HGSE 2017

[Levon3]

On 3/16/2017 at 2:33 PM, mg91 said:

Hey all. I need some help deciding. In addition to being admitted to HGSE's Specialized Studies program, I've been admitted into UC Berkeley and SFSU's Joint PhD program in Special Education. Both are amazing programs but two very different commitments. I believe my end goal is a Ph.D., and the Berkeley/SFSU program is a wonderful one for my research interests and needs. However, I wasn't eligible to many PhD programs this time around since I didn't have a masters, and am wondering if it's worth taking a year to do the Harvard program so that I would be eligible for more PhDs next time around... what do you think? A bird in the hand? My research interests are really specific and UCB/SFSU is really open and supportive to what I want to do... it seems like the right decision, but I'm having trouble imagining turning down a masters from Harvard and imagining all of the "what if" scenarios that could happen if I go that route... Help? Thank you!!

How's the funding at UCB/SFSU? I know it can be hard to turn down Harvard; I did this a few years ago and I still think about it sometimes. What would you hope for in a program that UCB/SFSU aren't offering?

[HisGrace]

Aid package has arrived! 

 

17k in grants, rest loans. Wow.

[Lisha]

Same as @HisGrace. Was offered 17,000 in grants. 

[midmarsh]

 I was only offered 5k in grants and 20k in unsubsidized loans, which doesn't even cover the cost of tuition. I don't know what to do.

[DChgse]

I received 20k in loans but nothing in grants. That is really upsetting to me. I was dead set on attending but was depending on some grant money. Teacher pay isn't enough...

[elpoh51]

@DChgse same :-\

[Vulpix]

There are some students who take out the additional Grad Plus loans and maybe then private loans to cover the remaining costs. The advisability of this if you have an alternative program of equal quality to attend is pretty questionable, though.

[Girl with Buddha Tattoo]

1 hour ago, Vulpix said:

There are some students who take out the additional Grad Plus loans and maybe then private loans to cover the remaining costs. The advisability of this if you have an alternative program of equal quality to attend is pretty questionable, though.

Hey Vulpix, does these package arrive in different days. I haven't received mine. Does this mean I m probably not getting it?

[brooks88]

hi everyone. very long-time lurker here & excited to be joining HGSE in 2017! congrats to all accepted  it's been very encouraging reading these forums for support throughout the very long application process. 

 

Edited March 23, 2017 by brooks88

[Supraja]

6 hours ago, Girl with Buddha Tattoo said:

Hey Vulpix, does these package arrive in different days. I haven't received mine. Does this mean I m probably not getting it?

I haven't heard from them either. I think that means I won't be getting any grants/loans. Extremely upsetting.

[Lisha]

2 hours ago, Supraja said:

I haven't heard from them either. I think that means I won't be getting any grants/loans. Extremely upsetting.

@Supraja, @Girl with Buddha Tattoo Have you guys signed into your financial aid pages on the aid site and checked? Sign and check Your Messages, and see what it says there.

Hope you guys get some good news soon!

[Supraja]

12 minutes ago, Lisha said:

@Supraja, @Girl with Buddha Tattoo Have you guys signed into your financial aid pages on the aid site and checked? Sign and check Your Messages, and see what it says there.

Hope you guys get some good news soon!

@Lisha, Once I sign in, it says that I have applied for financial aid and decision information will be updated once my application is complete. The 'Messages' folder isn't available for me in my application.

[Lisha]

3 hours ago, Supraja said:

@Lisha, Once I sign in, it says that I have applied for financial aid and decision information will be updated once my application is complete. The 'Messages' folder isn't available for me in my application.

I'd recommend you mail them then, just in case there is some kind of error.

[Vulpix]

12 hours ago, Girl with Buddha Tattoo said:

Hey Vulpix, does these package arrive in different days. I haven't received mine. Does this mean I m probably not getting it?

I think it should go out at once to everyone and should be on the site. Is it completely blank? I would say it probably means not getting anything but call them and ask, they're very nice.

[mucho_ed_for_me]

Hi all,

I've had success with my applications getting accepted at HGSE for TEP along with Peabody and Penn GSE. Marginal GPA and GRE (3.2 and 150/153) but unique story, non-profit founder working with kids, tons of volunteer experience, and other soft skills. 

Happy to answer any questions as someone who has had some luck with applications this session. 

[Vulpix]

I have some reliable intel on the admissions rate/process for IEP students this year, so if you were accepted or rejected and are curious, feel free to PM me.

[PerpetualWonderer]

On 3/18/2017 at 11:25 AM, Vulpix said:

 

2) There are a lot of internships, some of them are paid. You do NOT have to enroll in S997 (and most would not recommend doing so unless your internship is many hours a week and you just need to get credit for it).  I would say at least half of people in IEP have, or had in the fall, an internship. Almost no one did S997. Some of these internships are "remote" for organizations located elsewhere, but many are in Boston, at Harvard, at MIT, etc. I've had about 4 internships this year! (2 in each semester of varying commitment times) It's been a very important part of my experience and has definitely boosted my resume and connected me with potential jobs. I'm currently hoping to get a job in my current internship, and I also know that even if I don't, the experience is helping me tremendously.

 

Hi! Thanks for your helpful advice. Can you speak more specifically to what you are doing or have done on your various internships? I'm deciding between PennGSE and HGSE and it would seem that Penn students also have a lot of great experiences during the program (and then the actual international internship - which sounds amazing and I've heard that several students have converted those into jobs - including UN ones) but they don't call the projects they work on during the academic year "internships". So what makes your experience count as an "internship" if they're not full time? How many hours did you spend a week on your internships? How did you balance it with studying? How connected were your internships with your future career interests? etc. etc! Thanks. 

[Vulpix]

45 minutes ago, PerpetualWonderer said:

Hi! Thanks for your helpful advice. Can you speak more specifically to what you are doing or have done on your various internships? I'm deciding between PennGSE and HGSE and it would seem that Penn students also have a lot of great experiences during the program (and then the actual international internship - which sounds amazing and I've heard that several students have converted those into jobs - including UN ones) but they don't call the projects they work on during the academic year "internships". So what makes your experience count as an "internship" if they're not full time? How many hours did you spend a week on your internships? How did you balance it with studying? How connected were your internships with your future career interests? etc. etc! Thanks. 

I call what I did "internships" because they weren't projects, they were formal roles with/at organizations. I would say I have had three "legitimate" internships and then one that could arguably be called a project but that's a lot of detail haha. In the fall, I went to my internship's office ten hours a week, and worked on their education program. In the spring I am interning with two very large (you've heard of them) international organizations, one for 20-30 hours a week, the other 1-2 hours a week. I had to interview for both of these internships and both of them were sent to me by my HGSE professor.  I had to have backgrounds checks and I have an @email for one of these orgs, so it's definitely a formal internship. All of my internships have been directly related to my career interests, and there is a *crosses fingers* good chance right now that my current one will turn into a very good job.

Edited March 26, 2017 by Vulpix

[Nicole03]

On 3/22/2017 at 0:33 PM, midmarsh said:

 I was only offered 5k in grants and 20k in unsubsidized loans, which doesn't even cover the cost of tuition. I don't know what to do.

I got into IEP too, and that's exactly what I got too. I was expecting a lot better. I am so excited about this program, but I feel like getting into that much debt is too much of a risk. I mean, it's no guarantee we'll all have a job soon after graduation   Maybe I have to wait another year or so... I'm also considering teaching in the US for a few years and then changing to intl education policy. 

[PerpetualWonderer]

8 hours ago, Vulpix said:

I call what I did "internships" because they weren't projects, they were formal roles with/at organizations. I would say I have had three "legitimate" internships and then one that could arguably be called a project but that's a lot of detail haha. In the fall, I went to my internship's office ten hours a week, and worked on their education program. In the spring I am interning with two very large (you've heard of them) international organizations, one for 20-30 hours a week, the other 1-2 hours a week. I had to interview for both of these internships and both of them were sent to me by my HGSE professor.  I had to have backgrounds checks and I have an @email for one of these orgs, so it's definitely a formal internship. All of my internships have been directly related to my career interests, and there is a *crosses fingers* good chance right now that my current one will turn into a very good job.

Thanks! That sounds intense. How do you manage 20-30 hours a week and balance your coursework, given it's such a short program? Also, does this mean international students can't make use of these experiences? My understanding is that they can only work 20 hours on on campus jobs. Seems to only serve American students :-( 

[Vulpix]

46 minutes ago, PerpetualWonderer said:

Thanks! That sounds intense. How do you manage 20-30 hours a week and balance your coursework, given it's such a short program? Also, does this mean international students can't make use of these experiences? My understanding is that they can only work 20 hours on on campus jobs. Seems to only serve American students :-( 

My internship is not paid, so international students can definitely do that. I know many international students with internships.

In terms of managing it, well, I'm doing it for credit, so it's like it's one of my classes. I also have good time management  

[Prink0101]

Hi Everyone,

Congratulations to everyone who made it!

I am looking at applying for School Leadership Programme for Fall 2018 intake. I know its very early but I had a few questions and I would be glad if someone could answer them.

a. I am an international applicant and I wanted to understand how relevant the programme is for international applicants or is it very North America centric?

b. I want to apply for the School Development Strand in the SLP Programme, is 3 years of education experience absolutely necessary? By the time I apply, I will have 2 years of teaching experience and 8 months of Assistant School Leader experience.

Thanks!

 

[mg91]

On 3/20/2017 at 2:20 PM, Levon3 said:

How's the funding at UCB/SFSU? I know it can be hard to turn down Harvard; I did this a few years ago and I still think about it sometimes. What would you hope for in a program that UCB/SFSU aren't offering?

What program did you go to instead? The only reason I'd go to Harvard is if I didn't want to jump straight into a PhD... but I think I'm ready, and the UCB/SFSU program is offering everything I could want. No news on funding/financial aid yet.

[Levon3]

35 minutes ago, mg91 said:

What program did you go to instead? The only reason I'd go to Harvard is if I didn't want to jump straight into a PhD... but I think I'm ready, and the UCB/SFSU program is offering everything I could want. No news on funding/financial aid yet.

I did my master's at TC, primarily because the funding they offered me made it a tiny bit cheaper than HGSE, but also because at the time I thought I wanted to teach a few more years, and my program at TC seemed more practitioner-focused. 

[mg91]

4 hours ago, Levon3 said:

I did my master's at TC, primarily because the funding they offered me made it a tiny bit cheaper than HGSE, but also because at the time I thought I wanted to teach a few more years, and my program at TC seemed more practitioner-focused. 

Where are you doing your Ph.D?