TMP

Students range from 22-28 in my program except for at least one "non-traditional" student. They do bring in perspectives that may not necessarily be appreciated at first -- only because you've lived through the BS and they haven't (yet). Graduate school will be what you make of it. Age does factor quite a bit if you're thinking of becoming a professor when you finish the PhD because the job market is too unstable, faculty would prefer not to have a lot of turnovers (and only God knows whether or not that tenure line will disappear), and the time involved in piecing together your academic career. Unlike law firms where you can become a partner 5 years or so after you work with the same law firm after you graduate (so let's say 8 years total). In academia, you'll need 6-8 years of graduate school plus (in best case scenario) 6 years on the tenure track so that's a total of 14ish years. So you may not be tenured until you're in your 50s. Professors realize this and are a bit wary if you truly intend to become a professor at a research university.

Department stuff: You MUST go and by yourself. University-wide mandatory: You MUST go and by yourself. University-side non-mandatory: You may go but BY yourself. Where do your parents fit? With your new place and city/town. If you're worried about "entertaining" them, your parents can entertain themselves (they did before they had kids, right?). If you'd like, you can give them a list of things you need or want them to check out (i.e. restaurants, markets, malls, compare two Targets, find the best parking spots, etc). If there's another city/town nearby, they can also drive over and check it out. In terms of including parents in your graduate school experiences, wait a few years. Professors are generally gracious about meeting parents (as many are themselves) but they want to know off the bat that you are already independent. Parents have showed up for dissertation defenses (and some sat in the room) in my program. As everyone said, it is just odd to bring parents to any event for incoming graduate students. Because that's just undergraduate orientation all over again and nobody wants to feel that way.

Truthfully, I went back and forth a million, MILLION times between my program and Program Z. My heart was set on my current program even though Program Z was higher-ranked with an outstanding program in a field I would be going into and located in a great area for me. But I was so dead-set on going to my program and lowered my expectations for Program Z. Then during the campus visit for Program Z, my expectations were blown out of the water. Deciding between the two was total agony. Nonetheless, just like you, OP, at the end, I went with my program, convinced that my adviser and our shared interests (much closer than Program Z) were all I needed. I still struggled with that decision throughout my first year -- while spiraling downward into severe depression and experienced PTSD symptoms. I ended up hospitalized at the end of my first year; it was scary for me and my adviser. She and I briefly discussed whether or not I should take a leave for a semester to recover. I opted not to because I needed the health insurance on campus and funds and instead negotiated with her for a lighter course load. It was a bit rough as I was trying to settle in with my treatment program but the fact it was there at all helped to keep my life going forward. What you did describe in your OP, I would really be nervous to start graduate school in that state of health. You need to have resources in place-- a therapist, a psychiatrist, or whatever. Having resources and a strong team of mental health professionals can make a world of difference to your academic success. As my adviser understood it, a student's success is clearly linked to her/her well-being. Take care of yourself first before you start your program. I still kind of wish I did something about my depression but I just had no confidence at the time to take it seriously before I started. People take leaves all the time for mental health issues; you just need to find out the protocol for that. I should also point out that you cannot, CANNOT depend on your adviser alone, especially if he's a busy guy. You will be taking classes and getting to know other professors who will act as "surrogates." THAT is perfectly normal and very well-expected in a reasonably functioning department. Had I not had this professor who I took a class with in my first semester, I don't know how different my life would have been. Sure, her research interests didn't align with mine but she and I just got along so well personally and professionally. She's currently on my exam committee. As my would-be adviser at Program Z said to me, "It takes a village to raise a graduate student." It is so true. (going into her 4th year and hanging on )

Every cohort is different. My program is huge (~120 students) and does tend attract a fair number of married/serious relationship students and young parents. Our cohorts (averaging between 18-22) are too large for everyone to mesh outside of required courses (and even so, not everyone takes those at the same time). I did make some friends within my own cohort but we've drifted as we pursued our particular interests that really engaged us. I didn't meet my best friend in the program until last year when I was a third year and she was a first year. We never study together but we had so many common interests that we did other things. It does really, really suck to be in classes with other people and go "oh crap, they seem to know what they're going to say and how the other will respond... I feel so left out! I feel like I have to fend for myself here!" when you realize that they already talked about assignments beforehand through lunches/drinks/commute/etc and not at a particular time and place when you could have joined them to prepare for the class. It does. I totally empathized. The best I could do was stay positive, fake confidence, and just listen and learn. You could look into seeing whether or not the counseling center has group therapy where you can discuss confidence, social, and academic issues with other graduate students. I did that for a year and it helped to put things in perspective and improve my own social skills. As for transferring, I'm not in STEM field. However, you're in a combined MA/PhD program, take the MA and leave. While you don't need to explicitly explain in your statement of purpose, you will be highlighting the (new) program's strengths in such a fashion that your present program no longer can support you and you need to go somewhere else If it's a direct PhD program where you pick up the MA along the way, then that's more tricky. You'll need to sit down with your adviser and the Director of Graduate Studies and explain your unhappiness and feeling the lack of faculty support. It will be awkward and uncomfortable, no question about it. But such conversations can be held and things usually do get better, especially if the program is paying you (and not the other way around). It is a bit hard to write a solid letter of recommendation when the professors are still getting to know you. Are your grade in the A-range? If they are, then you've done good work and your professors should be able to say some meaningful things. Without us thereto observe your behavior and interactions with the professors one-on-one, it's hard to make concrete suggestions for fostering better relationships.

Mainly, the best thing you can probably do is just think positively! Why are you going to grad school? Take a look around the city/town you'll be living in and see what's happening (restaurants, bars, museums, parks, etc). Make a bucket list of fun thing you want to do before classes start. You could also reach out to other (new and old) graduate students and ask for suggestions for ways to settle in. If you don't have their contact information, you could e-mail the graduate coordinator and ask to be put in touch with someone close to your interests.

Agreed. I would not let that kind of fact to deter you. In fact, that's an area where you can question the faculty and graduate students. My program tends to offer 4 years of funding to students with MAs but we always tell them that there's usually a chance of getting fifth yera funding. i don't know of any Americanist who finished in 4 years. Our Americanists have finished in 5 years (with or without a MA) because we offer plenty of summer funding to help students finish. Everyone else finishes in 6-8 years and get outside department funding to make that happen. Professors are very aware that 4 years for people with MA is nearly impossible and the size of funding packages are usually out of their control. They really do their best to support students to finish as long as the students are putting in the effort.

What some have pointed out, everyone is going to struggle in their first years of grad school. It doesn't matter where you're coming from-- graduate school is meant to bring in people from different places and mold them in similar fashion. This means, one person could be amazing at A but suck at B and has never heard of C, another will excel at B but struggle to conceptualize C and is okay at A, and the third person can somewhat handle A, B, and C and the professors will work to get all three to balance out their strengths and areas of improvement so that by the time they finish, each person can handle A, B, and C with competency. For me, I struggled A LOT (and still need reminders) to read and engage in others' questions outside of my own. For example, I'm hardly a person interested in the history of religion but my field demands that I get some familiarity with it. When I first read such works, I try to find ways to connect with them (usually through a socio-political perspective). When I meet with the professor, he'd ask, "What's the research question? What is the argument?" I'd blanked out because I never thought to step out of my comfort zone and find that person's research question because I was too busy looking for connections between that work and my research interests. Preparing for my candidacy exams has forced me to resolve this issue so that when I discuss works with other people, I can demonstrate that I (now) have the ability to read other scholars and engage with their research questions outside of my areas of research inquiry. Meanwhile, my adviser doesn't spend much time polishing my research skills because they're shiny compared to the rough diamond above. Everyone has an individual journey to the same end. Some need to meander more than others. Some need to take a right turn while others need to take a left. But you all have the same goal: obtaining that degree.

I'm going to be pretty blunt here but hearing the truth is something that grad students need to start hearing more if they wish to succeed, especially in academia. You said you love research and hate exams, why don't you do the thesis track instead? A MA thesis is expected--basically-- for PhD programs (as you will use a section of it for your writing sample). If your program doesn't offer it, then so be it. Most course writing assignments do not generally run over 25 pages total. The only times I had to write more than 20 pages in a single paper were A) I had a bit more to say and only went over by a few pages and research/writing based seminars. Writing will come naturally once you gain a firm grip of what you want to say about your readings. You may be reading 3 books a week for your courses but the reality is that you will be reading for research (and exams if that's the "capstone" for your MA). There is no one-size-fit-all reading strategy. There are many strategies, depending on the purpose of you reading that book/article. I'm a bit above above for reading speed but I find that I have to slow down a lot in order to absorb and comprehend the material. Trust me on this, you will NOT be the only first year struggling with the reading expectations. Grad school won't be easy but you will be spending your time doing what you love to study- history. As for courseload reduction-- it depends on your goal. If you want to graduate in 2 years, then you need to take the full load as suggested by the program. If that's not your goal and you have the finances (whether your own money or through a job at school) to stretch your time, but all means, go for it. I finished my MA coursework in 3 semesters because I couldn't afford the fourth semester (and used a leave-of-absence to finish up my thesis in my fourth semester so I didn't have to pay for tuition). Just don't take out more loans that you need to, especially if you have undergraduate debt.

Riotbeard offers an excellent example of what I mean above about networking. You have to be willing to put your foot out there. Your adviser isn't always going to help you. Mine never did-- I don't think she meant to do it on purpose. She just knows I'm pretty good at reaching out and talking to people. I also used outside letter-writers for fellowships in addition to my adviser's from top scholars in my field. My adviser have acknowledged that it's a savvy move as opposed to asking a second faculty member in my program who wouldn't have the same kind of deep knowledge of my project's place in historiography as those outside letter-writers. Those external people are also my mentors and they've done a wonderful job of professionalizing me as a scholar. Long-term impact remains to be seen ....

Man, even with intrar-state library loans, there's still competition for books for a seminar of over 6 people! Luckily, we're pretty good at sharing physical copies of books. Our professors have been really great about flexibility if there are enough complaints.

What are your research interests? If you're interested in Turkish/Ottoman History, I'm not sure if Yale is the place to go. My program has a sizable Ottoman program and it usually competes with UCs, Princeton and Harvard. Have you been able to speak with other Turkish students who are studying for their PhD in the US?

OMG... SAME with feeling. I had expected it to be easy because.... it was what everyone else said!

I understand that you might not want to disclose your country but it does help. For example, adcoms in the US know that Canadian and British GPA scale is different from the US and take that into account. There are many other factors at play such as the quality of your writing sample (your MA thesis or best research paper that includes primary sources (not interpreted by scholars), languages, and personal statement.

With a GPA like that and a bad freshman year, admissions committee may be more inclined to focus on your grades within the history major and relevant courses (after all, we have had people try pre-med at the beginning...). You may be well-served to take time off in between to gain a little bit of life experience, demonstrate that you can hold down a job or follow through with a major project, etc. Right now, focus on pulling up your GPA, connecting with your professors, and reading as much as you can.

This is why networking is important if you're not in "top tier." You have to be willing to network more because you can't depend on your institution's name.

Agreed. There are still fellowships from the Graduate School at each of the universities. Just apply.

Thankfully this post isn't for political science

You'd be best off exploring the placements of mid-level programs. From my own observations with peers, they tend to aim to work in the region, whether teaching, government jobs, historical societies... People in top-20 do have a strong research mentality. In any event, students across rankings have one shared goal- to get the PhD and take their own journeys to get there.

Sounds like Museum Studies may be better for you though I've heard that it's the experience in the field that really matters (not to say that such graduate degrees aren't useful but a Museum Studies program would set you up better for connections). If writing a 200-300 pages of research for the dissertation isn't up your alley, then don't do the PhD. But the PhD may be desirable for higher positions in the public history world. Do some research on job positings and conduct some informational interviews with folks in the field you want to go into.

if you're interested in policy and/research, have you tried looking into think-tanks? It's always good to head into a program (whether MA or PhD) with an open-mind for what you'd like to do after. Whether you do MA first (separately) or get into a PhD program, you can reasonably expect to be taking language classes in your first few years in addition to your regular history coursework. Pretty intense but it's only if you want a PhD in Ottoman history and it's not unusual for these PhD students to spend their first summer or two abroad studying Turkish with governmental grants. You're not the only one who went through "omg I should have done all this sooner." There is nothing you can do, except make the most of what you DO have and get yourself on course toward your goal--whatever it is.

I assume you have languages under your belt?

I buy books most relevant to my fields and dissertation. Otherwise, I borrow them from the library. Both bibliographic and historiographic essays fall under the rubric of "lit review." They have different purposes. The former focuses on a topic and the survey of literature pertaining to it. This is great for topics that are narrow in focus or not well studied. The latter engages with a broad historical question that various scholars have explored using different theories and/or methods. This is great for a topic that's been well studied but too vast for the bibliographic review. For example, the education of Southern children during the American Civil War would be great for bibliographic whereas a topic of Southern family experiences during the Civil War through the lens of women's history would be better suited for the latter.

Book editors and reviewers will push you to think beyond your "bubble." So will your dissertation defense.

Follow your passion because you WILL be married to your dissertation topic. Methodological and theoretical frameworks can evolve over time. Your adviser/committee will want to see intellectual growth in these areas and you do that by continuing to read relevant books/articles to the topic/methodologies you're interested in and going to conferences to hear papers and speak with other scholars. You can capitalize on the "trend" but demonstrate your understanding of what's going on and what areas you'd like to explore (methodology? theories?). The most important thing in the SOP is demonstration of your familiarity with historiographical debates and how they fit within the field of your study, and what you hope to explore more in graduate school.

It depends on your topic of interest. Women and URM faculty tend to be more interested in marginalized population and "from below" social history. Most of my undergrad professors at a SLAC were men and almost all of my graduate school professors were women. I attribute the gender imbalance due to A) hiring scheduel and overlapping of interest in marginalized populations.