HGSE Admissions Blog

If you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking about applying to or attending HGSE! If you were like me and reading this from somewhere that is not Boston, you might be feeling a bit stressed about all of the logistics in the pipeline in order to make the transition to Cambridge successfully. Here are some of the things I figured out along the way to help you get started.

1. Housing – I found a great house on this website. With your Harvard email, you can create a profile, and then you can view professor’s houses all throughout Boston who are leasing homes while on sabbatical. The great thing is that they often have shorter leases so you aren’t locked into a summer lease after graduation when you may need to move. It also saved me a lot of money not having to buy loads of furniture and dishes. There are also lots of other options through Harvard Housing or the Facebook groups. Figure out your budget, try to find a place near the red line, and if you are looking across the river, just know buses get delayed with the snow. You’ve been warned!
2. Health insurance – I ended up going with the Harvard University Health Insurance just because of the ease and knowing it would be good coverage while I was here. Once you have your housing address secured with a lease, you might be eligible for MassHealth. Without an income, mine would have been free (silver lining!). The logistics of coordinating this from overseas was a bit too difficult but keep this in mind as a possibility as you consider your options. If you stick with Harvard University Health Services (HUHS), know that there are a ton of great resources and check out what’s covered in your insurance before you get sick and need to call the doctor.
3. Online Sessions – if you were like me, you binge watched the admissions office  webinars before you applied. I thought the webinar fun would be over once I was admitted. Nope. The webinars continue! Watch them. They are super helpful and provide valuable information from all things housing to orientation prep.
4. Resources before arriving – I was pleasantly surprised by the communication before I got to campus. I had a question about library resources, and I heard back from the wonderful Ning Zou multiple times in August before arriving. Know that people are excited to have you on campus – both faculty and staff – so after you get your email set up, if you have questions, send them to the campus community!
5. Sponsored Conferences – You might start to get a few emails about opportunities and experiences over the summer. I know I started to wonder what else was going to happen throughout the year. Did I want to commit my time to something without knowing what else might be out there? I regret not finding conferences this year that were in the area and investing the time to create a presentation. If you do this, know that you can apply for the sponsored conferences with OSA. Check out more information here!
6. The Hub – you will have access to The Hub once you create your Harvard Key. This database contains A LOT of information ranging from advising, to accessing career services, and to advertising upcoming events. There is also a “Community” tab where you can join student groups and organizations. This is a great way to get involved and stay informed with all things related to HGSE!
7. SAMI Mentorship program – this was an absolute highlight of my experience this year. My mentor is the most wonderful person, offering kind guidance and pointed advice throughout my program. Recognizing that the degree is only one year, it’s important to think about post-graduation early on. Having a sounding board familiar with the HGSE experience working in the field but outside of a specific course realm was a productive conversation to have regularly. The Student-Alumni Mentoring Initiative (SAMI) hosts events throughout the year, and I meet with my mentor to talk about school, job searches, and life in general once a month.
8. Course shopping – it will be tempting to be like a kid in the candy shop this week and to get discouraged by the choices. Recognize what you need to accomplish to complete your requirements for graduation, and then I recommend picking ten courses that are your top favorites. Stick to that upper limit, know the cross-school registration requirements BEFORE you get your heart set on a specific course at HKS/HLS/HBS etc., and plan accordingly. Also, look at the times and recognize that you don’t have a time turner so need to be able to plan out your schedule realistically!
9. Career fairs – Go to them. There are so many employers there across all aspects of education. I’ve learned so much from networking with different employers, managed to get an internship this spring through the fall fair, and gained awareness of post-graduation possibilities. Also, the Career Services team is fantastic, so it will help for you to get to know them and them, you, early on as you work together on the job hunt.
10. Setting the course – all of the logistics might make it so that suddenly you are walking to the tent in Radcliffe on Orientation Day One and looking up and realizing all of a sudden where you are and not having a plan. In the midst of coordinating your flights, setting up your lease, and packing things into bags to move, take some time to reflect on your plans for the year. How much time do you want to spend studying? Do you want an internship? What do you actually want to learn (not what you think other people think you should learn), and how does it fit into gaining skills with your next job? How much time can you handle being in large groups and when do you need time on your own? Will you actually get work done on the first floor of Gutman (good for you if your answer is yes!)? This reflection will help you steer the ship intentionally throughout this year.

Best of luck on this next adventure. It’s a whirlwind of a year, so drink it all in. Good luck with sorting out the infrastructure for this next experience, and know you have lots of resources supporting you along the way.

Blog written by Charlotte Evans. Photos provided by Charlotte Evans.

I spent the past five years living in Asia – two years in Shanghai and three years in Singapore. I’d love to share a bit more in the blog about the transition back to the United States, reckoning with being a US citizen back in America during the current political scene and suddenly being back on home turf and what that feels like while starting a new program. I think we have a lot of profiles like this in IEP so I’d be happy to share my experiences while also trying to determine what I want to do after and where I want to be after (so many options and lots of support from different offices at GSE). I love running and going to see musicals outside of school and am geeking out over my policy classes right now.