Talk:Harvard Extension School

I question this article's statement about HES having a "rigorous" admissions policy. As a graduate of Harvard College, I know that the bar is set much lower for HES ALB students than those who are accepted into the actual college. While I do not deny that HES offers a great education at an amazing value, it is hard to equate that an HES degree from any degree offered by other colleges at Harvard University.

In response, I agree that the College is the heart of Harvard University--and it deserves the credit as such. HES is far from rigorous admissions. The course work is almost identical overall to the College, however. I've been a student in both the College and Extension.

--- How does the ALB and ALM degrees offered by the Harvard Extension School compare to the more traditional AB and AM degrees?

Open Enrollement

The part that mentions the Extension School as being open enrollement is a bit off the mark. Yes, when simply taking classes there is open enrollement, but in order to become a degree canidate, you have to formally apply and meet admissions standards. Could we somehow emphasis that while HES is an open enrollment school, it's degree programs require a formal admission policy?

Yes, but I'm not sure becoming a degree candidate is very hard. The requirements are four classes, one of which is the equivalent of freshman composition, with a B average or better, and an essay. In theory, that is pretty open. JRP 16:30, 27 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You are slightly off base, JRP. As an Extension Student, I am not here to pick on what you've written, but to say that just because "in theory" it sounds like open enrollment doesn’t make it so. The expository writing class is the real indicator if you will make it at HES and it is not the easiest thing to pass. The Extension School makes it to where that class weeds people out. The other requirement is to maintain a minimum of a 2.5 GPA in your coursework. Now getting a 2.5 does not always indicate that you are a shoe in. Maybe on a slow academic year and a good written essay will they let you in with a 2.5-2.8, but they're really looking for a 3.0. I know that there is a stigma against the extension school for granting people access to Harvard resources if they pass a couple classes and pay for tuition. But the only real benefiting factor about the extension school comes when you maintain a 3.5 GPA after three semesters. From there you get special student status into the College, ample aid and scholarships, access to Harvard College's Career services, research assistant positions, and a host of other things. Its really a work your way up program. Work hard and you get rewarded. There are some that use the Extension School as a community college; they work hard to get admitted and then just lax themselves into getting their degree with a 2.0/2.5 GPA. Others take advantage of everything it has to offer. So it's really what you make of it. Sorry to be longwinded about this. And I hope that people won’t mistake my apologizing for the Extension School as trying to compare it to the College. It is in no way comparable to the College in prestige or admission standards. But while saying that, it is also in no way shape of form, a diploma mill similar to Devry or the University of Phoenix. I would compare its standards to a bottom top tier state school/private school, where the transfer GPA is a 2.5 minimum. Simple as that.

Thanks for the info. I wasn't disparaging the extension school. I am a student there, after all. But I also want to make sure we keep the article balanced. JRP 05:46, 28 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, I have attended a couple of state school's: UVA; UNC; NCSU; and U of Florida - all of which proved to be much less challenging to Harvard Extension School.

(I went to UNC and NCSU too, and they were much easier than HES).

Well yeah I mean they are still Harvard caliber classes. The point is that if you can handle the work you can be admitted. The process of elimination is stunning. There will be like 20 students going for the ALB and only like half make it. Notable Alumni from the program are President of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, and his VP Francisco Santos Calderon.

I actually think the graduation rate is far less than 50%, from a conversation I had with one of the faculty last week. JRP 16:21, 11 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You're right considering that only 12,000 people have gotten either an ALB, ALM or Certificate in the whole 100 years of HES's existence. That's only about 120 a year considering the college graduates four times that much each year.

Recent edits

The admissions process is quite demanding, and the facts stated in recent edits are true, as supported by links in the "external links" section. --71.233.150.26 (talk) 15:44, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]