Northwestern PhD in Human Development and Social Policy 2017-2018

[istanbulnotconstantinople]

Hi All,

Having checked out the previous years' blogs there isn't a lot of information or grad-cafe people who have indicated they applied for this programme. I have applied this year and so would love to kick-start a thread with whoever else has. I get the impression that due to its interdisciplinary nature this programme is applied to by people across several different disciplines so I figured it would be better to post here than under the subject threads.

My background: Undergraduate degree in English and a MA in Comparative Education (both degrees are from universities at the top of UK and global rankings). 7 years of teaching in the UK and internationally.  GRE: V165, Q158, AW 5.5.

I am applying for PhD's in the field of education policy and the ability to expand beyond this at Northwestern into wider social policy (particularly housing and welfare policy) is extremely appealing to me.

I would love to hear from anyone else who is applying or who is already studying at Northwestern.

Edited January 13, 2017 by mjl89

[johnallen]

I also applied to this program for 2017. B.A in Honors Psychology : Summa Cum Laude (3.95). Honors Thesis, McNair Scholar. I don't think I have much of a shot though. My GRE scores were terrible 156 V, 136Q, AW 3

I understand they receive 100-125 apps and accept 7-10 ppl. Any GRE scores above 70 percentile get reviewed.

 

[istanbulnotconstantinople]

On 1/13/2017 at 11:32 PM, johnallen said:

I also applied to this program for 2017. B.A in Honors Psychology : Summa Cum Laude (3.95). Honors Thesis, McNair Scholar. I don't think I have much of a shot though. My GRE scores were terrible 156 V, 136Q, AW 3

I understand they receive 100-125 apps and accept 7-10 ppl. Any GRE scores above 70 percentile get reviewed.

 

Hiya, what exactly do you mean by above the 70th percentile, do you mean the average of the two verbal and quant or that they both have to be 70 or above? Also, how do you know this? I didn't find this information anywhere on their website.

[johnallen]

I also applied to this program for 2017. B.A in Honors Psychology : Summa Cum Laude (3.95). Honors Thesis, McNair Scholar. I don't think I have much of a shot though. My GRE scores were terrible 156 V, 136Q, AW 3

I understand they receive 100-125 apps and accept 7-10 ppl. Any GRE scores above 70 percentile get reviewed.

 

Edited January 15, 2017 by johnallen
Wrong place

[johnallen]

I also applied to this program for 2017. B.A in Honors Psychology : Summa Cum Laude (3.95). Honors Thesis, McNair Scholar. I don't think I have much of a shot though. My GRE scores were terrible 156 V, 136Q, AW 3

I understand they receive 100-125 apps and accept 7-10 ppl. Any GRE scores above 70 percentile get reviewed.

I contacted the program. It is the avg of both scores. My apologies, I was told they usually accept 4-7, not 7-10.

[johnallen]

I contacted the program. It is the avg of both scores. My apologies, I was told they usually accept 4-7, not 7-10.

[johnallen]

Sorry for the reposts. I accidentally responded wrong, several times I now realize. You can email the program to verify the info.

[01848p]

Hey all, I went to NU for undergrad. I'd be happy to answer any questions about the campus and about Evanston/Chicago area in general

[istanbulnotconstantinople]

4 hours ago, 01848p said:

Hey all, I went to NU for undergrad. I'd be happy to answer any questions about the campus and about Evanston/Chicago area in general

Thankyou, that's really kind of you to offer. I am an international student but I spent a couple of days in Chicago this summer and enjoyed it - is there a lot going on in the city that you found exiting as a student?  I love stand up comedy but am really missing being able to access it as I currently live abroad and there isn't much of a comedy scene where I live. I am sure that during my PhD there will be some tough times and a little bit of laughter is likely to help with this, so I have been wondering how much of a comedy scene there is on the campus/in the city?

Edited January 16, 2017 by mjl89

[istanbulnotconstantinople]

10 hours ago, johnallen said:

I also applied to this program for 2017. B.A in Honors Psychology : Summa Cum Laude (3.95). Honors Thesis, McNair Scholar. I don't think I have much of a shot though. My GRE scores were terrible 156 V, 136Q, AW 3

I understand they receive 100-125 apps and accept 7-10 ppl. Any GRE scores above 70 percentile get reviewed.

 

Hiya, I read the admissions statistics and it seems you're right about the 7-10 people http://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/academics/phd-program-statistics.html

I find the whole GRE scores thing confusing as an international student. In the UK universities are pretty clear about a standard you must meet to be admitted, but the GRE score requirements seem cloak and dagger rather than being posted on university websites. As an international student it never occurred to me to ask the admissions office because I assumed that they didn't give out this information if it wasn't on their website. I hope I don't have to apply a second time around, but if I do I will be more proactive in asking such questions.

Edited January 16, 2017 by mjl89

[01848p]

9 hours ago, mjl89 said:

Thankyou, that's really kind of you to offer. I am an international student but I spent a couple of days in Chicago this summer and enjoyed it - is there a lot going on in the city that you found exiting as a student?  I love stand up comedy but am really missing being able to access it as I currently live abroad and there isn't much of a comedy scene where I live. I am sure that during my PhD there will be some tough times and a little bit of laughter is likely to help with this, so I have been wondering how much of a comedy scene there is on the campus/in the city?

Of course!

I absolutely love Chicago, I was considering applying to the HDSP program actually but ended up deciding against it due to lack of fit with my chosen POI. But oh, how I would have loved to be in Evanston again, because I *love* love love Chicago! There's so much to do, from going to speaker series' and seminars at NU and other universities in the city (DePaul often has some cool speakers and events), to visiting the different neighborhoods, to just doing silly touristy stuff like walking up and down the Mag Mile even if you don't have the money to afford anything there. If you know where to look/what pages and groups to keep an eye out for on Facebook, you will see a lot of cool events.

I myself was never much into comedy/stand-up so I can't say too much about it. But Chicago is famous for Second City, which is an improv comedy theatre group in the city. A lot of people from Second City end up going on to SNL. On campus, there are also lots of improv comedy groups like Mee-Ow! and the Panini Players. NU is also a big theatre school so there are ALWAYS productions of some sort, big and small, more established and more independently run, going on. I do not think actual "stand-up" comedy is a big thing though. I have been to two plays and one of my student groups often collaborated with Mee-Ow!, and all of my experiences have been great  

If you're into art/underground stuff, the city does not have much of an art scene. We of course have the Art Institute and the Museum of Contemporary Art but other than that, it's not anything like NYC. 

 

Edited January 16, 2017 by 01848p

[01848p]

If you don't mind my asking, who are both of your POIs? I don't know too many faculty in the HDSP program but I do know a handful. 

[istanbulnotconstantinople]

12 hours ago, 01848p said:

If you don't mind my asking, who are both of your POIs? I don't know too many faculty in the HDSP program but I do know a handful. 

The application allowed you to name 4 POIS, so I put the Dr James Spillane, Dr James Rosenbaum, Dr Lindsay Chase-Lansdale and Dr Dan Lewis in that order. Do you know any of them?

[istanbulnotconstantinople]

12 hours ago, 01848p said:

Of course!

I absolutely love Chicago, I was considering applying to the HDSP program actually but ended up deciding against it due to lack of fit with my chosen POI. But oh, how I would have loved to be in Evanston again, because I *love* love love Chicago! There's so much to do, from going to speaker series' and seminars at NU and other universities in the city (DePaul often has some cool speakers and events), to visiting the different neighborhoods, to just doing silly touristy stuff like walking up and down the Mag Mile even if you don't have the money to afford anything there. If you know where to look/what pages and groups to keep an eye out for on Facebook, you will see a lot of cool events.

I myself was never much into comedy/stand-up so I can't say too much about it. But Chicago is famous for Second City, which is an improv comedy theatre group in the city. A lot of people from Second City end up going on to SNL. On campus, there are also lots of improv comedy groups like Mee-Ow! and the Panini Players. NU is also a big theatre school so there are ALWAYS productions of some sort, big and small, more established and more independently run, going on. I do not think actual "stand-up" comedy is a big thing though. I have been to two plays and one of my student groups often collaborated with Mee-Ow!, and all of my experiences have been great  

If you're into art/underground stuff, the city does not have much of an art scene. We of course have the Art Institute and the Museum of Contemporary Art but other than that, it's not anything like NYC. 

 

Thankyou so much, this is all really great info! I enjoy improv too and I forget that it's bigger in the US than in England where we do much more stand up. Sounds like there's a lot to keep you occupied in Chicago.

[01848p]

6 hours ago, mjl89 said:

The application allowed you to name 4 POIS, so I put the Dr James Spillane, Dr James Rosenbaum, Dr Lindsay Chase-Lansdale and Dr Dan Lewis in that order. Do you know any of them?

I only know of Chase-Lansdale, I've never worked with her personally but she seems like a total powerhouse. Her work is great!

[istanbulnotconstantinople]

4 hours ago, 01848p said:

I only know of Chase-Lansdale, I've never worked with her personally but she seems like a total powerhouse. Her work is great!

Yeah, when I looked at the whole faculty I was amazed. Although obviously I didn't match interests with many of the supervisors in terms of what I would complete a PhD on I was extremely interested by the work being done across the department. It's one of the reasons I'm so excited by the programme at Northwestern.

I'm getting very nervous though as I'm waiting as I don't really know their timeline and the deadline was later than most programmes, so I presume i'm in for a long wait until I hear anything.

[01848p]

@mjl89 it looks like in past years people were notified about interviews at the very end of January http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=Human+development+northwestern&t=a&o=&p=1

[istanbulnotconstantinople]

That seems impressively early give n that the deadline was December 31st :-)

[refreshingmyemail]

I also applied.. was waiting for the end of the month but ot looks like someone recieved an interview already...have any of you heard from them?

 

[istanbulnotconstantinople]

11 hours ago, refreshingmyemail said:

I also applied.. was waiting for the end of the month but ot looks like someone recieved an interview already...have any of you heard from them?

 

Hi, yes, I received an invite to their interview day. I'm not sure if they send them all at once or in batches though as they did make clear that if I wasn't able to attend they would give my place to someone else.

[refreshingmyemail]

4 hours ago, mjl89 said:

Hi, yes, I received an invite to their interview day. I'm not sure if they send them all at once or in batches though as they did make clear that if I wasn't able to attend they would give my place to someone else.

Thank you for replying! I guess ill stay hopeful for a couple more days.  Congrats on the interview though!!! Its a great program

Edited January 28, 2017 by refreshingmyemail