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Congrats on your graduation!! Good luck with your applications

I already applied, and will be starting my Public History program next week! Where are you applying to, Yoga_Turkey?

Hello all! I'm about to start my first semester of grad school (MA in History/Public History) and I'm freaking out! Can anyone give me some advice, or something you wish you knew before you started grad school? Literally ANYTHING would be appreciated Thank you!!

I wanted to send my profs who wrote my LOR a thank you note, but I thought it would be nice to send them a small gift (each under 10$)- something that would be personal (example, colombian coffee for my Latin American history prof, or a book about medieval art for my medieval prof). Thoughts? Is it inappropriate, or would it make them feel uncomfortable?

Definitely get in touch with him now. It's nice to give him a heads up. I would tell him what you've been up to since you graduated, and your future plans (what schools you're applying for, the programs etc.) and ask if he'd write you a letter. It really doesn't hurt to ask early (and it certainly helps your prof!) Good luck!!

I did my undergrad at McGill- they have phenomenal history profs, especially for American History, so you'd be in good hands. James Opal does early american history, and he's one of the best.

I felt the same way before I took my GRE- I seriously had nightmares! Just tell yourself, the worst that can happen is that you do badly. Then what? Well you can always retake it (assuming you have time). But also, remember that the GRE is a small part of your application!! The other parts are much more important! a 142 isn't the best score.. but that was your first time taking a practice test right? Take as many as you can and you'll see your score improve! You have to get used to taking this sort of test. Also, what practice books are you using? I'd recommend the Manhattan series. Also if you're really worried, consider getting a tutor/classes (if you like online classes, check out Magoosh!). Lastly, for verbal, memorize as many words as you can. There are loads of websites devoted to GRE vocab. Practice everyday and practice early! GOOD LUCK! You can do this!!!!

If I were you, I would get 3 letters from your history professors, and then another letter from your museum employer. I think the letters from the professors would carry more weight, but adding another letter from the museum would help (just my opinion). Are you limited to only 3 letters, or can you send as many as you'd like?

Good question. I plan on working in Boston, so I want to go to school there... both schools have placements, and really focus on getting the students acquainted with the public history world in Boston, so I think it would be beneficial. Also I should specify, I know about the reputations of the schools in GENERAL, but not specifically for their history departments.

Hi All! I'm trying to decide between two schools for my masters in History (with a concentration in Public History): UMass Boston and Northeastern. I don't know much about the reputation of the schools, or the quality of their education... If anyone knows ANYTHING about their history programs, or has any advice, please feel free to share Thanks so much.

Thanks for your reply! Good to know

Hi All! I'm trying to decide between two schools for my masters in History (with a concentration in Public History): UMass Boston and Northeastern. I don't know much about the reputation of the schools, or the quality of their education... If anyone knows ANYTHING about their history programs, or has any advice, please feel free to share Thanks so much.

Like the other posters, I'd recommend the Manhattan Prep series. I used number 7 and it was very helpful!

I would email the schools and ask- every school is different! Some don't even look at quantitative, others consider it (but would weight it way less than Verbal of course). Sorry, this isn't very helpful but it's just my two cents I really wish they'd just ignore the whole quant score for history applicants... I'm applying for an MA in History and I bombed the quant section. Good luck!!

Your quant score is definitely fine- above average for intended history majors (the average is 148). However, I think you're below average for verbal- it's about 156. See if any of the schools post the average GRE scores of accepted students so you can see if you're in range. Since these are top schools, I'm guessing the GRE scores will be pretty competitive. That being said, the GRE isn't everything. If you have average scores, but a great GPA, fantastic LORs, and great research experience to distinguish you from other applicants then that could make up for the GRE scores.

Thanks everyone! I feel much better about my scores now. I don't think I'll retake it, since I'm okay with my verbal/AW scores

The Magoosh GRE test prep seems to be really helpful, although they're pretty expensive (100$ for math and verbal). If I have to take the GRE again (fingers crossed I don't!), I'd sign up for their prep classes. I guess it depends how you learn. If you are fine reading explanations from books, then just buying test prep books would be a money saver. However if you learn better by having people give you explanations (I'm like this- especially with math), then it might be worth investing in a tutor/class. To improve verbal, try to memorize as many words as you can! Flash cards are a life saver. I made the mistake of just memorizing 500 words at the beginning... I realized 2 weeks before I should expand it to at least 1000 words... it's pretty stressful trying to learn new words right before the test. Since you're applying for History, I think that would be the most important section to improve. Try to get your score above average for intended history majors (so above 156). Maybe get a couple of books just focused on sentence completion or reading comprehension- whatever you have most trouble with! I'd recommend the Manhattan Series- I got book 7 (Reading comp and essays), and it really helped me. Good luck!!

For Northeastern, they say they don't have a minimum GPA or GRE scores, which is encouraging. They take a "holistic" approach when looking at applications. So I'm hoping that since it's not a horrible score (besides Quant of course ) then I'll still have a chance. I am emailing Northeastern just to see how much importance they place on the Quant score for history applicants. Thanks for your reply!

From what I've seen, no one really cares that much about the AW portion. I agree- if they want to see the quality of your writing, they'll look at your writing sample, which you presumably put more effort into than the AW essay. However, since your applying for a PhD, I'm not sure if they put more weight on the AW essay than a masters program would... I would wait to see whether you get a good score, and then maybe email the school and ask? Anyway, your scores seem to be really good, so I don't think you'd need to retake the test, even if you get a crummy AW score. I'd focus more on your application essay and your LORs Good luck!!

Hello! I'm applying for a masters in History at Northeastern for January 2014. I recently took the GRE and did okay on Verbal (161- 87%), pretty well on AW (5.0 -93%), but for some reason I just BOMBED the Quant (148...33%). I'm pretty upset by it, but I don't really want to retake the GRE unless I know I need to. My GPA from McGill is okay :CGPA is 3.3 - but my first year was horrible. My GPA for the last 3 years is 3.48, and last 2 years is 3.6 So I was just wondering, will a horrible Quant score really matter in the grand scheme of things? I'm hoping it won't matter for a masters in History application but I'm not sure. Any comments or advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!!!