When I was preparing to apply to HGSE, I did not know what to expect or even what the first step was. As a first-generation student and the first person in my family to apply to graduate school, the process felt daunting. I knew I could not simply wait for opportunities to come to me, so I searched online for prospective student events. That is when I came across the Open House.

I was fortunate to be a recipient of the Find Yourself Here Fellowship, which covered my flight and stay for the weekend. I attended hoping to gain clarity and insight into navigating this new journey.

I remember stepping into Longfellow Hall for check-in feeling excited and nervous. I thought, “Oh my gosh, everyone here is going to be so professional, every student is going to be a genius, and this is going to be intimidating because, well, it’s Harvard!” While everyone was certainly smart, the environment was anything but intimidating. At every step, I was met with a welcoming smile and a friendly face.

The lunches and panels featured students who looked like me and shared experiences similar to mine. For the first time, I thought, “Okay, HGSE is a place where I can belong. I can see myself here.” I had assumed that graduate school, especially at Harvard, would mean that no one would be like me. The Open House challenged that assumption.

I was also surprised by how open and willing staff and faculty were to answer our questions and help us determine whether HGSE was the right fit. Their openness made the application process feel less intimidating and more accessible.

Ultimately, the sense of community and belonging I found at the Open House gave me the confidence to apply and, eventually, attend HGSE. I left feeling not intimidated, but prepared, welcomed, and ready to take the next step.

Attending the HGSE Open House helped me turn the idea of Harvard into something I could picture for myself. Before visiting, I was excited to learn more about the program, but I also wanted to get a feel for the people and imagine what it might be like to spend a year of my life here.

The day was amazing. I got to learn more about the program, meet other eager prospective students, and get a taste of the faculty and the questions I might explore in my classes. There was something really incredible about being surrounded by people who were also thinking about education, their next steps, and what they hoped to contribute. Students from all over the world came into the day with different experiences, but we shared the same sense of possibility about what might come next.

After ten years of teaching elementary school in Southern California, I knew I wanted space to learn and think about where I might go from there. I didn’t have a perfectly mapped out plan. The Open House gave me a chance to picture myself being a student again, asking questions and exploring possibilities. I also found the workshops incredibly helpful. We had the opportunity to read admitted students’ applications, hear the first hand experiences of enrolled HGSE students, learn from them, and spend some time writing ourselves. It made the application process feel much more real and approachable. And I have to mention the food! The breakfast was delicious, and there was plenty to enjoy throughout the day.

My advice is to make room for conversations alongside the scheduled sessions. Talk to the person sitting next to you, ask the question you have been wondering about, and give yourself a moment to take it all in. For me, the most meaningful part was starting to feel that I could belong here. I left excited to apply and curious about what this next chapter could hold.

I was very fortunate to have attended the HGSE Open House last fall with the Find Yourself Here Travel Fellowship! I was really nervous to attend the Open House for the same reasons I was nervous to apply to the program. I am a first-gen student from Arizona and was wondering if I belonged here, what financial options were available and how would HGSE help me make an impact in the education of my community.

I was expecting a traditional Open House where I would meet some faculty, learn about each program, funding, and some Q&A. I was pleasantly surprised by the Open House! There was a session where the admissions team hosted a workshop to help us write our Statement of Purpose. Their insight into what a strong statement entailed was incredibly helpful. This moment showed me how much HGSE cared about making sure each one of us felt fully supported going into the application process. It also spoke deeply to HGSE’s values.

There were also so many opportunities to meet new people and to have conversations with others. I left this experience with a mini network of incredible people. We also  had an opportunity to experience what a class might be like by selecting a breakout session led by an HGSE faculty member. 

It was an amazing experience. You could tell how passionate everyone was about education, from the faculty, to the admissions staff, to my potential peers. The Open House inspired and motivated me to apply because I experienced a community that was kind, welcoming, passionate, diverse, and genuinely so excited to learn. It was everything I wanted to be a part of and I felt that the education I would be a part of at HGSE would truly help me learn to change the world.