Harvard at Bargain Basement Prices

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<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/national/18harvard.html?hp&ex=1132376400&en=e239dc08a0f85fad&ei=5094&partner=homepage[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/national/18harvard.html?hp&ex=1132376400&en=e239dc08a0f85fad&ei=5094&partner=homepage&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 17 - Laura Shortill had a 3.6 grade point average at her Buxton, Me., high school and her SAT’s were “fairly average,” she said. “Nothing astronomical.” </p>

<p>So when she applied to Harvard, Ms. Shortill knew it was a stretch. And she had a backup: Harvard.</p>

<p>Although Ms. Shortill was accepted elsewhere, including Johns Hopkins, when she was rejected by Harvard College, she moved to Cambridge anyway. She enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program at Harvard University Extension School - for a fraction of the admissions requirements and a fraction of the cost.</p>

<p>“I had Harvard as my reach school,” said Ms. Shortill, 20, “and I had Harvard as my safety school.” </p>

<p>Harvard Extension School, with its mission of making a part of Harvard broadly accessible, is unusually inexpensive, charging about $550 per lecture course compared to about $4,000 per course at Harvard College. </p>

<p>…</p>

<p>Students have access to Harvard faculty, even Nobel laureates like Roy J. Glauber, a physicist who has taught extension classes. At least 52 of the 128 credits required for the extension bachelors degree must come from courses taught by Harvard instructors. And some courses are virtually identical to those at Harvard College, professors say. </p>

<p>Ms. Shortill, majoring in classics, is taking the course Ancient Christianity with Helmut Koester, who teaches the same course at Harvard College and Divinity School. </p>

<p>Ms. Nurse takes a course called Justice taught at Harvard College by Michael Sandel, a well-known political scientist. It is videotaped and is one of 75 courses offered online for extension students. </p>

<p>And Mr. Perro said he discovered that a high school classmate attending Harvard College “had one of the same instructors for an expository writing course.”</p>

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<p>The Harvard Extension School is a well-known resource in the Boston area. Many, if not most, high schoolers can take courses for free or almost free, thanks to generous Lowell scholarships. My S took seven courses for less than $1,000 over the course of 3 years.</p>

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<p>My D took latin at the extension. The course was taught by Richard Thomas, the chair of the classics department, rated top department in the country.</p>

<p>Yes the extension school is a little known gem. However, there are a few known limitations. Course selection is limited. Many of the instructors are part timers from other jobs, not regular HC faculty. Few of the students actually go on to get degrees (a huge drop out rate - not unusual for an open admissions continuing education program) so you would have a difficult time developing a peer group. Finally, Harvard College does not take the credits under most circumstances, although they are transferrable (if taken for credit) to most colleges in the US, as the program is fully accredited.</p>

<p>All in all, it is a great resource for the Boston community, but less so as a college option for high school kids, IMHO.</p>

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<p>I agree with NMD. None of the 7 courses my S took transferred into HC for credit. As well, the selection is very limited. There was nothing in math higher than MV calc and Linear Algebra (there were some courses in applied math and math for teachers) and no course beyond introductory level physics (i.e. AP-Physics). But there is a wealth of biology courses. I’m not sure why there’s such a discrepancy.</p>

<p>The drop out rate could be affected by the ever-increasing number of high-schoolers attending the Extension School (we got a questionnaire on this issue) as well as adults taking courses for fun (a friend of ours is systematically taking music courses).</p>

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<p>I wonder if the bio courses are a big item because of the number of students who decide they want to go to Med school after getting a liberal arts degree undergrad?</p>

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<p>Sac, that is definitely true of the intro bio class, which had about 200 students, most of whom were pre-med. In fact, the course was pitched to pre-med students in a way that the regular college class was not. But I do not think this quite accounts for the wealth of biology classes. It may be a combination of student interest in the life sciences in general and professors’ willingness to teach in the Extension School, which may have to do with mortgages and kids’ college tuition :)</p>