UPenn GSE 2018

[Lee_C]

Program/Concentration: Educational Entrepreneurship
GRE Score: N/A
GPA: 2.96 Undergrad , ~3.25 MBA
Work Experience: 6 years in Real Estate, started up a couple of business ventures (real estate mutual fund, water filtration), Education Consulting in China
Undergrad/Grad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): UBC for Undergrad, Shanghai Jiaotong University MBA
Research Experience: I've done Education Research for my Education Company, but the program I'm applying for has an executive-format and is not research-oriented. 

LoR/SoP: 1 from MBA teacher who is a Columbia alum, 1 from Company Director, 1 from School Director/ SoP focused on how my previous real estate experience will benefit my goal of starting up an education business venture. 
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: TC, undecided whether or not to apply to John Hopkins

Just wanted to get the ball rolling on creating a home for 2017/2018 UPenn GSE applicants and get a chance for all of us to get to know one another. I went to Penn this summer to speak with a GSE representative and loved the energy on campus. Also, Penn's Educational Entrepreneurship program suits my future career goals to a tee, so safe to say that Penn's a top choice for me. I'm currently only seriously considering Penn and Columbia. 

My grades are mediocre, but hoping that my SoP, work experience and program fit will help me get into my dream program. 

Edited September 22, 2017 by Whalerider88

[ebi_toast]

Thanks, Lee_C for starting this thread! I'm applying to Penn GSE somewhat on a whim...

Program/Concentration: PhD in Reading/Writing/Literacy
GRE Score: Solid
GPA: Solid
Work Experience: 2 years, some teaching, plus various volunteer experiences in literacy
Undergrad/Grad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): Penn English Lit
Research Experience: English research for a senior thesis

LoR/SoP: 3 profs at penn; SoP focussed more on how i came to be passionate about education and literacy - i figured the rest of my application showcased 'academic' strength
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Undecided... don't really want to live anywhere other than Philly! Maybe Stanford/Berkeley/Temple?

[EdPhDHopeful]

Hey Y'all,

I am working on Penn's Ph.D. application (ECS) and am having a hard time cutting my SoP down to 750 words.

I've had to cut out so much that it seems a bit lackluster at this point.

Has the maximum word limit always been this restrictive? Or is it because of the waived application fee this year? 

[Lee_C]

On 11/10/2017 at 2:08 AM, manywaters23 said:

Thanks, Lee_C for starting this thread! I'm applying to Penn GSE somewhat on a whim...

Program/Concentration: PhD in Reading/Writing/Literacy
GRE Score: Solid
GPA: Solid
Work Experience: 2 years, some teaching, plus various volunteer experiences in literacy
Undergrad/Grad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): Penn English Lit
Research Experience: English research for a senior thesis

LoR/SoP: 3 profs at penn; SoP focussed more on how i came to be passionate about education and literacy - i figured the rest of my application showcased 'academic' strength
What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Undecided... don't really want to live anywhere other than Philly! Maybe Stanford/Berkeley/Temple?

Nice to meet you! You're a much better student that I was back in undergrad

Would love the opportunity to pick your brain on the school- I've only been to the school and the city for a few hours because of a last-minute school tour, but I liked Penn better than the other schools I saw.

[enderbean]

This waiting business..... Am I right? 

[Lee_C]

I see that some people have already received offers from UPenn GSE from our application cycle.

Do all ED applicants receive offers on the day of March 1st, or are offers rolling?

[singapore_sling]

Anybody else hearing anything about PhD candidate interviews? 

[ebi_toast]

On 1/8/2018 at 8:42 AM, singapore_sling said:

Anybody else hearing anything about PhD candidate interviews? 

@singapore_sling Did you hear something? I applied but haven't heard. If previous years are anything to go by, I think late Jan is when they start sending out invites for the doctoral weekend.

[singapore_sling]

10 hours ago, ebi_toast said:

@singapore_sling Did you hear something? I applied but haven't heard. If previous years are anything to go by, I think late Jan is when they start sending out invites for the doctoral weekend.

I haven't heard anything. I thought it would be around middle January, but I have heard different things from different people. I also wonder if it differs by program. 

[ohrice]

I had a short interview/chat with a professor from UPenn today.

[Soon2BePhD]

5 minutes ago, ohrice said:

I had a short interview/chat with a professor from UPenn today.

Thanks for the info! To which division did you apply?

[ohrice]

I applied to the Education Policy Ph.D. program.

[Soon2BePhD]

7 minutes ago, ohrice said:

I applied to the Education Policy Ph.D. program.

That's awesome! I hope it results in an acceptance for you :). 

[ohrice]

 

1 hour ago, edpolicy232 said:

That's awesome! I hope it results in an acceptance for you :). 

Same for you!

[Soon2BePhD]

7 hours ago, ohrice said:

 

Same for you!

Thanks! What other schools did you apply to or hear back from?

[ohrice]

5 hours ago, edpolicy232 said:

Thanks! What other schools did you apply to or hear back from?

I had an interview with a professor from UCI back in December.

I applied to Harvard, UCLA, UCI, Stanford, Berkeley, and UPenn.

Edited January 11, 2018 by ohrice

[PhoenixGrey]

Hi there!  I've been a lurker on here for past few days.  Great resource.  Just called Penn GSE to find oUtnwhere they are in their process... sounds like invites have gone out for doctoral weekend.  I didn't receive one.  Womp womp...

[Yogibann]

10 minutes ago, PhoenixGrey said:

Hi there!  I've been a lurker on here for past few days.  Great resource.  Just called Penn GSE to find oUtnwhere they are in their process... sounds like invites have gone out for doctoral weekend.  I didn't receive one.  Womp womp...

yeah I received the invite email this morning. I imagine they have a set number they can invite - maybe if some applicants can't attend, they'll send out more?

[ohrice]

I had an interview a few weeks ago but I did not get an invite  Congratulations to those who did though!

[singapore_sling]

6 hours ago, PhoenixGrey said:

Hi there!  I've been a lurker on here for past few days.  Great resource.  Just called Penn GSE to find oUtnwhere they are in their process... sounds like invites have gone out for doctoral weekend.  I didn't receive one.  Womp womp...

What program did you apply to? Did they say they have sent out invites for all doctoral programs, or just a specific one? 

[Poetically C]

Ooh...if the invites went out this morning, I didn't get one. Good luck to everyone who received an invite!

Edited January 20, 2018 by Poetically C

[LovelyCatTeacher]

Hello there, everyone! Could someone please let me know if the invites for *all* of the doctoral programs have already gone out? I applied for the PhD in ECS and am anxiously awaiting to know. Thanks so much.

[legallyblonde17]

16 hours ago, LovelyCatTeacher said:

Hello there, everyone! Could someone please let me know if the invites for *all* of the doctoral programs have already gone out? I applied for the PhD in ECS and am anxiously awaiting to know. Thanks so much.

Unless they send them out in waves, the ECS invites have gone out via email. 

[harthart]

hey there! i was accepted into the M.S.Ed in Education, Culture, and Society at UPenn with a 10,000 scholarship. a few questions: do folks who have gotten in / received merit scholarships recommend asking for more aid/scholarships if other schools offer you more / have you had success with that? additionally, after merit scholarships go out, is more aid usually offered?

 

also, i'm curious to hear if anyone knows what the students body looks like in terms of career-focused students // students interested in obtaining a PHD/pursing further research. I am potentially interested in getting a PHD after the program, but want the option of applying skills i develop while in the program to a career and leveraging the degree for new opportunities. i am currently a nonprofit manager with 4 years of experience, and don't want to spend a ton of money on a degree if it won't substantially impact my career. 

 

any and all experiences/anecdotes about the program would be super helpful! it's my top choice by far (i already live in philly) and one of only three schools i applied to, so i'm trying to take into consideration all factors in making my choice of whether or not to enroll.

[clc1520]

On 1/25/2018 at 3:05 PM, harthart said:

hey there! i was accepted into the M.S.Ed in Education, Culture, and Society at UPenn with a 10,000 scholarship. a few questions: do folks who have gotten in / received merit scholarships recommend asking for more aid/scholarships if other schools offer you more / have you had success with that? additionally, after merit scholarships go out, is more aid usually offered?

 

also, i'm curious to hear if anyone knows what the students body looks like in terms of career-focused students // students interested in obtaining a PHD/pursing further research. I am potentially interested in getting a PHD after the program, but want the option of applying skills i develop while in the program to a career and leveraging the degree for new opportunities. i am currently a nonprofit manager with 4 years of experience, and don't want to spend a ton of money on a degree if it won't substantially impact my career. 

 

any and all experiences/anecdotes about the program would be super helpful! it's my top choice by far (i already live in philly) and one of only three schools i applied to, so i'm trying to take into consideration all factors in making my choice of whether or not to enroll.

Congrats on your acceptance! Glad you got into your first choice! Out of curiosity, when was your application marked ready for review?

Mine was back on Nov. 14th and I have been anxiously awaiting news one way or the other! (I applied to the master's in reading, writing, and literacy.)