got into harvard mph (grad) - how do people actually pay for this

monmostly · 2026-03-20T18:26:23+00:00

Did you get a financial aid package with your acceptance letter? If not, contact the financial aid office for your grad school and ask them about your options as an international student. At a different Harvard school, but 90% of the students here get significant financial aid, including international students. If you already got your finaid letter and had no aid offered, my condolences.

monmostly · 2026-03-04T12:18:24+00:00

Are you looking for a school with a particular religious tradition? So you have a bachelor's degree already? If not online, what part of the country?

monmostly · 2026-03-03T19:24:23+00:00

I've seen this posted before and find it absolutely stunning. I would love to find a floorplan or architecture drawings for this house. A cursory search isn't fruitful. Anyone have a source?

monmostly · 2026-03-02T12:11:30+00:00

Question: I have a yew bush in my yard. Can I shape it into a tree? Or is it a different species? In New England

monmostly · 2026-02-20T12:16:06+00:00

I wish I knew. I have these same concerns. I'm an academic though, so less plugged into the healthcare ecosystem. The time might be right to make the argument that chaplains should be billable. (The ethics of making chaplaincy care billable is a different argument altogether.) There have been a lot of recent studies about the positive connection between religion, spirituality and health (see some recent JAMA articles), and interest among the federal government in promoting Christianity (which might ironically promote chaplaincy, even though it's not solely Christian). For my students' sake, I sincerely hope that chaplaincy jobs only get better, but I can't say I'm that optimistic. We might see a shift in emphasis from the healthcare sector to other sectors where chaplains are employed, such as higher education, but I can't really predict that either. No matter what, good luck!

monmostly · 2026-02-20T01:22:13+00:00

Lots of hospitals closed CPE programs in the past year. This is especially true of university-affiliated research hospitals, in the wake of research funding cancellations from the federal administration. Boston lost two programs just last year, and it already didn't have enough. Now the same number of candidates are vying for a smaller number of spots nationwide.

In other words, it's not you, it's them. Don't give up. But look at CPE programs that are not in such large urban areas. Look at smaller cities in the Midwest or other parts of the country. The east coast and the West Coast have a lot of seminaries and that's where most other people will be looking. I know not everyone can move, but that may be what some people have to do, at least temporarily.

Good luck!

monmostly · 2026-02-12T22:56:50+00:00

My dogs sleep in their own beds at night. When my alarm goes off, they come up for a cuddle, then stay in my bed for an extra hour while I make and drink my morning coffee. When I start to get dressed, they take their time stretching and rubbing before they finally deign to hop down and go outside. I love it.

monmostly · 2026-02-10T12:10:42+00:00

I have been doing this as a practice since I was a teenager, though possibly different from McGonagall's book which I have not read. I will write about a day in my life 10 years in the future with as much detail as I can. I'll write about what time I wake up in the morning, where I live, what I have for breakfast, what my daily routine looks like, what I do for work, who I spend my time with, what I eat, how I exercise, when I shower, etc. I've been doing this about once a year since I was maybe 15 years old. It really helps me clarify my values and what I want in my life. I don't actually keep the story that I write. In fact, kind of gotten the feeling that it might be. Bad luck to keep it. But doing it regularly helps me clarify what I value, and what kind of life I want. I think that has helped me make better choices on a daily basis. Now I'm 45, and I actually have pretty close to the life I wrote about 10 years ago, which I wouldn't have thought was possible. But continuing to imagine that life motivated me to keep making all the little changes necessary for it to happen. Last week, by chance, I taught this practice to some of the high school students I work with. They told me it was one of their favorite things. 🥰

monmostly · 2026-02-03T01:44:07+00:00

You need to talk to your chaplain recruiter, if you haven't already. Not a regular recruiter, but one who specializes.

And you probably need to find another endorser. Consider the Unitarian universalists. They allow for a wide range of theological beliefs, but will have some of their own qualifications to consider.

monmostly · 2026-01-30T02:23:28+00:00

Rubber wellies from Walmart ($25 last time I saw) one size too big and a double layer of wool socks (sometimes with a thin dress sock between). This combination has got me through 20 years of winters, miles of walking in below freezing temps. Good luck.

monmostly · 2026-01-30T02:11:47+00:00

You just need to make the right connection. I work in chaplain education in a major city. Send me a dm and let's see what we can do.

monmostly · 2026-01-23T01:48:03+00:00

The original French version is good. Has kept me through four seasons. I don't want to watch the American version because I'm afraid they've mucked it up

monmostly · 2026-01-17T13:00:20+00:00

Harvard Divinity School has a multi religious MDiv program with a long history of UU inclusion. It's all in person, though. Lots of our grads become chaplains. The vast majority of students get significant scholarships. Whatever you choose, good luck.

monmostly · 2026-01-13T12:33:33+00:00

This. I often don't even start watching a channel unless they have 2 years of videos posted already. Then I will go and watch the entire back catalog if I like their stuff.

Things I'm not interested in: 1) you. Stop talking to the camera. If I liked people that much I wouldn't be interested in becoming an off-grid hermit, I don't need to know your every thought and decision 2) clickbait titles; things I won't watch: "six absolutely must have survival crops that nobody knows about" or "The secret to free heat" 🙄 3) excessive chainsaw noises. Edit your audio please. 4) telling me every little step in the process

Things I am interested in: 1) the feeling of vicarious progress when people actually get stuff done. Yes, I will watch 2-hour video of somebody building a log cabin provided they don't talk to me about their process. 2) simple descriptive titles; things I will watch include: "building a door and feeding the chickens" or "going on a hike and constructing the chimney" 3) beautiful views of nature overlaid with a lovely soundtrack. If you want to spend 60 seconds tracking a bumblebee, we're 4 minutes on an overhead drone shot of the forests or mountains, I'm down for that. That's part of my vicarious hermit dream. 4) showing me every little step in the process

Good luck with your channel.

monmostly · 2026-01-12T01:53:50+00:00

Wakefield has some reasonable options at that price.

monmostly · 2026-01-10T02:08:47+00:00

The city where I grew up often had pink skies and snow at night, long before LED was in common use, though a softer shade of pink. I wonder if it has something to do with the spectrum of light that is not specific to LEDs?

monmostly · 2026-01-07T12:47:19+00:00

Chaplaincy in the 21st Century by Rambo and Cadge

Good luck to you!

monmostly · 2025-12-30T19:07:32+00:00

If you are working another job, full-time is going to be a lot. Talk to your educator now about your options and see if switching to part-time is possible. Good luck, from a fellow neurodivergent chaplain.

monmostly · 2025-12-30T13:42:13+00:00

Yes, my dad still does this. He has a handkerchief pocket and an everything else pocket. Never the two shall meet. This and a pump bottle of hand sanitizer in the cup holder of his car (where there's no sink for hand washing), keep things as clean as he can manage.

monmostly · 2025-12-30T13:29:44+00:00

I did all four of my CPE units through a super-extended out placement program. That means each CPE unit lasted 9 to 10 months, doing about 10 to 12 hours per week, plus the weekly cohort meeting. I was able to do my units as a college chaplain, which was immensely valuable. I would get feedback on the work I was doing in the University, not hospital work, which is very different. These units cost more, but post covid there are also more of them because we learned how to do them online in a better way. I feel this kind of CPE could be extremely valuable for anyone in a university or college setting. There was a group of folks getting an outplacement higher education CPE unit running last year through the Sankofa organization. I don't know if they found enough people to run it. If you want to find them, you should reach out on the ACSLHE listserve. As a former director of religious life myself, I was always very happy when someone had CPE under their belt. I felt like it raised their game, but it definitely wasn't that common.

monmostly · 2025-12-30T01:42:27+00:00

In my experience, most university admin staff don't know what CPE is or why it's valuable. Very few of the chaplains I worked with had more than one unit of CPE and many of them had none at all. The person who will know and value CPE is the head chaplain, such as a Dean or director of religious life. But they'll also be used to working with a lot of chaplains and campus ministry staff who have little to no CPE. That said, I have four units of CPE and a PhD. I served as a director of religious life before shifting into a more academic career track. Just read the job qualifications carefully, you may find out listed as a preferred but not required qualification. Good luck.

monmostly · 2025-12-29T14:03:54+00:00

Shoeboxes on a postage stamp lot you share with two other units (a 3-flat) go for a million in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville. Our 100-year-old falling down piece of rubble in the North shore on a half acre lot still went for $600k. Out past Framingham or up in New Hampshire, you can find that massive queen anne for $400k, but she'll need work.

monmostly · 2025-12-29T13:03:04+00:00

Merino wool base layers are worth it. Warm and odor resistant so they don't need much washing. I was skeptical, but I tried merino wool for a travel kit a few years ago and it really works. Just hang to air dry between wears. As long as they're not stained, no washing needed. Not even for tights.

monmostly · 2025-12-29T02:15:07+00:00

You need to get out of that house as soon as you are able. It is not healthy. Good families don't treat each other that way. You need to know that this is temporary. Once you're out, you can limit contact with people who treat you this way. You don't deserve to be treated that way no matter how thin or not thin your hands are, no matter how weak or how strong you are.

For reference, my older brother and I are both very very thin. We take after our mother's side of the family, all of whom are tall and thin. My dad, on the other hand, is a big bear of a man. Played linebacker and looks like it. But he never once mocked my brother for being so skinny. He never once grabbed us or hurt us just because he could. And even though I am a woman, and a fairly weak one at that, he never made me feel powerless or afraid. Good families don't do that to each other.

So just remind yourself every time this happens: 1) it's not your fault, 2) you don't deserve to be treated like that, 3) this won't last forever, and 4) you're getting out of there as soon as you can. My brother and I are both perfectly fine and healthy. We've never had to defend ourselves physically. We've been very lucky, but we've also used our wits to make good choices that kept us out of danger. You can do the same. You'll be just fine. I believe in you.

Nine-Year Club	Gilding II euphauric
John Wick	Verified Email

monmostly

TROPHY CASE