My Experience at the Harvard Extension School Information Session

[jane_eyre11]

I attended the Harvard Extension School information session on Wednesday June 13th. At first I didn't think anyone would be interested in my experiences but recently there has been a buzz on the site concerning the Extension School. I really wanted to make sure I was on time because it said to get there at least a half hour early. So I get there and their people from all over and they basically just had us watching several videos one had the dean of the extension school one was introducing the new president of the university and then they're also videos about student experiences and the sustainability program. Memorial Hall is extremely old and extremely beautiful. You come in you give your name at the desk and you're handed a black bag that says Harvard Extension on it and inside it had a folder some maps, a schedule for the evening and also just general information about the extension School. Everyone was extremely helpful and very polite. There were signs pretty much on every corner there people helping to direct you. I felt like Dean Lambert was really down-to-earth and just really chill he was even taking selfies. So the dean spoke about the mission of the extension school and he asked how many people were within a driving distance and some people raise their hands and then he asked how many people travel to get there today from a long distance and so many people raise their hands. then the head of the same ability programs food and he was just talking about the history of the building that were in he's really cool too. He's very funny he enjoys talking to the statues of Josiah Quincy and James Otis. Before that day I had no interest whatsoever in sustainability but now I might just take a class as an elective. After that an alumni shared about his experiences and then they call the name of the person who won the free course. Next they gave some general directions about how the rest of the evening would flow. Depending on your area studying and whether you are an undergraduate student you would go to different buildinga. The ALM program breakout was in Lowell Hall. They gave us maps in our bags so that made it a little easier for us to get to where we had to go. Some people stayed at Memorial Hall, some people had to go to the science building, While others went to the information fair in Annenberg Hall and also had refreshements. So basically at Lowell Hall it's a really nice lecture hall that has 12 classrooms underneath and they told us a little bit of the history of it how the president of Harvard actually paid for the lecture hall to be built because he believed that there is more to a lecture than just sitting and listening to the professor you believe that you also needed a small group interactions in the sections and so for many years on Harvard campus Lowell Hall was referred to as the new lecture hall. After his death they discovered that he paid for it so it was named Lowell Hall. This was an opportunity to really dig deep into what were the degree requirements for the program and for ALM in the social sciences this was invaluable information. So there was a mix in the breakout. There were people who had already started their admissions courses, there are also people who had completed 3 and we're preparing to put in the application to become a degree. One woman there from California was actually in the process of moving to the Boston area to complete on campus requirement. Now I know you would be wondering why would she do that when you could just do an on-campus intensive weekend and that also fulfills the on campus requirement. as the evening progressed I understood more fully why she would want to do that. There was discussion about assistantship positions and how some people do move to the area in order to pursue those opportunities and to have a relationship with the professors and those professors in turn are able to write recommendations and things like that for PHD programs. One guy on the panel was an alumni of the extension school and he was a teaching assistant and he basically said he loved Harvard and just never left. He is now on staff in the admissions department. We also discussed what class you should take first if she should take the proseminar occurs or your elected first. Alysson from admissions suggests taking one course to start with and taking something that you're really interested in. We also discussed what to do if you're torn between two different fields and so what was suggested is that you take a class that can count for both like some classes count for both history and government or both government and international relations. some people also raised questions about the writing because that is a big hurdle for some people and for the graduate school you have to be able to pass the test of critical reading and writing or you can take Expo 42b instead. There was one guy he got a b-minus and expose 42b and he asked if he had to take it over unfortunately he does have to take it over because it has to be a B or better not a B minus. Also concerning the pro seminar the was a consensus among the panel that professors of those courses are considered The Gatekeepers to the extension school and so if they feel that you are not ready for the ALM program they will not give you more than to B minus. They gave out a few more information sheets specific to degree programs and they also have some Harvard Extension School Post-it notes that was really cute. From there I went to Annenberg hall for the information Fair. At the information Fair there were several tables set up some for financial aid the one I like the most was for the online component it show you what it's like and be in a live Web Conference. I'm used to more of the format where you have discussion forums and things like that with me online live web conference you're seeing your classmates face-to-face and you're talking with them. also the food was really good they had sandwiches they had to wrap soda water brownies cookies fruit cheese crackers other types of sandwiches it was just really a nice spread. And the hospitality was just top notch. I was at one of the tables and I just happen to be at a table with a guy who was from Jersey who attended Seton Hall and he was looking to transfer and he was saying that actually it would be cheaper for him to go to Harvard Extension school then to stay at Seton Hall so where they're talkin and the dean comes up eating my chicken and spinach with the tzaziki sauce and the Dean Dean Lambert comes up to me and he's like did you find everything you needed. And I'm just looking like the Dean is speaking to me?? I told him yes thank you. And then he asked me "Are you scared"? And I said, "Yes". And then he said well that's good I'd be concerned if you weren't. And then we began to talk about the how financial institutions can reach out to low income communities who use check cashing places for most financial transactions. He was very nice and I told him he was down to earth for a dean. Afterwards I went for a walk through campus and I went to Starbucks in Harvard Square. it was a very good experience and I'm glad that I went and got to see the campus for myself even though I didn't see all of it. The view was beautiful driving up to Harvard seeking Harvard Hall Memorial Hall the Charles River. it's nice now when I go to the Harvard Extension School website and I see those pictures in the background I'm like "I know where that is!". I hope this helps someone and good luck to those who are beginning the admissions journey.

[sanantone]

Sorry, but this is hard to read. It should be broken up into paragraphs.

[allvia]

Yes paragraphs would be easier to read, but thank you for sharing. I did read it all, and what I have gathered from it is that Harvard treated all the extension candidates with respect that any Harvard student should receive.  This is information no one else has taken the time to share and I'm sure many will appreciate it.

[cookderosa]

I attended the Harvard Extension School information session on Wednesday June 13th. At first I didn't think anyone would be interested in my experiences but recently there has been a buzz on the site concerning the Extension School. I really wanted to make sure I was on time because it said to get there at least a half hour early. So I get there and their people from all over and they basically just had us watching several videos one had the dean of the extension school one was introducing the new president of the university and then they're also videos about student experiences and the sustainability program. Memorial Hall is extremely old and extremely beautiful. You come in you give your name at the desk and you're handed a black bag that says Harvard Extension on it and inside it had a folder some maps, a schedule for the evening and also just general information about the extension School. Everyone was extremely helpful and very polite. There were signs pretty much on every corner there people helping to direct you. I felt like Dean Lambert was really down-to-earth and just really chill he was even taking selfies. So the dean spoke about the mission of the extension school and he asked how many people were within a driving distance and some people raise their hands and then he asked how many people travel to get there today from a long distance and so many people raise their hands. then the head of the same ability programs food and he was just talking about the history of the building that were in he's really cool too. He's very funny he enjoys talking to the statues of Josiah Quincy and James Otis. Before that day I had no interest whatsoever in sustainability but now I might just take a class as an elective. After that an alumni shared about his experiences and then they call the name of the person who won the free course. Next they gave some general directions about how the rest of the evening would flow. Depending on your area studying and whether you are an undergraduate student you would go to different buildinga. The ALM program breakout was in Lowell Hall. They gave us maps in our bags so that made it a little easier for us to get to where we had to go. Some people stayed at Memorial Hall, some people had to go to the science building, While others went to the information fair in Annenberg Hall and also had refreshements. So basically at Lowell Hall it's a really nice lecture hall that has 12 classrooms underneath and they told us a little bit of the history of it how the president of Harvard actually paid for the lecture hall to be built because he believed that there is more to a lecture than just sitting and listening to the professor you believe that you also needed a small group interactions in the sections and so for many years on Harvard campus Lowell Hall was referred to as the new lecture hall. After his death they discovered that he paid for it so it was named Lowell Hall. This was an opportunity to really dig deep into what were the degree requirements for the program and for ALM in the social sciences this was invaluable information. So there was a mix in the breakout. There were people who had already started their admissions courses, there are also people who had completed 3 and we're preparing to put in the application to become a degree. One woman there from California was actually in the process of moving to the Boston area to complete on campus requirement. Now I know you would be wondering why would she do that when you could just do an on-campus intensive weekend and that also fulfills the on campus requirement. as the evening progressed I understood more fully why she would want to do that. There was discussion about assistantship positions and how some people do move to the area in order to pursue those opportunities and to have a relationship with the professors and those professors in turn are able to write recommendations and things like that for PHD programs. One guy on the panel was an alumni of the extension school and he was a teaching assistant and he basically said he loved Harvard and just never left. He is now on staff in the admissions department. We also discussed what class you should take first if she should take the proseminar occurs or your elected first. Alysson from admissions suggests taking one course to start with and taking something that you're really interested in. We also discussed what to do if you're torn between two different fields and so what was suggested is that you take a class that can count for both like some classes count for both history and government or both government and international relations. some people also raised questions about the writing because that is a big hurdle for some people and for the graduate school you have to be able to pass the test of critical reading and writing or you can take Expo 42b instead. There was one guy he got a b-minus and expose 42b and he asked if he had to take it over unfortunately he does have to take it over because it has to be a B or better not a B minus. Also concerning the pro seminar the was a consensus among the panel that professors of those courses are considered The Gatekeepers to the extension school and so if they feel that you are not ready for the ALM program they will not give you more than to B minus. They gave out a few more information sheets specific to degree programs and they also have some Harvard Extension School Post-it notes that was really cute. From there I went to Annenberg hall for the information Fair. At the information Fair there were several tables set up some for financial aid the one I like the most was for the online component it show you what it's like and be in a live Web Conference. I'm used to more of the format where you have discussion forums and things like that with me online live web conference you're seeing your classmates face-to-face and you're talking with them. also the food was really good they had sandwiches they had to wrap soda water brownies cookies fruit cheese crackers other types of sandwiches it was just really a nice spread. And the hospitality was just top notch. I was at one of the tables and I just happen to be at a table with a guy who was from Jersey who attended Seton Hall and he was looking to transfer and he was saying that actually it would be cheaper for him to go to Harvard Extension school then to stay at Seton Hall so where they're talkin and the dean comes up eating my chicken and spinach with the tzaziki sauce and the Dean Dean Lambert comes up to me and he's like did you find everything you needed. And I'm just looking like the Dean is speaking to me?? I told him yes thank you. And then he asked me "Are you scared"? And I said, "Yes". And then he said well that's good I'd be concerned if you weren't. And then we began to talk about the how financial institutions can reach out to low income communities who use check cashing places for most financial transactions. He was very nice and I told him he was down to earth for a dean. Afterwards I went for a walk through campus and I went to Starbucks in Harvard Square. it was a very good experience and I'm glad that I went and got to see the campus for myself even though I didn't see all of it. The view was beautiful driving up to Harvard seeking Harvard Hall Memorial Hall the Charles River. it's nice now when I go to the Harvard Extension School website and I see those pictures in the background I'm like "I know where that is!". I hope this helps someone and good luck to those who are beginning the admissions journey.

Thank you for sharing!! That was lovely to read.

[alram]

It sounds like you had a great experience! Really good details. Thank you.

[davewill]

It makes sense that your ability to attend more of your courses on campus would be a big plus for a program like this. Did they address distance learners' issues?

[alexf.1990]

I attended the Harvard Extension School information session on Wednesday June 13th. At first I didn't think anyone would be interested in my experiences but recently there has been a buzz on the site concerning the Extension School. I really wanted to make sure I was on time because it said to get there at least a half hour early. So I get there and their people from all over and they basically just had us watching several videos one had the dean of the extension school one was introducing the new president of the university and then they're also videos about student experiences and the sustainability program.  Memorial Hall is extremely old and extremely beautiful. You come in you give your name at the desk and you're handed a black bag that says Harvard Extension on it and inside it had a folder some maps, a schedule for the evening and also just general information about the extension School. Everyone was extremely helpful and very polite......

 Did they mention anything about the income requirements to receive the Extension School Grant?

[mudball]

Thank you for sharing. This is very important to me because my son is considering a masters at HES. I am also looking for information on how to receive the Extension School Grant.

[bluebooger]

Thank you for sharing!! That was lovely to read.

did you really need to quote that entire wall of text for a one sentence reply ?


@jane_eyre11
    why in the world would you not use paragraphs ? 

or line breaks ?

[allvia]

Thank you for sharing!! That was lovely to read.

did you really need to quote that entire wall of text for a one sentence reply ?


@jane_eyre11
    why in the world would you not use paragraphs ? 

or line breaks ?

I'm guessing jane_eyre11 did have it set up that way while typing when the 'post' button was hit it removed all the formatting. I know it happens to me all the time (I've learned to Preview before Posting to fix the formatting).  Personally, I feel the real problem here was skipping a thankful acknowledgement that someone (a real person) took the time to post about this previously unshared experience with the forum, and instead was instead greeted with what read as a disparaging response (by sanantone -  don't know if it was meant to read in that manner, just stating fact).    I hope jane_eyre11 does reply to the sincere inquiries made here, but I would also completely understand if further public comment was avoided.