TMP

What StrangeLight is basically trying to say is this: The grass is always greener on the other side. No question about it that many graduate students, if they had choices before deciding on a program, think about whether or not they should've gone with another program that just seems, at the moment, better. I've been there with my MA. We all had to make really, really tough choices. Now that I have graduated with my MA and am looking at PhD programs. I am actually applying to a PhD program where I was accepted for the MA. Why? Because I believed that this program was just as strong as the program where I did my MA, not because I regretted turning this program down 2 years ago. I just want an opportunity to try this program. The one professor I stayed in with had no hard feelings when I contacted him about applying to his PhD program. He was just happy to know that I had good education with my MA program and would be delighted to have my application. So, as StrangeLight suggested, if it's MS/PhD combined program where you can walk away after the MS, the other school shouldn't hold any grudges against you for turning them down earlier. But what you don't want to do is burn any bridges, with either schools. Academia, as you saw, is a small world. If it's a straight PhD, definitely have a conversation with the DGS. The DGS is supposed to be looking out for you and be helping you to succeed, even if it means seeing to it that you can work with this person in another department. I talked to my DGS quite a few times about my concerns with the program when I first started. He was really helpful. He just wanted me to be happy and successful. That's what any good DGS should do.

Actually, your scores are right in the pen for History PhD. Don't worry about it. Focus on your SOP and writing sample.

Agreed with fuzzy. It depends on your relationships with your professors. My undergraduate adviser's like my academic BFF so I e-mail her, maybe, once a month or something. Her colleague gets e-mails from me once or twice a year because we didn't get a chance to really develop our relationship after my class with him because he was on sabbatical for the rest of my undergraduate semesters. As for my MA program, I'm keeping in fairly frequent contact at the moment because of the application season but I would imagine that in the future, it might be more like once each season (holiday time, March/April, middle of summer, late September/October). If you're not super close, then just keep it all professional and maybe after each semester and summer after your coursework and research projects are completed so you have something to talk about. Professors, especially LOR writers, love to know what's going on with their students. I've asked my professors about their past students and they said, "Well, Sally left 2 or 3 years ago and got a job/accepted into Program Y and... I don't know. I heard anything." It'll go a very long way if you can keep in good contact, especially for networking and advice later on.

You're in the pen. You're fine. Get your refund if you can.

You do have to trust your LOR writers. If you've had enough conversations, which includes discussing your strengths and weaknesses, you will get a general sense of how they'll write. Once, I was able to get sealed hard copies of my HS guidance counselor's letter for some scholarships that I was applying for. I had an extra and I just put it away in my desk drawer for several years. When I graduated from college, obviously that letter wasn't going to be of good use anymore. So I opened it up. I was, ahem, actually disappointed because the letter had nothing new to add to what I already knew what my guidance counselor thought of me. Ever since, I just checked off that waiver of rights boxes, because, really, if you trust your LOR writer and had honest conversations, there's no real point in *checking up* on them. Most LOR writers, if pushed, can tell you what they will write.

Here's the secret of graduate school: Remember PhD students, especially first years, know just as much as you do! PhD students (usually third year) who are studying for their comps are obviously going to know more because they're actually studying and reading up materials. They have no choice when they wind up spouting information in class from their comp readings. 1st and 2nd years know as much as you do if not in their super specialized area of interest. Remember you all learn from the same required material but you all bring your own background knowledge. I've had 3rd and 4th year PhD students oogle their eyes at me when I talk about my particular topic in depth because THEY wouldn't know this stuff and they found it absolutely fascinating. So when you have your MA topic together and start talking about it, you'll feel amazing. Start thinking about it. Things do get better as long you keep your nose into your own life and treat others simply as colleagues, not competitors. Since your MA is interdisciplinary, make the most of your strongest classes. They will undoubtedly be your best classes and where you can shine. Have a good balance between good and bad classes each semester. First semester is always the worst when you're taking required classes and classes you don't really want to take. Once I got the requirements over with, I was much happier. Also, use the writing center if you need some additional support. Just remember... everyone came to graduate school with fairly... same basic knowledge but everyone has to keep learning. Otherwise, then what's the point of going to graduate school if you aren't going to learn if you already know everything?

Totally get what you mean. I was a MA student in classes full of PhD students. The difference between you and me is that I was using my MA to get into a PhD program. Still! I also came from a very sociable undergrad to... this. I went to a top 10 grad school where the students were competitive an driven at a whole new level. There were times I felt lazy compared to my PhD friends/classmates. I felt like I wasn't good enough. By the end of my first semester, I had a breakdown. I didn't want to give up though but the anxiety was getting the best of me. I also was taking classes that weren't directly in my area of interests (My MA was interdisciplinary). So I wasn't loving it but just trying to get through. In second semester, I got to take 2 classes directly in my area of interest. One of them was mostly masters and senior undergraduates. The other was a mix of MAs and PhDs. I thought, if I can't rock that second class, at least I could with the first one. Guess what? I rocked both because I knew my shit. I still didn't know everything but it was the fact that I was actually passionate about the course materials that raised my self-confidence. PhD students actually started to pay attention to me. Awesome. It's a hard thing but when you're confident in class, people do notice and you'll be more at ease. I will agree to above posters to keep your nose in your own life. People talk but they don't walk. A friend said that she's up until 5 AM doing work. I felt lazy, like I said. Then I realized that she had sleep insomnia and that she didn't have her first class until 1 PM so going to bed at 5 AM and waking up at noon seemed reasonable. Question a remark next time someone says that makes you feel awkward/lazy/bad/stupid. Why? I learned just to ignore a lot of things they say to up one and another and just pay attention if they have any related stuff (a conference coming up, an important source, etc). It's lonely in this sense but you, as a result, will feel more sane and sure of yourself. Your mental health is more important than your need to beat other kids. Realize that a lot of PhD students aren't exactly sociable. You and I have the advantage of having real social skills thanks to our partying schools. I went outside of my department and join a graduate student club on campus where I got to meet people from all across campus at different schools. It was a fun way to relax and have real conversations. Don't worry too much about making friends with your cohort or PhD students- they are there to talk shop and they are your colleagues. Also, it's a good way to take a break from your academic minded peers. Also, look up "Imposter Syndrome." Everyone has that feeling every now and then, even full ranked professors.

Yipes!! This is why I don't want to work in a chemistry lab. Also if you can keep the switched bottles, do so... don't use your bare hands. Chances are, if your labmates didn't use gloves, their fingerprints were all over it.

You have a perfect Q score! Don't ruin it. Juet let that go. If you're really that concern about the AWA section, it might be worth looking into for a re-grading.

@Sparky, that was one of the best rants posts I've seen @OP, How do you identify the most popular kid at school? You've seen Mean Girls, right? No, let's assume that you do watch Glee. You want to be like Finn (or Cady on Mean Girls). You don't want to be anyone else. A) S/he is extremely well known, even by those who hide in the basement (trying to avoid the bullies). B. People look up to them because they know what's going on around the school because they interact with literally everyone. C) They're generally respected by teachers who push them to do better. Let's take it to academia. A) Person is well-known because of her/his involvement in talks, conferences, and residences as fellows when they're on fellowships (look for a comprehensive CV) B. Person is cited quite often because of his or her expertise on the subject (Check your books' footnotes! Who are the most referred?) C) They're respected by senior faculty and peers (Ask your professors who they respect and why!) They have great political influence which will help a lot in the job market and grants (as Sparky noted about the Philosophy professor). It can be difficult when you haven't read enough in the field so hit the library and the Internet. Be cautious though, sometimes they actually make lousy professors/advisers but that's when you talk to graduate students to validate the Rockstar's ability to teach. Recent PhDs will tell you that it's better to have someone who's actually better at teaching than research. It's very difficult to survive academia without a couple of excellent mentors and you just need to seek out people who are will to help you succeed. They are the reasons why I'm back for this cycle and battling again. Sparky made an excellent about subfields. I was in a tricky position, hence, my mixed results. At some schools, they considered me as an Americanist because they solely operate on geography, meaning I was up against 100+ other people for 2-3 spots, just because it's where most of my training has been in even if I expressed interest in Europe or Latin America. Others actually have spots for my thematic subfield but that's just 1 spot (or none at all in a bad year!) and I'll be up against, you know, say 10 people or something. Also, departments can't predict at this time who they'll need for next fall. Last year, Latin Americanists and Early Americanists did great because departments needed new graduate students in those areas. I know of a student who applied to Michigan twice. First year, her application just wasn't that competitive but they liked her. Second year, she was extremely competitive but they didn't need another person in American labor history. You can't predict and that's why Sparky and I (and other veterans) are telling you to apply widely to cover your bases a bit. So, really, you need to prepare yourself emotionally too that you might not have a basket full of acceptances for a variety of reasons, especially department politics. Department politics do hurt the most of all because they affect both the applicant and the professor. They were the culprit of my waitlists and one rejection as the DGS of each school said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with my application and there was nothing I could do to make it better. My advisers at those schools were not happy in their e-mails back to me, meaning that they had fought very hard for me but lost their battles. I was seriously devastated. Like I said, keep your eyes open, be prepared for any possibilities, and just pray a lot. A lot.

Look at my signature for my statistics in terms of admissions. 2007 was just my senior year of undergraduate and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing! 2010 was my second year of my MA program and I limited my list for a particular reason. Stupid mistake but I didn't have enough languages to feel confident to add more schools that would demand German. Both time I had sent in *slightly* messy thesis for writing sample, hence my warning for a very polished sample. My GPA isn't high as yours but I make up for it with extremely strong research, hard work, perseverance, and more importantly, high respect from my professors which 2 of my LOR writers have heavy political clout. You do research on professors' books and CVs. See how they write- is their writing and organization the kind you want to see in your dissertation? See what they've done in terms of books, articles, fellowships, etc. If you can get a hold of a graduate student's CV, you'll see how well the program's doing for that student. You look at job placements. You look at the requirements for PhD. You DO want to find a FIT, whether the program's great or just average. It has been said on these forums that if you wind up in a lower ranking program that's less competitive but starving for students, has money to give away, and a very proactive adviser, you might actually be more productive in that program than in a highly competitive program where the competition between graduate students for funding and adviser's time is cut-throat and it's easy to get distracted by those. Right now, focus on applying to programs that fits your needs and interests. Goodness. DC is great! I spent 2 summers interning there and go back when I have a chance to visit friends and family. There wasn't a time that I didn't feel unsafe. DC's done a lot to clean up the city and now the crime's gotten much lower except in far NE DC but there's nothing up there anyway. Yes, even at 3 AM, DC is hopping and you're actually safer walking on the streets than going down underground on the Metro. I'm sure my uncle still wished that I wouldn't run on Rock Creek Parkway but didn't complain because I've come to his house unscathed. Still. Apply to a couple of MAs anyway if you're really set on going somewhere. PhD programs will be impressed if you can get into a funded MA anyway because it shows that you were very highly qualified to begin with to get competitive funding. As for course credits, in general, PhD programs will allow a semester's worth. Few will do a year. It's worth doing coursework at the PhD institution anyway because you get to know the faculty members you'll need for your committee. So from this perspective, it's worthwhile to do the MA over again in some ways. Also, it shows to PhD programs that you've been "broken in" and are going to be likely to stick around to finish the degree because A) You've gotten to know the unwritten rules of academia, know what it's like to complete a MA thesis and won't mind writing a dissertation, C) Can handle the rigor of graduate school and D) you've proven yourself to be a capable student (not that you aren't anyway). Some professors do actually prefer MA students because they're more mature and trustworthy and don't want to deal with "I-Don't-Know-What-The-Hell-I'm-Supposed-to-Do!!!" students who require TLC to survive. I don't think MY MA hurts me as I've been conversing with potential advisers over the last few weeks because I can really "talk shop" with them about research, graduate school/program, academia, and the like. It also helps to have a "Big Name" to give you some political clout. So choose your MA programs carefully. It varies by PhD programs so it's a hit-or-miss, depending what you've done with your MA degree. My best advice about MA programs is write down 3 goals what you hope to get out of a MA program that will make you a stronger applicant for PhD. If you can't figure out what could potentially be wrong with your application that can't be rectified on your own, then the MA's not worth pursuing. As for sub-field rankings, ignore those. Find those big-wigs as they're likely to influence the quality of training and coursework in their departments.

Let me add to what Sparky said. Gee, Sparky, we've become veterans... do you think we should get Purple Heart or something from AHA? To OP, First of all, change your attitude about the numbers. Once you're in the PhD program, nobody cares. Unless you're surrounded by people who only make a 4.0, your GPA is comparably very high and just right in the barrel. I'm jealous, honestly. Your GRE scores are decent and should at least keep you within reach for departmental funding. Second, you do need to choose ONE geographical field. That means if you pick US history (the most competitive), you should really stick with it. You can switch thematic issues (political to cultural) or time periods (say to 18th century if there's someone doing colonial America), not geography. However, if you're concerned about switching over to Europe, definitely apply to American, they train everyone to deal with both fairly equally, and don't really care. Third, unless you truly are an amazing writer, I would A) polish your most recent research paper (with primary sources!), not your still-working thesis or Put off a year and submit your highly polished, "I need sunglasses" shiny thesis if you feel very strongly about using your thesis. I say this because writing sample is, if not the most important, is one of the top 3 factors in determining admissions. They look for excellent writing, strong use and analysis of primary sources, and originality of the topic and approach. They are all signs of a potential scholar. Fourth, as of your list of schools, I noticed that they all seem to center around mid-Atlantic. Why? Is that your personal preference? I'm also guessing it has to do with your current undergraduate's location. Departments tend to know each other regionally, not so much nationally because of regional conferences. You'll want to do more research to diversify your list a bit more and make sure you're not leaving out any other schools that are going to be great fit. Ivies might not be good fits so don't do it just for prestige. Look all over but use Sparky's suggestions to look up historians who have inspired you and where they got their PhD from, not just where they're currently teaching. In academia, it's about lineage. Fifth, LORs. It's about connections and how well professors think of you as a potential scholar. A big name who's just a professor in the department is better than a little-known name who's the dean. Start making friends with professors now in courses you've done well in and who came from graduate programs that you're interested in applying to, especially for US history. Be warned though, they'll tell you that US historians, along with modern Europeanists, have the worst job market and that either you shouldn't go for PhD just to be in academia, or keep your eyes WIDE open and be open to all possibilities that one can do with a history PhD. (American University and GWU would be excellent for opportunities beyond academia because they have a lot of connection with the government in DC for fantastic research opportunities.) I'm just a little worried about you rushing into all of this as it seems like from the way you wrote your post. As Sparky said, you're welcome to try for PhD this year but if you're determined to go to grad school next fall, apply for funded MA programs.

Unlike the SATs, you don't get a choice. The adcoms will see all the scores. I wouldn't even think to re-take the GRE either because why would you want to ruin a perfect Q?

Honestly, I would choose the professor. That professor has known you for 2 years in a more relevant capacity.

Ask about their research. They love to talk about their research. Keep peppering them with questions. Show interest in the class and make some suggestions for the final paper (if you have one). You should be able to get into an engaging conversation. Try to work with the professor as you go through the steps for the final paper so they get to know how you work/think and give you some guidance... all that equals to better relationship. if you need an icebreaker when you walk in, take a quick look around the room and find something interesting and comment on it.

Honestly, I say leave. Re-apply elsewhere where there are actually faculty members in your area of interests. You'll be happier paying off the loans and be more likely to graduate. I know of a MA student who left my program because she was so unhappy and couldn't justify why she should take out more loans. Now, even in a crappy general job market, she's actually much happier. She'll apply again when she's ready. Humanities rarely have funding. Loans are more likely to be worth it if you're looking to go into PhD.

Let me be blunt here, you haven't taken any Russian language courses. How do you know if you'll like it enough to actually work with it on a regular basis, especially if your job totally depends upon it? If you think you'll really love Russian language and are more concerned about working for the government, I would skip the idea of doing a MA in history and focus on Russian/Eastern European Studies (like the one at Georgetown), which will serve your broad interests better.(i.e. you'll get to take 19th century Lit while doing Soviet history, learn more about the government and economics of Soviet Union, etc.). Even so, these programs do usually require 3rd year Russian, which can be accomplished during a year off by spending a summer or two semesters in intensive Russian language program to zip through the first two years. If you're not sure how much you'll *love* Russian, then go for history MA, so if it doesn't work out, you can back out quickly and switch geographical fields. As JustChill said, you do need to narrow your interests down. You seem to be focused on the military. Make an argument for European military history, specifically 19th century wars involving Russia, and then explain WHY Russia and these specific wars. What trends in these wars interest you? Is it the method of acquiring ports? Is it about the civilians' lives? What big questions do you have? Because you'll need to start thinking about your MA thesis as soon as you get into the program, the adcoms will want to see some kind of research proposal. What do you want to write your MA thesis on? I'm not kidding about this part- my (excellent) graduate adviser asked me in NOVEMBER of my 1st semester in my MA program if I had already thought about my thesis topic. Whatever you do, plan on taking intensive Russian somewhere next summer, if not WVU, to get a good headstart and have undivided attention to learning the language and getting a solid foundation of vocabulary and grammar.

It's more of benchmarking issue for the departments. They want to know how they're going to stand against certain programs. It's true that they know applicants will choose a higher ranked school if possible, but they'd like to try to be prepared with money to lure them away. Smart students do usually follow the money. When I told a prof about my other schools when he asked, he didn't seem to worry even though he probably knew that other schools offered much more opportunities than his program could. But he wasn't concerned- the next thing he said that his program routinely gives out $20,000 stipend/year. The highest of any programs I was applying to. Enough said to make any applicant go there. If the program doesn't have a lot of money, they can say "oh crap." It's about competition and money. So, never be afraid to answer this kind of question. If they don't think they can afford to lure you away, they can gamble by admitting you and see what you do (taking a precious spot from someone else), or just not take the chances and let you go. That's my sense from talking to a couple of programs where professors did ask about my financial need and other schools I was looking at.

If you never talked about your MA or plan to include the degree on your CV, I wouldn't even dream of bringing it up to anyone at your current school. You need to move forward. But I do agree with mudlark if you really need to re-run this data and you have a legit excuse for why you can't right now.

Very much in agreement what's being said. If you interview well and have good social skills (or at least relate to academics), you'll come off positively to potential advisers. They'll be on the lookout for your application. My adviser is certainly urging me to do so and I'm setting up appointments at schools that I can easily visit over the next few months. If the idea of an interview completely freaks you out, just look at it as a chance to network. Even if you don't feel that it went well as you'd like, you learned something about that professor, who may, then be a source of contact for a future project or opportunity. Definitely keep your chin up throughout this process!

How's your TOEFL?

Gosh, I couldn't have met a prof AND taken GRE on the same day! Yes, just 1000 is all you need. I barely passed myself for my MA program. I meant that you'll need to take a proficiency exam for your MA at some point in order to get your MA. Write your SOP however you feel. Your idea of just focusing on Eastern Europe in general and using the MA program to narrow your interests for the PhD is great too. I only suggest focusing on German history if you just don't want to be pressured into taking a proficiency exam in Russian. JustChill, correct me on this if I'm wrong, there isn't that much more of Russian grammar you need to know after two years of Russian (especially first year), so you'll wind up spending more time looking up in the dictionary than taking apart sentences. Here's an idea for Russian- see if you can apply for the Critical Language scholarship offered by the State Department. You'll have to do a year or two of public service if accepted and taken the course (usually taken in Ukraine or Russia, I think). Yes, Eastern Europe is still critical to US interest but not so much as it was during the Cold War (a joke among anyone with Russian language fluency: "Pray for another Cold War so we all can get jobs!").

If you're worried about languages. The way I read the MA requirement for languages: Individual faculty may also require their students to master one or more languages, to demonstrate proficiency in particular research methods (quantitative analysis, paleography, GIS, etc.) or to develop other skills as necessary for their fields of study and dissertation projects. Any courses taken to acquire a language or research skill will not be accepted as part of the 30 hours. You probably should e-mail faculty members of your interest and ask about their expectations. Normally 2 years of French or German will suffice to pass a reading exam with a dictionary. So you may want to frame your interest in the SOP one of the two ways: A) Try to focus more on German history and suggest that you would like to explore German-Soviet relationship (whatever that big picture you're looking at) and would like to use the MA program as an opportunity to dive into this further and learn Russian OR Suggest that your research interests led to you to Russia because of the questions that your projects are raising and you would like to use the opportunity in the MA program to explore this interest in Russian history further and learn Russian. That way, I think, may allow you just take that proficiency exam in German and consider it done at the beginning of your program without feeling too much pressure to pass that Russian exam after 2-4 semesters of Russian ASAP. Really, I would just talk to the faculty members, they're going to want to talk about languages anyway. Usually the second or third big question in a conversation over phone or in-person.

Agreed with what JustChill said. I would consider taking a year off and study Russian in Russia (or Kiev if you can- that's getting popular) to bring up your Russian to speed after this year. It may be a better investment than spending money on a MA. You want to be ready to handle original Russian sources in your first year for readings and research (it can happen, depending on the professor!). That is if you're really sure you want to do Russian history for PhD. Is there a reason why you want to do a MA when your history grades are obviously acceptable?

Here's your first lesson of graduate school: Don't take these lack of responses personally and move on. Just apply anyway and write the SOP to the best of your ability based on what you know about these professors and their departments. You can also guess the likelihood of the professor being able to take on a new student by looking at the graduate students' page if it lists their advisers. 4+ graduate students = don't get too excited, especially if few or none are ABD.