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Harvard Extension School: how long to finish ALB

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  1.  
    • CommentAuthorkamakazi
    • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010
     

    Can anyone give me stats on how long on average it takes to finish ALB. For those of you who are ALB candidates how many courses do you take per semester?

  2.  

    I take two to four courses a semester now. I think it all depends on your outside commitments, how much background you have in writing, and if you can handle the coursework. I've transferred in about oh 46 credits along the way but it took me the last three years to almost finish. I elected to postpone my graduation until next yr because of loans plus I can get started on my ALM now as a Senior. Well, good luck!

    •  
      CommentAuthorjb23
    • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010
     

    Hi, kamakazi.

    I will be finishing up my ALB this semester (unless something goes horribly, terribly wrong). I transferred in only one class worth four credits. I started off slow, taking one class (EXPO E-25) my first semester and two my second. I then took 3 courses per semester (12 credits) until this year when I had only 4 classes left to take.

    This is my 6th year. I could have finished up a little sooner if I had taken more courses at the start, but it wouldn't have made much of a difference.

    Six years sounds like a long time as I type this, but it went by fairly fast.

  4.  

    Congrats, jb!

    • CommentAuthorLA86
    • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010
     

    Hi, this is my second semester at HES and I just got admitted to the ALB degree program. I transferred in the max units (62 i believe) and I took 4 course last semester and I am taking 4 this semester. I'm planning on finishing the ALB in june of 2011 at this pace. Good luck!

  6.  

    My only advice is that it is not a race, and be sure not to overwhelm yourself with classes. Slow and steady would win the race if it was one, though. :D

    • CommentAuthorkvedaa
    • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010
     

    jb23,

    I think that completing ALB with almost no credit transfer in 6 years in very impressive. This school is not set up in a way to help people speed through a degree. Congratulations on you pending degree completion!

    •  
      CommentAuthorjb23
    • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010
     

    Thanks for the atta boys. It hasn't been easy, but it has been more than worth the effort.

    LA86, your pace is impressive. Best of luck to you.

    Just be sure to stop and smell the roses every once in a while. (If you ever get a free moment, that is.)

    • CommentAuthorGirlygirl
    • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010
     

    I came in with 28 credits, and had been going part time since fall 2007.I chose to start with 1 and work my way up, so I went 1, 2, 3, 3. Fall 2009 was my first semester taking 4 classes. I'm taking 4 now, will take 1 over the summer, and 4 in spring and fall of next year to graduate in May 2011.

  10.  

    I am also graduating with an ALB in May of 2011 (we should all sit together at commencement!). I transferred in 50+ credits, and have been taking 2 courses a semester (plus one over the summer) since fall of 2007. I agree with Mike Johnson; don't overwhelm yourself. It's amazing how fast time flies when you're exercising the ol' bean. Like jb23 said, it goes by surprisingly quickly.

    • CommentAuthorSSmith
    • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010
     

    I did the gradual start as well. I transferred in 24 credits, took EXPO E-25 in the winter semester of 2004, then two courses that fall, then three the following semester, etc. I work full-time and I figured 3 was the max number of classes I could take before my grades, my job, or my homelife started to suffer. I had VERY little time for outside engagements - I pretty much only saw my friends and non-local family when school was out.

    I found that careful planning using the syllabi and course-level was very helpful. I made sure I didn't have major assignments due on the same day, and that I also didn't have work commitments that might conflict. I knew that for semesters I was tackling my quantitative reasoning or "science" requirements, that my other classes should be lit or English courses, which are easier for me.

    • CommentAuthorLA86
    • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010
     

    Sorry I forgot to mention, fortunately I don't have to work because I dedicated two years to finishing my degree. I did two years of college in California, and then worked for several years. I decided to switch gears and go back to school full time. There would be no way I could pull off 4 classes and work. But the point is that there are all different types of students at HES. I've meet several other "full-time" ALB students like myself.

    • CommentAuthorkaminsky
    • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010
     

    No rush here - I started in 2001, transferring the 64 credit max and took one class a semester (with no summer school). Some of those classes were 2 credit language ones. I graduate this May. I'm married and work full time, but I also enjoy focusing on one class at a time. I'm doing this for fun and to explore my liberal arts side, and not for work - which is in the high tech field. About ten years ago when I was looking into this, I saw that it would take about ten years - then I realized that if I had started ten years before that I would be done, so I started. And here I am...

    • CommentAuthorehoff
    • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010
     

    Wow. This thread is very encouraging. I won't be transferring many credits in for my ALB, so it's nice to see there are others who have gone before me and completed (in less than 10 years..lol). :-)

    • CommentAuthorSSmith
    • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010
     

    I agree with shaggylocks - it goes by really fast. It clearly takes some time to get all the requirements in the can, but I kept myself motivated with smaller goals - finish my EXPO requirements, finish my quantitative requirements, etc. Being able to cross these various smaller milestones off my list kept me focused on pushing forward without fixating on what I still had left to accomplish.

  16.  

    I also want to add that I have almost no transfer credits and have a long way to go. Started out slow with just Expo E-25. Bumped it up to two classes the next semester and the one following that. I now have three classes, one of which is a distance course. We will see how this balances.

    Admittedly I am a lot less goal oriented than some of you. The degree as the end result is fine, and I look forward to having it, but I have a good job right now and I basically just look forward to every semester and the wide breadth of courses offered to me. This alone is worth the pursuit even if I didn't get a piece of paper at the end, I feel.

    • CommentAuthorSinJin
    • CommentTimeFeb 2nd 2010
     

    I am keeping a personal promise that is twofold:

    1) To be the first person in my family's 378 year American history to earn a college degree (within my direct descendant lineage); and

    2) To attend Harvard University.

    Number two has been accomplished, and hopefully within 5 years number 1 will be as well. Like others before me, having a wife, two children under the age of 6, a part time job, and a full time career, and now Harvard, the challenges are formidable. Good luck to us all!

    • CommentAuthorGirlygirl
    • CommentTimeFeb 3rd 2010
     
    Posted By: LA86

    Sorry I forgot to mention, fortunately I don't have to work because I dedicated two years to finishing my degree. I did two years of college in California, and then worked for several years. I decided to switch gears and go back to school full time. There would be no way I could pull off 4 classes and work. But the point is that there are all different types of students at HES. I've meet several other "full-time" ALB students like myself.

    I also forgot to mention I do not work. There's no way I would attempt 4 classes and work full time. I have enough trouble trying to balance my school work with my volunteer activities. I've had to cut back on volunteer stuff as it is.

    I'm happy to hear that there are other "full-time" students. Hopefully I'll get to meet some. I had the pleasure of meeting Shaggylocks last November.

    • CommentAuthornan
    • CommentTimeFeb 3rd 2010
     

    I have virtually no credits to transfer so it's very heartening to hear that it can be done! Congrats to all!

    • CommentAuthorwingsrcl
    • CommentTimeFeb 4th 2010
     

    I started from zero with no credits transferred and against all of my friends' advice I finished 32 credits my first year. I am taking another 16 credits this semester. I work full-time but I do have flexibility and a very good number of days off every month. I was admitted just 2 weeks ago. It is a very different experience for different people, and I am sure you will find a good balance based on your time constraints and your goals. I am not sure I can keep this pace until I graduate, but I intend to try, and between summer shool and January sessions graduate in 4 years or less. I wish you the best of luck!

    •  
      CommentAuthorjb23
    • CommentTimeFeb 4th 2010
     

    Go for it, wingsrcl!

    That is impressive.

    • CommentAuthorcarrie
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2010
     

    I transferred in 9 credits and started in Fall 2007. I take four courses per semester, 2 at the Ext School and 2 as a Special Student. I hopefully will have my degree finished by next year. So, it is possible to finish in a timely fashion if you're committed and focused. :-)

  23.  

    Carrie, how do find the special student courses? Challenging? How do the HC students react to you in class?

    • CommentAuthorcarrie
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2010 edited
     

    Hi Expo,

    I think the difficulty of the Special Student courses (much like the Extension courses) depends on what you take and the professor. I am taking 2 classes with Prof. Roberto Unger this semester, and he's considered pretty challenging. So, I have my work cut out for me. :-) For undergraduates, there are mandatory sectional meetings where you can "sort" of get to know people, but for the most part the classes are very large and there isn't much personal interaction that goes on. So, I don't know that anyone actually knows (or cares) that I'm in the Extension School. So, I get treated the same as anyone else...which is to say, I'm pretty anonymous. :-)

    • CommentAuthorcarrie
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2010
     

    One other thing: the mandatory sectionals are pretty hardcore, and the TA's will KNOW if you've read the material or not. So you def have to keep up with the reading. :-)

  26.  

    Prof Unger sounds fascinating. What are the two courses?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Mangabeira_Unger
    http://www.hlrecord.org/news/after-rocky-but-influential-tenure-brazil-s-minister-of-ideas-returns-to-hls-1.626458

    You and Barack Obama have been taught by him.

    He is the Harvard Law School's only South American faculty member.

    Unger was, after all, considered a consummate academic. After completing the written requirements of his LL.M. degree within days of his arrival, he was named one of the youngest professors in Harvard Law School history.

    Nevertheless, Unger’s thoughts have always prompted spirited debate, in both practice and theory. Former students recall vocal disagreements between him and President Barack Obama ’91, when the latter was studying at the law school and when Unger, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, was at the high point in his career, with many of his most influential books hot off the presses.

    Despite the one time disagreements between Unger and his one time student, the professor says that the two still stay in touch. What’s more, Unger’s influence may have rubbed off on other parts of the Obama administration.

    • CommentAuthorcarrie
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2010 edited
     

    Ya, he's awesome...but definitely one of the most challenging professors I've ever had! Check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVzuLiR-fx8

    I'm taking "The Past and Future of the Left" and "Self, Serenity and Vulnerability: East and West (which is co-taught by Michael Puett).

  28.  

    Interesting. Yet, a radical reshaping of the international political and economic arrangements would first require a radical impetus. In other words, a huge crash and much pain. It sounds nice when Prof Unger describes it in that YouTube clip. Unfortunately, I don't know how you get there without misery and blood spilling.

    Congrats on Special Student status.

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