HGSE students/alums: thoughts on your experience?

[SCGH]

Looking forward to going to the visit days soon, but always good to get a head start. Some questions for you:

1. How are the facilities? From what I can tell, classes are mostly in Larsen and Gutman - 1960s monstrosities! Are they as dated as they look online? Any classes at Longfellow?

2. How big are the classes generally? Good interaction with profs outside the classroom? Office hours?

3. Did any of you live in on campus grad housing (eg Cronkhite)? How is the community feel?

4. What was the best part of your experience?

5. What was the worst part of your experience?

Thanks in advance!

[nm16]

1. How are the facilities? From what I can tell, classes are mostly in Larsen and Gutman - 1960s monstrosities! Are they as dated as they look online? Any classes at Longfellow?

You are correct about most classes being in Larsen and Gutman, but there are a handful of classes held in Longfellow. Facilities are not the newest but they are not unusable either. Beyond the facilities, I've been amazed by how supportive the HGSE IT folks are with classroom teaching & learning. They do a really amazing job in keeping classes recorded (if requested), handling mics/cameras, prepping professors' videos and powerpoints, you name it. Not many universities have an army of IT people dedicated to classroom tech needs around the clock. Currently Longfellow is undergoing renovation for all you future student folks, so if you are attending Open House in April, don't be alarmed at the scaffolding and construction noises!

2. How big are the classes generally? Good interaction with profs outside the classroom? Office hours?

My classes this year varied greatly in terms of size. The classes where I enrolled w/o permission of the instructor could be as large as 70-80 folks. Classes with size restrictions or enrollment permissions are smaller, about half that size or less.

Professors are generally very open to talk and to offer office hours, even if you aren't in their class for the semester. I sought out to prove this the first week of the school year by going to Prof. Reville's office hours. He's the former Secretary of Ed for the state of MA, and I dropped in just to say hi and ask about internship opportunities in his former office, just because. There are a select few who are truly, honestly accomplished people, and therefore naturally seem to have less time to offer because they're so busy around the clock. You can also see some of them quite often hanging around talking to students or other staff during lunch hour or coffee breaks.

3. Did any of you live in on campus grad housing (eg Cronkhite)? How is the community feel?

I live in Harvard University Housing. There is an AMAZING community of Harvard-wide students and staff, and programmed events happening almost daily (think wine tastings, trips to the museum, movie nights, panels, etc.). But to be honest I haven't been able to take advantage of those events because grad school itself keeps you insanely busy   

4. What was the best part of your experience?

Meeting so many AMAZING people -- within & outside of my cohort, professors, random classmates from other Harvard schools, the cute cashier ladies at Gutman Café, conference attendees, famous people, etc., who all evidently LOVE what they do and willingly share their passions with me. It is a community with so many diverse interests and cultures, united by unmatched drive & passion.

5. What was the worst part of your experience?

This winter - it's been bad. I'm from California... what can I say. haha

 

 

If you're looking for a variety of responses, I would suggest contacting your program coordinator to request whether you can keep in touch w/some current students or recent alumni. That's what I did. Hope this helps!

[SCGH]

Thanks so much for your perspective! Which program are you in? What's next for you?