HGSE 2017

[aina7]

Hello, HGSE hopefuls! I started the thread for HGSE last year but ended up not applying due to extremely low GRE scores. I decided to take another year to work, and get more experience in the education sector. So, here are are my stats. Let me know what you think. Be brutal!

Applying for M.A 

I am an international applicant.
Program: PSP (practice strand)
GRE Score: V 155, Q 140, AWA: 4.0 (will be retaking it)
GPA: 3.05 (2 health related withdrawals recommended by the university and some very low grades)
Work Experience: multiple internship & volunteer experiences in youth development throughout college (turned my last internship into a full-time job J). 1.5 years as a project coordinator at a leading policy research institution in the world. 8 months of teaching experience at a university outside of the United States. And I just started working on health promotion project among school-age children.
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): international student at a private city school  
Research Experience: My research experience is limited to my undergraduate years. I am more into project development, management and fundraising rather than research.
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Columbia MSW (no GRE required!)

I have visted both HGSE and Columbia MSW open houses. HGSE commnity, that they endearingly call "hugsie", is so warm and close-knit. The curriculum is extremely flexible. The student body is so diverse! 

P.S. Info about HGSE having 50% acceptance rate is total b.s. 

Edited August 19, 2016 by aina7

[Vulpix]

FWIW, my roommate here at HGSE had a 3.0 GPA   And I don't think she had very compelling reasons for having it.

[aina7]

1 minute ago, Vulpix said:

FWIW, my roommate here at HGSE had a 3.0 GPA   And I don't think she had very compelling reasons for having it.

I am crying over here :') Did she have good GRE scores though? How would you evaluate my stats?

Thanks!

[Vulpix]

35 minutes ago, aina7 said:

I am crying over here :') Did she have good GRE scores though? How would you evaluate my stats?

Thanks!

She had a 164 Verbal, 5.0 AWA, and I'm not sure about math but it was fine I think.  I should add that her 3.0 was from an elite US university, so that helps.  I don't know much about PSP but I think HGSE truly does look at the holistic person, so I would just say try to raise the GRE score and write a really good essay.  There's no reason you don't have a shot.  The admissions people here were telling me how there are so many qualified people who don't apply here who don't believe they would get in, but they would.

[Levon3]

9 hours ago, aina7 said:

P.S. Info about HGSE having 50% acceptance rate is total b.s. 

Why do you say this?

[aina7]

On 20 августа 2016 г. at 6:40 AM, Levon3 said:

Why do you say this?

I attended two HGSE open houses and nobody supported this statistic. Each program at HGSE has its own admission statistics. Some programs are more popular and hence more competitive. Others are more lenient. 

[TAB93]

Hi hopefuls -- offering up my stats as I expect this thread to take off in the upcoming months. 


Program: EPM
GRE Score: Taking in November 
GPA: N/A
Work Experience: TFA/D.C. State Board of Education/National education non-profit
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..):  Oxford, UK
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: UPenn/Columbia/Brown/Oxford/Cambridge

[cokpala]

Thanks for starting this thread aina7! 

Program: IEP
GRE Score: decent (except math, which was very average)
GPA:  3.83
Work Experience: six years teaching Spanish (public and private, elementary and secondary), a summer leading professional development for teachers in technology in Peru, a year working with immersion programming for domestic secondary students, a year working at a student exchange non-profit, three years working in an international program at a high school (of which I have been the director for the past two years). I've lived, worked, and studied in 20+ countries. (That being said, a lot of these experiences overlap)
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..):  UC 
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: UPenn, Columbia, Stanford, NYU, USF and possibly George Washington or American 

 

Let me know if anyone has suggestions of other schools to apply to for international education, international education policy, etc. I am on the west coast and am unable to make it to any open houses on the east coast, so I would very much appreciate any and all information.

 

I'm also happy to help others in any way I can.

 

Thank you!

 

   0

 

Edited September 4, 2016 by cokpala

[engled52]

Can one get into the HGSE Teaching Education Program without urban classroom experience? Might a high GPA/GREs, good recs, and summer teaching experience (at a GT summer program) enough? This question would also apply to Penn's program, and Berkeley's, etc...

[rockrmoose]

Going to get on this train.

 

Program: HEP
GRE Score: 155V, 154Q, 5 AWA
GPA: 3.68
Work Experience: 1 year teaching English under the Fulbright Program, 3 months as an Undergrad Admissions Rep at UCSC. Before graduating undergrad, I worked at the alumni engagement office for 4 years as a work study student doing data entry. 
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..):  UCSC
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: UPenn, USF, UCLA, Stanford, UMich.

[aina7]

On September 5, 2016 at 4:40 AM, cokpala said:

Thanks for starting this thread aina7! 

Program: IEP
GRE Score: decent (except math, which was very average)
GPA:  3.83
Work Experience: six years teaching Spanish (public and private, elementary and secondary), a summer leading professional development for teachers in technology in Peru, a year working with immersion programming for domestic secondary students, a year working at a student exchange non-profit, three years working in an international program at a high school (of which I have been the director for the past two years). I've lived, worked, and studied in 20+ countries. (That being said, a lot of these experiences overlap)
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..):  UC 
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: UPenn, Columbia, Stanford, NYU, USF and possibly George Washington or American 

 

Let me know if anyone has suggestions of other schools to apply to for international education, international education policy, etc. I am on the west coast and am unable to make it to any open houses on the east coast, so I would very much appreciate any and all information.

 

I'm also happy to help others in any way I can.

 

Thank you!

 

   0

You have amazing experience and academic record. If you study for GRE and re-take, you have all the chances of getting in!

 

[aston006]

Thanks for starting this thread, I think it will be great from this point moving forward! 

Program: Higher Education
GRE Score: 155V/158Q/4.0AWA (I won't be taking it again)
GPA: Graduating senior, and will be around 3.3 at time of application
Work Experience: Internship at a leadership consultancy firm, Leadership minor TA (2 semesters now), Welcome week leader (2 years), International ambassador for my college where I went to high schools back home and talked about the US higher education system, mentor on program for incoming international students, multiple leadership positions in student groups.
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..):  Minnesota (top 25 public)
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Minnesota/Rutgers/Virginia/Washington/Arizona State

A bit of background- I'm an international senior from the UK majoring in business and marketing education, and double minoring in leadership and management. I want to go into international recruitment and admissions, so there's probably no better place to go than Harvard. I know applying to higher education is one of the toughest programs to get in to, especially straight out of college. I'll still try though; there's no shame in getting rejected from Harvard, so why not try anyway? i read somewhere that they look for students with leadership backgrounds, is this true? I've tried to immerse myself in anything leadership related, so I'm hoping this is true. I'm also going to the info session in Minneapolis on the 5th of October, so I should be able to get more information to put on this forum after I do!

[cavenue]

Hey everyone,

Program: School Leadership 
GRE Score: 164V/161Q/5.0AWA
GPA: 3.6 (double majored with a science)
Work Experience: TFA, 4th year teaching in urban district, 2 teacher leadership roles around curriculum, summer doing school operations work
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..):  Private, top 30
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Unsure, probably Penn and Columbia

 

I'm curious if anyone knows anything about the admissions criteria for the School Leadership program - I know they look for people with some leadership roles, but to what extent? Are they looking for applicants who have already worked in administration roles? Also, I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about the urban scholars fellowship - it says it is academic based, and I know I qualify based on my work in an urban district, but what academic credentials are typical of those awarded this fellowship?

Thanks, and good luck to everyone applying!

Edited September 24, 2016 by cavenue

[Vulpix]

1 hour ago, cavenue said:

Hey everyone,

Program: School Leadership 
GRE Score: 164V/161Q/5.0AWA
GPA: 3.6 (double majored with a science)
Work Experience: TFA, 4th year teaching in urban district, 2 teacher leadership roles around curriculum, summer doing school operations work
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..):  Private, top 30
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Unsure, probably Penn and Columbia

 

I'm curious if anyone knows anything about the admissions criteria for the School Leadership program - I know they look for people with some leadership roles, but to what extent? Are they looking for applicants who have already worked in administration roles? Also, I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about the urban scholars fellowship - it says it is academic based, and I know I qualify based on my work in an urban district, but what academic credentials are typical of those awarded this fellowship?

Thanks, and good luck to everyone applying!

This is purely anecdotal, but the School Leadership students tend to be older than the average in other programs.

[easteregg]

No one has posted here in awhile, but i'm a potential HGSE hopeful! I've actually worked for Harvard for past 2.5 years. Being on campus and working full time kinda made me feel less motivated to apply to grad schools in general because I'm already on campus but I've been feeling more & more sure that I want to be in grad school by next fall.

Program: Higher Ed 
GRE Score: TBA
GPA: Liberal arts major with low overall GPA due to personal situations in early years of undergrad. 3.66, 4.0, 3.90, and 3.90 in my last four semesters; 3.26 in-major overall, 3.85 in-major for last four semesters.
Work Experience: Undergrad positions in admissions, dean of students, peer advising, and communications dept within student affairs. Full time positions at Harvard working in advising, academic programming, dealing with dean's/faculty.
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc.):  Virginia Tech (I think it was a top 25 public when I attended but currently isnt)
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Penn GSE (because it's free haha) unsure where else at the moment

I've mostly been deterred from applying due to my low overall GPA & lack of professor relationships for a recommendation, even though my last semesters were very strong. I've also been unreasonably afraid of taking the GRE and am not that great of a test taker. Hopefully my years of undergrad work experience, very meaningful student leadership positions, and full time employment will help balance out the application.

[neurosci5]

I am a 2017 Ed.M. Candidate in the MBE program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Please reach out if you have any specific questions pertaining to the school or the program! Good luck everyone! 

[pleemo]

Hi Everyone! I've been lurking on this thread for awhile and decided to go ahead and post. Looking forward to connecting with you all during the craziness of the upcoming months.

Program: Higher Ed 
GRE Score: 165V/161Q/5.0AWA
GPA: 3.9 (Double major in Foreign Lang. & Intl. Relations)
Work Experience: 3 years of undergrad experience working in college access. Since college, I've completed 2 AmeriCorps terms (school readiness/child abuse prevention), worked with foster youth transitioning to permanency, and now going into my 3rd year coordinating a non-profit college access program.
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc.):  UC 
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: UCLA, USF, Stanford, possibly USC and Univ. of Washington

[midmarsh]

Program: IEP 
GRE Score: 161V/164Q/4.0AWA
GPA: 3.2 (Double major in International Studies and Mathematics. Pure Math is the reason for the low GPA)
Work Experience: volunteer tutor for literacy non-profit for 2 years, worked as a tutor for pre-college program aimed at students of color or from low-income households, 2 years as a Peace Corps Volunteer
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc.):  Wisconsin
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Penn, GWU, NYU, Columbia, Vanderbilt (One major PCV perk: most schools give us fee waivers)

Also, for those writing their personal statements, what is a good word count? The limit is 1,500 words but that's far above what other schools ask for in M.A. programs

[Vulpix]

5 hours ago, midmarsh said:

Program: IEP 
GRE Score: 161V/164Q/4.0AWA
GPA: 3.2 (Double major in International Studies and Mathematics. Pure Math is the reason for the low GPA)
Work Experience: volunteer tutor for literacy non-profit for 2 years, worked as a tutor for pre-college program aimed at students of color or from low-income households, 2 years as a Peace Corps Volunteer
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc.):  Wisconsin
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Penn, GWU, NYU, Columbia, Vanderbilt (One major PCV perk: most schools give us fee waivers)

Also, for those writing their personal statements, what is a good word count? The limit is 1,500 words but that's far above what other schools ask for in M.A. programs

Pretty sure you should use those 1,500 words well  If you have nothing left to say, don't try to stretch it, but I definitely used all 1500 words

Oh good, ANOTHER RPCV in IEP   (there's gotta be like 10 of you in my program now)

[elpoh51]

Hi! Looking forward to chatting with other HGSE hopefuls. I am incredibly passionate about urban education. I've taught in Brooklyn for the last four years, and I am ready to step outside of the classroom to pursue opportunities that will allow me to impact the education of even more students.

Program: Education Policy and Management

GRE Score: V 159, Q 162, AWA: Waiting

GPA: 3.98 

Work Experience: 4 years teaching 3rd grade in a high-performing urban charter school. I'm also an instructional coach and write ELA curriculum for my charter network. 
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): Ivy
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Just Harvard. I'm super excited about the Policy and Management program  

[ChaiL]

Hi everyone, 

 

This is my first post on GradCafe! So glad to have discovered this space where our collective wisdom and anxiety can be shared.

Program: IEP 
GRE Score: 160V/156Q/4.0AWA
GPA: 3.53 (Undergraduate degree in Engineering)
Work Experience: 8 years in all. 2 years in Engineering sector after which I made a switch to education, two years teaching at an under-resourced school, a short international internship and the past 4 years leading a teacher development organization that works with public school educators.
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc.):  Private (Not one of the top schools in my country but a decent college)
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Penn, Columbia, Vanderbilt

Does anyone have on tips for SoP writing based on your experiences? How many reviewers do you plan on?

Also, in the applications when they ask for no. of years of experience - do we mention upto the point of application (Dec 2017) or upto  Aug/Sept 2017?

Edited November 16, 2016 by ChaiL

[lmckee]

This is my first post. 

Program: Harvard Educational Leadership or a masters program
GRE Score: 151V/142Q/ (still waiting) AWA ( I need to take the test again)
GPA: 3.6 (undergrad: Vocal Performance), 3.8 (masters in educational psychology)
Work Experience: 3 years by the end of this year. I realize I do not have a great deal of experience, but have a very unique SOP. 
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc.): Private (not Ivy), Public (U of U)
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: none

I am so incredibly nervous. I have a few questions. What do you think are the odds of getting in overall? Is it true that if you don't get an interview you don't get in? If you don't get a letter by the end of January you don't get in? I'm not sure. 

 

Edited November 22, 2016 by lmckee

[Vulpix]

1 hour ago, lmckee said:

This is my first post. 

Program: Harvard Educational Leadership or a masters program
GRE Score: 151V/142Q/ (still waiting) AWA ( I need to take the test again)
GPA: 3.6 (undergrad: Vocal Performance), 3.8 (masters in educational psychology)
Work Experience: 3 years by the end of this year. I realize I do not have a great deal of experience, but have a very unique SOP. 
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc.): Private (not Ivy), Public (U of U)
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: none

I am so incredibly nervous. I have a few questions. What do you think are the odds of getting in overall? Is it true that if you don't get an interview you don't get in? If you don't get a letter by the end of January you don't get in? I'm not sure. 

 

I don't think a doctoral program would accept you with those GRE scores. Masters perhaps if you have the exceptional SOP. Why are you only applying to HGSE?

[graciasadios]

Current SLP student here.

The mode and average age of SLP students this year is approximately 28 years old. The youngest is 25 and the oldest is 40+. @Vulpix is generally accurate in saying that SLP is older than other programs because the state requires 3 years of teaching experience in order to become a principal. The program with the oldest average age, in my estimation, is the Ed.L.D. The programs with the youngest students are the ones without a work experience requirement (e.g. EPM, PSP, MBE, AiE etc.) In my biased opinion, SLP is the strongest master's program followed by EPM.

@cavenue I would say that SLP wants to see leadership skills more than administrative experience. The program does not expect you to already be a principal before enrolling in a program to become a principal. They want to see that you have a track record of leadership skills (e.g. curriculum design, instructional leadership, community engagement etc.)

The Urban Scholars Fellowship (USF) is merit-based. I'm not certain, but my understanding is that the Director handpicks the top candidates who they really want to matriculate. I was told that there is usually one USF per program. SLP has three USFs this year, which indicates the quality of our cohort and the generosity of HGSE. The three students selected were: Yale TFA, Yale TFA, and Vassar. Let's just say that USF means you write a single paragraph and if HGSE really, really wants you then they offer you the USF. I think they care more about your overall profile than your test scores or GPA. My recommendation for your USF application is to tell an emotionally-moving story that talks about equity and leadership. Also, if you happen to earn the USF, I recommend not telling other students in your cohort. You don't have to hide it, but definitely don't flaunt it.

I'd be happy to send my Statement of Purpose to anyone in a personal message. For the record, my scores were nearly identical to yours @cavenue   

 

[lmckee]

I found out my analytical score. 5.0! 93 percentile. So, my verbal is mediocre, my quantitive terrible, but my analytical great! Now what?