<p>Hello everyone,</p>
<p>I am trying to get a sense of how competitive my application will be for some of the top education graduate programs for secondary instruction in social studies. My GPA is slightly above the average for admitted Harvard applicants in my field and my GRE scores are dead on Harvard's average. I've read varying things about the rate of acceptance at these top schools, how much work experience is expected, how much weight is placed on the GRE, and other factors. I'm hoping someone can help clarify all that info by having a look at my stats and estimating my chances/pointing out my application strengths and weaknesses. Also, if you have any experience with applying to these schools and would post the admissions decisions you received, I would be really grateful.</p>
<p>Here are my stats:</p>
<p>Undergrad: History major at UC San Diego
GPA: 3.66 and top 8% of my class
GRE Verbal: 160 (~83%... I expected it to be higher, but I think I just had bad luck that day)
GRE Quant: 157
Work experience: Taught in the public schools in Spain for two years, currently a teacher at Kaplan for SAT courses, private tutor for four years, education intern at a local history museum, and assistant to an educational consultant for an education resource company.</p>
<p>The most competitive schools I'm applying to are Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, and Brown. While I'm at it, if anyone has experience in the education department at Brown or knows someone who does, please share whatever info you can with me. I haven't heard a lot about their education department but everything on their website and the fact that it is an Ivy League really inspired me to apply. </p>
<p>Looking forward to your responses! Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Emily</p>