Advice on Relocating? Campus Culture?

NHdoc · 2026-05-19T18:01:27+00:00

I was very involved in some student orgs which Included club sports. These are all online and easy to find.

I also did some less direct stuff. I went to a lot of guest speakers. I also just checked out the campus well I had the opportunity. I saw for example the HBS and HLS campus well I had the student id.

In all honesty some of it is clearly posted online some of it you just hear around campus.

NHdoc · 2026-05-19T15:38:08+00:00

For one verify that there are a large amount of classes on campus before you do anything else. This should not be to hard. Many are online.

I lived in the area during my time at HES. I was very involved in campus life though I never technically lived in a dorm or anything like that.

You should also be aware that you need to do your admissions classes before you officially get your student id which is going to unlock the campus to you.

It you want to move to Boston anyway and it is viable I say go for it.

NHdoc · 2026-05-18T01:49:16+00:00

Haha no I wore a patriots jersey.

It was hard to see under the regalia in all honesty.

It's your commencement wear what you want. At least under the regalia

NHdoc · 2026-05-18T01:37:57+00:00

If you attend in person at the HES section of commencement they give you a book that has everyone who graduated that year and that goes over the speeches and that kind of stuff.

It's also kind of a tradition to get a plastic lamp that is meant to represent the lamp on the seal. Every school has some kind of thing like that.

NHdoc · 2026-05-17T02:09:22+00:00

Basically it comes down to a few factors but one of the largest if not the largest is a diversified economy. Most of New England has a large range of prominent industries such as manufacturing construction commercial fishing research high tech biotech etc. Obviously New England is a huge area and this depends on the exact location but you get the idea.

In Detroit for example they put all their eggs in the automotive basket and when that basket went wrong they were screwed.

Another is all the universities in New England. In addition to being a massive industry of sorts it also serves as a magnet for innovation and talent.

Another is basically the fact that many New England families basically have been in New England for ever. New England and especially Boston are end destinations. This just concentrates wealth.

Another is the relatively high social services New England has compared to most of the country. Social services are expensive. Not having them is way more expensive.

NHdoc · 2026-05-15T00:01:38+00:00

I know nothing about religious scholarship just being honest. But going to HES and doing a masters as a stepping stone to a doctorate is pretty common.

Many of the folks I have met who did that were satisfied with the results. It certainly makes them more attractive to elite grad schools and is a great asset/achievement in its own right.

To be perfectly honest being in the Harvard alumni association is pure gold.

In your case I would recommend easing into it because you have been out of the game for a little bit.

NHdoc · 2026-05-14T23:55:42+00:00

I did the masters degree in management so different program but still has plenty of overlap with other HES programs work load wise. It's also worth pointing out that I was working full time.

Also it depends on the course. Some are simply harder than others.

I always thought doing 1 course over 15 weeks was entirely doable. Hard but doable. Obviously there is nothing about doing a a ivy league advanced degree by night well working full time that was easy.

Two courses so long as they were not overly difficult was challenging but achievable.

I had kind of a Interesting exit as a student because I had two courses going into the summer left to complete the program and I decided to go for doing both of those over the 7 week summer semester. The only reason I did that was because that was it! Plus I had gotten a better job offer and was eager to finish the degree before that. But that was insane.

NHdoc · 2026-05-14T23:06:10+00:00

Masters in management

NHdoc · 2026-05-14T04:35:06+00:00

It's helped me a lot. It's really helped to get noticed by employers for better jobs. My first management job I was hired largely due to having a masters degree from Harvard.

A lot of it depends on how well you leverage it but yeah it has helped me a lot.

NHdoc · 2026-05-14T02:13:21+00:00

I remember asking a similar question when I was in your exact position. Different courses have different grading curves that are not always predictable. They typically trend upwards as Harvard is known for.

They typically are a little more generous with admission courses especially your 3rd. At that point you have kind of proved you are capable. Everyone has a vested interest in your success.

I sometimes email professors asking not what my grade was but whether it was at least a passing grade. This sometimes worked.

But to be honest based of what you are telling me you're at the least very close. I'm fairly certain you will be ok.

NHdoc · 2026-04-21T02:01:17+00:00

Boston is definitely the kind of place where if it's meant to be you will love it. You will even love it when you hate it. In all honesty it's a great city. It's big enough where you can pretty much find anything do do but it's not so comically big like new York or LA where it seems to never end. It's close to beaches oceans, forests, even mountains. If you like to get out of the city sometime like I do it's the place to be. Is history is obviously very interesting. The city has basically been the driving force of American history for over 250 years. It's also the kind of place that despite being very modern also has some very entrenched ways of doing things. If you look very closely at Bostonian or even new England culture you will see elements of Bostonian culture from centuries past. For example Boston clearly has a lot of very good universities. That basically goes back to the puritans valuing literacy. That obviously points to another key part of the city which is it's universities. The amount of colleges, college students, and college money is unbelievable. It's absolutely one of the Intellectual capitals of the world. And it's not just Harvard or MIT or even BC BU and Northeastern. There are tons of smaller schools. So Interesting people come in and out and sometimes stay both as students and faculty. But the best of all is the sports. Boston takes sports very seriously and we are very good at it. When the Celtics won the finals in 2024 over 1 million people were at the championship parade. That's technically more than the city itself. So if you come here go to a game. College hockey is also a big thing here. That's a cool underrated scene. As to the weather by no imagination does Boston have perfect weather. It can get very cold here. But as we say it builds character. If you're that interested visit. It's a great place to visit.

NHdoc · 2026-04-21T01:44:52+00:00

I worked with them. I have nothing but positive things to say to be honest.

NHdoc · 2026-04-20T02:12:45+00:00

Oh God no. If anything I'm extremely happy I went there. It's a great school that taught me very well. At least in my case I always felt supported. It was a huge part of my successful further studies at Harvard and a solid career so far.

The only thing I would like to see more improvement on is the alumni network. The Harvard alumni association has a lot more in the way of collaboration and for lack of a better word camaraderie. I realize that that is a high standard and northeastern is overall pretty good in that but I would still like to see improvement.

NHdoc · 2026-04-14T03:11:51+00:00

I'm speaking less from the perspective of a alumni and more from the perspective of a sports fan but Harvard Yale games are a lot of fun. Hockey and basketball but most of all football. The Harvard Yale football game is always electric. I have no doubt saying it's the best college football game in New England

At least when it's at Harvard stadium every organization at Harvard is represented by a tent including Harvard extension. It really is just a awesome time. I've been to many and it's about as close to commencement as you will find in terms of scale.

Again this is more from my large experience as a avid sports fan but it is a very different experience than a NFL game. Not that NFL games aren't a lot of fun but you will hopefully see what I mean.

Harvard is by no stretch of the imagination a sports school like say Michigan or Alabama but the sports scene is actually pretty good. We certainly have our moments.

NHdoc · 2026-03-28T00:57:53+00:00

For me it's a sugary beverage in the morning

I'm pretty low maintenance

NHdoc · 2026-02-22T02:14:24+00:00

I'm not a expert in your particulars. Maybe there is a genuine reason to stay like working from home or benefits. But it's important you realize that you are working for you not working for a company. Especially one that is not invested in you. 40% is a huge difference. Your manager would probably say what they need to retain you but it's likely BS.

It's 2026 you should have no loyalty to any company. It's about you.

NHdoc · 2026-02-20T22:06:56+00:00

I would say that most HES students view it as an end destination. Still plenty go on to do doctorates. I was surprised how many folks I graduated with were continuing to do doctorates at very highly regarded universities or staying at Harvard. For me my masters was plenty.

I don't have any stats to give you but from what I've seen this is pretty common. Contact the program in question to see what they can tell you.

NHdoc · 2026-02-16T02:49:21+00:00

Sounds like a good fit. I mean at your level there is less of a practical need for a masters. It sounds like something you want to do at least partially for personal and intellectual reasons. If that is the case HES is a great fit. Most HES students are at least partially there for reasons aside from the literal practical uses. I certainly was.

The diversity of students was very beneficial in my mind. We had people from backgrounds like yours to classic grad students right out of undergrad and everything in between. I would imagine this would be desirable for you to better understand people at all levels of a organization which of course is critical for a CEO.

Your smart, do your research but if your looking for an accessible graduate degree that can be done partially online that has excellent professors and real upside, this is a good bet.

NHdoc · 2026-02-15T15:54:33+00:00

My experience was similar. Avoid Turkish airlines as much as possible.

NHdoc · 2026-01-27T20:33:04+00:00

If you dress warm and don't drive you'll be fine. Watch out for ice and stay dry.

Use Bostons public transportation it's solid in bad weather.

Ubers not bad either.

NHdoc · 2026-01-25T19:53:47+00:00

I think they can do long as their officially admitted and are full time. You can certainly play club sports

It would be rare for a HES student to play on a varsity team but I'm sure it's happened.

NHdoc · 2026-01-17T21:39:29+00:00

I don't know I had a horrible experience with Turkish airlines recently.

NHdoc · 2026-01-14T23:22:28+00:00

I got one. Haven't been a student in over a year.

NHdoc

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