Editor’s Note: Whether you have recently been admitted to HDS or you are considering applying, we know you may have questions about where you will live while completing your degree program. For students who are not already in the Boston or Cambridge area, looking at housing options can be particularly confusing and stressful. We hope this post provides more clarity on the various housing options that HDS students can choose from. While the ongoing pandemic has left us with some unanswered questions about what exactly fall term will look like, we advise students to plan to be on campus in the fall.
Narrowing down your options can be nerve-wracking especially when you are choosing between multiple programs that will help you meet your personal and career goals. Here is some advice on how you can go about narrowing down and comparing your options.
HDS Photo Courtesy of Kristie Welsh
Consider All Factors Make a list of what you are looking for in a graduate program and all the factors you want to consider. Then rank that list in order of importance. You should be honest with yourself when considering all aspects of a graduate program. If location or housing options are important to you, be sure to include it on your list. While that might feel less important than focusing on solely academic criteria, it is important to consider all parts of your graduate school experience. Also take time to look at the resources that the program offers. This might include things like grants, fellowships, libraries, field education opportunities, and so on.
There are several ways to reduce expenses in graduate school. One way is looking for cheaper housing options. Less expensive housing usually comes with the caveat of a longer commute so ask yourself how important it is for you to be close to campus. Another option is living with roommates. The more roommates one has, usually means cheaper housing costs. If you are someone who enjoys sharing spaces with others this can be a good option.
While having a car can be convenient, especially during the pandemic, it can also be very expensive. In Massachusetts you need to get a street parking permit and in order to qualify for a permit you need Massachusetts insurance which requires registration in Massachusetts and a Massachusetts license. Massachusetts insurance can also be more expensive than other parts of the country. If you opt not to bring your car, you can still get around the city using the T system, the buses, and free Harvard shuttle. HDS offers access to a reduced T pass, which you can renew each semester. Factoring in this deal might make it easier to live farther away from campus. Harvard also has an evening van program, which operates anywhere within a 1-mile radius of the yard. You can call it to come directly to you and then bring you to the exact location you specify.
First, take comfort in knowing that the application process is now out of your hands and that you have done what you needed to do to craft a strong application. In addition to celebrating the fact that you’ve submitted your graduate school application, here are some other things you can do while you wait for decisions to come out:
Apply for Financial Aid: If you haven’t already, be sure to apply for financial aid. Look out for an email from the financial aid office with instructions on how to apply. Although you do not need to apply to for financial aid to be considered for merit-based aid, you do need to apply for financial aid to be considered for need-based aid. About 90 percent of students receive some form of institutional grant assistance, and the vast majority of that is need-based aid, so we strongly encourage all HDS applicants to apply for financial aid even if they feel that they may not qualify for need-based aid.
Keep Up with Admissions Office: Our Admissions Team will be hosting various panels and presentations in the coming months to help answer any questions you may still have. Keep an eye out for our emails and follow us on Instagram (@harvarddivinity). Also, feel free to look through previously recorded panels here and browse the student crafted content on our Admissions Blog.
Post by: Kate Hoeting, MTS ‘21, Graduate Assistant
Photo courtesy of RICK BERK, Wikimedia Commons
Since incoming students are starting to think about housing, we thought it would be helpful to run two articles from last year about housing options in the Boston area:
Our Off-Campus Housing article will give you a sense of what features to consider when searching for places to live.
Please note that these articles were published last year, so the deadlines have changed. Because of COVID-19, the Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR) is not open for summer lodging this year. Applications for CSWR housing during the 2020-21 academic year are due May 29, 2020. To participate in the Harvard University Housing lottery, apply by May 15, 2020.
We wish you the best of luck with finding your new home!
Post by: Mikaela Allen, MTS 2019, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant
For thesecond post in our series on housing at HDS, we decided to cover not only the resources available to find off-campus housing, but also to give our best tips and tricks for finding housing in the greater Boston area. We hope this information will prove helpful to you as you begin your housing search this summer.
The 66 bus stop in Harvard Square. Photo by Mikaela Allen.Continue reading →
Post by: Natalie Solis, MTS Student, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant
Mikaela here! As the editor of the HDS Admissions Blog for the past two years, it is almost time to say goodbye to all of you as my degree program draws to an end this May. Housing has a huge influence on our academic lives as students, and so I wanted to leave you with a comprehensive series on housing resources as the last blog series I will supervise before handing over my role to another capable Graduate Assistant. Our next post in the series will feature resources and strategies for finding off-campus housing, a popular choice among HDS students.
CSWR meditation room. Open to all HDS students from 9AM-5PM Mon-Fri during the academic year. Photo taken by Justin Knight Photography.
Hello, my name is Natalie and I am a graduate assistant at the HDS Office of Admissions. In this blog post, I will provide an overview of the on-campus housing options at Harvard. On-campus housing is very convenient for students because it is usually within walking distance to campus and includes community events. While there are no HDS specific dorms on campus, there are still many options for on-campus housing. The closest thing to an HDS specific graduate housing program is the Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR), which is right across the street from Andover Hall. The CSWR is a residential community that fosters living and learning with a focus on world religions. In order to live at the CSWR for the academic year, students need to submit a short application to the CSWR by April 15th. You can find more information about the apartments at the CSWR and the application form on the CSWR website. The deadline to apply for CSWR housing has now passed for 2019, but it is important that you keep this deadline in mind if you are interested in the CSWR and would like to apply in the future.
A sunny, snowy day at Andover Hall. Photo credit to the HDS Office of Communications. Photographer Kristie Welsh.
Hi, my name is Emily Rogal, and if you’ve called or emailed the Office of Admissions, I’m one of the three Graduate Assistants you’ve probably talked to. A few weeks ago, the HDS Admissions Graduate Assistants hosted a webinar specifically for those awaiting decisions for this application cycle. What follows is a condensed, blog-friendly version of the webinar with a cute, furry surprise at the end. Unlike the original webinar, this post is intended to provide food for thought for all audiences, whether you have already submitted your application or are still discerning which graduate schools you might like to attend in the future. Continue reading →
While giving tours to prospective HDS students, I am sure to bring them to see the Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR). However, even as a current student and a Graduate Assistant in the Office of Admissions, I felt that I did not know as much about the CSWR as I would have liked, so I arranged to meet with Dorie Goehring, the Staff Assistant at the CSWR. I was surprised to learn that Dorie graduated from HDS with a Master of Divinity in Islamic studies and theology in 2016. It is always great to hear how HDS Alums continue to support and engage the HDS community.
Read our conversation below to learn more about the CSWR! Continue reading →
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 →
