Harvard so far

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by cookderosa, Oct 16, 2008.

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  1. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    Ok, I had a few people PM me and then one person posted with questions about the Harvard Extension School class I am taking- so I decided to just post an update.

    I'm taking an abnormal psychology course, and toying with the idea of a psychology concentration. I'm not 100% sure yet, there are a few sticking points that I'll share later in the post.

    So, for the questions people asked - I copied and pasted, so a lot of this is in random order, just bear with me:

    What was my background before I enrolled?
    I'm a chef by trade and hadn't been to school for 18 years when I started on my bachelor's degree. I completed my AA and BA at TESC through a combination of testing, online courses, and credit for courses taught. I have taught culinary arts and hospitality at a community college for the past 16 years. I'm 38. I have full time obligations, and "do school" about 8 hours per week. I'd consider myself academically average but motivated. I graduated high school with about a 3.0, I graduated culinary school with a 3.1, and graduated from TESC with a 3.87


    How did I register?
    Harvard University offers open enrollment courses to anyone through their Extension (community education) college. You don't even need a degree to register. You simply sign up and pay the fee. These courses can be taken for no-credit, undergrad bachelor level credit, or master's degree graduate level credit. The BEST THING is that you don't fill out an application, and you don't need to send transcripts. Sweet!

    How do you earn a degree? / Is it distance learning?
    In a nutshell (for the long version, go to www.harvard.edu and read all the details for yourself) you must take 3 classes in the degree program you wish to complete with a B or better and then you can apply to the program to earn a master's degree. (so, the CLASSES are open enrollment- but you must apply for the DEGREE program after you prove yourself in the classes). One of those 3 must be what's called the PROSEMINAR. It's a face-to-face only class. In my case, if I continue, the PROSEMINAR will be my 6th class.

    The master's program does not take transfer credit, but some of the courses are offered online. You need 10 in all, and 5 can be online. Of the remaining 5, one is your thesis requirement- which you don't really need to be on campus for, so realistically, you can complete 6/10 of your degree at a distance. The remaining 4 courses must be completed on campus, but can be completed through the Harvard Summer School. There is one exception (first fly in the ointment) which is the FIELD SEMINAR requirement. So far, I can not find that the field seminars have ever been offered in the summer. That doesn't mean they won't ever be- but if they are not, than that means 1 summer school session plus one full 16 week session.
    For summers, they offer on campus housing for those sessions. Dorms are about $5000 for the 8 weeks. Summer session tuition is also higher, at about $2400 per class (4 cr.)

    How long is it? What is your pace?
    You have 5 years from start to finish. My pace is 1 per semester, and I plan to complete 2 summer sessions (14 weeks in all) in Cambridge starting the 2010 summer. I'm waiting until the very last possible moment to worry about the field seminar. In fact, I'm not thinking about it at all. IF I get through the 3 courses, and IF I get accepted, and IF I get through the thesis proposal, and IF my thesis gets accepted- I'll enroll and fly back and forth.

    It's not cheap. Each graduate level course is $1700, and some have a lot of books (my class has 3, but one I looked at required 14 books). Another fly in the ointment- You can't apply for financial aid unless your in the degree program- so the first three classes (minimum) are out of pocket no matter what. One you get in, you can use student loans like anyone else. In all, your looking at about $18,000 for a master's degree. I find the cost very reasonable, but not all will agree. To each his own, but I spent about double that for my culinary degree- and that was in 1988-1990.

    What's the degree?
    ALM
    The Latin translation is Master of Liberal Arts
    Your degree would be: Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies.
    Your transcript would have your concentration. (there are many to choose from)
    The FAQ suggests you can list it on your resume this way:
    Harvard University, Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies, concentration in X

    *note* there are many programs, but all of them are "in extension studies" with a concentration in something.

    Distance question again
    Harvard isn't really doing "distance" learning the way more experienced (or online) schools do it. It's really an after thought for them. Like "oh, you missed a lecture, well, we can put it online for you- and you can turn in your homework electronically...oh, since we are doing that anyway, let's call it distance learning" but they really only have a few classes that are exclusively online (mine isn't one of them). My class offers what they call "distance option" which really just means you can turn things in electronically. You don't get any special privilege, in fact, the class is on Tuesday, but lecture isn't uploaded to the web until Thursday- so technically, I get 2 fewer days to do my weekly homework than the on campus students.

    How hard is it?
    This class isn't as hard as I thought, but there is a lot of work and the semester is long (Sept 15 - Jan 20) this one lasting more than 16 weeks. I'm glad I'm only taking 1 course this semester. Two might be a handful depending on your specific course. I'm in week 5 and wish it was mid-term :eek:) I have turned in 4 papers, I'm earning A's on everything so far, and the forum is simply for credit/no credit- so that's fine. My exams will make up 50% of my final grade. Here is what my load is:

    a weekly reading assignment of about 100-150 pages.
    a weekly response paper, 2 pages length - 14 papers assigned
    a weekly forum requirement, 2 questions - 28 questions assigned
    a weekly video lecture (2 hours)
    weekly lecture notes (slides) to be printed out for lecture
    an optional weekly movie related to the subject
    2 hours study pool (experiments)
    mid term exam - 2 hours proctored
    final exam - 3 hours proctored
    term paper - 10 to 15 pages, APA style, 10+ references

    Do you feel like you are missing out?
    Something I wish I could do on campus is the study pool. You must complete 2 hours before the close of the term. This can be done online or in person. I have done my experiments on line, but it would be awesome to do them on campus. There are a lot of interesting ones listed, and if you are in the Boston area, you can earn $ for participating.

    The forum replaces the in-person section discussions that go on. There are 175 people in my class, and many do the discussions in person, so I'm missing that for sure.

    What about exams?
    Then for exams, you have a mid term and final which are to be proctored. Huge down side- they have to be taken on the same day/time as everyone else, they are very strict in that way. Proctor must fax them back in after your test.

    Is it grad or undergrad?
    Now, this is just my class. I am taking PSY1240 Abnormal Psychology. If you sign up for a different class, your requirements will vary. Also, within one class, you may have people with different requirements. For example, if you take it for undergrad credit, you don't have to do the term paper. Grad students have their papers graded by the professor, undergrads by the teaching assistant. You'll find some classes are restricted to only undergrads, or only grad students, but nearly all are open to both. (it makes the forum very nice!)

    Where are the online courses listed?Can I see your syllabus
    If you are interested, go to the Harvard site, and enter the "continuing education" link. Search for a class, and many will allow you to view the syllabus or even preview a lecture and/or visit the class web site.

    What is the degree plan for the psychology concentration?
    The format is open, so you get to choose the 10 classes you would like to fulfill your degree requirement- there isn't a "list" of classes for your major. There are requirements that you're better off looking up yourself- certain number of courses must be taught by Harvard professors, one must be writing intensive and outside your concentration, one must be a field seminar, etc. There is a pdf you can print out for any major that has the specific requirements, but as long as you can plug in the proper classes you can use any class you want.
    Also, they add and remove classes like crazy- so if you see a class today, it might never run again. That said, there are likely to be dozens of new classes added each semester,so there are a lot of opportunities to get an exciting blend. ALL the cool psych classes are (so far) only on campus. There are tons. There are only (so far) 4 psych classes offered online.

    What about the thesis?
    This has major fear factor for me. If I don't enroll, it will be because of the thesis. The proposal alone (according to the HES website) should be about 20 pages long and must contain original research! So, I don't know how adequately prepared I will be to actually DO original research. That remains to be seen. Also, there are a lot of details that must work themselves out for me to do research here in Illinois with an advisor and resources in Mass. I' don't have a plan at this point.

    Someone on my Harvard Extension forum posted stats, and it's something like 50% of those who enroll in the degree program will graduate. That doesn't include people like me- who are taking a class without being in the degree program. Even though I'm a student, I'm not "enrolled" because I have not met the 3 course requirement yet.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 16, 2008
  2. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    Thanks

    Jennifer,

    Thanks for sharing your experience - please keep us updated!

    Shawn
     
  3. Woho

    Woho New Member

    Thank you! Great overview, they should give you extra credit for laying out their program that clear. :) $17ooo for a Harvard Master seems fair to me. But two proctored exams for each course sounds a bit stressy, at least for someone like me who is not the greatest exam taker. Let us know how the midterms went! Btw how much are the "other" Ivy extention online Masters? I somehow remember Stanford having a similar general Master with personal majors.
     
  4. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    Jennifer,

    Best of luck and don't forget there are resources on the board for that little thesis project. Keep us posted.
     
  5. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Great information, thanks!

    Be sure to let me know when you'll be in the Cambridge area, perhaps we can get the New England DegreeInfo people together for a coffee/drink.
     
  6. traderneil

    traderneil New Member

    Thank You Jennifer

    10/17/08 3:30 PM PMT Las Vegas
    That was a very detailed and great report,so thanks for your imput and information....AND BEST OF LUCK from traderneil sin city
     
  7. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    Thanks everyone. I'm collecting names, so I think a coffee chat is in order :)

    Well, after my husband read what I wrote and we spoke some more, he asked me why I was so indecisive and apprehensive about what he sees as an amazing opportunity (it is). I hadn't really considered that I was holding back, rather just trying to use good judgment and not get too deep into something that I couldn't pull out of if it went sour. In my case, almost all of this will be paid for out of pocket (my first 6 classes for sure) and I wasn't sure that was a good use of our family's limited resources. There are also SO MANY places in this master's program that you can be forced to exit- and all after you have spent serious time and money. BUT, as of dinner tonight, I (we) have decided that I will stop wavering and give it 110%. So, I'm letting go of the Western New Mexico program, good buy Gastronomy, and see ya later University of Illinois. I'm moving forward with this degree at HARVARD. I'm not going to worry about all the possible walls that will come up (there will be many) I'll just knock them down as they come and for whatever happens, I'm going to give it my all. So....there....I've said it out loud (did I mention I hadn't told anyone in real life?)....I'm making the commitment. If I stop, it will be because I flunked out. Hey, there are worse places to flunk out of :eek:)
    Full speed ahead!
     
  8. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    As my granddaughter would say "You go girl."
     
  9. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member


    "Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” Randy Pausch - your sig line...

    Go for it Jen!

    Shawn
     
  10. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Good for you, just don't forget us plebeians when you graduate!

    Now, practice saying it the correct way;

    Hahved. :D
     
  11. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef


    Thanks Shawn :)
     
  12. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. - Calvin Coolidge


    My sig line. Good luck Jen!


    Tom
     
  13. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    I wonder if President Coolidge had me in mind.
     
  14. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    Ted,

    I'm sure that he was thinking of other educated derelicts. ;)


    Tom
     
  15. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    How hard is it?
    This class isn't as hard as I thought, but there is a lot of work and the semester is long >>


    Retraction!
    I'm out of brain space. My midterm is Tuesday and I'm stressed. This exam is heavily weighted and so- simply- without a solid grade, I can't get in to the degree program. (no pressure)
    One of the zillion things we are required to memorize for the abnormal psychology exam is the diagnostic criteria for 26 mental illnesses...and so....it begins. If you know what that is, maybe you can give me encouragement :) We have to do differential diagnosis/ case study, including appropriate treatments and why. That might be easier than it sounds, but my study guide outline is 16 pages.....ok, back to work.
     
  16. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Jennifer,

    First let me say I have all the confidence in the world you'll do fine. DL students don't earn degrees without smarts as well as tenaciousness, and you've displayed both! :)

    When I had a humdinger paper or other project due, I'd do my best to break it down into bite-sized pieces; review the study guide over the next few days a bit at a time, and try to not feel overwhelmed (easier said than done, I know).

    If your professor allows you a lifeline, you know we'll be here! :D
     
  17. ebbwvale

    ebbwvale Member

    Jennifer,
    The good news is that most students in your class are thinking the same thing. Don't panic. The sun will rise tomorrow and your life will go on, no matter what.

    In the interim, try small bites of time as well as small bites of information. You may find that you can concentrate easier in small time frames and amounts of information. Get up and walk away for five minutes or so, then start again. You will be surprised how much you can do, if you try small and keep at it. Sometimes I pretend that I have to give a lecture on it. This provides a purpose to the learning which helps me. Think of questions a student may ask, then think how you would explain your answer to him/her. It can be done and you can do it. You will be fine!
     
  18. Woho

    Woho New Member

    Good Luck!!!
     
  19. traderneil

    traderneil New Member

    If Our New President Prevailed---So Can Jennifer

    11/13/08 11:22 am PMT Traderenil Sin City

    Hi Jennifer: I just read your post. You can see the professional brand that Harvard graduates display....Look for instance at our new First Family...I believe that both of the Obama's went to Harvard. So look at the great company your in. Obama took a lot of no's before he got yeah's, look how he inspired and changed our Entire Nation.

    Be like your new President and just do it....You got the stuff I beleive in you
    So go girl and change the World:):):)

    Best Wishes traderneil Sin City (Happy For Change)
     
  20. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    President Bush went to Harvard. He is great company.
     

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