Given the diversity of HGSE students, it’s no surprise that Ed.M. students received their acceptance letters in a variety of quirky, surprising settings all over the world.
The 2018-2019 HGSE cohort share their experiences getting in:
“I was working out with my trainer, in Atlanta, Georgia. I was in between sets, and checked my email. When I opened the email, I screamed, “I got into Harvard!” for pretty much the whole gym to hear. Shortly after, I got a text from one of my best friends that she got engaged. It was a great Friday!”- Madeline Burroughs, Education Policy and Management
“I didn’t realize I had been accepted until 4 hours after decisions were sent out because my phone died during a road trip home to North Carolina. When my phone was finally charged I saw the HGSE email saying my decision was available. I immediately assumed the lack of a “congratulations” in the email meant I had been rejected. I logged into the portal anyway and saw the confetti falling on the screen and couldn’t believe my eyes! Truly, I refreshed the screen twice and clicked the link in the email 3 times in order to be certain it was true (and not a fluke!) before I finally ran with my laptop to show my family!” – Kate Russell, Higher Education Program
“It was 11.45 pm of March 3rd last year. I remember every single detail of that night (pretty dramatic)! It was the end of a tiresome week at school (I was working as a Senior School Geography teacher in a K-12 school in India), and I had switched off my phone and retired to bed early. And a really long struggle to sleep, for no reason, I decided to switch on my phone and check my gmail, which I hadn’t checked for the last few days. And there it was, an email from the HGSE admissions office waiting for me in my inbox. My heart skipped, what seemed to be a million beats, as I touched the link in the email that redirected me to the admissions portal. And that is when I realized that I had forgotten my password to the portal. After two failed attempts, the link opened in the third attempt and there it was, a confetti sprinkling animated page that congratulated me on my acceptance to Harvard. I remember reading the page thrice, frozen in a state of shock, making sure I had actually read it correctly. What followed that was me sobbing hysterically on my bed in my dark bedroom for the next 15-20 minutes and then midnight phone calls to my family (who were creeped out by my sobbing voice considering it was midnight and they were out of context)! I was all alone that night, awake till 4 am in the morning reaching out to my loved ones via phone calls. My reality shifted that moment and then the rest is history as I now prepare for my graduation from this historic institution in another few months. Dreams do come true! Mine did and I feel blessed every moment of it.” -Ananya Saikia, Human Development and Psychology
“I was doing back to back family/teacher conferences all the while knowing that the decisions were posted. I didn’t check the online portal until they were finished because I wanted to be as present as possible for my families and students, but as soon as the last conference wrapped I quickly jumped online and saw the good news! I immediately called my parents and celebrated with them on the phone and then popped next door to my work besties classroom and we watched the welcome video together and I cried tears of joy. My principal came in to see what the ruckus was all about and gave me a hearty high five and walked me down to the office to tell our instructional coach. It was a really exciting moment made all the better by the support of my colleagues in a school that is near and dear to my heart!”- Carly Riley, Specialized Studies Program
“My partner told me the news. We were in Rome, Italy, and it was about 1 am local time. He opened the mail first. I think I said “No way!” 25 times.” – Anna, Technology, Innovation and Education
“I was in the middle of coordinating an admitted student day for the school I worked prior to attending HGSE when I received the email from Harvard. I rushed out of the event space I was in, and opened the offer of admission fully. I had just been chatting with a colleague at the event about the potential of moving to Boston – I ran back inside and gave her hug. The icing on the cake was my parents were in town for the weekend, and I got to tell them in person.”- Andy Marshall, Higher Education Program
HGSE Admissions Blog 