STUCK! TC vs. HGSE

[eringeld]

I'm super, super stuck.

TC

Pros - All family and friends in NYC, NYC lifestyle, venerable institution

Cons - Enormous, red-tapey

HGSE

Pros - Big name, seems smaller, cozier

Cons - Do not know anyone in Boston, word on the street isn't so great.

I'm visiting both places next week to see which "feels right". For me, a great education, besides engaging professors, has small seminar-style classes that values discourse, and I will probably choose the school where this is more evident. Could anyone give me a heads up here?

Also, I'm interested in hearing about experiences with student-teaching placements. I have been in an associate position for 2 years at an independent school in San Francisco, and have had wonderful mentorship, that I would love to replicate next year.

I really appreciate any responses.

Best,

Erin

[selrach759]

Cons - Do not know anyone in Boston, word on the street isn't so great.

What's the word on the street about HGSE?

Also, my suggestion would be to wait until your visit. Being there makes all the difference!

[dfree86]

I'm super, super stuck.

TC

Pros - All family and friends in NYC, NYC lifestyle, venerable institution

Cons - Enormous, red-tapey

HGSE

Pros - Big name, seems smaller, cozier

Cons - Do not know anyone in Boston, word on the street isn't so great.

I'm visiting both places next week to see which "feels right". For me, a great education, besides engaging professors, has small seminar-style classes that values discourse, and I will probably choose the school where this is more evident. Could anyone give me a heads up here?

Also, I'm interested in hearing about experiences with student-teaching placements. I have been in an associate position for 2 years at an independent school in San Francisco, and have had wonderful mentorship, that I would love to replicate next year.

I really appreciate any responses.

Best,

Erin

Hi Erin,

I am (curiously) in almost the exact same position as you. I've been teaching English at an all-boys private school in the UK for 2 years and I'm returning to do an MA in English Ed. I'm already certified to teach in Mass, so I'm doing an MA rather than an MAT. I also still have NYU Steinhardt in the mix, which has a fine English Ed. program of its own.

I just got back from a visit to NYC and LOVED Columbia. TC is like Education Mecca - it's both beautiful and quirky, and seemingly populated by hugely invested and interesting people. NYU was great as well, though a school of a slightly different character. The crucial thing (because I'm not doing an MAT) is that both of these programs are really English-content heavy, unlike HGSE. They are programs designed for classroom English teachers, and are places to talk both ABOUT literature and ABOUT TEACHING literature. I really like that idea.

I'm struggling with the same questions regarding HGSE - it's a hugely powerful name in and out of the education world and that means something. I'm not sure, for me, it means as much as being in a program that has what I want - but in what world is it easy to turn down Harvard? The program I've been accepted to there is in 'Learning and Teaching.' It's not English-specific but rather more general, though I could get my English fix by cross-registering the college of Arts and Sciences.

I just got a 2/3 tuition scholarship from BU in the mail today and that's really attractive, but it's probably my 4th choice out of 4. BU is a fantastic place, but it's where I did my Undergrad and I think I'm looking for something new. I'm considering ways to use the BU offer as a positive bargaining chip for these other schools, though that's probably a futile effort. Still waiting on funding information from all of the other schools - I just hope they make it feasible for me to attend.

Send me a message if you want to discuss this further. I too look forward to hearing public opinions on these schools.

[~thethingwithfeathers]

I'm in a similar position, too - deciding between secondary English education programs at HGSE and TC. Now BU has offered me a scholarship and thrown everything up in the air again, but before that I had pretty much decided on HGSE. In addition to the smaller size of the program, the number of electives I'd get to take in the TEP at Harvard really appealed to me; I would actually be able to take more English classes than at TC.

What truly made the difference, though, was my email correspondence with the two programs. Both answered my queries promptly, but while TC either gave me one-line responses to my questions or told me to contact other departments, HGSE responded thoughtfully, thoroughly, and warmly. The woman I had initially emailed not only answered each of my questions in depth, but also forwarded my email to someone else whom she thought could provide a different perspective. Their answered seemed honest and reassured me about some of my concerns about the program.

I hope you enjoy your visits to both schools and figure out which one feels right to you. Environment and personal preference do make a big difference; my sense that I'd be happier in Cambridge than in NYC is definitely influencing my decision. Good luck! Either way, I think you can't really go wrong.

[dfree86]

I'm in a similar position, too - deciding between secondary English education programs at HGSE and TC. Now BU has offered me a scholarship and thrown everything up in the air again, but before that I had pretty much decided on HGSE. In addition to the smaller size of the program, the number of electives I'd get to take in the TEP at Harvard really appealed to me; I would actually be able to take more English classes than at TC.

What truly made the difference, though, was my email correspondence with the two programs. Both answered my queries promptly, but while TC either gave me one-line responses to my questions or told me to contact other departments, HGSE responded thoughtfully, thoroughly, and warmly. The woman I had initially emailed not only answered each of my questions in depth, but also forwarded my email to someone else whom she thought could provide a different perspective. Their answered seemed honest and reassured me about some of my concerns about the program.

I hope you enjoy your visits to both schools and figure out which one feels right to you. Environment and personal preference do make a big difference; my sense that I'd be happier in Cambridge than in NYC is definitely influencing my decision. Good luck! Either way, I think you can't really go wrong.

Can I ask which program you'd be doing at HGSE? Do they even have an English Education certification program? I just had a delightful phone conversation with one of the Professors at TC. Are there any specific English Ed. courses at HGSE? Or just English courses (in the schools of Arts & Sciences)?

I too have a scholarship from BU sweetening the pot, but that's where I did my undergrad - so I'm less inclined to return. Still - the money!

[~thethingwithfeathers]

Can I ask which program you'd be doing at HGSE? Do they even have an English Education certification program? I just had a delightful phone conversation with one of the Professors at TC. Are there any specific English Ed. courses at HGSE? Or just English courses (in the schools of Arts & Sciences)?

I too have a scholarship from BU sweetening the pot, but that's where I did my undergrad - so I'm less inclined to return. Still - the money!

I've been accepted to HGSE's Teacher Education Program (TEP), which offers an English concentration and certification. Here are links to the program website (http://www.gse.harvard.edu/academics/masters/tep/description/index.html ) and the courses offered (http://www.gse.harvard.edu/academics/masters/tep/curriculum/courses.html ). The TEP is geared specifically toward preparing teachers for urban education, but if you read the descriptions of the classes, pretty much everything covered is transferable to teaching in any environment. In addition to general pedagogy courses, it offers a "Teaching English" class. Because it is a small program (about 15-20 in English education each year; around 40 in the entire TEP), HGSE can't offer all the subject-specific pedagogy classes that TC does ("Teaching Shakespeare," "Teaching Poetry," etc.), which sound great. However, the TEP does address all those topics within the "Teaching English" class, albeit not in such great depth. Then there are three electives: one within your content area, one TEP elective, and one completely free choice. I'd hopefully be taking two English classes at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and, for my TEP elective, a class on adolescent literature (with a supplementary course on adolescent literacy).

Both TC and HGSE seem to offer great programs with very different strengths. Now if only one of them would be as generous as BU...

[dfree86]

Yeah, I'm already certified and have taught for 2 years, so I don't need the initial certification. TC seems super English-focused and also hugely literary. Those genre-specific courses make all the difference to me, I think. I want to dive in to Literature and Teaching for a year and I think TC is the place to do it.

Still visiting Harvard on Friday and I know it's going to woo me - but we'll see! They also came through with a major squadoosh on the funding, so it would probably be much more difficult.

You're right, though - still a good decision to have to make. Luck!