Thoughts on Harvard Extension School?

<p>So I applied as a transfer to Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, and Brown for this fall but did not get in. Should I apply to a state school? Or should I apply to Harvard's Extension School? Would it be as prestigious or challenging as Harvard College?</p>

<p>Honest opinions, please! I'm aware I'm applying late. Fortunately, HES applications aren't open until July 30th for the fall semester.</p>

<p>The only things that bugs is me that I wouldn't be able to apply for federal aid. Worth it anyway? It means I'd have to apply for a private student loan.</p>

<p>P.S. I've completed 1.5 years of college so far and don't mind if I have to start over. I went to school in the UK and we weren't even offered gen-ed classes.</p>

<p>Go ahead and register for a few classes at HES. This way you’ll see if this school is right for you.</p>

<p>BTW, I too applied to Stanford, Cornell, and Brown for this fall but did not get in either. And this was in 2006. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. In addition, if you manage to do well at HES before apply to their AIB program, you could try your luck with Columbia University’s School of General Studies and UPENN LPS’s degree program.</p>

<p>I looked into this. You need to take a few classes to get in and it is tough. It is very rigorous but you cannot list on your resume that you attended Harvard College. You must list that you went to HES. However, if you gain special student status, you can take a few classes from Harvard College during your time there per semester. You have access to as many resources as the typical Harvard student but they will not straight out tell you this.</p>

<p>I’m not sure if it’s worth it, though. It may be worth it to add to your resume if you already have a job, not necessarily for obtaining a bachelor’s degree and heading into the job market.</p>

<p>Sorry if this doesn’t fly with some here, but as a researcher who hired people for 25 years, I’d rather see someone do 2 yrs of CC and transfer to a solid public than someone who sneaks in the backdoor of a selective private for the obvious reason of having the ‘name’ on their resume.</p>

<p>Agree or not, it doesn’t matter. I just want you to know that not everybody is titillated by seeing a derivation of the Big H on a CV.</p>

<p>Entomom,
Have you had the opportunity to enroll in a few classes at HES? The majority of the students who attend the school are not degree candidates. Nor are they bragging about the H-Bomb. Most could successfully get into the degree programs if they wanted to. But most do not. </p>

<p>Those who do get into HES degree program are there for the classes and the opportunity to advance on their personal academic interests, which happens to reside at HES. While HES is clearly not Harvard College, I doubt that any serious degree candidate even cares about that. It’s easy to look down on HES until one takes the time to review the school’s academic program rather than just the Harvard name. Most go to HES for the academic challenges, like any other school. </p>

<p>I say take the time to look over HES website under Harvard’s Continuing Educational program. There might be a few classes that might hold your interest as well. As for a solid public university, it’s up to that individual as there are those who would rather go to a very good private university.</p>