PhDreams

Congrats on your fellowship! I think we're all going to have to take out some loans. I'm just so excited about the coming year.

Really...at Harvard? I have a few friends who think their very "light" fin aid award may prohibit their attendance. Do you know any strategies or what has worked in the past?

Congrats on your new offer!! It's a wonderful position to be in.

Congrats!!!!

That's exactly how I felt at HGSE! I'm so glad you felt that connection too. Best of luck to you. Congrats on your decision!

wow! Good luck! Hope you have a great visit and that it really clarifies things for you.

I really thought I heard it was 13, one for every program. I still have not met anyone who has received one. I was actually interested in meeting someone who received the Urban Scholars award since that covered full tuition vs partial. Who really knows what "partial" means.

I know you're really in a time crunch here, but have you gone to visit? Tbh that's what really made this decision a lot easier. I immediately connected to one program significantly more than the other.

Good luck, Revo!! You have two amazing choices in front of you. Please let us know what you decide.

Yes! What a wonderful, welcoming, and supportive group! Thanks for your support and friendship. I couldn't have made it through this process without all of you. I wish all of you continued success and many blessings. <3

Congrats to everyone on this forum! You have some excellent choices in front of you. It has been amazing connecting with you all during this process. To those headed to Harvard, I'll see you in the fall! And to those headed elsewhere, best of luck and I'm sure we will meet again some time down the line. Thank you all for your positive attitude and for your commitment to education. Know that this little slice of time we spent together was very meaningful to me. Thank you! Best to all of you!

That's fantastic! it sounds like you've made your decision...

Did you hear through email from fin aid? Or through your program?

Are we still receiving this info via post? I've been noticing people talk about emails.

Fin aid packages come out in a few days! I hope everyone gets a package that allows them to become part of the HGSE Class of 2013. I look forward to meeting all of you in the fall!

Well luckily for those of us attending HGSE in the fall, this is not the case. $400k is simply absurd and would fall into the category which I referred to as "irresponsible" for me. Since I could make both situations work as I mentioned, Michigan and HGSE, HGSE was the obvious choice even if it will require a bit more sacrifice on my part. As you mentioned, we all have our points where options are no longer feasible. It sounds like HGSE is not a feasible or responsible option for you, but for many of us it is. All of us have different standards for which we make decisions. It doesn't sound like not attending HGSE was an easy one for you, especially since you were admitted. However, as a future colleague, I would encourage you to encourage others to pursue their education in the best way they see fit... Even if those same options are not available to you.

I'm excited too! Even though I'm not higher Ed, I cant wait to meet you too! Lol I feel like it's going to be an amazing year!!

Also, just a big thank you to litjust for creating this thread and getting us all through this cycle!!

I guess some people live by the motto- "you have to play to win" and others by "it's better safe than sorry." You just have to decide what's best for you personally. Both strategies have their drawbacks... I would never encourage irresponsible behavior. If you can make both situations work, I would definitely go with the one that will make you the happiest even if it requires considerably more sacrifice.

Yay! Good luck!

HGSE is a good mix of people with perfect numbers and people with good numbers with fantastic experience. But let it be said that even the people with very impressive stats usually have a fair amount of experience as well. It is very true that HGSE looks at your application holistically. So, if you plan to apply, please make sure to invest a good amount of time developing your statement of purpose so that it really reflects who you are and makes a case for why you are a good fit for that program. Best of luck to you!

Ehhh... Don't feel stupid. I felt like that for like a week, but now I am very happy with my decision. HGSE has the program I want and money can't change that. You can live the life you want or settle and live the life that you can deal with... I pick choice A. Everything else falls into place once you commit to living your life as if it counts.

Hey, I'm not sure how many people could help you outside of the NY area. If these are smaller, local programs you may want to start your investigation more practically by actually visiting the schools and getting a feel for them yourself. You may also want to contact current students to get an idea of what it's really like to be in the program and try to contact alumni to see what career prospects are like once people complete that program. You may also want to consider things like the projects or current research that school is undertaking and whether that parallels your interests. At that point, you could start to compare things like program structure and quality. It's very hard to guess whether you would be a good fit somewhere without visiting. Best of luck to you! Hope any of this helps.

That's just nuts! I'm sorry...

I believe I already saw decisions for UCSB. Good luck, though.