HGSE 2018

[Edugy]

Hey, everyone! I was hoping to apply last year, but I got caught up in work and couldn't get my materials ready in time. Hoping that kicking off the thread will prevent that from happening again! I'd love any feedback on my stats or background! 

Applying for PhD 

Program/Concentration: HDLT
GRE Score: V 620, Q 790, AWA: 4.5 (Took the GRE in 2010 with the old scoring system, so I have to retake it)
GPA: 3.25 undergrad(last 2 years – 3.8) / 4.00 grad
Work Experience: 1 year at an edtech company as an instructional designer, 2 years founding and running an AI healthtech company
Undergrad/Grad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): top 10 US Public University / Columbia(TC, M.A. in Instructional Technology)
Research Experience: 3 years in 3 different labs for undergrad(2 cognitive psych, 1 social psych), 2 years at 3 different labs at Stanford(3 cognitive psych), 1 year in 2 different labs at TC(1 human development and 1 educational games), 1 poster presentation in a different field(computer science/AI).
LoR/SoP: 3 from professors I did research with, SoP focused on both teaching technical/coding skills, and using AI for generative educational software
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: TC, Penn, Stanford, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge

HGSE rejected me in 2013 when I applied for my masters(got into both Penn and TC with scholarships). Hoping I'm a stronger applicant this time around, but I still need to study and take my GREs(I've been out of the standardized test game for a while so I'm a bit concerned). I'd be more than happy to tell anyone else that's also applying to TC things about programs/student life there.

Best of luck!

Edited August 21, 2017 by Edugy

[lookingfortheson]

Hola! I guess this is my first public declaration of intent to apply!

Thank you for starting the thread @Edugy! I am very hopeful that you get in this time around!

Program/Concentration: Ed.L.D.
GRE Score: Will be taking in October. Took the GMAT years ago. I think I will do average or possibly slightly better on the GRE.
GPA: 3.3 undergrad / 3.3 grad
Work Experience: Entrepreneur since the age of 16, 2 years in private sector, 1 year non-profit, 6 years teaching
Undergrad/Grad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): Mid-sized Private University, Nationally Ranked Research School for BSED & MBA 
Research Experience: n/a for the program I am applying for. However, I have done 2 years of educational equity research, 4 years of school culture research.
LoR/SoP: 1 wild card (don't want to say here because I think it ~could be a unique approach but...lol, who knows), 1 from MBA program director who can speak to my special circumstances in both undergrad and grad school, 1 from either Superintendent of my district or Deputy Superintendent whom I have developed a program with. SoP...not done yet. Been carrying around a notebook and jotting down ideas for the past few weeks. Will speak to my passion for equity in education, my previous success in driving system-level change and how I would like to effect change moving forward.
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: None. This is the only school/program I am interested in at this point. It's the perfect intersection of my passions.

Hope that others chime in!

[aina7]

@Edugy What do you think prevented you from gaining admission in 2013? I am a bit worried about my GPA. It is similar to yours. 

 

[Edugy]

Great question, my statement of purpose could have definitely been better. I think the more time that passes, the (hopefully) less important my freshman and sophomore GPA becomes.

[imagical]

Hi all! Having been a long-time lurker on the HGSE 2016 and 2017 threads, I have finally decided to bite the bullet and apply  deciding to post in here suddenly makes this very real...

Program/Concentration: PhD HDLT
GRE Score: Taking in October
GPA: 3.65 undergrad / 3.8 grad currently (waiting on my MSc thesis results!!!) - based on an online converter as my degrees were both in the UK
Work Experience: A few months as a Key Worker in a school, 2 internships at educational charities/social enterprises
Undergrad/Grad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): Top 3 UK universities
Research Experience: Not much - only my MSc thesis, and currently I'm working as a Research Assistant for my Master's supervisor
LoR/SoP: 1 from undergrad, 1 from my MSc Education course convenor, and 1 from my MSc thesis supervisor, SoP still a work in progress but will talk about my own educational journey, why I'm passionate about education and addressing educational disadvantage, and my research interests
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Not sure yet - HGSE just seems such a perfect fit, but I am also looking at Columbia, UPenn, maybe NYU?

@Edugy thanks for starting the thread, and if you want any info about Oxford let me know - I've just finished my Master's there!

[aina7]

Hello, everyone! 

 

I am a devout gradcafe lurker, who has finally decided to apply to HGSE! 

 

I have attended two HGSE Diversity Recruitment evengs, and have talked to dozens of HGSE alumni, and I would like to share with you some of the info that I have collected over the years: 

 

- H is not "a perfect place but it is a special place" - Mohan Boodram, Assoc.Dean of Enrollment & Student Services

 

- "H doesn't have outliners here. H has a home for everyone" - M. Boodram

 

- Goal of HGSE Admissions office: fit is paramount. We want to make sure that you are at the right place

 

- "Warmth of the community and authenticity of the people" -- Julia Deland 

-"Power of peer learning experience" -- Julia Deland

 

- HGSE professors are easily accessible to students even before you enroll into their class. They want to make sure that their classes fit your interests

 

-You can cross register at MIT & Tufts

 

- Statement of purpose is VERY different from personal essay.

 

Statement of Purpose is about your professional achievements & what you have done with your life & why you want to go to HGSE, and NOT about intimate/personal story 

 

- Go through 460 pages of HGSE course offerings to decide on which to take. It will blow your mind.

 

- Your A.W. score is very important as most of the HGSE courses are writing intensive.

 

- Get in touch with a student ambassador from your program. They give info on things that can't be found anywhere online. 

 

- Explore what you can do during J-Term (if you are planning on taking it). 

 

- Explore things that are unique to HGSE (J term, class with Sesame Street producers, class with Project Zero creators, for example).

 

- Start your essay ASAP because most of the programs require lengthy, detailed answers. Essay for PSP, for example, is up to 1500 words. 

 

- Attend webinars. You get answers to questions you haven't even thought about it. 

 

- Sign up for HGSE Twitter and Facebook accounts to be updated on what the school is doing.

 

- Message the alumni of the program you are applying to. They are super helpful. 

 

- There is actually no cut off GRE score or GPA. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jasper8625]

On 2017. 9. 14. at 6:18 AM, aina7 said:

Hello, everyone! 

 

I am a devout gradcafe lurker, who has finally decided to apply to HGSE! 

 

I have attended two HGSE Diversity Recruitment evengs, and have talked to dozens of HGSE alumni, and I would like to share with you some of the info that I have collected over the years: 

 

- H is not "a perfect place but it is a special place" - Mohan Boodram, Assoc.Dean of Enrollment & Student Services

 

- "H doesn't have outliners here. H has a home for everyone" - M. Boodram

 

- Goal of HGSE Admissions office: fit is paramount. We want to make sure that you are at the right place

 

- "Warmth of the community and authenticity of the people" -- Julia Deland 

-"Power of peer learning experience" -- Julia Deland

 

- HGSE professors are easily accessible to students even before you enroll into their class. They want to make sure that their classes fit your interests

 

-You can cross register at MIT & Tufts

 

- Statement of purpose is VERY different from personal essay.

 

Statement of Purpose is about your professional achievements & what you have done with your life & why you want to go to HGSE, and NOT about intimate/personal story 

 

- Go through 460 pages of HGSE course offerings to decide on which to take. It will blow your mind.

 

- Your A.W. score is very important as most of the HGSE courses are writing intensive.

 

- Get in touch with a student ambassador from your program. They give info on things that can't be found anywhere online. 

 

- Explore what you can do during J-Term (if you are planning on taking it). 

 

- Explore things that are unique to HGSE (J term, class with Sesame Street producers, class with Project Zero creators, for example).

 

- Start your essay ASAP because most of the programs require lengthy, detailed answers. Essay for PSP, for example, is up to 1500 words. 

 

- Attend webinars. You get answers to questions you haven't even thought about it. 

 

- Sign up for HGSE Twitter and Facebook accounts to be updated on what the school is doing.

 

- Message the alumni of the program you are applying to. They are super helpful. 

 

- There is actually no cut off GRE score or GPA. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hi, I'm planning to apply for HGSE this year and your information really helped me a lot!

hope we meet next year! 

thanks

[Saket Sinha]

Program/Concentration: TIE or IEP (Still confused)
GRE Score: 310
GPA: 73/100 % [My university gives percentage and not GPA]
Work Experience: 9 Months in TCS, 3.5 years in Samsung Research India, 2 Years - Fellow at Teach For India, 4+ ( current ) Ed. Tech Company in India
Education Experience: Taught as a primary grade teacher in low income community in Delhi.
LoR/SoP: Work in Progress
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Stanford, LSE, Penn

I unsuccessfully applied to TIE in 2017. Not sure what was the reason, my analysis says, SOP could have been better.

[aina7]

@Saket Sinha It seems like your issue was the lack of clear goals as you are still confused which program to apply to. Have you considered special studies program? 

[aina7]

@jasper8625 you are welcome! I also recommend going through all the blog posts of students. 

[imagical]

@aina7 thanks for the great advice! I've just booked my GRE so this is all feeling very real...

Will any of you be on the virtual event for PhD applicants on September 25th? 

[Edugy]

@imagicalI'll be joining the virtual event tomorrow.

[imagical]

How is everybody getting on with the applications? I seem to be spending all my time on GRE prep and feel like I'm going nowhere 

[Edugy]

I've been pretty busy with work and haven't gotten the opportunity to do nearly enough GRE prep, taking it next week so I can meet the deadline. I'm definitely not going to have enough time to focus on verbal, I'll just be going over some AW structures and some Math. In the meantime, I've been working on cranking out a general SOP to give to my recommenders so they have an idea of what I want to focus on, feel more rushed than I had initially anticipated.

[Sandoz96]

Hi Everyone, 

I have been planing to apply to HGSE since my first year of college.  I am currently in a unique situation where I was able to graduate college in 3 years, and do a master degree in one year from the same Institution.  I am still really young, but have many years of experience, and by the age of 21 I will have completed a B.A and M.A. 

Program/Concentration: Education Policy and Management Masters Program
GRE Score: (Low unfortunately, I just never do well on standardized test) V: 151 Q:144 AWA: (Still Waiting...)
GPA: B.A (International Development: Concentration in Education, and Refugee and Migration Studies) Undergrad- 3.8 Summa Cum Laude / M.A (Master of Arts of Teaching): Grad- 4.0 Currently (will have completed degree by May 2018)
Experience:

 

Undergrad/Grad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): Private (Only Teacher Education program to be approved with High Distinction by the Mass Dept. of Education) 
LoR/SoP: One Letter from a Professor from my Undegrad, who was a professor at HGSE, One from my Boss who is an Alum of the EPM Ed.M Program at HGSE, and another from one of my Grad school Professors.   
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Penn GSE, and Boston College Lynch School of Education

DO I STILL STAND A CHANCE GIVEN HOW TERRIBLE MY GRE SCORES ARE?????  I am freaking out about it! 

[EdPhDHopeful]

14 hours ago, Sandoz96 said:

Hi Everyone, 

I have been planing to apply to HGSE since my first year of college.  I am currently in a unique situation where I was able to graduate college in 3 years, and do a master degree in one year from the same Institution.  I am still really young, but have many years of experience, and by the age of 21 I will have completed a B.A and M.A. 

Program/Concentration: Education Policy and Management Masters Program
GRE Score: (Low unfortunately, I just never do well on standardized test) V: 151 Q:144 AWA: (Still Waiting...)
GPA: B.A (International Development: Concentration in Education, and Refugee and Migration Studies) Undergrad- 3.8 Summa Cum Laude / M.A (Master of Arts of Teaching): Grad- 4.0 Currently (will have completed degree by May 2018)
Experience:

 

Undergrad/Grad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): Private (Only Teacher Education program to be approved with High Distinction by the Mass Dept. of Education) 
LoR/SoP: One Letter from a Professor from my Undegrad, who was a professor at HGSE, One from my Boss who is an Alum of the EPM Ed.M Program at HGSE, and another from one of my Grad school Professors.   
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Penn GSE, and Boston College Lynch School of Education

DO I STILL STAND A CHANCE GIVEN HOW TERRIBLE MY GRE SCORES ARE?????  I am freaking out about it! 

Personally, I would not spend upwards of $60,000 on getting another Master's degree unless I suddenly decided to change career paths and was confident that this expenditure would payoff in the future (I think the estimated income for new HGSE grads is like $57,000??), but that's me.

Being brutally honest, your current GRE scores are a bit of a concern... and since you're still quite young, I would recommend studying for them again (if you have the financial means to do so). I am totally the same when it comes to testing (my first round of scores were not the best) but I took a few weeks to study and ended up increasing my scores quite a bit (above Harvard's averages in V & AWA). Yes, GREs are not everything and do not showcase an applicant's full academic capabilities, but they are still somewhat important and the "I never do well on standardized tests" reasoning doesn't stand as well when you have a Master's IMO. 

I would recommend taking a year or two to teach or do work in communities that you are passionate about and to experience the real world of supporting students. Yes, you have quite an extensive resume for a straight-out-of-undergrad/3+1/co-term applicant. However, from my own experience, I think that being a full-time teacher/educational advocate (I'm assuming that your Student Teacher experience was an in-person teaching requirement/internship for your Master's in Teaching?) truly exposes you to the intricacies of educational systems and systemic disparities that hinder the success of students. Hopefully such experiences will also allow for personal/career development that would better serve you in deciding if you truly want to pursue another graduate degree. Likewise, because you do have strong references, I would simply stay in touch and continue to try working with said professors.

However, as a college counselor, I would still encourage you to apply if you feel that this is the best path for you at the current moment! We never know what admissions committees are looking for as overall institutional goals constantly change from year to year so you may very well get in! ^^ 

Edited October 27, 2017 by EdPhDHopeful
grammar

[memphismocha]

Hey everyone! 

I've been following this thread and similar ones for awhile. It's been a helpful source of information. I figured it was time to join in the conversation  

I'd definitely appreciate any feedback or thoughts about my stats 

Program/Concentration: HGSE M.Ed-- EPM Concentration
GRE Score: V 164; Q 154; AWA- Waiting on scores 
GPA: 3.98- summa cum laude/highest distinction; honors awards; dean's list every eligible semester; Undergrad Major- English Literature Minor- Multicultural Gender Studies 
Work Experience: Teach for America alum. This is my fourth year teaching special education in urban schools in Memphis, TN. The year before I did TFA, I was an after school teacher at the school that I went on to do my TFA commitment at.
Undergrad/Grad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): a California state university 
Research Experience: I don't have research experience in the area of education and policy. I did write an undergraduate honors thesis.
LoR/SoP: My undergraduate thesis advisor who I had a close working relationship with and who I've stayed in touch with; my manager at Teach for America; the lead special education teacher who managed me at my school   
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: I'm applying to both Masters of Education programs with an emphasis in Education Policy, as well as Masters in Public Policy (MPP) programs.  Education Programs- Vanderbilt, Columbia, UCLA, Stanford, UPenn (maybe); MPP Programs- Princeton WWS, Columbia SIPA, U of Michigan, U of Chicago, Duke (maybe), Carnegie Mellon, USC 

Edited November 3, 2017 by memphismocha

[aina7]

On 11/3/2017 at 10:13 PM, memphismocha said:

Hey everyone! 

I've been following this thread and similar ones for awhile. It's been a helpful source of information. I figured it was time to join in the conversation  

I'd definitely appreciate any feedback or thoughts about my stats 

Program/Concentration: HGSE M.Ed-- EPM Concentration
GRE Score: V 164; Q 154; AWA- Waiting on scores 
GPA: 3.98- summa cum laude/highest distinction; honors awards; dean's list every eligible semester; Undergrad Major- English Literature Minor- Multicultural Gender Studies 
Work Experience: Teach for America alum. This is my fourth year teaching special education in urban schools in Memphis, TN. The year before I did TFA, I was an after school teacher at the school that I went on to do my TFA commitment at.
Undergrad/Grad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): a California state university 
Research Experience: I don't have research experience in the area of education and policy. I did write an undergraduate honors thesis.
LoR/SoP: My undergraduate thesis advisor who I had a close working relationship with and who I've stayed in touch with; my manager at Teach for America; the lead special education teacher who managed me at my school   
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: I'm applying to both Masters of Education programs with an emphasis in Education Policy, as well as Masters in Public Policy (MPP) programs.  Education Programs- Vanderbilt, Columbia, UCLA, Stanford, UPenn (maybe); MPP Programs- Princeton WWS, Columbia SIPA, U of Michigan, U of Chicago, Duke (maybe), Carnegie Mellon, USC 

When you are at Harvard next year, please don't forget to help out gradcafe folks!

[memphismocha]

@aina7 Thanks!  Are you a current student at HGSE? 

[imagical]

On 03/11/2017 at 4:13 PM, memphismocha said:

Hey everyone! 

I've been following this thread and similar ones for awhile. It's been a helpful source of information. I figured it was time to join in the conversation  

I'd definitely appreciate any feedback or thoughts about my stats 

Program/Concentration: HGSE M.Ed-- EPM Concentration
GRE Score: V 164; Q 154; AWA- Waiting on scores 
GPA: 3.98- summa cum laude/highest distinction; honors awards; dean's list every eligible semester; Undergrad Major- English Literature Minor- Multicultural Gender Studies 
Work Experience: Teach for America alum. This is my fourth year teaching special education in urban schools in Memphis, TN. The year before I did TFA, I was an after school teacher at the school that I went on to do my TFA commitment at.
Undergrad/Grad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): a California state university 
Research Experience: I don't have research experience in the area of education and policy. I did write an undergraduate honors thesis.
LoR/SoP: My undergraduate thesis advisor who I had a close working relationship with and who I've stayed in touch with; my manager at Teach for America; the lead special education teacher who managed me at my school   
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: I'm applying to both Masters of Education programs with an emphasis in Education Policy, as well as Masters in Public Policy (MPP) programs.  Education Programs- Vanderbilt, Columbia, UCLA, Stanford, UPenn (maybe); MPP Programs- Princeton WWS, Columbia SIPA, U of Michigan, U of Chicago, Duke (maybe), Carnegie Mellon, USC 

You sound like a very competitive candidate to me ! How are you getting on with the application?

 

Edited November 6, 2017 by imagical

[memphismocha]

@imagical Thanks! It's hard to gauge my own competitiveness...sometimes I feel confident, sometimes not so much lol. I wish my GRE Quant score was higher, but math isn't really my strong suit. HGSE is definitely my top choice for grad school. Now that I'm done with the GRE, I've started to focus on my application. I am a teacher and teaching a new subject this school year, so I definitely have to find time to squeeze in working on revising my CV, drafting my SOPs, communicating with my LORs, etc. Thankfully the deadline is in January, so I can do most of my work on my apps on the weekend. How are things going for you? 

[imagical]

1 hour ago, memphismocha said:

@imagical Thanks! It's hard to gauge my own competitiveness...sometimes I feel confident, sometimes not so much lol. I wish my GRE Quant score was higher, but math isn't really my strong suit. HGSE is definitely my top choice for grad school. Now that I'm done with the GRE, I've started to focus on my application. I am a teacher and teaching a new subject this school year, so I definitely have to find time to squeeze in working on revising my CV, drafting my SOPs, communicating with my LORs, etc. Thankfully the deadline is in January, so I can do most of my work on my apps on the weekend. How are things going for you? 

Haha yes I know what you mean, I feel like it will be impossible to know if we are competitive until we find out if we've got in or not!! Yeah I feel the same, I did my GRE last week and got 157 on Quant, but like you, maths is just not for me. I'm in a similar position, application-wise: I was spending all my free time on GRE prep and now I've realised I have to actually work on my application! And since I'm applying for the PhD the deadline is in just over three weeks, so I think I should probably get a move on  I'm suddenly feeling the pressure of the impending deadline and am worried I won't be able to write the statement I want to...it's currently sounding a little too trite and clichéd!

Edited November 6, 2017 by imagical

[gradhopeful0000]

Just found this place. Nerves are killing me so, here goes, maybe someone has some thoughts. 

 

Program/Concentration: HGSE PhD Philosophy of Ed
GRE Score: V 167; Q 162; AWA- 6.0
GPA: School doesn't do GPA but self calculated 3.4

Undergrad Major- History

 Minor - Mathematics (close to a double major, just two classes shy) 

 
Work Experience:

New England Prep School - Calculus/Econ/Latin teacher for four years

The Breakthrough Collaborative - Math Specialist and  Mentor Teacher

Multiple boutique private tutoring firms in college and after

One year as math instructor at Montessori school during college

Bar owner (opened the business last year)

2 Years working in mid tier IT job at NYU

Undergrad/Grad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): Ivy

Research Experience: Several independent studies, 7 senior capstone courses (require significant original scholarship) 

LoR/SoP: Head of School at my current school, director of teacher education at Breakthrough program, tenured history professor at undergrad institution

What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Columbia Teachers College, U Penn GSE

 

Edited November 21, 2017 by gradhopeful0000

[aina7]

Hey, guys! Took my GRE today and saw my dream of going to HGSE go down the drain. My scores are below any GSE average. Given my subpar GPA, my chances are not looking so good. I am still going to apply though. I hope you guys all did well! 

[fmtj1996]

Hi!
Does anyone know the stats/ have any input on how difficult it is to get in straight from undergrad? I want to apply and have very solid internship/extracurricular experience and good GRE and GPA and go to a good public university and I have good reasons for wanting to go to grad school. Is it pretty much impossible to get in with no work experience or do I have a chance?

Edited November 25, 2017 by fmtj1996