Current undergrad needs advice!

[coollikethat52]

Hi! I am currently a sophomore in undergraduate school (soon to be a junior come fall) and I am very interested in the HGSE Ed.M in Human Development and Psychology. Here is my issue: at my current school I am a child psychology major, however, I will be transferring in the fall to either NEU or BC (have not decided yet). If I choose NEU, I will be a nursing major and if I choose BC, I will be a human development and applied psychology major. Which one do you think would benefit me more for getting into my ideal program at HGSE for grad school? On the one hand I think that the HDAP program at BC would be beneficial for obvious reasons, but on the other hand, I am interested in childhood health education and I think that nursing might be a good background for me to have. If I have a nursing degree, will HGSE deny me thinking that I am not dedicated to education because I did not get an education undergraduate degree? I would like to enter grad school right after I finish undergrad. Thank you and sorry for the long post.

[hitomimay]

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.

[db2290]

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!

[coollikethat52]

Thank you both so much for your advice! It is much appreciated! I also wanted to ask about the likelihood of getting in. I know that the Doctorate program is EXTREMELY selective, but I am not interested in it anyway (I really only want a masters). Is getting into the masters program equally as selective?

[hitomimay]

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.

[coollikethat52]

30-60% for HGSE?! Wow! That is very encouraging. Thanks a lot for your help!

[hitomimay]

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

[coollikethat52]

Wow! Thank you so much for the link! I was looking for something like that. Anyway, so now I am considering three different majors: nursing, speech-language pathology, and human development. For the Harvard Ed.M I am interested in human development, mind brain, and language and lit. I just want to take the best path to lead me to where I want to go. I know that I want to work with children (I have been working and doing research with kids for 2 years and it is my passion). I also know that I would like to get into the healthcare sector, which is why I am considering nursing and speech therapy. The Ed.M degree could possibly lead me to counseling, which I would love. I'm just still uncertain of what I should be doing at this point. Oh well, I guess I will just choose the major that I like the most and hope for the best.

[coollikethat52]

Sorry for asking so many questions, but I'm also very interested in prevention science and practice/cas in counseling, but is that program much more difficult to get into?

[Dizzi]

The hardest Ed.M. programs at HGSE had around a 25% admit rate as of a few years ago - I suppose whether or not that's "hard" is subjective.

My best advice to you would be: Enjoy your junior year, and figure things out as you go along. HGSE and I'm sure many others prefer students who have some real-world professional experience. So I'd advise finding a job in the field you want after graduation (easier said than done these days, I know) and decide after that if you feel like the degree will help you. You don't want to tack on an extra ~$20-30k in debt for a degree that's going to be useless to you just a few years later.