rising_star

They could be. How low are your GRE scores? The easiest way to find out would be by asking places where you were rejected for feedback on your application.

Money. Always.

My main thought is that NYC is more expensive than Boston so it probably balances out in terms of funding. The real question for me is whether three years is enough time to complete the PhD and, if not, what the funding possibilities are after the initial three year period. I think they both give you good access to urban environments for research and you'll have to do research in either place, so that's a bit of a wash for me. Have you tried speaking to the faculty at NYU? Have you talked to current students in either program? I think the information you'll get from faculty and current students will help you decide.

If you get rejected, try to gain research or practical experience in the field, rather than going into debt for a second master's degree.

Are any of the three offering you any funding? If so, then that's how I'd choose. If not, then I'd go based on where you want to live. Pittsburgh and Atlanta are both great but they're also very different.

True that you should be able to speak it if you're doing research there. But, almost all language examinations administered to test your proficiency are focused on written comprehension (reading and writing), not oral comprehension. That's what my advice is based on.

If your topic is really so narrow that only one prof is working on it, then finding an academic position is going to be extremely difficult. Working with people who aren't in your exact area may also force you to become a more well-rounded scholar, which could make you more competitive for fellowships, grants, and jobs in the future. In addition, I just want to point out that your interests may shift during your PhD such that the perfect fit scholar now is less of a fit later.

I didn't say to keep it a secret. I'm saying there's no reason to include it in your rejection email. If they ask, then you can decide whether or not to tell them.

I would tell me POI but probably wouldn't tell the general admissions folks or DGS. Yes, you'll see those in your subfield again but, it's unlikely you'd run into a DGS outside your focus area at a conference who wonders where you went and why, you know?

1) As @TMP has already said, nothing in academia is guaranteed. Going to Harvard or Yale for a master's does NOT mean you will be admitted with funding to their PhD program. If it did, they would've made you a conditional admit to the PhD pending the completion of the MA. They didn't, which means that two years from now, you'll be applying for a limited number of slots like everyone else who wants to go there. 2) If you're going to be comparing placement fairly based on the offers you have now, then you should compare the PhD program placement of the MA programs at Harvard and Yale to the PhD graduate placement record of UCLA. In addition, focus not just on the general UCLA placement record but also that of your POI and key committee members (that is, UCLA's placement in African history is less relevant if you're a Soviet historian than the placement of your POI).* 3) If you do a master's, you're going to have to work your ass off either way to get into a better set of PhD programs than you already have. That means language training, presenting at conferences, ideally publishing, etc. You may also need to improve your GRE scores to be competitive. And, keep in mind that you'll be applying again after one full year into a two year program, which means a busy second year where you're applying (and hopefully visiting programs) on top of finishing your coursework and writing a master's thesis. It's a lot of work and something which you could largely avoid by going to a good PhD program now. *A caveat regarding placement is key here. Knowing where someone's graduates end up is helpful but, doesn't always give you the full picture since you don't know what those PhD alums wanted for themselves. So, if you're looking down on someone's placement record based on the type of job, you may want to do some digging because some people are really happy to be at a SLAC whereas others believe it's R1 or bust. It also gives you zero insight into other factors affecting people's life choices (e.g., a sick relative which places geographic restrictions on your search, a special needs child who you decide to stay at home with, or a spouse whose job requires staying put). This isn't to say it's not worth looking into, btw. It's just that placement record is never the full story and I've grown increasingly bothered by the assumption around this site that it is the end-all, be-all.

Just wanted to reiterate this part. You do not have to explain where you're going or why. If they really want to know, they'll ask. But, even then you don't have to tell them.

Most of the MA programs you listed don't offer funding. You might have better luck finding funding by applying to a discipline-specific MA program (so doing a MA in history, anthropology, sociology, geography, etc.). If you want to stay on the East Coast, I'd consider all of the potential institutions, so places like CUNY, UConn, Brown, Brandeis, Clark, UMass, Bostun University, etc. They may not have exactly what you're looking for but, I think that's part of what doing a MA can help with (in terms of figuring out your interests and what field best suits you). Given your language training, you may be able to work as a Spanish instructor through that department, especially at a public institution, which could help you pay for your MA.

Is it an option for you to apply to a public institution in MO to get your MA? That might lower your costs will still helping you stay where you want to be. At the same time, two years isn't a long time and you may find your professional opportunities severely limited in the future if you're unwilling or unable to move.

Wait, you would seriously turn down a funded PhD offer for a master's program (which may not even come with funding)? Not in your field but that is absolutely nuts if what you really want is to do a PhD.

I still really have no clue what you want to do or why you want to go to graduate school, so it's unclear to me what degree you could or should apply for. You have to base the decision on the type of research you want to be doing. For more on the GPA question, see this thread: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/28621-the-sub-30-gpas-acceptance-thread/ . I'm pretty sure there's another, similar one but, I can't remember the title of it.

If you have enough money to pay for 6-8 years of a PhD, then by all means do it. But realize that unless you are really successful at getting outside funding, you're going to be facing an uphill battle on the market because you'll be competing against people who had funding the entire time. As @farflung has said, you should also think about why you originally saved that money and what other goals you have in your life, like having a family, buying a house, being able to travel and go on vacations, etc. A bunch of strangers on the internet can't really tell you what should be most important to you. Personally, even if I did have the $200K+ needed to fund my own PhD, I wouldn't do it because I'd take the lack of funding as a sign that the program doesn't want to invest in me financially.

1) Sure, there's hope. It will depend on what you want to study and why. It's impossible for us to tell you which degree you should pursue without knowing what your interests are in going to graduate school in the first place. 2) Most schools require you to submit transcripts from every post-high school institution you've attended. Because of that, yes, you would likely have to submit your study abroad transcript. There may be schools that don't require this so you could ask and find out. 3) At this point, most deadlines for starting in fall 2016 have already passed. There may be programs where you could start in spring 2017, which would mean deadlines around mid-October of this year. But, the most likely option for full-time enrollment, especially if you want funding, would be to start in fall 2017. In that case, you should take the time to study for the GRE to ensure you do well on it. To start in fall 2017, I'd aim to take the GRE no later than August (in case you want/need to retake) and to start asking for recommendations around the same time. 4) I have no idea why your income would make you ineligible for graduate school or why you would think that it would. Given that you have a good job which you seem to like, would you consider doing a part-time master's program? Does your employer offer any financial assistance for attending graduate school?

It sounds like they are just working stuff out internally. At this point, many colleges and universities are still figuring out what their overall budget for next year will be. Consequently, they may not yet know exactly how many people they can fund. I think the department chair knows that everyone needs funding to be able to attend. Rather than trying to figure out a polite way to say that you need funding, ask when funding packages will be announced and what the typical package is.

It'll be fine. At the graduate level in history, the main concern is going to be about your reading ability, not about your oral comprehension skills. Also, taking it P/F is bette rthan taking it for a grade and earning a D, you know?

EndlessAshley, please don't alter your teaching approach because of a handful of bad students. Think about it this way: if you were to list all the positive and negative comments you receive from students in columns, would there be more things in the positive column or the negative column? That said, you probably need to do more meta-teaching, by which I mean you probably need to explain to students what you're prioritizing in the classroom and why so they can understand it, especially if they are underclassmen. Students may not be used to classrooms where they can toss around ideas and work through interpretations so you need to make it clear that this is what you want, that evidence matters for enhancing the credibility of one's interpretations, etc. There's really nothing wrong with your approach so you just need to do a better job with the messaging of this approach when you're talking to students in the classroom. Also, depending on the kind of job you went after the PhD, that approach may be obligatory for getting a job so, I wouldn't throw it away because of a few sour apples.

I would be prepared to explain why I applied to that department/program, the research I have done and would like to do, and what theories/methods inform that research.

I'm not in your field but, I recently read College (Un)bound and really enjoyed it. A lot of useful food for thought.

FWIW, I wouldn't ask the DGS about living costs as they are likely not in the same financial position as you would be. Instead, I would wait and ask those questions to graduate students in the department once I arrived for the visit.

Re #1: Check out the other posts on what questions to ask in this subforum. This has been covered extensively lately. #2) I wouldn't bring anything. They already have your application and all of your materials. The only other thing you might want to bring are some business cards to pass out. 3) It's hard to say whether this means you'll get in or not. Do a lot of applicants have campus visits at this program? Are they providing funding for your visit? 4) I would go with business casual at a minimum. What you're planning to wear sounds fine to me.

There's no way for anyone here to know, unfortunately. You could try contacting the program and asking about your admissions status if you're really curious.