How to strengthen my application for competitive Ed.D programs? Do I stand a chance!?

[teachgirl22]

I have been researching Ed.D programs. Due to geographic preference and the alignment of my research interests with professors, I have narrowed my top two choices to Stanford and Harvard. Although I will apply to more "safety" schools, I understand that I am choosing some extremely competitive schools and am wondering about how competitive my application will be in their pile.

My basic info is:

-Teach For America alum

-6 years of elementary classroom teaching experience (3 years in a low-income neighborhood school, 3 years in a low-income high-performing charter school)

-B.A. in social science from small, liberal arts school with a 3.6 GPA

-M.A. in Urban Education from state university with a 4.0 GPA

-I will have excellent recommendations from my school's admin, however haven't stayed in touch with any grad school professors and am not sure I'll be able to get a good recommendation from there

-I have mentored new teachers and led professional development for new teachers through TFA

-I have engaged in extensive, high-quality professional development at my school with some somewhat well known "experts" in education who do PD/consult for my school, particularly on topics that align with my research interests

-I am working on an action research project with a colleague, studying a topic that aligns with my research interests (although this research will not be published or anything, it is basically for our own curiosities and our administration)

-I do not have GRE scores yet

I'd love to hear thoughts on my competitiveness, as well as any advice on how to strengthen my application to be the best possible candidate.

Thank you so much!

Edited July 9, 2012 by teachgirl22

[edgirl]

Hey teachgirl22,

Your profile looks strong, but I have a couple thoughts/questions:

1. You'll need academic letters of recommendation for doctoral admissions. Now would be a good time to get back in touch with those grad school professors; remind them who you are; arrange an in-person meeting if possible; send a resume or CV that updates them on what you've been doing. Generally, doctoral programs require three letters of rec, and usually at least two of those need to come from academic sources, especially if it's been fewer than 5 years since you completed your last degree.

2. Your admin LORs from your current place of employment should mention these above-and-beyond type things you've done (mentoring, research, etc.) so that you can focus your SOP on your research interests.

3. What is your academic interest? You talk about doing an Ed.D.; Harvard only offers them (though HGSE is moving to a Ph.D. format with the cohort admitted Fall 2014), but Stanford does not offer Ed.D.s. Both the Harvard Ed.D. and the Stanford Ph.D. are research degrees, not practice-oriented degrees. Is that what you want? With Harvard, I would be a little careful given that the school is transitioning from Ed.D.s to Ph.D.s; while the Harvard Ed.D. has long been regarded as equivalent to other schools' Ph.D.s, there may be some change in that as the Ph.D. is introduced there, and it's not yet clear what the Ph.D. strands at HGSE will be. This isn't meant to dissuade you from Harvard, but I think it may be worth waiting one more year to see what they do with their doctoral programs.

4. In terms of "strengthening," in all honesty, your profile looks good and there's not much in it you can change at this point (GPA, e.g.) other than GRE scores. Generally, folks at Stanford and Harvard seem to have verbal scores above 700 and quant above 720 or so in the doctoral programs (old scale, obviously). So if I were you, I would just focus on your SOP and being able to articulate, clearly and concisely, exactly what you want to do and why Stanford and Harvard are the places you want to do it.

Hope that's helpful! I would love to hear more about your research interests, since I'm a fellow education nerd myself!

[Dizzi]

Well, in my opinion, your experience and grades look great. Unless you bomb the GRE, I don't think they'll be worried about your ability to handle the academics.

What programs are you interested in, though? And why do you want an EdD/PhD?

By far, I think the most important thing for you is going to be writing a Statement of Purpose that convinces them why they should admit you. That means showing them that a doctoral program is the next logical step in your career progression, and that it's something that you need in order to get where you want to go. If that's not pretty clear in your mind, it's not going to come across clearly in your SOP (and it will also make school a miserable experience for you).

Also, I would recommend not focusing too strongly on Stanford and Harvard. Especially if you want to go into academia, the ed academic world isn't like the world-at-large where everyone thinks Stanford/Harvard/Yale/Princeton are the best at everything. Michigan, Vanderbilt, Penn, etc. are considered at or near the top in various education sub-fields, or so I'm told.

Your profile says Harvard EdLD - are you enrolled in that now?

[teachgirl22]

Hi! Thanks for your replies.

No, I'm not enrolled in the EdLD. I originally (years ago) was very interested in that, but I think I've moved on from it.

I am not planning on applying this year. I am waiting for the following year, so want to be prepared now to make my application its strongest. I have not taken the GRE yet, but I am struggling on practice tests, so I am planning on investing lots of studying time and maybe even a course to get prepared to do well with that.

My research interests aren't completely narrowed down yet, but I am particularly interested in studying the differences in quality of curriculum used to teach language/literacy in low income vs. higher income schools, with a focus on how ELL students are instructed. My feelings (from 6 years in urban education) are that so frequently, low income children are taught with dumbed down, basic skills curriculums, so I'd like to explore this general topic. I should have a more specific focus by the time I actually apply.

I am not completely sure about my ultimate goals professionally. I could see myself teaching and researching at a university, and can also see myself more out in the field. I realize these are things I need to figure out before writing a killer SOP!

Thanks so much for feedback, I'd love to hear any other advice you may have!

[Dizzi]

Waiting until next year seems like a good idea. That will give you a chance to enroll in a graduate-level course or two to build a relationship with a professor who can recommend you, and/or reconnect with your grad school profs. As edgirl said, they want (at least) one rec from someone who knows you academically, if at all possible.

I wouldn't wait too long to figure out your career-goal story, though - it doesn't have to be totally precise or ironclad, but it's good if your recommenders can corroborate your story and give examples of your work that line up with it. That kind of thing really can't be faked, in my opinion.

If you definitely are waiting until next year, you should be aware that Harvard is converting to PhD programs that officially orient themselves around a discipline (Sociology, Psychology, or Economics) rather than a specific subject area (Curriculum & Instruction, Higher Ed, Ed Policy & Leadership, etc.). I think it will still be good to have a subject area focus like urban language & literacy, but it will probably be worth it to talk about which discipline you'd want to apply to the subject (and maybe even get some intro courses under your belt before applying ).

Finally, I generally advise that if you're not sure if you want/need a doctorate, then don't do it. It's a tough lifestyle, especially if you're used to making an actual salary; it's really not anything like undergrad or even a master's. If you're truly passionate and excited about what you're studying and have your eyes on some ultimate goal, it's worth it, but I can't imagine being able to make it through the grind otherwise. Not to be a downer, but it just seems like many people don't think seriously about that.

[michigan girl]

Dizzi, if you have the chance, how would the new Harvard Education PhD program fit those who want to study higher education? They would have to choose a discipline (sociology, psychology, economics) first before specializing in a specific age/student population?

[Dizzi]

Hmm, hard to say since they haven't given out many details yet. Higher Ed is so popular that they must have ideas on how to accommodate it, though.

I'd guess you would pick some area of higher ed and go with the program that suits it best. E.g., economics for policy/program evaluation, psychology for learning/teaching, or something like that. There's a description of the proposed programs here, if you haven't seen it:

http://harvardmagazine.com/2012/03/new-harvard-education-doctoral-program

[WITapp]

Decaf, not trying to hijack the thread, but I'm looking for similar insight, so I thought I'd jump in and post my own situation. This is my first post ever, so hopefully I haven't gone against some commonly practiced etiquette.

I too am looking to apply to Ed.D. programs following this year. I would love to attend a school like Vanderbilt since I do not intend to leave k-12 education. The HGSE EdLD is really appealing too but I know that my chances would be slim to none. My goal is to one day be a high school principal or possibly the headmaster of a private independent or private Christian school. There will undoubtedly be other opportunities in Ed leadership with the changing landscape due to technology and other factors. More importantly, I just enjoy learning and being in the classroom. I have really gotten excited about studying education these past few years, and I would probably pursue a PhD if I wasn't newly married with a little one and another on the way.

I am moderately concerned that my having only attended a small liberal arts college (accredited) will limit my choices for programs.

- My undergraduate GPA was 3.0 (I did much better in my science and education classes than my core classes)

- I have a Broadfield Science Major w/ Minor in Secondary Ed.

- I played varsity intercollegiate basketball for 4 years.

- I will complete my M.Ed. degree this May with roughly a 3.97 or 3.85 GPA (same school as undergrad).

- I have taught for 4 years (3 in MS science and 1 HS Biology) at a private school and will be the HS assistant principal at my school this up coming year

- I coached JV basketball for 4 years and will coach the Varsity men's basketball team next year.

- My GRE was 1300 - 590 Verbal and 710 Quant ... I don't know that I could score much higher on it... 10-40 pionts at most if I really work on the verbal side.

- I would have great recommendations from my graduate professors, and from a friend of my who is the head of TFA in our city (Vandy grad and Stanford J.D.)

You all have given great advice to others, and I really value your input.

[SeriousSillyPutty]

I'm not going to Vandy or Harvard, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

TeachGirl-

As you probably know, people in education have mixed views about TFA, because its starting premise is that it can teach in five weeks what these departments teach in four years (at least, that's the skeptics' point of view). The fact is that you taught for six years, so TFA giving you a foot in the door is at worst trivial, and at best gave you a good overview of current movements in education. Definitely no reason to be apologetic/defensive in your application, just be ready in an interview to address the strengths and weaknesses of the program, as EVERYONE has an opinion on it (informed or otherwise). (In my very small department, there are multiple TFA alums or dropouts -- myself included -- so you'd be in good company.)

And to both of you-

The advice the grad adviser in my department gave before I applied was to make sure my application communicated not just why I was a good candidate, but why the program and I were a good fit for each other. With the extra time, you may be able to email a few professors, express general interest in their work, and ask for one recommendation on a paper to read to get a better sense of things. Or, the department websites probably give a list of PhD students, and you could email a few to pick their brains to get an inside scoop on what the department puts the most emphasis on.

[Dizzi]

Decaf, not trying to hijack the thread, but I'm looking for similar insight, so I thought I'd jump in and post my own situation. This is my first post ever, so hopefully I haven't gone against some commonly practiced etiquette.

I too am looking to apply to Ed.D. programs following this year. I would love to attend a school like Vanderbilt since I do not intend to leave k-12 education. The HGSE EdLD is really appealing too but I know that my chances would be slim to none. My goal is to one day be a high school principal or possibly the headmaster of a private independent or private Christian school. There will undoubtedly be other opportunities in Ed leadership with the changing landscape due to technology and other factors. More importantly, I just enjoy learning and being in the classroom. I have really gotten excited about studying education these past few years, and I would probably pursue a PhD if I wasn't newly married with a little one and another on the way.

I am moderately concerned that my having only attended a small liberal arts college (accredited) will limit my choices for programs.

- My undergraduate GPA was 3.0 (I did much better in my science and education classes than my core classes)

- I have a Broadfield Science Major w/ Minor in Secondary Ed.

- I played varsity intercollegiate basketball for 4 years.

- I will complete my M.Ed. degree this May with roughly a 3.97 or 3.85 GPA (same school as undergrad).

- I have taught for 4 years (3 in MS science and 1 HS Biology) at a private school and will be the HS assistant principal at my school this up coming year

- I coached JV basketball for 4 years and will coach the Varsity men's basketball team next year.

- My GRE was 1300 - 590 Verbal and 710 Quant ... I don't know that I could score much higher on it... 10-40 pionts at most if I really work on the verbal side.

- I would have great recommendations from my graduate professors, and from a friend of my who is the head of TFA in our city (Vandy grad and Stanford J.D.)

Small liberal arts colleges don't have any advantage/disadvantage per se compared to large universities. Besides, if your undergrad was 4-5 years ago, it's not going to be very important, especially since you're finishing up an M.Ed. I'm sure your GPA in that program will help a lot.

If you're pretty sure retaking the GRE is only going to add 40 points tops, it's definitely not worth it, in my opinion.

I don't know the Vandy program well, but it sounds like it was designed for people like you - ed professionals who want additional training as prep for major school leadership positions.

Don't count yourself out of the Harvard Ed.L.D., though, which was also designed for that. I don't think your GRE is going to hurt you - it's definitely not very low compared to admits, I believe. Interpersonal skills, temperament, and leadership ability are a lot more important for that program than for any other HGSE program. On paper, it looks like you've got those covered pretty well, esp. with your teacher -> asst. principal progression and your coaching experience. But they'll evaluate that based on your recs and your on-campus interview - the latter carries a lot of weight. Of course, your SOP is also going to be critically important. [This is all based on a brain dump from one of my recommenders, who has been on the Ed.L.D. admissions committee - he's pretty senior, but others might have a different perspective.]

The advice the grad adviser in my department gave before I applied was to make sure my application communicated not just why I was a good candidate, but why the program and I were a good fit for each other.

Great advice!

[WITapp]

Thanks! Your insight is much appreciated. While my application is still a year away I want to strengthen my credentials as much as possible. Good luck to each of you in your programs and to you, tg22, as you look to get in.

Edited July 19, 2012 by WITapp

[ZeChocMoose]

I second the advice about reaching out to professors that you are interested in working with or the admins at particular programs depending upon the culture of the program. I did this at 5-6 schools that I was interested in applying to and helped me get a better feel for the program in general and what to emphasize in my personal statement to explain why I would be a good fit for the program. It also helped me eliminate some programs that I thought were a good fit originally (just by looking at the program's website and faculty members' research interests), but after talking with people (faculty, current students, and admins), I realized that the program would not help me meet my academic and professional goals. They also told me information that I couldn't have gleaned from looking at what is online i.e. that they are hiring new faculty, new initiatives that will be starting next year, changing emphasis of the program, etc.

All and all, I think it is a good use of your time to talk to at least one faculty member (and/or admin) and one current student of the program before you apply. You'll find out invaluable information that will strengthen your SOP -and- it's a good check of whether the program is still a good match for you.

[wildviolet]

I am not completely sure about my ultimate goals professionally. I could see myself teaching and researching at a university, and can also see myself more out in the field.

By "out in the field," do you mean in K-12 schools? Then the choice is clear--you want an EdD (application of research), not a PhD (creation of research). I looked into both degrees myself, and I ultimately decided on the PhD because I loved the process of doing research. However, I'm sure many EdDs actually make more money in K-12 administration/supervision.

As you probably know, people in education have mixed views about TFA

I think this is true.

Here is a recent op-ed piece in the LA Times:

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/10/opinion/la-oe-billings-teach-for-america-20120710

I wouldn't focus on TFA too much in your statement of purpose. If you're going for the PhD, you can discuss how your teaching experience has shaped your worldview and led you to this point but you should focus primarily on your research interests and how the program can best help you meet your professional goals.

Edited July 20, 2012 by wildviolet