College Copycats

I could go on and on about how thrilled I am that my younger sister will be attending Colby College, my alma mater, next fall. I absolutely loved my four years there and know that she will have a wonderful experience as well.

During my time at Colby, there were many sibling sets on campus and even some twins. As a result, learning that my sister would follow in my footsteps seemed natural, but apparently this trend stretches beyond Colby’s campus. New research indicates that “one-fifth of younger siblings go to the same college as their older siblings,” study author Joshua Goodman of the Harvard Kennedy School explains.  

Even if siblings don’t attend the same college as one another, younger siblings are more likely to enroll in any four-year institution if their older sibling does so, the study found when controlling for grades and scores. Plus, if an older sibling attends a selective college, younger siblings are even more likely to do just that.

I think, as the article and some commenters pointed out, a lot of this trend has to simply do with younger siblings learning more about schools they may have not considered otherwise. Having someone at home who is constantly speaking highly of a particular institution is the best advertising a college can ask for, and it certainly pays off in many cases.

So you want to apply to grad school...

I thought now might be a good time to talk about the grad school application process, considering that it was about one year ago that I decided I was interested in 1) getting a master’s degree and 2) studying higher education. 

Last summer, I began to toy with the idea of going to graduate school for either journalism or higher education (and for a brief moment, interior design—a huge side passion of mine!). Until then, graduate school was never something I had planned to pursue—although I know several of my college professors expected that I would go on to get another degree and even dropped some not-so-subtle hints to my parents at graduation!  

After thinking about the type of career I most wanted to pursue, I decided that getting a master’s in higher education was the next step for me. This meant that it was time to search for institutions offering this degree—and higher ed programs can be less common. Additionally, I knew that no matter what, I wanted to start school the following fall. Many people I know at GSE only applied to one or two institutions and were more willing to take their chances! While there were a couple of programs that I most wanted to attend, I decided that ultimately, I was better off applying to multiple schools so that no matter what, I would (hopefully!) be able to enroll somewhere.

While there are so many factors to take into account when applying to graduate school—cost and location being two big ones—I wanted to share a few other things I kept in mind while completing the application process.   

1)    Look into different programs’ lengths, strengths, and reputations. You can do this by going online, speaking with a mentor in the field, or even by reaching out to the schools themselves. One of my mentors from undergrad was very positive about his own master’s in higher ed program but also named other universities with strong education schools that were worth considering. Program length is significant in that some students wish to spend a longer amount of time mastering a skill and gaining internship experience while others are eager to receive their degree within a year or less. There are many strong higher ed programs that are only one year (or in many cases, nine months!), but there are also great two-year programs. Considering a program’s strengths is also important. It was important to me to go to live and learn alongside a tight-knit cohort and to study under accomplished faculty. Talking to a professional I know in the higher ed industry alerted me to some of the well-known research coming from Penn faculty, something which positively impacted my decision. Lastly, despite all the controversy about university rankings, it can be helpful to look at how 1) the education school and 2) your specific program ranks with respect to other schools. Whether or not a school is competitive in terms of its undergrad admissions is not always correlated with the strength of its graduate programs. Don’t rule out schools you never would have considered attending as an undergraduate (either because they’re too competitive or not competitive enough), as grad school is in many ways a different ballgame.

2)    Look at your stats. Most of the schools I looked at had class profiles posted online. This information was useful when I was wondering what range of GRE scores I would need to receive to be considered a competitive applicant. However, keep in mind that these statistics are averages. As part of my work in the admissions office, I answer a lot of phone calls from prospective students who are wondering if a particular GPA is too low for Penn GSE. I always remind them that the application process is holistic—there is no one factor that gives an applicant an automatic yay or nay. Still, knowing I fit within the score ranges for each school gave me a boost of confidence when I sent in my applications. There are so many factors about your application that you can’t control, so it’s definitely worth putting your best effort into standardized testing. I just wish I had taken the GRE sooner—such as during or immediately after college—so that I would’ve had one less thing to focus on during application time.

3)    Start early. My applications were due between December 1 and February 1, and it was important to me to complete as many as possible before the holidays so that I could relax and enjoy time with family. Plus, after spending the past several months building my school list, attending visit days, studying for and taking the GRE, and working three different jobs, I was ready to be wrapping up by the time my full-time position started in January. Though I was working on my last two applications in the new year, I was able to complete them in much less time and stressed much less than I had with the first few, even though they were for two of my top choice schools. Once you’ve found your rhythm and have gotten one app out the door, the next ones will be that much easier. 

While I’m certainly no expert, I hope that my advice comes in handy for anyone working on their own grad school applications, whether they’re for a program in education or something entirely different. Though the process seems daunting, it will be worth it in the end to have options!

One Hundred

I have to admit that it's pretty cool walking around campus and the surrounding area and being able to say, "That's my school!" every time I see a banner advertising Penn GSE's centennial (this happens pretty frequently!). In 2014, GSE turned 100, and as part of the celebration, tons of alumni contributed stories about their time here and beyond. I wrote a post on the Admissions blog summarizing a few of them, and I suggest you check out the rest of the site!

Fun fact: My college celebrated its bicentennial during my senior year (2013)--I guess I know how to pick historic schools!

Admissions Agony

This summer, I am taking Contemporary Issues in Higher Education, my first-ever higher ed course. The class has flown by--since we only meet twice a week, we just have four more class periods left before summer session one ends and my next course begins.

Last Wednesday, our class engaged in an extremely interesting activity that prompted extensive discussion about the college admissions process. Our professor broke the class into four groups, which were designed to represent Emory University, Wesleyan University, the University of Michigan, and Columbia University, respectively. After spending time researching our assigned institution, each group was handed a copy of a list of 15 applicants and asked to determine which students we would admit to our incoming first-year class.

I was part of the Columbia group, and we determined that based on our admit rate, which is roughly six percent, we could only admit one applicant from the 15 on the list. These made-up students hailed from different high schools--public and private, high-performing and low-performing--across the Philadelphia region and differed in class background, race, sex, and more. Some of them boasted impressive grades and test scores and had completed a challenging curriculum, while others were more so-so but had overcome hardship or attended high schools that did not offer AP courses, a factor that was beyond their control. We also took into account the quality of these students' recommendations and the quality of their personal essay, items that were either described as "excellent," "good," or "fair" on the sheet of statistics we received.

My group chose to admit a high-achieving Asian-American student who came from a low-income background and attended a low-performing high school. She was a second-generation immigrant who we believed would contribute to the mission of the college and give back to her community. It took my group awhile to agree on this decision, but knowing we could only admit one candidate prompted us to immediately cross off students who other groups may have lingered on further.

The exercise certainly evoked strong emotions as members of each group described the reasoning behind their decisions. While other groups could admit a greater number of students to their colleges, not all 15 students on the list received acceptances to even one of the universities. In this group of rejects was one outstanding, upper-class student who members of each group believed would succeed anywhere and didn't necessarily need to attend their school--a sentiment that ended up harming her as each college turned her away.

This activity was a great way to discuss the harsh realities of the admissions process and consider the factors that different types of schools take into account when building a class. Candidates who are strong but not quite as strong as someone else are given a rejection letter, while other candidates who are compelling on paper but just don't have that "it" factor are also crossed off the list. Is there actually a "right" answer? Not necessarily. As we discussed, a lot of it depends on who is sitting on the committee, which is why it's important to have admissions committees comprised of a diverse group of individuals. Lots to consider!

Grad School Goals

This summer, I’m working part-time at the Penn GSE Office of Admissions & Financial Aid and have been writing some posts for the GSE blog. Last week, I wrote a post examining advice for PhD students. I just published one about Brian Witte’s Time Magazine article, “3 Questions to Ask Before Applying to a Graduate School.” 

I could definitely relate to some of the points Witte made in the article, since factors such as “lost income and delayed entry to the salary ladder” definitely crossed my mind when I was debating between one-year and two-year programs. Still, as someone who wants to work in higher education administration, receiving a master’s degree is a necessary first step. As a result, the career path aspect of the piece didn’t resonate with me as much, even though the specific path I will take within higher education to hopefully achieve this goal is TBD.

However, one of Witte’s statements--which was definitely not one of the major takeaways of the article but rather something I found interesting--noted that for nursing students, for example, a post-graduate school career path is a little more obvious. I feel like before I knew what I wanted to do, I was always envious of my pre-med friends (extensive schooling and gigantic expenses aside) because they had a clear an end goal to achieve. In college, they were taking certain prerequisites and participating in specific extracurricular activities to prepare for the path ahead. I, on the other hand, chose my major because sociology interested me, not because I knew for sure how it would influence my future career—although now being in the education field, coming from this academic background is extremely relevant!

Of course, within higher education there are many paths one can take, but I, too, now feel as if I am on a path to achieve a specific end goal (although hopefully for me, no blood will be involved!).

Weekend Report

I thought this type of post would be a fun way to share some updates about life outside the office/classroom. After all, there is a ton to do in Philadelphia, and even those of us living on a student budget and scheduling our lives around homework can find ways to take advantage of the opportunities nearby! Here are a couple of places I tried this weekend:

After walking by Federal Donuts a couple of times and reading some of its reviews online, I decided to try it out myself. (I figured I deserved to, since I wasn't able to participate in National Donut Day the week before!). The shop offers several types of donuts, but I decided to go with classic chocolate glaze. Their cold brew iced coffee was worth a try, too. Yum!

On Saturday night, I met up with my friend and fellow full-time student Anna at El Rey, an awesome, new-to-me Mexican restaurant in Center City. I LOVE guacamole and theirs did not disappoint! It was the perfect way to start a night out.

The rest of the weekend was spent squeezing in a few workouts, getting stuck in the elevator in my apartment building (eek!), doing readings for class, planning for an upcoming paper, and meeting with my group to prepare for a presentation we're doing in our summer class. The other day, one of my colleagues who completed my program a few years ago was joking that at GSE, everyone is the type of person who likes to "take charge" during a group project. This definitely isn't a bad thing!

Stay tuned for more posts later this week! 

Penn Pals

When I attended my higher ed preview weekend back in March, I wasn’t even officially committed to Penn. I had received acceptances to six different programs, and while I had narrowed my list down a bit, the decision process was difficult (especially as someone who had applied to college early decision and had never been in this predicament!). Did I want to stay in my post-grad city, return to my home state, move halfway across the country, or choose something in the middle? Did I want to commit to a one-year or two-year program? I was confident at the time that Penn was one of my top choices, but not knowing that I would one hundred percent be enrolling made the preview weekend a bit stressful. 

Thankfully, I made the wise decision to socialize with as many incoming students as possible. I ended up becoming particularly close with three girls, all of whom were already committed to Penn and, better yet, would be in the Philadelphia area over the summer! Before leaving Penn, we connected on Facebook, so after I committed to GSE (yay!) and decided to sign up for summer classes, I was so thankful that I already knew a few people right nearby. 

I have never lived in a city where I didn’t know anyone—I even studied abroad with one of my closest friends from college—so having three familiar faces right nearby in Philly has made the transition much easier. Interestingly, the three girls I met are all Pennsylvania natives—two grew up in the Philly suburbs and the other has been living in the city—so they have all been great sources of knowledge as I’ve been getting settled. I'm still learning the ins and outs of Pennsylvania life--I told one of my friends last weekend that I wanted to see Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day and she said that she has never met someone with a desire to do that--I'm such a tourist! 

The fact that one of the girls and I will be full-time students while the two others will enroll part-time hasn’t stopped any of us from expressing our excitement about the year ahead together. I’m definitely jealous that the part-timers will have the opportunity to meet two different cohorts, and they've already told me that they're eager to attend next year's preview event (something I will help plan as part of my graduate assistantship--more on that later!). 

I'm looking forward to meeting even more people in my cohort come fall. It was important to me that the program in which I enrolled was home to a collaborative, friendly, close-knit group of students. The people I meet here will not only be friends and classmates but may become future coworkers, after all!

Ready, Set, GSE!

When I tell people that I am going to graduate school to pursue my master’s in education, their response is often something along the lines of, “So what do you want to teach?” When I explain that, actually, I am pursuing a master’s in higher education with the goal of eventually serving as a college administrator (such as a dean), they may say something like, “Oh, so you’re not one of the Teach for America types?”

While I was looking at the other blogs on the GSE Admissions site, I found Alex’s most recent post resonating with me. I often joke that saying I’m going back to school “for higher education” also sounds misleading—isn’t anyone getting their master’s degree pursuing a higher education? So yes, I can see why people are a little confused!

Add this to the fact that most people my age—or in general—probably don’t envision themselves becoming a college dean one day. In college, the deans were disciplinary, authority figures who most of us only got to know during times of crisis (or if we were in trouble). However, right now at least, this is the profession I am interested in pursuing at some point down the road after GSE.

I was lucky to get an insight into the world of a college dean while serving on my campus newspaper. While meeting with one of my school's deans each week to discuss potential story ideas and major issues on campus, I became interested in the profession. I want to work in a student-facing role, but I am also interested in issues such as access, retention, and campus climate. Deans often serve as first responders in terms of engaging with the campus community following a major event, development, or policy change at a college.

Of course, it took me about a year after graduation to decide that I did indeed want to go to graduate school to pursue higher education as a career. However, I believe my path goes to show that not everyone in the higher education field comes from your typical resident assistant/student programming/admissions background. After college, I spent time working in journalism--first at a magazine dedicated to popular culture and then at a publication dedicated to parenting--and I also spent time exploring the public relations and private college counseling fields.

One great aspect of GSE is that it is truly accessible to many types of students. In my program and particularly in my summer class, there are individuals of all age groups and backgrounds. Whether a student is coming right out of college or graduated decades ago, he or she will find a place in the classroom here. 

I’ll be posting about my own experience throughout the summer and am happy to answer any questions you may have as a prospective student. While I’m only a couple of weeks into my summer class, I am already so happy that I chose Penn and can’t wait to see what’s to come!