For Harvard Extension School, do you take the admissions requirement courses first?

[alexf.1990]

For anyone interested, there is an edX Poetry Whitman course (free) you can take with the same instructor.  I'm working through it now to get my feet wet.  
HarvardX: AmPoX.3
Poetry in America: Whitman

I've taken grad courses (3) at HES but they are too old to use toward a degree.  They do fall off, however, if you don't need a degree, it doesn't matter.  In my case, I did think I was going to pursue a degree when I started.  The first courses I took were  Psychology and Statistics because my TESU degree was in Social Science and I thought I might go that direction. The classes were perfect in every aspect, but psychology as a career in the counseling/helping wasn't for me, so I let that go.  Later, I took a course in Biology because I worked my way through the pre-nursing/pre-med sciences and I strongly weighed my options for nursing/medicine - and also, the course was perfect - engaging, tough, interesting, a "dig deep" kind of thing.  I used my sciences as the prereqs for a nutrition master instead, pulling from my background and staying in my field.  

I didn't have the resources to pay cash- something you have to do if you're not an enrolled degree-seeking student.  For the poetry set, I do have the resources to pay cash, so I'm getting after it.  

Part 2, I wasn't able to leave my family for the full semester on campus requirement that is part of the psychology/biology degree tracks.  English is different because my cursory research shows the potential of doing the on campus courses over several learning weekends.  Weekends I can do. Nevermind that my kids are older now, it's just less logistics and cost to figure out.  Further, there are at least 3 here doing these courses, plus another 3 in my homeschooling facebook community, so I'll in a cohort with 6 other people.  The "go alone" factor would be somewhat mitigated by knowing my peeps will also be there.  Sounds fun to me actually.    

So, I think I can say that I'm going to do all 4-5 of these at $200 if only for the fact that it adds a teaching block for me (ENG teachers at the community college = insane demand) and I'm not ruling out the proseminar this spring because it is live online with 1 learning weekend.  (full price) and that's one of the degree requirements for this degree.  In other degrees, there are still barriers and a full semester courses - though I haven't looked through them all.

How demanding are the HES courses when you take them at the graduate level? The current plan is to finish a ALM in Management or Finance at HES. This semester I completed 41 credits (18 online at the CC, 8 through HBX CORe, and 15 CLEP) to finish off my associates. I got a full ride to an online bachelor's program at Western Carolina that I can easily finish by Spring 2019. The dilemma I'm running into is whether I should just finish my bachelors at WGU (not to be confused with Western Carolina), which could be done in 3-4 months, or go the traditional route and wait until next year to graduate. The only reason I haven't pulled the trigger on WGU is my concern that I might not be ready for the rigor of HES. I'd also be leaving $7-8k in grant money on the table by not attending Western Carolina. Sorry for the rambling post. I'm just glad to be able to talk to someone who has actually attended HES.

[mednat]

For anyone interested, there is an edX Poetry Whitman course (free) you can take with the same instructor.  I'm working through it now to get my feet wet.  
HarvardX: AmPoX.3
Poetry in America: Whitman

I've taken grad courses (3) at HES but they are too old to use toward a degree.  They do fall off, however, if you don't need a degree, it doesn't matter.  In my case, I did think I was going to pursue a degree when I started.  The first courses I took were  Psychology and Statistics because my TESU degree was in Social Science and I thought I might go that direction. The classes were perfect in every aspect, but psychology as a career in the counseling/helping wasn't for me, so I let that go.  Later, I took a course in Biology because I worked my way through the pre-nursing/pre-med sciences and I strongly weighed my options for nursing/medicine - and also, the course was perfect - engaging, tough, interesting, a "dig deep" kind of thing.  I used my sciences as the prereqs for a nutrition master instead, pulling from my background and staying in my field.  

I didn't have the resources to pay cash- something you have to do if you're not an enrolled degree-seeking student.  For the poetry set, I do have the resources to pay cash, so I'm getting after it.  

Part 2, I wasn't able to leave my family for the full semester on campus requirement that is part of the psychology/biology degree tracks.  English is different because my cursory research shows the potential of doing the on campus courses over several learning weekends.  Weekends I can do. Nevermind that my kids are older now, it's just less logistics and cost to figure out.  Further, there are at least 3 here doing these courses, plus another 3 in my homeschooling facebook community, so I'll in a cohort with 6 other people.  The "go alone" factor would be somewhat mitigated by knowing my peeps will also be there.  Sounds fun to me actually.    

So, I think I can say that I'm going to do all 4-5 of these at $200 if only for the fact that it adds a teaching block for me (ENG teachers at the community college = insane demand) and I'm not ruling out the proseminar this spring because it is live online with 1 learning weekend.  (full price) and that's one of the degree requirements for this degree.  In other degrees, there are still barriers and a full semester courses - though I haven't looked through them all.

How demanding are the HES courses when you take them at the graduate level? The current plan is to finish a ALM in Management or Finance at HES. This semester I completed 41 credits (18 online at the CC, 8 through HBX CORe, and 15 CLEP) to finish off my associates. I got a full ride to an online bachelor's program at Western Carolina that I can easily finish by Spring 2019. The dilemma I'm running into is whether I should just finish my bachelors at WGU (not to be confused with Western Carolina), which could be done in 3-4 months, or go the traditional route and wait until next year to graduate. The only reason I haven't pulled the trigger on WGU is my concern that I might not be ready for the rigor of HES. I'd also be leaving $7-8k in grant money on the table by not attending Western Carolina. Sorry for the rambling post. I'm just glad to be able to talk to someone who has actually attended HES.

I'm currently working on my ALM Information Systems Management and I've taken 7 courses so far....My answer to this is "it depends"...I wish I could be more helpful, but it really varies alot -- but expect to put in work.  This semester I've taken 4 classes at once and I almost went crazy with the amount of work due each week (I was studying on my honeymoon...) .  With that said most of the classes I've taken the graduate requirements aren't that different from undergrad (usually an extra paper, or assignment).

Let me know if you have any more specific questions.  Once you're enrolled there is a course review site that will show you previous students review of classes prior to taking them.  You can also drop in the first week...alot of students seem to sign up for extra classes and drop once they determine the workload..

[alexf.1990]

I'm currently working on my ALM Information Systems Management and I've taken 7 courses so far....My answer to this is "it depends"...I wish I could be more helpful, but it really varies alot -- but expect to put in work.  This semester I've taken 4 classes at once and I almost went crazy with the amount of work due each week (I was studying on my honeymoon...) .  With that said most of the classes I've taken the graduate requirements aren't that different from undergrad (usually an extra paper, or assignment).

Let me know if you have any more specific questions.  Once you're enrolled there is a course review site that will show you previous students review of classes prior to taking them.  You can also drop in the first week...alot of students seem to sign up for extra classes and drop once they determine the workload..

Thanks so much for your post. I've been eager to talk to someone with experience at HES. Were you able to the Harvard Extension Grant? Have you heard anything about the grant from other students? What is your experience with grading in the courses you've been in? Is the criteria clear?

I noticed that you finished your MBA at WGU. Do you think finishing my BSBA at WGU would prepare me for HES, or should I stick to taking the next year to finish my BSBA at the local state university?

[mednat]

Thanks so much for your post. I've been eager to talk to someone with experience at HES. Were you able to the Harvard Extension Grant? Have you heard anything about the grant from other students? What is your experience with grading in the courses you've been in? Is the criteria clear?

I noticed that you finished your MBA at WGU. Do you think finishing my BSBA at WGU would prepare me for HES, or should I stick to taking the next year to finish my BSBA at the local state university?

This is the first I've heard of the grant.  Given my current financial situation, it's unlikely I'd qualify.

Course grading is fair, but the expectations are high.  The criteria is usually not clear with alot of professors seeing this as a positive (they believe ambiguity exists in the real world and should therefore exist in their class). I find this lack of detail frustrating at times, but will say most professors are extremely available via teaching assistants, sections or directly.

WGU prep for HES...This depends alot on how you use your time there (same with state university).  I feel well prepared for most classes (i need to work on math for some of the big data stuff..), but most of my preparation came from my working history not academic history.  WGU's MBA has absolutely helped me prepare for massive amounts of writing that comes with graduate level work.  I'm not sure that the undergrad program has this feature.

Switching from state uni to wgu...This is completely a personal decision..I'm not sure your motivations for wanting to switch, but the general advice I'd give for someone wanting to make a transfer so close to the end is to stick with where you are...with that being said, if you have a good reason to switch, I enjoyed my time at WGU.  I don't know that I'd say one prepares you more than another, but local name recognition does have a value in the market place.

The biggest adjustment from WGU to HES that I've found (and sometimes enjoyed, sometimes hated) is class interaction.  I truely missed having a professor and other students to interact with.   The downside to this is, group projects...I HATE them.  Most of the students at HES are type A, which helps alot...but in each of my group projects so far there has been atleast one member who doesn't pull their weight...

I love my experience at HES.  In particular the pre-recorded classes (my least favorite modality is on campus with live internet) option.  The reason for this boils down to instructor quality. The pre-recorded classes are done by literal legends in their field, while the on-campus courses are taught by extremely qualified professors...they aren't usually names I recognize without googling (like the pre-recorded classes).

[cookderosa]

For anyone interested, there is an edX Poetry Whitman course (free) you can take with the same instructor.  I'm working through it now to get my feet wet.  
HarvardX: AmPoX.3
Poetry in America: Whitman

I've taken grad courses (3) at HES but they are too old to use toward a degree.  They do fall off, however, if you don't need a degree, it doesn't matter.  In my case, I did think I was going to pursue a degree when I started.  The first courses I took were  Psychology and Statistics because my TESU degree was in Social Science and I thought I might go that direction. The classes were perfect in every aspect, but psychology as a career in the counseling/helping wasn't for me, so I let that go.  Later, I took a course in Biology because I worked my way through the pre-nursing/pre-med sciences and I strongly weighed my options for nursing/medicine - and also, the course was perfect - engaging, tough, interesting, a "dig deep" kind of thing.  I used my sciences as the prereqs for a nutrition master instead, pulling from my background and staying in my field.  

I didn't have the resources to pay cash- something you have to do if you're not an enrolled degree-seeking student.  For the poetry set, I do have the resources to pay cash, so I'm getting after it.  

Part 2, I wasn't able to leave my family for the full semester on campus requirement that is part of the psychology/biology degree tracks.  English is different because my cursory research shows the potential of doing the on campus courses over several learning weekends.  Weekends I can do. Nevermind that my kids are older now, it's just less logistics and cost to figure out.  Further, there are at least 3 here doing these courses, plus another 3 in my homeschooling facebook community, so I'll in a cohort with 6 other people.  The "go alone" factor would be somewhat mitigated by knowing my peeps will also be there.  Sounds fun to me actually.    

So, I think I can say that I'm going to do all 4-5 of these at $200 if only for the fact that it adds a teaching block for me (ENG teachers at the community college = insane demand) and I'm not ruling out the proseminar this spring because it is live online with 1 learning weekend.  (full price) and that's one of the degree requirements for this degree.  In other degrees, there are still barriers and a full semester courses - though I haven't looked through them all.

How demanding are the HES courses when you take them at the graduate level? The current plan is to finish a ALM in Management or Finance at HES. This semester I completed 41 credits (18 online at the CC, 8 through HBX CORe, and 15 CLEP) to finish off my associates. I got a full ride to an online bachelor's program at Western Carolina that I can easily finish by Spring 2019. The dilemma I'm running into is whether I should just finish my bachelors at WGU (not to be confused with Western Carolina), which could be done in 3-4 months, or go the traditional route and wait until next year to graduate. The only reason I haven't pulled the trigger on WGU is my concern that I might not be ready for the rigor of HES. I'd also be leaving $7-8k in grant money on the table by not attending Western Carolina. Sorry for the rambling post. I'm just glad to be able to talk to someone who has actually attended HES.

Western Carolina is one of the 3 schools selected to participate in the new NC Promise program this year 2018-2019, making tuition for all in-state students a flat rate of $500 per semester unlimited. HES doesn't care where/what your undergrad degree is in, but there aren't many ways to chop the cost for the Master's program- so my opinion is to do everything within your power to spend as little as possible now so you can use your $$$ on your HES degree - you'll need it. I don't know the dynamics of that program, but there will be travel to Boston in there as well.
Rigor is to be assumed.
I can only share my limited experience, and I haven't taken any classes in your field, so take my opinion with a grain of salt- but I have taken dozens (and my husband and kids have taken dozens^) of tedious brainless thoughtless hunt-and-peck online trivial pursuit games under the category of "online classes." I can barely drag myself through TEEX to pull out 2 credits for Cyber101 this week. To me, they are painfully boring and a waste of my time- but, the price is right, expiration is around the corner, low hanging fruit and all. Harvard grad classes are not that. Don't go in with fear, go in ready to work, and you won't be disapointed.

[leland.kirk]

Western Carolina is one of the 3 schools selected to participate in the new NC Promise program this year 2018-2019, making tuition for all in-state students a flat rate of $500 per semester unlimited.  HES doesn't care where/what your undergrad degree is in, but there aren't many ways to chop the cost for the Master's program- so my opinion is to do everything within your power to spend as little as possible now so you can use your $$$ on your HES degree - you'll need it.  I don't know the dynamics of that program, but there will be travel to Boston in there as well. 
Rigor is to be assumed.
I can only share my limited experience, and I haven't taken any classes in your field, so take my opinion with a grain of salt- but I have taken dozens (and my husband and kids have taken dozens^) of tedious brainless thoughtless hunt-and-peck online trivial pursuit games under the category of "online classes."  I can barely drag myself through TEEX to pull out 2 credits for Cyber101 this week.  To me, they are painfully boring and a waste of my time- but, the price is right, expiration is around the corner, low hanging fruit and all.  Harvard grad classes are not that.  Don't go in with fear, go in ready to work, and you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for this!

Side question: Is it just the first three (or two for some programs) courses that a 3.0 GPA is required on? Because I definitely feel like I could do that. But I'm not sure why, I thought one had to maintain a 3.0 for the entirety of the degree? Which I definitely feel like I couldn't do.

[Ideas]

In another thread, someone mentioned how a Harvard Extension Masters requires one on-campus course? Or maybe that's only for a certain program, but figured it was worth posting.

[davewill]

Thanks for this!

Side question: Is it just the first three (or two for some programs) courses that a 3.0 GPA is required on? Because I definitely feel like I could do that. But I'm not sure why, I thought one had to maintain a 3.0 for the entirety of the degree? Which I definitely feel like I couldn't do.

For grad programs, it's pretty standard that you must maintain at least a 3.0 overall to graduate. It definitely requires a different sort of focus and commitment. In grad school, Cs DON'T get degrees.

[Life Long Learning]

Western Carolina is one of the 3 schools selected to participate in the new NC Promise program this year 2018-2019, making tuition for all in-state students a flat rate of $500 per semester unlimited.  HES doesn't care where/what your undergrad degree is in, but there aren't many ways to chop the cost for the Master's program- so my opinion is to do everything within your power to spend as little as possible now so you can use your $$$ on your HES degree - you'll need it.  I don't know the dynamics of that program, but there will be travel to Boston in there as well.  
Rigor is to be assumed.
I can only share my limited experience, and I haven't taken any classes in your field, so take my opinion with a grain of salt- but I have taken dozens (and my husband and kids have taken dozens^) of tedious brainless thoughtless hunt-and-peck online trivial pursuit games under the category of "online classes."  I can barely drag myself through TEEX to pull out 2 credits for Cyber101 this week.  To me, they are painfully boring and a waste of my time- but, the price is right, expiration is around the corner, low hanging fruit and all.  Harvard grad classes are not that.  Don't go in with fear, go in ready to work, and you won't be disapointed.

Wow!

This is neat.  Instate $500, Out-of-State $2500.  That is dirt cheap.  The video even says lower fees for online students?

Through NC Promise, the state will significantly reduce student tuition cost at three UNC system institutions – Elizabeth City State University, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and Western Carolina University – beginning in Fall 2018.

https://ncpromise.com/

[cookderosa]

Western Carolina is one of the 3 schools selected to participate in the new NC Promise program this year 2018-2019, making tuition for all in-state students a flat rate of $500 per semester unlimited.  HES doesn't care where/what your undergrad degree is in, but there aren't many ways to chop the cost for the Master's program- so my opinion is to do everything within your power to spend as little as possible now so you can use your $$$ on your HES degree - you'll need it.  I don't know the dynamics of that program, but there will be travel to Boston in there as well.  
Rigor is to be assumed.
I can only share my limited experience, and I haven't taken any classes in your field, so take my opinion with a grain of salt- but I have taken dozens (and my husband and kids have taken dozens^) of tedious brainless thoughtless hunt-and-peck online trivial pursuit games under the category of "online classes."  I can barely drag myself through TEEX to pull out 2 credits for Cyber101 this week.  To me, they are painfully boring and a waste of my time- but, the price is right, expiration is around the corner, low hanging fruit and all.  Harvard grad classes are not that.  Don't go in with fear, go in ready to work, and you won't be disapointed.

Wow!

This is neat.  Instate $500, Out-of-State $2500.  That is dirt cheap.  The video even says lower fees for online students?

Through NC Promise, the state will significantly reduce student tuition cost at three UNC system institutions – Elizabeth City State University, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and Western Carolina University – beginning in Fall 2018.

https://ncpromise.com/

Learner, thanks for posting that in its own thread- I did share what I know, but it's a new program, and even last week I attended a homeschool meeting about the program and most of the details are still big question marks. You can bet, however, that I'm paying very close attention.