HGSE Fall 2015

[samda]

samda, I think need based grants are capped at $14,000, so if that's what you got then you're in good company.  The Facebook page shows a lot of people with that same grant.

I did not get the max grant. Good to see others got the Perkins loan since its preferable to the unsubsidized but I'll probably be giving the fin aid office a call just to discuss my package. I remember someone did that a few years ago on this sub and had a really productive conversation about their methodology and the circumstances under which you can appeal for additional aid.

[JR14]

I did not get the max grant. Good to see others got the Perkins loan since its preferable to the unsubsidized but I'll probably be giving the fin aid office a call just to discuss my package. I remember someone did that a few years ago on this sub and had a really productive conversation about their methodology and the circumstances under which you can appeal for additional aid.

 

I got the max grant, but they paired that with an unsubsidized loan that doesn't come anywhere near covering program expenses (and nothing else).  It would be nice to have a conversation and learn a little more about their methodology.  Yesterday they weren't answering the phones -- understandably -- but I think I'll also try to get in touch with them somehow.

[Sofro]

I got the max grant, but they paired that with an unsubsidized loan that doesn't come anywhere near covering program expenses (and nothing else).  It would be nice to have a conversation and learn a little more about their methodology.  Yesterday they weren't answering the phones -- understandably -- but I think I'll also try to get in touch with them somehow.

I'm in the exact same position. I'm still looking forward to the Open House tomorrow, but I'm honestly not sure if I can pull it off financially. I'm hoping to have some clarification tomorrow.

[laurakpeters]

I got the max grant, but they paired that with an unsubsidized loan that doesn't come anywhere near covering program expenses (and nothing else).  It would be nice to have a conversation and learn a little more about their methodology.  Yesterday they weren't answering the phones -- understandably -- but I think I'll also try to get in touch with them somehow.

 

I feel you.  I'm so confused about their methodology.  I was also accepted into Teachers College and given $23k in merit-based and experience-based (Americorps) awards plus the $20,500 in Unsubsidized loans, $7k in Work Study, and a $12k PLUS loan.  TC seems to be calculating need based on the tuition PLUS the cost of living, which is why the grants and loan offerings add up to well over their $43k tuition.  I don't see anything that comes close to the $70k Harvard states as our total budget in my measly offering of $8k in need-based grant coupled with the Stafford loan.

 

Has anyone been able to talk to them about their allocation process?  Is this just because they're Harvard and don't actually give a sh*t if I come there next year or not?

[JR14]

This is the response I got when I emailed the Financial Aid office:

 

We use various criteria in determining your eligibility for specific awards, and unfortunately you did not qualify for a Federal Work Study Award or Federal Perkins Loan.  Later in the year if funding becomes available and we are able to adjust our eligibility requirements we may award these funds and would notify you of the change if this is done.  Since there is no guarantee of additional funding we recommend that applicants make their admissions decision based on their current financial aid package.  Hopefully this helps answer your questions- best of luck and have a good day.

[OCD or Perfection?]

Many many congratulations to all of you.

 

I am an HGSE' 15 graduating student and instead of living alone, I was part of a six-person house of students coming to HGSE from India, Florida, Pakistan, Texas, France, and New York. 

 

Intentionally, we are all from different cohorts and from many different countries and religions. Staying together, we have been able to make the most of the (very) short year at HGSE. Right from insight into dozens of different courses we were collectively taking, to getting the opportunity to network across HGSE’s 13 cohorts, to sharing an Uber to events happening all over the city– we had the best of times this year staying together. Not only that, we saved massively on rent! We pushed each other intellectually and personally, helped find jobs, select classes—two of us are starting a company and moving to Silicon Valley upon graduation.

 

How did we do it? At the very beginning, two of us got together and decided on what we wanted most out of this year. Then we put up a post on the 2015 group advertising our ideas, many people were eager to be part of ‘the house’. When we started thinking about this last April, we had no idea if anyone would be interested. By the time we finalized the last six, we had over 40 people apply, around a dozen of whom we seriously considered before making decisions. We had discussions with several students to find a match (we also had a spreadsheet where each of us shared biographical information, future professional goals, experiences, political views, religious inclinations, and many other such things) and finally we diversified the house to have different cohorts, experiences and interests!

 

You can create a house to suit your needs, all from same cohort, two cohorts or complete diversity – you will be fine anyway you go. A key part of this experience is also getting the right house. A warm welcoming house which has plenty of common space, enough to host party for an entire cohort. You should try and secure such a house, that ways you would be able to have different cohorts, professors over at your place every now and then. It’s a super-fast way to get to know your class, to form a network and to tap into opportunities at Harvard and elsewhere.

 

Best of all, we are here to support you. If anyone, or a group, is interested in taking the lead on organizing something similar this year—we are happy to meet with you, talk to you, and connect you with both our experience and the resources we have from last year. We are excited to help you brainstorm logistically (house type, rent, distance etc) and intellectually (what to look for in roommates that will push your thinking, whether same cohort, people from across Harvard grad schools vs. MIT and many other things). We also have a list of realtors we worked with—and actually, might have just the magic house for a group of 5 or 6 (details on that later).

 

So, if you are interested, feel free to reach out to me. I work well with messaging—feel free to add me on facebook.

Edited March 27, 2015 by OCD or Perfection?

[ChoSundari]

Emailed admissions to find out about deferring acceptance to next year, still waiting on a reply from them...anyone have any information as to the process? are there forms to fill out or do I just communicate directly with admissions?

[SCGH]

Emailed admissions to find out about deferring acceptance to next year, still waiting on a reply from them...anyone have any information as to the process? are there forms to fill out or do I just communicate directly with admissions?

 

Deferrals, as I understand them, generally are only granted for medical reasons or personal reasons (e.g. taking care of an ill parent/child) - I have heard they will not grant deferrals simply for financial or professional circumstances.

[viget]

hi y'all!

 

I heard from an admitted master's student that there's a fb group graduating students use to share apartment/housing openings that incoming students might be interested in? could someone share the link to that? I'm an incoming PhD student looking for a place to live, and would be happy to take an apartment off a graduating student's hands!

[emiliella]

I didn't hear about a FB group, but saw a google doc with apartments which will become available at the end of May. I believe it is on pre-matriculation website (sorry can't find it myself now)

[viget]

I didn't hear about a FB group, but saw a google doc with apartments which will become available at the end of May. I believe it is on pre-matriculation website (sorry can't find it myself now)

 

I checked the PhD pre-mat site and couldn't find anything. if someone could find that link and share it with me (maybe via PM?), I'd be so so grateful!

[elveintiocho]

I think the group you're looking for is the Harvard Grad Market, although it's not just for apartments: https://www.facebook.com/groups/harvardgradmarket/

[laurakpeters]

This is the response I got when I emailed the Financial Aid office:

 

We use various criteria in determining your eligibility for specific awards, and unfortunately you did not qualify for a Federal Work Study Award or Federal Perkins Loan.  Later in the year if funding becomes available and we are able to adjust our eligibility requirements we may award these funds and would notify you of the change if this is done.  Since there is no guarantee of additional funding we recommend that applicants make their admissions decision based on their current financial aid package.  Hopefully this helps answer your questions- best of luck and have a good day.

 

Has anyone else e-mailed or called Financial Aid?  Anyone had any luck with getting more money?  I am so, so frustrated at my measly aid package... HGSE has always been my top choice but I am freaking out about money, especially after being offered so much at Columbia.  I also can't believe I didn't qualify for work study since I did qualify at Teachers College.  Anyone having luck with this?

[JR14]

Has anyone else e-mailed or called Financial Aid?  Anyone had any luck with getting more money?  I am so, so frustrated at my measly aid package... HGSE has always been my top choice but I am freaking out about money, especially after being offered so much at Columbia.  I also can't believe I didn't qualify for work study since I did qualify at Teachers College.  Anyone having luck with this?

Unfortunately, I think the idea is that this is Harvard and they don't need to give decent financial aid in order for students to go there.  Seems a bit mean spirited for students who probably aren't heading into especially lucrative careers after the degree, though.

[SCGH]

Unfortunately, I think the idea is that this is Harvard and they don't need to give decent financial aid in order for students to go there.  Seems a bit mean spirited for students who probably aren't heading into especially lucrative careers after the degree, though.

 

Having been a master's student at HGSE, I can tell you from my experience, this is not the case.  The simple fact is that HGSE does not have the financial endowment to be able to give grants/scholarships to every deserving student.  In fact, Dean Ryan has made that one of his fundraising priorities as part of the recently launched $250M HGSE Campaign (part of the larger, Harvard-wide $6.5B capital campaign).  While Harvard in total has an endowment of $37B, the Ed school has a very very small fraction of that, much of which is used to support faculty chairs, academic programming and doctoral fellowships.  There are 600 master's students, many of whom come from modest economic backgrounds.  It seems like many get offered a $8-12K scholarship, which if you assume on average comes to $10K per student, is quite a sum of money ($6M, which would require a $200M dedicated endowment).

[JR14]

Having been a master's student at HGSE, I can tell you from my experience, this is not the case.  The simple fact is that HGSE does not have the financial endowment to be able to give grants/scholarships to every deserving student.  In fact, Dean Ryan has made that one of his fundraising priorities as part of the recently launched $250M HGSE Campaign (part of the larger, Harvard-wide $6.5B capital campaign).  While Harvard in total has an endowment of $37B, the Ed school has a very very small fraction of that, much of which is used to support faculty chairs, academic programming and doctoral fellowships.  There are 600 master's students, many of whom come from modest economic backgrounds.  It seems like many get offered a $8-12K scholarship, which if you assume on average comes to $10K per student, is quite a sum of money ($6M, which would require a $200M dedicated endowment).

That makes a lot of sense!  It's just a shame that HGSE would have such a small endowment given that it seems to be a great school at a university with an incredibly large endowment.

[omnomnam]

It is true that HGSE has a smaller endowment than other Harvard schools, but let's not kid ourselves. Even schools like Harvard Law and HBS are known for giving small aid packages. Harvard knows students will pay.

Furthermore, Master's programs at most institutions around the world are rarely funded at all.

I say this all not to scare you away from HGSE; rather, to demonstrate that some of this is not a problem specific to HGSE...Master's programs simply aren't often funded.

[SCGH]

In related news, HGSE has raised $145M of its $250M goal so far:

 

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/4/13/ed-school-raises-funds/

[laurakpeters]

Unfortunately, I think the idea is that this is Harvard and they don't need to give decent financial aid in order for students to go there.  Seems a bit mean spirited for students who probably aren't heading into especially lucrative careers after the degree, though.

 

I actually did e-mail financial aid a formal request for review, explaining that some specific personal situations, and that the FAFSA is psychotic and clearly doesn't understand the cost of living in the Bay Area.  They reviewed my letter and awarded me $7k in additional Perkins Loans and also $5k in FWS, which I originally didn't get -- even though I received it at the other schools to which I applied.

 

So, not a huuuuge amount but definitely a help!  I would encourage you to reach out to them if you have a financial situation not captured on your FAFSA.  This at least made me feel like HGSE wants me to be there, which I think might have been half of my frustration

[jodid]

Hi gang,

Sorry to jump in with a question that is unrelated to the current discussion but I'm wondering if someone could help me with a quick question.  I will be applying to HGSE for the fall of 2016 and due to circumstances, one of my reference letters will need to be written soon.  Being that the application process for 2016 isn't open yet, I am hoping one of you can let me know if the application package gives any specific information regarding the reference letters.  Are they to be uploaded/submitted by the person who writes each of them?

Thanks.

[higheredhopeful]

In the application, you submit the email addresses of the recommenders. The application system then contacts the recommenders and tells them how to upoad the reference letter.

 

I would call the admissions office to explain your situation. They'll probably tell you that your recommender can mail it in.

[jodid]

In the application, you submit the email addresses of the recommenders. The application system then contacts the recommenders and tells them how to upoad the reference letter.

 

I would call the admissions office to explain your situation. They'll probably tell you that your recommender can mail it in.

 

Thanks so much!