Suggest Programs for Higher Ed Administration

[Loseric]

Hi everyone,

I know there have been a few of these posts lately, but I'm hoping some of the current Higher Ed program students and veterans can help me out here. I'm asking for some advice on my chances and suggestions for schools to apply to.

About me:

• 2.9 GPA from a top 5 school
  
• GRE: haven't taken yet, but probably ~160 Q, 160+ V
  
• Strong recommendations from administration/student affairs mentors and a professor.
  
• Strong essays
  
• Lots of residential life and student affairs experience at the undergrad level, but no professional experience.
  
  What I'm looking for:
  I'm interested in a one year Higher Education administration program, not too research focused, with a mandatory internship/assistantship component so I can gain some professional experience while studying. I'm interested in learning about the history and challenges of higher ed, but not as much about policy. Tuition is not a major concern: paid internships would be nice, but are not necessary. My professional interests lie in first year/transitional experience, admissions, advising, development, or residential life. (Yes, I realize that's very broad! I'm hoping graduate school will give me an opportunity to explore those interests and narrow it down a little.)
  
  Schools I'm considering: Harvard, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, UPENN, UMich, and looking for more.
  
  Questions:

1. 
   
2. I know my GPA is awful, and it worries me greatly that I won't be admitted because of it. I am planning to apply to about 7-9 programs to (hopefully) improve my odds of getting into at least one. Do I even have a chance at the top tier schools? Can a low GPA be overcome if the rest of the application is excellent?
   
3. Is it professionally more valuable to go to a school ranked highly for Education or highly for Higher Ed?
   
4. What are acceptance rates like for Higher Ed Admin programs?
   
5. Any recommendations on other schools that I should research/apply to?
   

Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks, all!

[Loseric]

Bumping this...does anyone have advice or suggestions?

[lilgreycells]

First off, if you want some time to figure out which of those areas you might be interested in for the future you might want to consider a 2 year program instead of a 1 year program. That way you're not starting the job search 1 semester (or 1 semester and a summer) in to your program.

Some institutions will have flat cut-offs of a 3.0 for admission and others will be a bit more flexible. You may want to check with each institution to see their view (can be difficult to do because sometimes institutions don't want to share).

Same can be said for acceptance rates. Penn has a great blog that I believe will list exact acceptance rates and the other schools should have something similar.

Oh and if you do decide you want to apply to 1 year only institutions then you should probably take Vanderbilt off the list. I can't speak for all your institutions listed but I know Vandy is a 2 year program.

Hope this helps!

[michigan girl]

Michigan is also a 1.5 year program.

[Loseric]

Thanks so much, lilgreycells and Michigan girl. I've emailed some of the schools on my list and asked them the same questions about GPA and admission rates. I also found the Penn blog late last week, which has been super informative and helpful.

My reason for only applying to one year programs is because I feel so behind in this discipline already because I lack professional experience, so I want to get out into the workplace ASAP. Should I be considering 2 year programs? Or, can either of you recommend some strong one year programs?

[michigan girl]

If you need work experience, then you should consider 2-year programs. Not only will you gain experience in a variety of student affairs environments, but employers can also better gauge what aspect of higher education suits you. 1.5-2 year programs will allow you to have 2-3 internships/student club roles on your resume. It will also give you the chance to learn more about the enterprise of higher education.

[ZeChocMoose]

I agree with michigan girl. Enrolling in a one year program with limited professional experience may set you up for a difficult job search when you graduate. You'll also want to gain some substantial professional experience in your program and perhaps try out different areas within higher ed. This is much easier to do in a longer program.

I attended a two year master's program and I was amazed how my interests and career trajectory changed a lot. The second year gave me the opportunity to gain experience in my new area of interest which is honestly why (I think) I was so successful in my job search.

There are also definitely good reasons to attend one year programs, but usually should be left for people who have a decent amount of experience in the field already (3 - 5 years or so) or have life circumstances that make attending a longer program extremely difficult.

Edited October 9, 2012 by ZeChocMoose

[Loseric]

Thanks again, michigan girl and ZeChocMoose, you've given me some food for thought and made me more open to considering longer programs. I was pretty dead set on doing a 1 year program, because I am on the older side (27) and I want to get out into the workplace ASAP. I already feel very behind in this field and I fear doing a 2 year program will put me even further behind professionally. I have already had a very difficult job search in the field (essentially, every job I have applied to has told me they want a Master's, which is why I'm even going to school in the first place), so I was imagining just having a Master's will help tremendously.

On the topic, can either of you recommend some HEA programs? It looks like I'll be applying to both 1 and 2 year programs now and making the decision based on which ones I get into.

[lilgreycells]

Sorry to be late in my reply (I space out my internet fun visits trying to learn better time management for school). Vandy and IU-Bloomington are two top-notch programs off the top of my head that are 2 years but I think you can always check out institutions in your home state as well. Since you appear to want a Master's in order to get a job (from your last post), I think it's great to check out the institutions that are in the state you want to work. I know money wasn't a concern for you but hey you may feel differently 2 years from now.

[Loseric]

Thanks again, lilgreycells. I'm sticking to programs out of state, actually, because my state doesn't have any decent education programs. So, I'm open to applying wherever as long as they have a respectable program. I'd prefer a 1 year program, but the more I search, the more rare it seems those are