HGSE 2017

[ScOnion]

Newbie here

I recently stumbled upon the HDP program and fell in love with it, may I ask how competitive the program is?  If I have less than 1 year of working experience, does my profile have to be exceptional? 

[Espeon]

First post! Excited to join the conversation as we wait out the next few weeks/months. 

Program: PhD-EPPE
GRE Score: 170V, 165Q, 5.5AWA
GPA: 3.88; major gpa 4.0
Work Experience: Two years teaching English and being content lead for my subject area at an underserved public high school; I worked in various capacities for the college I attended while I was a student there. 
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): Top 20; private
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Vanderbilt, Stanford, Berkeley, Princeton (Sociology), Columbia, a few local universities 

I have pretty good GRE scores, but since fit is such a big factor in PhD programs and so much emphasis is on the SOP, I'm very anxious for January/February. Best of luck to everyone! 

[Espeon]

On 11/25/2016 at 3:37 PM, ScOnion said:

Newbie here

I recently stumbled upon the HDP program and fell in love with it, may I ask how competitive the program is?  If I have less than 1 year of working experience, does my profile have to be exceptional? 

Not sure about how competitive this program is, but I don't think the one year of experience will hurt you--from what I understand HGSE is interested in diverse cohorts, so it's all about what you spent the year doing as well as how you present yourself in your SOP, what your recommenders say, GRE scores and GPA, etc. 

[Vulpix]

On 11/25/2016 at 3:37 PM, ScOnion said:

Newbie here

I recently stumbled upon the HDP program and fell in love with it, may I ask how competitive the program is?  If I have less than 1 year of working experience, does my profile have to be exceptional? 

From my experience talking to admissions people, the average is 4 years of work experience and most programs only have 1 or 2 people who have 0-1 years of experience (or rather, 1 person straight of out college 2-5 people with a year of experience).  If you are a strong candidate otherwise, you can be admitted for sure, but it's less common.  (This is not specific to HDP but generally speaking)

[ScOnion]

i see... thanks a lot!

[Let_18]

Does anyone know when notifications for interview are sent? 

[boscojoba]

5 hours ago, Let_18 said:

Does anyone know when notifications for interview are sent? 

January I believe...

[Espeon]

5 hours ago, Let_18 said:

Does anyone know when notifications for interview are sent? 

Last year I think PhD interviews were sent around January 23. Acceptance notifications were made around February 8. This is based on the gradcafe survey results. 

[graciasadios]

Last year, acceptance notifications were released on March 4th around 5:45 pm EST. If I were y'all, I would read through the HGSE 2016 thread. We had a really good group of people who shared a lot of helpful information. Some information was not helpful, but passed the time . We ended up with 34 pages of comments. I'm sure you will have a better sense of this admissions process if you just start with page 1 and read through the whole thread.

[lmckee]

I think they send out the PhD notifications are sent out in January for interviews. I think Educational Leadership interviews are in February. 

[hopefulPhD2017]

 

Program: Education PhD
GRE Score: 163V/151Q/6.0 AWA
GPA undergrad: 3.5, grad GPA: 3.94 & 4.0
Work Experience: 15 years: TFA, non-profits
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc.): Public + two graduate degrees, one private, one Ivy
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Penn, Vanderbilt, USC, Univ of Michigan, Ohio State, Claremont

 

Wishing everyone good luck!

[hopefulPhD2017]

On 12/2/2016 at 10:01 AM, graciasadios said:

Last year, acceptance notifications were released on March 4th around 5:45 pm EST. If I were y'all, I would read through the HGSE 2016 thread. We had a really good group of people who shared a lot of helpful information. Some information was not helpful, but passed the time . We ended up with 34 pages of comments. I'm sure you will have a better sense of this admissions process if you just start with page 1 and read through the whole thread.

I just read through it, wow! Lots of information. Thank you!!

[hopefulPhD2017]

I think HGSE is the only school that hasn't sent me an email confirming all of my things are in and telling me how to follow-up. I've been the GSAS page it's pretty bare bones. Am I missing something? Anyone else seen how we can track application status?

Thanks!

[Espeon]

1 hour ago, hopefulPhD2017 said:

I think HGSE is the only school that hasn't sent me an email confirming all of my things are in and telling me how to follow-up. I've been the GSAS page it's pretty bare bones. Am I missing something? Anyone else seen how we can track application status?

Thanks!

I got a confirmation email for both my application and my supplemental section for my HGAS/HGSE application on the day I sent it and an email confirmation for each of my recommenders. :/ When I log in to view the application, it says in green font "Application Status: Submitted." 

 

Maybe it it went into spam?

Edited December 10, 2016 by Espeon

[hopefulPhD2017]

16 hours ago, Espeon said:

I got a confirmation email for both my application and my supplemental section for my HGAS/HGSE application on the day I sent it and an email confirmation for each of my recommenders. :/ When I log in to view the application, it says in green font "Application Status: Submitted." 

 

Maybe it it went into spam?

Sorrry, yes, I got that one.

Other schools have given me a unique ID and a link to another site so I can see which materials are still pending or the status of my application. I read all of the HGSE 16 thread and it looks like Harvard has something link that as well, but maybe it's in the works of being set up...

[Espeon]

12 minutes ago, hopefulPhD2017 said:

Sorrry, yes, I got that one.

Other schools have given me a unique ID and a link to another site so I can see which materials are still pending or the status of my application. I read all of the HGSE 16 thread and it looks like Harvard has something link that as well, but maybe it's in the works of being set up...

Out of curiosity, did you get something like that from Vanderbilt? I've only gotten something like that from one school (UGA), but the only school I've applied to that you also applied to (besides Harvard) is Vanderbilt, so maybe the schools I applied to don't really do that as much. Now I feel like I haven't been getting something I'm supposed to. Lol. 

Edited December 10, 2016 by Espeon

[hopefulPhD2017]

29 minutes ago, Espeon said:

Out of curiosity, did you get something like that from Vanderbilt? I've only gotten something like that from one school (UGA), but the only school I've applied to that you also applied to (besides Harvard) is Vanderbilt, so maybe the schools I applied to don't really do that as much. Now I feel like I haven't been getting something I'm supposed to. Lol. 

Just reviewed your profile. I also applied to Stanford. I also only got a confirmation email from Peabody, so no, I didn't, but some  other schools have let me see my materials and application process via unique identifier although now that I review my checklists, that's only 3/9. 

Sorry to freak you out! Wondering if you are also TFA alum? What program strands are you looking at?

[Espeon]

48 minutes ago, hopefulPhD2017 said:

Just reviewed your profile. I also applied to Stanford. I also only got a confirmation email from Peabody, so no, I didn't, but some  other schools have let me see my materials and application process via unique identifier although now that I review my checklists, that's only 3/9. 

Sorry to freak you out! Wondering if you are also TFA alum? What program strands are you looking at?

Gotcha! I am not a TFA alum, but I am teaching in a high-need high school. I was certified through an alternative prep program. I'm looking at ed policy, program evaluation, and inequality. I'm excited to start going the research route! How about you? What types of programs are you applying to? 

[hopefulPhD2017]

12 minutes ago, Espeon said:

Gotcha! I am not a TFA alum, but I am teaching in a high-need high school. I was certified through an alternative prep program. I'm looking at ed policy, program evaluation, and inequality. I'm excited to start going the research route! How about you? What types of programs are you applying to? 

Ah, very cool. I'm excited about research too. I had a lot of fun just researching programs and seeing the diversity of faculty research interests. I'm looking at similar programs: policy, inequality, talent pipelines, and large scale district/state initiatives and evaluation. Seems like we have a lot in common! Did you go to any of the HGSE on campus visits? Or have any contact with faculty?

I went to two virtual sessions and emailed the professor I'd most be interested in working with, but he did not email me back.

[Vulpix]

6 hours ago, hopefulPhD2017 said:

Ah, very cool. I'm excited about research too. I had a lot of fun just researching programs and seeing the diversity of faculty research interests. I'm looking at similar programs: policy, inequality, talent pipelines, and large scale district/state initiatives and evaluation. Seems like we have a lot in common! Did you go to any of the HGSE on campus visits? Or have any contact with faculty?

I went to two virtual sessions and emailed the professor I'd most be interested in working with, but he did not email me back.

Many HGSE professors have a policy of not responding to prospective student emails because they get too many/it wouldn't be fair.  Although they are sometimes happy to meet in person.

[hopefulPhD2017]

1 hour ago, Vulpix said:

Many HGSE professors have a policy of not responding to prospective student emails because they get too many/it wouldn't be fair.  Although they are sometimes happy to meet in person.

Thank you for sharing that, @vulpix! Eases my nerves as I wait a bit...

 

[hopefulPhD2017]

Somehow I didn't see this before, so in case you missed it too, here's a screen shot from the HGSE web site on scores.

I swear I saw higher average scores somewhere...

Edited December 11, 2016 by hopefulPhD2017

[Espeon]

22 hours ago, hopefulPhD2017 said:

Ah, very cool. I'm excited about research too. I had a lot of fun just researching programs and seeing the diversity of faculty research interests. I'm looking at similar programs: policy, inequality, talent pipelines, and large scale district/state initiatives and evaluation. Seems like we have a lot in common! Did you go to any of the HGSE on campus visits? Or have any contact with faculty?

I went to two virtual sessions and emailed the professor I'd most be interested in working with, but he did not email me back.

It does seem like we have a lot in common! I haven't been able to make it to campus, but I went to a local info session held by HGSE admissions. It was really interesting and helpful. I was able to talk with a current PhD student, which was informative, and I asked the admissions rep if it was necessary/helpful to contact professors but she said they don't take that into account when admitting students. That said, I had already contacted one professor who emailed me back and was very nice, so I think responses just depend on the professor and their willingness to respond/time constraints/etc. 

[forgetful26]

So, I realised I made a silly mistake. I wrote the name of one of the professors I would love to work with wrong, after writing it right in a previous sentence. My word processor corrected it endless times, so this was a mistake it went. Do you think that's a straight rejection? 

also, my stats: 

 

Program: Education PhD
GRE Score: 159V/153Q/5.5 AWA
GPA undergrad: 3.5

Work Experience: 4 years: Ministry of Education-medium level position. 
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc.): Private college
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: ---

 

thanks!

[Espeon]

1 hour ago, forgetful26 said:

So, I realised I made a silly mistake. I wrote the name of one of the professors I would love to work with wrong, after writing it right in a previous sentence. My word processor corrected it endless times, so this was a mistake it went. Do you think that's a straight rejection? 

also, my stats: 

 

Program: Education PhD
GRE Score: 159V/153Q/5.5 AWA
GPA undergrad: 3.5

Work Experience: 4 years: Ministry of Education-medium level position. 
Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc.): Private college
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: ---

 

thanks!

Since your word processor makes that mistake a lot, maybe other people's do, too. If it's a mistake they see a lot, they may not disqualify your app, especially since they know you CAN spell it right and it is probably an autocorrect/spellcheck thing. However, I don't know. I have heard that they look for any reason to weed out applications and that may be one of the criteria they use. I wouldn't worry any more about it. It's in the committee's hands at this point, and you don't want to stress any more than you have to!