Sigaba

https://housing.ucla.edu/student-housing/graduate-students-and-students-with-families/single-graduate-students/weyburn-terrace-apartments

@vesperalvioletta before negotiating, double check to make sure that you can work a part-time job and still be eligible for the stipend. Also, unless you receive a regular pay check from your part time job, you're earning wages. The distinction is especially important for a graduate student in your situation. Were good ole, @TakeruK still a regular poster, your OP would likely re-spark a long running discussion over different ways graduate students can view the work they do as assistants. As he's not here, you might profit from reading some of the discussions he's participated on over the matter. When you project the costs and benefits of each position, please make sure that you take into account the "suck factor" of each as well as any hidden costs--like a substantially more stringent dress code, or the time it will take you to decompress from work, and so on. #HTH

More prestigious schools have the "pick of the litter" of applicants. In many cases, graduate students at prestigious schools are competing against / collaborating with others who were also the pick of the litter. In some cases, applicants have been benefitting from this dynamic since prep school. Also, a newly hired Ivy Leaguer brings prestige to her new department, school, and parent institution, which helps with getting a "better" pool of undergraduate and graduate applicants and donations from alumni. Consequently, newly minted Ph.D.s from prestigious schools have a quintuple advantage -- support, training, name recognition (as an applicant), peer group, and name recognition (as a hire). For those of us who will never get academic jobs, it kind of stinks, but if we'd gotten into Happyland University, would we be as upset?

I recommend that you focus on being "in the moment" of your first year of graduate school, at least for the fall term. If you focus on getting a sense of the debates driving the historiography of your fields of interest, you will probably start to see certain names (rarely to frequently). From there, you may find intellects that you're drawn to (and repelled by) as well as styles and approaches to the past that resonate. After that, during the spring term, you might start digging deeper into the backgrounds of the historians that piqued your interest. I urge you to be patient and deliberative your first term--if not the entire year. Your immediate tasks (preparing for the comprehensive exam, your coursework, and the language requirements) should be at least as important to you as getting your ducks in a row to apply for doctoral programs. An emphasis on the immediate tasks will help you develop your skills. In turn, your developing skills will help you to figure out how to assess the merits of doctoral programs and potential advisors.

Try searching around there ==> https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/32-engineering/

@gordian5668, given the specifics of your circumstances, I recommend that you look into the on-line MA program. Check to see if the instructors will be able to help with your development and are motivated. I also recommend that you make sure that you understand the full benefits of your new position. What is your access to the school's library system (databases, ILL, archival sources)? Can you enroll /audit classes on-campus and adjust your work schedule so that you can attend? Do you have opportunities for an alternative work schedule that would provide additional opportunities for attending classes at another campus? What kind of campus-related activities (departmental mixers, lectures, and what not) could you attend? You could also reach out to the person who supervised your undergraduate thesis. Explain your objectives and ask for feedback on your plans to revise it so that it can serve as a writing sample down the line. (Note, I am suggesting here that you develop the plans before initiating the conversation.) FWIW, I don't know if I agree that you should wait a year or two before applying to graduate school if going to graduate school is something you really want to do -- it sounds like you have the kind of job in which one sees the years fly by.

When you talk and ask about funding, be subtle. Questions like Do you know of any opportunities to secure funding for travel? will get you more traction than a comment/request that comes across as "I need $500, gimmee."

The way it was explained to me is that a thesis is a more comprehensive work than a report but that over time the difference between the two is diminishing in terms of perceived value. FWIW, my report was a revision and expansion of a research paper. The report ended up being about 19k words of text with around 210 footnotes--I was told that it was long for a report. For your specific situation, I suggest that you make a choice based upon the requirements of each option and what you plan to do with a master's degree, how a report or thesis supports that plan, and the relative prestige of each option The prestige can be gauged by what your current professors recommend and which option was pursued more often by academics and graduate students at your destination of choice.

Welcome to the Grad Cafe. As it happens, your situation is not unique. https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/14637-addressing-seeming-lack-of-focus-in-sop/ Arguably the best poster in the history of this BB walked a similar path.

The arrival of code-writing AIs and ASIs will likely change the pay scale of OP's industry. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1703.05698.pdf

As you develop your go/no go criteria, see if you can expand the opportunity by getting in a day or two earlier and visiting people/places that are relevant to your personal and academic interests. Simultaneously, see if you have within reach similar opportunities closer to home. Or if the funds could be used in ways that are more likely to improve your standing as an applicant--visiting campuses, buying GRE study aids, buying books/resources, earmarking the funds to pay for applications, and so on.

I suggest that you stay on your current path to earn a MS in CS. If you're required to do an outside field, look into taking two graduate-level history classes: a reading seminar and a research class. Ideally, the history classes will allow for some overlap with CS. If you're not required to do an outside field, try to find a way to specialize in CS as it may relate to the craft of history. Either way, work on developing relationships with professors in your current program so that you can earn strong letters of recommendation. If you apply to a graduate history program with a MS in CS, do seek admission as a doctoral student. (You'll likely be required to earn a master's one way or another before reaching candidacy) For your outside field, do more CS work. For your language requirements, if you're an Americanist, see if you can get a computer language to count as one of your two slots. If you want to make money, find a niche in which you can bridge the gap among boosters of "disruptive" technology, venture capitalists, and municipalities. There's a lot of snake oil being sold out there right now. You can make a good living by selling more oil, or venom, or anti-venom.

Best of luck in your academic endeavors.

I recommend that you see what you can do about improving your relationship with your current advisors. Bad chemistry doesn't automatically mean that both will respond to your request for a LOR unprofessionally. (FWIW, there are a few threads on this BB with posts centered around ways to get a sense if someone is going to write a strong, tepid, or weak LOR.) Simultaneously, continue to develop your relationships with the associate professors who've provided various levels of support. Do the best you can to think/act as if the destination is the journey--as if you could take or leave a LOR were one offered. Concurrently, circle back to the professors who supported your application into your M.A. program. I don't think that you should ask any of them for a LOR except as a measure of absolute last resort. I am making this suggestion so you will have the opportunity to interact with people don't act like a-holes. (And also, once they get wind of your situation, they may offer timely guidance. Finally, I recommend that you do all you can to avoid going down the path of comparing your supervisors to what you'd prefer or what others are experiencing. What's happening to you stinks. While it is vitally important to accept the legitimacy of your feelings, those feelings could potentially keep you from having the best revenge of all -- living well. Whatever path you decide to walk and wherever it leads you, please come back from time to time to let everyone know how things are going.

FWIW, in my experience, a combination of two apps, a pass, on-line shopping accounts, and the selective use of TNCs, make vehicle ownership unnecessary. If you go to Southern Cal, you'll have access to enough options to get you where you want to go soon enough--sometimes almost as fast as you would if you were to drive.

I recommend that you take a careful look at your writing. Your word choice and tone may be sending a different message than you intend. As an example, the following sentence is potentially problematic. " I want to pursue a PhD to create a career for myself in these fields that would be both personally fulfilling and hopefully make a positive contribution to the scientific community." As written, you're (unintentionally) suggesting that your sense of personal fulfillment is more important to you than the needs of the community you want to join, or the professional goals of your future peers. if your statement is taken at face value, a reader may conclude that you're dedicated but not committed to scientific inquiry. If your statement is filtered through the prism of skepticism, a reader may conclude that you're not that dedicated at all. With a slight tweak, you could make the same point but with less wiggle room for readers to lose focus on what you want to do. I have in mind something along the lines of "I want to earn a doctorate so that I can make contributions to the field of x, y, and z by doing 1, 2, 3, 4, ...., and n." <== A revision along the lines of the preceding sentence would allow you to demonstrate that you understand clearly the contributions you want to make to a community that you respect, value, and would be honored to join. Another area of investigation may center around social and cultural differences between you, as a non traditional student, and the people evaluating your application materials. The Ivory Tower is in many ways a cookie cutter world in which those with power seek to replicate themselves and are more comfortable with the familiar. At all times, you should be who you want to be. At the same time, we live in an age in which perception is the preferred reality. Are there ways that you can square the circle by finding the sweet spots that allow you to be yourself in ways that are more relatable to others who are unlike you while still being authentic?

Maybe try looking at it from the other end. Imagine what you would want to do with the knowledge you would acquire in graduate school then work backwards to develop a path from there to where you are now.

https://www.carryology.com/buyers-guide/ https://www.youtube.com/user/chasereeves

Welcome to the Grad Cafe! Everyone who has been here for a while has written plenty of posts that fall into that category. (Except me, of course. #denial.?) Ideally, you won't let a rocky start get in the way of using this BB's resources to find information relevant to your situation. Along the way, you'll encounter posts by active and inactive members who are traveling/have traveled similar paths to graduate school. You'll also find myriad examples of how to say what you want in an academic environment--sometimes with a little swagger, sometimes with a little salt.

If this statement accurately reflects your level of expertise, your GPA will not matter because your other application materials will reflect your skills. However, the statement itself is controversial. It implies that you think that know more the debates than established scholars who are participating in those debates. In combination with your proposed disclosure of your mental illness, the continued stigma surrounding mental illness in the Ivory Tower, and the unknowable experiences of departments to which you may apply, your self assessments of your skills may all combine to make you a less competitive candidate than you actually are. IME, established academics do not discourage undergraduates, aspiring graduate students, and graduate students from thinking that they're the bees' knees. Instead, they frequently give a slight nod, take a step back, and let the dynamic take its course.

If you're going to live in an area that is humid, double paned windows may also help to prevent the spread of mold/mildew in your residence. IRT utilities, I recommend trying to get a sense of the costs assuming residency by calendar year rather than academic year. It's easy enough to say "I'll just open a window when it's hot and put on extra layers when it's cold" on a nice day. However, when you're going through the day to day perpetually soul crushing grind, er, always enriching experience of graduate school, it can become ever easier to say "When I get home, I'm going to relax like it's the summer/winter of 74."

Honor: "I will bear true faith and allegiance ..." Accordingly, we will: Conduct ourselves in the highest ethical manner in all relationships with peers, superiors and subordinates; Be honest and truthful in our dealings with each other, and with those outside the Navy; Be willing to make honest recommendations and accept those of junior personnel; Encourage new ideas and deliver the bad news, even when it is unpopular; Abide by an uncompromising code of integrity, taking responsibility for our actions and keeping our word; Fulfill or exceed our legal and ethical responsibilities in our public and personal lives twenty-four hours a day. Illegal or improper behavior or even the appearance of such behavior will not be tolerated. We are accountable for our professional and personal behavior. We will be mindful of the privilege to serve our fellow Americans. Courage: "I will support and defend ..." Accordingly, we will have: courage to meet the demands of our profession and the mission when it is hazardous, demanding, or otherwise difficult; Make decisions in the best interest of the navy and the nation, without regard to personal consequences; Meet these challenges while adhering to a higher standard of personal conduct and decency; Be loyal to our nation, ensuring the resources entrusted to us are used in an honest, careful, and efficient way. Courage is the value that gives us the moral and mental strength to do what is right, even in the face of personal or professional adversity. Commitment: "I will obey the orders ..." Accordingly, we will: Demand respect up and down the chain of command; Care for the safety, professional, personal and spiritual well-being of our people; Show respect toward all people without regard to race, religion, or gender; Treat each individual with human dignity; Be committed to positive change and constant improvement; Exhibit the highest degree of moral character, technical excellence, quality and competence in what we have been trained to do. The day-to-day duty of every Navy man and woman is to work together as a team to improve the quality of our work, our people and ourselves. These are the CORE VALUES of the United States Navy. https://www.navy.mil/navydata/nav_legacy.asp?id=193

FWIW, my thought is that for each student, there's a sweet spot between taking effective notes for class (if not for each class) and preparing for qualifying exams. And by preparing, I mean writing coherently while thinking deeply. (And if one is going to write one's exams by hand rather than using a computer, writing quickly and legibly.) If you're already good to very good at taking notes, I recommend doing all you can to avoid reaching the conclusion that taking notes is of limited to no value in graduate school. With no disrespect to @telkanuru, You may find yourself working for a professor as a teaching assistant in class where most of the grading is based upon tests that draw almost exclusively from the lectures. You may find yourself taking graduate classes in the history department or in your outside field that do have written, in class exams. You may find yourself in an archive where you cannot bring anything but paper and pencil. You may find yourself attending lectures or job talks where a lot of information is being shared but you don't realize until much later how useful the information is. You may find yourself working in the private sector and the ability to take notes like a historian adds value to project work. If you find yourself in any of these situations and a very perishable skill has deteriorated due to lack of use or indifference, you can have FML moments that are avoidable. (Or so I've heard.) Also, if you ever study under professors who are phenomenal lecturers and you get to see their notes, it may very well be that they're using notes they took when they were graduate students themselves. Penultimately, I've come to the conclusion that some very accomplished senior historians have, through the course of their careers, published articles that are informed by their graduate course work. How would such work be possible without good notes? Finally, I think that every aspiring academic historian should assume that one is going to do work vital to her field and, some day, will bequeath one's papers, notes, and letters to a research library. So taking good notes is an opportunity to serve the profession. #$0.02.

AMPAD computation notebook really grips the pen. (But beware if you use a pencil with a soft lead...) If you're going to take serious notes, try to get everything. There's a chance that you're hearing lectures that were written ages ago and you won't realize it until down the line and you do very deep background research on the professor offering the class.

IMO, coursework should be subordinate to preparing for qualifying exams, not the other way around.