New from Harvard Extension School

[studiousimp]

Chiming in with another anecdote that might help someone continue considering the HES path.

I have a relative who went to HES. She went there on my recommendation because she had some rocky patches in her undergrad experience and did not get accepted to grad school. She went to HES more like a traditional student, and THAT was perhaps the best decision she made and the most impactful on her career since. I think this is worth sharing anyway because of this persistent idea that "it's not Harvard." Bologna. It is Harvard and it can be an incredible opportunity for motivated students. It can also open significant doors.

She started slow by taking one class with an on campus/online option... grappled with how hard it was for her, buckled down and learned how to study at this level and how to succeed at Harvard. Pulled up her britches and committed to what she wanted.
She got involved in organizations and activities for grad students.
Eventually she ran for and won a seat in the university-wide graduate student government (along with students from the medical school, the law school, etc.)... not as an "Extension" student, as a Harvard University grad student.
She worked for a leading researcher in an in-demand field.
She became a TA or whatever their equivalent is such that she is listed and reviewed (favorably) on Rate My Professor.
She was recruited hard before graduation, got an excellent job in the Boston area by a company that likes recruiting from Harvard and has since testified before Congress about her field.

I watched her hard work and that amazing brand combine to change the trajectory of her life. So I know it's possible. I know it was reasonably economical (as far as traditional graduate education goes) and though I love this girl and she's special to me, she's not a unicorn. This is just one story. There have got to be other similar stories out there.

People get bitter and crazy when it comes to Harvard. People also get unrealistic about what "just" attending will do for a life.

It makes sense to me that, as with anything, you have to do the work and distinguish yourself. But sheesh, all the negativity is disempowering in an environment that is usually spectacularly empowering. This place is better than that. The incredible people here who add so much value but crap all over the idea of grad school at HES are better than that, too.

I don't post much because I don't usually have anything even remotely as helpful that the amazing braintrust here has already said... but this time I wanted to chime in with something I know to be true much in the same way that I know it's possible to get an accredited BA for a fraction of the price and with a lot of alternative sources. It wouldn't matter to me what people said to the contrary, I know it's possible. I'm very close to having accomplished it and I know a lot of you already have. This, for me, is the same thing.