DanMcD

So, on the apartment/supplies thread, wanted to point out Home Depot is having a great deal on a crock pot. Was my best friend between my assistantship and midterms/finals. If you don't have one, the 10 bucks for this one is a steal, and makes cooking while you're away from the apartment at classes/studying/etc all day a breeze http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/203480588?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=MD-TC5008&storeId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=203480588#.UUEi21sjrv9

Wouldn't necessarily recommend it because commuting can make socializing with the rest of your cohort difficult, but may be worth looking on the Dorchester side of the red line as well (though Somerville is much closer/convenient and highly recommended) if you're strapped for cash. Most 3 bedrooms in my area are about 1500/month, but of course it also means doing about a 25 minute commute on the T + whatever time it takes to walk or bus. For what it's worth the Open House was definitely worth it I thought, though if you're in Higher Ed you may want to look at the schedule ahead of time- I think I left early both days because of the way the program meetings/panels were scheduled.

Congrats to everyone who got in! If you're in the higher ed program I am sure they will be reaching out soon. I'm bet there will be an excellent cohort replacing us! No matter whether you got in or not, I am sure you will all go on to do awesome things. Hope to see some of you in the field!

This is a good point. Storm probably cancelled a committee meeting or two. Sorry y'all. Finding Nemo turned out to be a bad thing. But hey, if it comes tomorrow you all and my cohort will share the same decision date anniversary. Just saying.

I've been out of the system for awhile, I feel like they boot people to prevent just that haha I am sure you'll find out soon! I hope for your stress/anxiety levels it is tonight!

6:23 EST to be exact . Just looked my acceptance e-mail up. I remember doing this thread last year and after 530 passed figured I wasn't going to get anything. Was sitting in my office with a friend working on some stuff when he heard me stop typing my paper because the e-mail came in. Would have been the most awkward time to get the e-mail if I had gotten rejected. Not sure how I held it together as I opened it.

The e-mails should all be the same just saying your admissions decision is ready to view. Waiting for the page to load and log in is probably the longest 30 seconds ever. Hope it comes this evening for you all! Would hate to have you all stressing later into the week/month!

I think my cohort this year in Higher Ed is close to 40. Though to be fair I can't recall how many of those are part timers who happened to be in the required classes with us. EDIT: And good luck again everyone! Hope it comes next week so you aren't all waiting much longer!

Last year it seems a lot of Grad Cafe folks were disappointed with aid packages, and if I recall the financial aid office is pretty up front about that with the average post-HGSE loan debt being in the tens of thousands. I know they offer some work study that is somehow based on previous debt burden/available funds/etc from what I recall reading in my financial aid info from last year. I think they also offer around a dozen half tuition/fee scholarships (I think the idea is one for each program), and then of course the restricted scholarships.

Hey! They give you a TON of information at the accepted student day about the program. It seemed like a great program/experience. Most students find an assistantship that covers most of their cost so you do have a great opportunity for hands on experience at low cost. The program is academically rigorous and has a social justice bend to it that I thought was really cool as well. I would definitely recommend going to their accepted students day!

So, since I've seen it discussed, I know in the past admissions decisions have come out the Tuesday of the first full week of March (in 2013 that's the 5th). I don't know if that'll be accurate this year since I imagine the timeline is only slightly similar- plus with this snow storm who knows how it has been effected. Also as an FYI- it's usually come later than expected (last year I think I got my email at like 6 or 7- past expected business/email hours) That being said try and avoid staying up all night refreshing your email. Each time it doesn't show up is just slightly more disappointing to see you won't know yet! Plus why add that extra stress? Save it all for when the e-mail actually shows up. Makes it much more bearable. Good luck again to everyone! Hope to see some of you at open house events later in the spring!

Harvard's architecture is really pretty, but I still really loved my undergrad campus. UMass Boston was RIGHT on the water and it was just beautiful- especially during the spring/summer

Amherst has some cool stuff to do in the area- breweries/brew pubs, SoHo (South Hampton, don't know how that slang came to be), there are a variety of lectures around due to the colleges, etc. It is definitely a much different culture from Boston

Hey everyone! Make sure you carefully look over the restricted scholarships! Definitely worth the application. They don't have values assigned but some of them can be quite large

UMass Amherst has a nice mix to their practice and theory. When I visited it seemed everyone found an assistant ship, and even if you don't find one until mid-semester you'll get the benefits of them as if you had it all semester courtesy of the contract the school has with the graduate union. UMass Amherst's program has a social justice bend which I found incredibly attractive as well, and the program is definitely rigorous. The faculty also seemed very attentive and the students seemed to get a ton of hands on experience in their areas.