I bet that a lot of you think I chose it because it’s Harvard.
You’re only partly right. The name did have an effect on my choice but only tangentially so.
I was intrigued by the idea that a school like Harvard would offer distance education courses for credit and even more suprised that they offered degrees.
But it was much more important for me to find a good fit between what I was trying to achieve and what the school offered. To be successful, I needed to join a school that was targeting students who were like me: working adults with full schedules. For me, Harvard Extension was that school.
I’m often asked why I didn’t choose to attend a local school instead. The best answer that I can give is that they didn’t have a functioning and robust program for distance education combined with a rigorous academic level. Distance education is such a huge factor for me that I’m now biased against any school that hasn’t embraced this method of learning. It saves so much time and solve so many problems for people that I can’t imagine why more schools aren’t taking advantage or expanding their programs.
It isn’t hard to find distance-ed programs. There are plenty of them that are out there. The real challenge is finding a school that doesn’t treat them like an afterthought. That’s why it’s important to focus on the program itself rather than the name on the diploma. In the end, nobody will care where you went to school. They are much more interested in who you turned out to be.
I saw this article in the paper. The choice quote:
When I was 20 an older friend predicted, “Ten years from now, no one will care where you went to school. In fact, no one will ask.” Ridiculous, I thought. She turned out to be right. Where you live between the ages of 18 and 22 won’t define who you are. One day soon, the proud new college decal on your family car’s rear window will start looking a little uncool.
The author is correct. It’s not really that important where you went to school. It’s more important that the school is the right one for you. For me, that happened to be Harvard. Your ideal school match might be different. Don’t get too worked up about it.
Of course, when you’re on campus and looking at all those historic buildings, it’s hard not to allow yourself to believe the fantasy of it all. Just don’t let yourself be fooled. A degree from Harvard won’t change who you are. I have to keep reminding myself of that too.
Now that I’m looking for a graduate program to continue my studies, I’m faced with the same sorts of questions: What place is going to be the best fit for me? Where will I feel most comfortable? Where do I think I’ll be able to learn the most?
I’m torn between continuing on at Harvard Extension and their ALM in IT program and pursuing the Columbia MS in Computer Science option. On paper, the Columbia program is very impressive. I just couldn’t help feeling like the place was just a little bit too cold for me.
I might just be nervous about changing schools at some point. I just felt like I should put it out there so that people don’t think that the choice of where to go to school is always so automatic (i.e. pick the best name). Choosing where you will spend the next several years in intense study isn’t a decision to be taken lightly. Spend some time on it and try to choose wisely. Don’t let anyone else’s opinion drive yours. Make your own choice.
After all, it’s your life.
Francis,
I’m not sure if HES will issue I-20′s any longer. Their website says that they do not, but I saws this on a web forum dedicated to extension students:
So the best bet might be to call the office and inquire about what needs to happen for them to issue an I-20. It appears that they do issue I-20′s for degree candidates but there may be some hurdle that you need to cross in order to get one.
I’m seriously thinking about doing a masters in government through Harvard’s extension school. I’ve twice failed to be admitted to the University of Georgia’s Ph.D. political science program because I’m just too math-illiterate, and half of the GRE is algebra and geometry. I’m 52 and can’t keep beating my head against the wall . . . I would love to do a J.D./Ph.D. in PolSci at Harvard, but again, the GRE would be my greatest obstacle. I wish that Harvard would offer the Ph.D. online, but I’ll take the masters and see what happens from there. . . I invite comments, discussion, etc. – BigSherm7 in Athens, Georgia
Sherman,
HES doesn’t require a GRE but you should be aware that it takes quite a bit of work to get through their programs. A math deficit should probably be corrected before you try to complete the program.
Thanx Richard . . . I can eventually handle any courses dealing with design and analysis of Ed. research, statistical analysis, etc. I took those courses while working on my masters in education . . .but the algebra and geometry, if you teach it to me I forget it 15 minutes later . . .again, thanx for the input . . .
Hi,
I’m a third year student studying Business at UC Irvine. My expected date of graduation is Dec. 2010. I want to go to HES for my Masters (Finance). When should I apply? When should I take my 3 prerequiste classes? Can I take those 3 online or am I going to have to move Cambridge? Once accepted into the program, how long does it take to complete?
Thanks for your time,
Tina
Tina,
I’m not as familiar with the ALM-M (Master of Liberal Arts – Management) but generally speaking, the programs take about 5 years to complete. You will almost certainly have to move to Cambridge to complete the program. Most of the ALM-M courses aren’t offered online and even if they were, HES doesn’t like to have too much of the coursework completed at a distance.
Generally speaking, you will probably have to take the three courses before applying, which means moving there, taking the courses, and THEN applying.
Hey, if it was easy, it wouldn’t be Harvard.
Richard,
Thanks for your prompt response. Correct me if I’m wrong, like most master’s programs’ shouldn’t ALM-Finance take at max 2 years to complete? Why do you say 5 years?
Also, can I take those 3 prerequiste classes before obtaining a bachelor’s degree?
And you’re right, it seems complicated already.
There really isn’t an ALM-Finance. It’s an ALM-Management and you can take the Finance concentration once you’re in that program.
For one thing, that program track requires 48 credits. If you did it full time, it would take 3 semesters to complete. If you did it half-time (and you would be smart to do that because the classes are HARD), that bumps it up to 6 semesters. So you’re already at 3 years.
Then you have to deal with the fact that some courses are only offered on alternate years.
All in all, you CAN do the program pretty quickly compared to the other ALM programs at HES but that almost never happens. Most people take longer to complete the degree.
Hi Richard,
I was wondering what you thought of
CSCI E-207 Introduction to Formal Systems and Computation
How much of a time sink was this class, and how was the difficulty compared to CSCI E-124?
Jeff,
E-207 is a difficult class. I took it with Salil Vadhan and he’s an excellent teacher but there is a significant amount of materal to cover in the class and unless you are comfortable with proofs, it will definitely be a steep learning curve.
E-124 is almost always taught by Mitzenmacher and is a real bear of a course. Algorithms is more difficult than Formal Systems.
In both cases, you should have taken Discrete Mathematics and Data Structures before you attempt either of these courses.
Hope this helps.
I am thinking of attending HES, but I have not had much time to really look at the website and figure out what degree I would like my degree in. My question is how long will it take for me to complete my undergraduate degree from HES?
Faith, that depends. You need to really review the website and ask yourself if HES is really for you.
There’s some lack of comparison here, in the realm of prestige in academics. For example, in the midwest, very bright students would regularly turn down elite programs like Cornell and Carnegie-Mellon to attend the Univ of Illinois/UC for engineering. Now, from a Harvard College person’s p.o.v., he might consider that person to be no different than a ‘lowly’ UConn or UMass attendant. Likewise, this snobbery spills over onto other Boston area private colleges like Tufts and Brandeis, who like the ivies, are trying to convince students not to attend their State U, in place of a higher *mark up* private college experience with the false notion that it’s not what’s in the person but his surroundings which make him a bright and effective individual.
So as you can imagine, in a private college centric northeast, there’s a lot of ambivalence about an Extension school, giving the keys to the kingdom to an outsider. What that does is give a public schooler (yes, it’s a class system concept) the ability to take Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences courses (everyone knows this angle) and show to the Harvard faculty that he’s just as capable as anyone else w/o playing the admissions game of being h.s. school Editor-In-Chief, winning some Westinghouse Award, or having a rich family with a hedge fund who can make multi-million dollar donations for a new building. In a sense, every private college loses when Harvard basically offers a more prestigious and palatable alternative to attending a UMass campus. I suspect that this ambivalence will continue unabated but at the same time, given the paucity in the number of actual HES degree attendants, it’s not enough to shake the foundations of the educational maya which is the predominance of Harvard University.
Are there off-campus living options? I noticed you can take the summer sessions to complete the on-campus requirements of the ALB. I live in Dallas, TX and spending a few weeks in Boston during the summer doesn’t seem too bad.
I just don’t like the $4250 price tag they have for the on campus option.
Shawn,
Of COURSE! There is nothing that compels you to live in on-campus housing during the summer term. You can make you own arrangements as you see fit.
For those who want to live in the Boston-Cambridge area, look at Craigslist and in particular, I recommend sharing rooms in Arlington MA. There’s a bus, No 77, which runs every 10-15 min up and down Mass Ave to Harvard Sq from Arlington Heights. From the point of view of both convenience and safety, this is the place to be, as Cambridge housing is relatively sparse and same goes for Davis to Union Sqs in Somerville.
hello Richard,
I am in ghana and would like to persue undergraduate cause ,but am comfuse .i want to do it on line.Does it mean i have to do both onsite andon line?
Dorcas,
You can take individual classes on-line but to earn a degree, there are some classes that you can only take on-campus. Right now, you need to take four classes on-campus in order to earn the degree.
I plan on going for the ALM-Management degree with a concentration in finance.
Can I apply for summer internships with this degree? Is it realistic to assume that this degree will adequately prepare me for a career in finance? I want to work for a company like Goldman Sachs someday. Is this degree comparable to a MS in Finance?
Howard,
I’m not sure about the ALM-Finance. I did computer science. Sorry.
HI
I am ugandan citizen who has just completed my undergraduate program in business computing and would like to get into the harvard extension program in the field of information systems ..what are my chances, how do i go about it to get in and do you offer financial aid?
Linda,
I think you should probably check out the main page at HES for answers to your questions. Financial aid isn’t generally offered though.
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