dependent on your long-term (i.e. post grad-school) goals and interests, as they stand now.

Any other HGSE-related questions, please feel free to PM me!

Not to have people freaking out regarding off-campus housing and not to be crass about recent tragedies, but let's be real. USC is located in a large city, crimes always occur in major cities. You need to be smart about what you're doing, for instance, not sitting in an expensive-looking car in the dead of night, and start being more vigilant. I come from Detroit, and teach inner-city kids in gangs, and you need to be real with yourself, crimes are more prevalent here in major cities, walk in groups, don't stay out too late at night, use Campus Cruiser (they are a service that drives you home near campus at all hours if you feel the need for extra safety)...etc. Most of the recent crimes around USC have been cases of students not being too careful past 1AM.
I don't think people should shy away from off-campus housing near USC: it's convenient walking/biking distance from campus, and mostly consisted of USC students. Just be smart.

My roommate's all-too-frequent response to my all-too-frequent stress fests: "But it doesn't matter if you get in, that's not even your top choice school! So why are you stressing out?"

Me: "Because if I can't even get in here, how do I stand a chance to my top-choice schools?" Continues to stress about how I will have nothing to do next year.

Roommate's response: "It's okay, you can always live at home with your mom. Soooo much better than what you're doing now..."

*facepalm*

Just wanted to give another big shout out to litjust for starting this thread. It's been a wild ride, and I'm thankful to have had some companions along the way. Best of luck to everyone! If you want to keep in touch professionally via LinkedIn, please PM me. It's not to early to start building our networks!

Hopefully I can shed light on this subject.
USC (University of Southern California) has a PhD in Urban Education Policy, and guarantees graduation in 4 years by May of your 4th year.
They cover tuition plus a 25-30k stipend each year. They also provide 6k summer funding should you work then.
I have more info should you be interested.

Hopefully I can shed light on this subject.
USC (University of Southern California) has a PhD in Urban Education Policy, and guarantees graduation in 4 years by May of your 4th year.
They cover tuition plus a 25-30k stipend each year. They also provide 6k summer funding should you work then.
I have more info should you be interested.

come to grad cafe ... like your local bar, we understand your pain, we rarely judge and the barkeep rarely expects a tip

@ joh03067 -- You'll have to wait until closer into the actual move date (the do a 2 month menbership for $60), but I HIGHLY reccomend westsiderentals.com. They pretty much have the west side on lockdown. I used them and craigslist when I was househunting and I think they complemented each other nicely. I looked at 30+ apartments my first week and had a lease signed wwithin 7 days of arriving in town. It can be dome!

You should also ask people in your incoming cohort and peopel in cohorts above you.

Something else that occurs to me is to look into a Dropbox account (www.dropbox.com). It's basically online storage, but rather advanced (and 2Gb for free). It'll keep all your computers synced if you install the software, but I find it indispensable for grad work for two reasons: (1) It keeps versions of papers up to 30 days, which is great for going back to older revisions, and (2) you can access it from any internet-enabled computer. It basically eliminates the need for a flash drive and you can't lose it, etc. 2Gb might seems small, but there are ways to get it up to 5Gb for free pretty easily.

I know, maybe not what you were originally thinking, but I figured there's no harm in putting it out there.

Tell her not to worry and that you're on gradcafe & you'll score you a harvard man yet!

So I've been endlessly refreshing my HGSE application page just so I can finally get my life settled for the next 4 years, and then I notice "Application for Admission" because I didn't click on it before. On the top in bold it reads "Congratulations hitomimay!" I squeak from sheer excitement. Then with baited breath, I keep reading "... you have successfully submitted your application".
Darnable.

So I've been endlessly refreshing my HGSE application page just so I can finally get my life settled for the next 4 years, and then I notice "Application for Admission" because I didn't click on it before. On the top in bold it reads "Congratulations hitomimay!" I squeak from sheer excitement. Then with baited breath, I keep reading "... you have successfully submitted your application".
Darnable.