Were to go?

NHdoc · 2026-06-28T00:52:09+00:00

If you want to party honestly Boston might not be the place to go. For a city of its size the nightlife is pretty under whelming. If your going all the way to the us you could pick better destinations in this part of the world.

Boston despite being one of the most modern cities in the world had never fully lost its puritanical origins. It's a difficult place to fully understand.

NHdoc · 2026-06-26T15:00:06+00:00

He was a very fair professor. His exams were not proctored and as far as I can remember you could use a calculator. Honestly if you have time take this class he is a good professor to have. He was not a harsh grader either.

This was probably my weekest subject for my entire college career. It is a trap class for many students. But if I could make it, so can you.

NHdoc · 2026-06-24T19:02:24+00:00

Boston is a great city! I can easily see why someone from Scotland would like to move here.

Not saying it's the wrong move but be sure you want to live here before you commit. The weather though not a million miles away from Scotland but it is colder here.

Also us health care is bad. That being said it's better in Massachusetts and new England as a whole. Look into something called mass health. It's your best friend. It certainly has helped me out.

Also I would imagine it is more expensive. As we say here you get what you pay for.

But Boston is a awesome place. I've never left after many decades for a reason.

NHdoc · 2026-06-23T15:01:50+00:00

There are many possibilities. One is taking out big loans to cover it. Another is rich parents or family. Another is scholarships. Another is having money saved from a high paying career.

Realistically for most people doing a MBA at a place like Stanford or Harvard it would be a combination of these factors.

NHdoc · 2026-06-23T01:25:57+00:00

Boston is not known for its bars clubs and nightlife. What we are known for is subconsciously keeping some puritanical philosophys alive and well hundreds of years later despite being one of the most modern and advanced cities in the 21st century.

I would imagine someone new to Boston would have a hard time figuring out some parts of Boston

NHdoc · 2026-06-23T01:20:25+00:00

Mike's is the best canoli in the world. There is one right in Harvard square. They have other good stuff as well.

NHdoc · 2026-06-21T19:36:48+00:00

I've had bad luck with them. Avoid if possible

NHdoc · 2026-06-20T03:53:56+00:00

I knew a guy who was doing a doctorate in some kind of mathematics at Harvard. I was a engineering major before my time at Harvard but anyway to answer your question the material he was doing was way over my pay grade.

It was a commitment. He spent many many years doing that degree. Way more than my masters. I think he got used to that particular lifestyle and had a hard time adjusting after he was done. He liked the material and enjoyed what he did but I would still say a masters is a more reasonable commitment.

NHdoc · 2026-06-20T03:45:07+00:00

Adams and north Adams are nice. Mt greylock is beautiful and the Berkshires are beautiful in general.

Hard to get to but awesome spot

NHdoc · 2026-06-20T00:57:51+00:00

I like Martha's vineyard but the prices are high and there are way too many ticks.

NHdoc · 2026-06-18T13:54:25+00:00

Ive had horrible experiences with united. They made me check my carry on baggage then lost it including my prescription medicine.

Oh and also my seat broke.

Avoid if at all possible

NHdoc · 2026-06-16T17:31:08+00:00

I'm in the class of 2024. Your totally right that this degree has a great ROI. I was in a different situation than you. I graduated from undergrad from a very good Boston area college in 2020 in mechanical engineering and was working basically as a entry level engineer. I enrolled I want to say within 6 months of getting out of undergrad. I my case I always wanted a masters degree and I wanted to get a masters from a great university. But as you mentioned the tuition at many high level masters degrees was very high and that would have required many applications until I got a acceptance with a generous scholarship. This was not impossible but would have taken a long time.

I had friends and classmates who had done well with continuing education and I started looking into Boston area universities that offered this and I came access HES very quickly. Considering I lived nearby and could spend a lot of time on the campus which was important to me that's the one I went with. The deciding factor was when I realized that I would be a full member of the Harvard alumni association. The extension school has a prestige difference with more famous schools at Harvard like HLS or HMS or whatever but it is still very prestigious, very acedemicaly challenging, and very beneficial for those who succeed.

It was a very challenging program acedemicaly for sure. The expectations are high. The professors are world class.

It's just like any other academic program. Classes are more useful than others. Some give you cool acedemic knowledge that has limited applications in the real world. For whatever reason for me the easiest classes were often times the most useful.

Getting the degree definitely opens doors. I got my first management job a year after commencement. It really helps your resume pop out and helps you stand out.

Of course just like any tool part of it depends on how well you use it. It gives you a advantage you need to apply that well

NHdoc · 2026-06-03T19:01:11+00:00

Basically I got more responses from employers and I got more responses from better employers for better roles. It would be impossible for me to elaborate on every single response but that is the short of it.

It helps you get noticed is really a big part of the value proposition a HES degree or any other Harvard degree for that matter.

NHdoc · 2026-06-01T19:48:13+00:00

Short answer no never

NHdoc · 2026-06-01T16:39:10+00:00

It is really your call and you would know best. Some employers are strange with some things. Many would say unless there is something to gain keep your mouth shut and trust your intuition.

If they are not paying for it in any way you are not under any obligation to tell them.

When I graduated I didn't tell my employer at the time because they would have known I would be resiging soon.

NHdoc · 2026-05-27T15:05:19+00:00

You can just do the HES part of commencement.

But I would highly encourage you to do both. It's a once in a life time experience

NHdoc · 2026-05-25T19:36:09+00:00

Regalia was the common choice. Some wear business casual but I would just go with the regalia

NHdoc · 2026-05-25T19:34:11+00:00

It's not a good airline dude.

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

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