FreedomInEducation

Bingo.

Is anyone here applying for the Zuckerman Fellowship? I was accepted last year and they agreed to place my admission on hold for a year, so right now I am spending my time trying to figure out how to fund this really expensive year in Cambridge.

Has anyone been notified that they are a finalist for the Zuckerman Fellowship?

Well, if the HGSE Dean told him he was an idiot I guess that settles it, right? :-/

Yeah, that was easy. Thanks.

Because US News only ranks education schools by the GRE or GPA of their PhD candidates, I imagine that schools will be more flexible with a poor GRE from Ed.M. applicants they really like. Does anyone have info on the GRE range/median/average scores for HGSE or other top schools?

I agree, it is ridiculous to blame ed schools for the failings of public education. He should have just pointed out that they did little to nothing to stem the decline.

Thanks for the articles. The two paragraphs that I pulled out below should be a call to action for everyone who is attending grad school next year. Things need to change. "Although he thought the proposal was “profoundly meditated and finely engineered,” Simpson suggested that sub-par educational quality in the United States may actually be a product of the rise of schools of education. "“My question is a big, bold, blunt question,” he said. “How do we account for the fact that the institutes of education have been around for 40 years, precisely in conjunction with the decline in education [quality]?”"

$400,000 is not simply absurd, it simply highlights that costs matter, and that it is not as simple as things will fall into place, and some people play to win and others play it safe. Those are just empty words. Glad you agree that people have different indifference points - that was my point. Not attending HGSE was an easy option for me if the financial package didn't come through. If financial aid gives me a pleasant surprise, I'll still attend. I do encourage people to pursue their education in the best way they see fit, I also encourage them not to make terrible economic decisions. Your idea of "living life as if it counts" may need some more development.

What are you talking about? I get asked to give advice to people about graduate school options all the time, and price is a very serious consideration. I have no problem with people making their own decisions, I just can't stand empty platitudes about how money doesn't matter if you are "playing to win". Money does matter, and everyone has an indifference point. To deny that is simply illogical.

Really? Is that your response? If HGSE cost you $400,000 more would going there be about "playing to win"?

Money can change that. There's an indifference point somewhere, beyond which you wouldn't attend. A lot of people who expect things to fall into place go bankrupt.

Considering your goals, I'd go with HGSE.

Thanks :-)

I applied for the Zuckerman Fellowship. If I got it, I would have attended. I don't think HGSE will find a way to give me a fully funded fellowship - as Michigan Girl said, that doesn't happen often at the Master's level, and ed schools are not very well-endowed. But hey, if HGSE wants to surprise me with something, I'm open to it. I'm an entrepreneur in education, I am an oddball. Ed school is not worth it for me if I have to pay tuition. Each person has their own unique indifference point, mine is just lower than most. I'm going to go back to my MBA alma mater and see if they will allow me to do a self-directed degree under their MBA/MA program, and I'm going to check in with the University of Texas since I am already here in Austin. Thanks everyone, I appreciate the advice.

I know I didn't get full funding because I didn't get the fully funded fellowship I applied for.

So it seems HGSE is the only one with a self-directed MA. I'm amazed no other school has instituted one, especially Stanford which you'd think would be the most open to innovative alternatives.

If this were business school or law school I'd understand your dilemma. But this is ed school. I can't possibly fathom paying $30-50,000 more for any school - and this is coming from a person who would only attend one of three schools.

Why would you give up a fully funded offer? What does HGSE offer that the other schools do not? Is that worth $50,000 (or whatever)?

The MIT cross-registration is a benefit of HGSE, but at Stanford you do have Stanford engineering - and it is more accessible than MIT is to HGSE students. Also, one huge benefit of Stanford that no other school has is access to the d.school. The only reason I didn't apply to Stanford is because they didn't have a self-directed MA program.

FYI, the Urban Scholars and Leadership in Education awards have not been finalized yet. I just got off the phone with Financial Aid.

No, I was under the impression you were set on HGSE and you were considering going to TC just in case the skies opened on you while you were there and God spoke to you. It sounds like you are much further from a decision than I thought you were.

What could possibly change your mind? When I applied to business schools, I went to Harvard Business School's admit weekend when I knew I wasn't going to attend. Now that I'm much more mature, I would not do that again. If you know you're not going to attend there is not a good reason to attend. The school is trying to win over admits, admits are trying to make decisions and get to know one another. Don't be an interloper, don't be that guy who went to TC's admit weekend and then ended up at HGSE.

Yes, I applied for a fully funded fellowship and was denied it. C'est la vie, my contribution to education will have to come without a master's degree. That's $26,600 too much ;-)

Would you be willing to do a screen shot of it for us?