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HDS Admissions: Student Blog

Tag Archives: Admissions

Applying to Graduate School During a Pandemic

09 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in Applying

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Admissions, Applying, Boston, Graduate Assistants, Statement of Purpose

Editor’s Note: My name is Jessica Cantos, and I am a current student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) in the Higher Education program. Due to the pandemic, my entire HGSE experience will be virtual because my program is only a year long. While zoom classes were not what I expected when I applied to graduate school a year ago, I have been overjoyed with the compassionate and support that professors and administrators have shown students during this challenging time. As I finish up my first semester remotely, I wanted to offer my perspective to students who are considering graduate school at a time where it feels impossible to plan ahead. I hope that the advice and insight offered in this post gives you the confidence and support you need to take this next step.  

Post by Jessica Cantos, Admissions Graduate Assistant

While we are currently planning for Fall 2021 to be back to an in-person, on-campus experience, we don’t know what will happen in the future with the pandemic and public health. If HDS needs to be remote for Fall 2021, we won’t have that decision until late spring or early summer, well after the Fall 2021 application deadline of January 7. Rest assured that if you do apply, are admitted, and accept our offer of admission, and then the decision is made to be remote in the fall, we will work with you to discuss your enrollment options. This blog post is meant to help you navigate the uncertainty of the pandemic and plans to apply to graduate school. 

Deciding to apply to graduate school during any “normal” year feels stressful and uncertain, but even more so during a global pandemic. If you’re feeling unsure whether it is the right time to pursue graduate education, you are not alone! Here are some things to consider as you decide:  

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Introducing the 2020-2021 HDS Admissions Graduate Assistants: Meet Jessica!

07 Wednesday Oct 2020

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in HDS Interviews

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Admissions, Graduate Assistants, Higher Ed, Social Justice

Post by Jessica Cantos 

Hello! I am a new Graduate Assistant (GA) for the HDS Admissions Office. I am a student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) pursuing a master’s degree in Higher Education and I am so excited about joining the HDS Admissions team this year. 

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. I’ve lived in LA all my life other than the four years I spent in the small town of Hanover, New Hampshire where I attended Dartmouth College. I graduated in 2018 with a degree in Government, however, I have since realized my passion for working in higher education.  

Jessica and Luigi taking a drive // Photo Courtesy of Jessica Cantos
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Introducing the 2020-2021 HDS Admissions Graduate Assistants: Meet Atéha!

06 Tuesday Oct 2020

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in HDS Interviews

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Admissions, Applying, DivEx, Graduate Assistants, MDiv, Mental Health, music, Student Life

Post by Atéha Bailly 

Hello! My name is Atéha Bailly. I am an incoming MDiv student and I’m happy to be starting work in HDS Admissions!  

Photo Courtesy of Atéha Bailly

Before coming to HDS, I spent a year working in Portland, OR after finishing my undergraduate studies in Religious Studies. During this time, I had the privilege of attending the 2019 Diversity Explorations Program. It was an invaluable opportunity in my discernment process, and it allowed me to spend time with a bunch of brilliant and talented students from universities across the country.  

During my application process, I was definitely not expecting to be attending school in a virtual environment. I have never taken classes online before, so it likely will be a bit of a learning curve. So far, the faculty and staff at HDS have been understanding of the unique challenges this time of pandemic poses which helped alleviate some of my anxiety about this transition.  

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Introducing the 2020-2021 HDS Admissions Graduate Assistants: Meet Kate!

05 Monday Oct 2020

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in HDS Interviews

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Admissions, Applying, chaplaincy, Field Ed, MTS, Student Life, women gender sexuality and religion

Post by Kate Hoeting 

Hi everyone! I’m a second year Master in Theological Studies student with an area of focus in Women, Gender, and Sexuality. I’m excited to return to the HDS Office of Admissions for another year of working as a Graduate Assistant! 

Just before coming to HDS, graduated from Carleton College in the great state of Minnesota where I was born and raised. Although I majored in religion, I was surprised by my own path—I grew up non-religious and hadn’t been interested in religion before coming to college. I’m non-religious/unaffiliated/whatever to this day, and I’ve found HDS not only a great place to study religion but also to think about how my own identity relates to my work. 

While in college, a few experiences cemented my path to divinity school. I started the life-changing work of volunteering as an abortion doula through the Carleton Advocacy Network of Doulas (CAN-DO), which I helped co-found in college. As an abortion doula, I supported patients in-clinic during the procedure. This meant showing up for patients however they needed me—I did everything from holding hands and passing tissues to chatting about Netflix. I could see the parallels between doula work and chaplaincy, and I felt excited by the idea of learning more about hands-on spiritual care and counseling at HDS. I was more interested in the MTS than the MDiv, and I loved that HDS allowed MTS students do field education and enroll in chaplaincy-oriented courses. 

Kate moderating a panel of abortion doulas and providers // Photo courtesy of Kate Hoeting
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Interview with HDS Admissions Assistant Director, Sarah Guzy

02 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in HDS Interviews

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Admissions, Advice, Career, HDS People, MTS

Post by Sarah Guzy, Assistant Director 

Editor’s Note: Meet Sarah, the Assistant Director of HDS Admissions! Sarah supports prospective students and applicants in their divinity school search. Check out our upcoming webinars during which you can meet Sarah and other HDS folks virtually!

Photo Courtesy of Sarah Guzy

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you want the HDS community & prospective students to know about you?  

I’m originally from Evanston, just north of Chicago, and attended Kalamazoo College in Michigan for undergrad where I studied art history and religious studies. At Kzoo, my mentor was an HDS alum, and she encouraged me to consider applying to HDS for grad school in the future. I worked in international education for a few years, including a year spent in Costa Rica working at a study abroad program, and then came to HDS to do the MTS program in with an area of focus in Women, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion. I’ve been working in the Office of Admissions since graduating in 2015. I love puns, coffee, dogs, concerts, and reading. 

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Interview with Margaret Okada-Scheck, Associate Director of Admissions

01 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in HDS Interviews

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Admissions, Advice, Alumni, ask students, Career, Community, Diversity, DivEx, Social Justice

Post by Margaret Okada-Scheck, Associate Director of Admissions 

Editor’s Note: Meet Margaret, the HDS Associate Director of Admissions! Margaret has a wide range of responsibilities in the office, including leading the planning for our Diversity and Explorations Program, an opportunity for current undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds to learn more about the programs offered at HDS. Below you can read about Margaret’s dedication to supporting students, her professional experiences and about her dog, Bingo!

Photo courtesy of Margaret Okada-Scheck

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you want the HDS community & prospective students to know about you?  

Hello! My name is Margaret Okada-Scheck (she/her/hers) and I’m the Associate Director of Admissions in HDS Admissions. I’m originally from Queens, New York, and got my BA from the State University of New York at Buffalo. I am Asian American (of Japanese descent), married to a German man, and we have a 15-month-old boy whom we adopted last year.  

I’ve been working in graduate admissions for about 12 years and have been in my role at HDS for 2 years. My primary responsibilities include recruiting prospective students, running the communications and marketing for HDS Admissions, and managing the Diversity and Explorations (DivEx) program. 

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Interview with HDS Admissions Staff Assistant, John Rzasa

21 Monday Sep 2020

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in HDS Interviews

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Admissions, Advice, Alumni, Career, HDS People

Post by John Rzasa, Admissions Staff Assistant 

Editor’s Note: Meet John, the HDS Admissions Staff Assistant! When prospective students email admissions@hds.harvard.edu, John is the staff member who responds to your questions. In this article, we asked him a few questions so that you all could get to know him! 

Photo Courtesy of John Rzasa

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you want the HDS community & prospective students to know about you? 

My name is John Rzasa, and I am the Staff Assistant for the HDS Admissions Office.  I have been in the role for a year and a half at this point, and previously worked at the Harvard Law School (HLS) for just over four years.  Outside of work, I enjoy writing, watching ‘B’ movies (or lower, all the way down to ‘Z’), and cats. 

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A Look Inside the Spring Admissions Team

25 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in Waiting to Hear

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Admissions, Applying, Open House

Post by: Mikaela Allen, MTS 2019, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant 

Spring campus

Photo by Kristie Welsh, HDS Office of Communications.  

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Fall 2018 GRE Prep Book Raffle

16 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in Applying

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Admissions, GRE

Post by: Mikaela Allen, MTS Candidate 19′, HDS Admissions Graduate Assistant

GRE raffle 2018

Divinity Chapel

Hi blog readers! Good news, the HDS Office of Admissions is hosting a raffle to give away five Princeton Review GRE prep books for current and future HDS applicants. As a current student, I remember how stressful preparing for the GRE was for me, but I also know that a good prep book goes a long way. A free GRE book is even better! If you are interested in participating in this raffle, all you have to do is fill out this form by 12:00 PM EST on November 26th when we will pull 5 winners and send them each a copy of The Princeton Review’s “Cracking the GRE: 2018 Edition.”

Good luck and happy Thanksgiving!

Q+A’s and Application Myths: What you Need to Know

12 Tuesday Dec 2017

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in Applying

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Admissions, Advice, Family, Funding, GRE, Housing

Hello everyone, we hope you are taking good care of yourselves as you prepare your application materials. As prior applicants, current students, and Graduate Assistants in the Office of Admissions, we know how stressful a time this can be. We’ve gathered quite a bit of behind the scenes information throughout our experiences in each of these roles, so we thought we’d write a blog to help you out. We’ve divided this post into two sections, beginning with a Q+A between Graduate Assistants Emily Rogal and Mikaela Allen and ending with a section featuring Application Myths, also produced by Emily Rogal and Mikaela Allen. Enjoy, and let us set your minds at ease! Continue reading →

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  • Experiential Learning (16)
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