Sigaba

Drift on over when you get the chance...
 
https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/38-history/

Based upon your previous threads about choosing a thesis topic on firstly "Rebutting Ann Coulter" then "Islam & Woman", it sounds like you didn't really know (i) what would make an appropriate thesis topic (ii) how to go about writing a comparative literature thesis (i.e, that it needs to be based off a few pieces of primary literature). You were also changing your mind pretty quickly about what you wanted to write.
 
I can imagine that if your advisor thought you were ill-prepared to write a thesis he might have second thoughts about advising you. 

Yes, with a touch of self-destructiveness (hint: never name names in an open forum) and a generous dose of defensiveness.
Your admission that you're still seeking "a job that doesn't drive [you] crazy and gives [you] the comfort to pay my mortgage, go on vacation (...eventually), and pursue [your] hobbies and interests" suggests that you're no nearer to knowing the answer to the question "What am I going to do with my life?" than when you were in graduate school.
The statement also suggests that you may not be as familiar with the demands of working in the private sector as you would have readers believe. ("Managing a team of technical writers at a Fortune 100 company" is an ambiguous job description.)
Even the most satisfying and lucrative jobs are bedeviling. Home ownership is much more than paying a mortgage -- it is also utilities, insurance, taxes, dealing with neighbors, project management, maintenance, and deferred maintenance. Vacations are more and more deferred and increasingly disrupted by work. Hobbies and interests are hard to maintain as workdays lengthen and workweeks expand. 401k's alone may not earn enough money for one's retirement. And, if you haven't discovered already, a cult of personality in corporate America can be at least as corrosively soul crushing as one in the Ivory Tower--especially if that cult has set up shop in HR. IMO, your overall argument would have been stronger had you bumped that infamous thread with a post in which you outlined the steps you took to remedy what you found wrong in your department during your time at Ohio State.
What committees did you join? How did you seek to remedy bad relationships with professors? Were your experiences actually as commonplace as you allege? What kind of training did you get for going on the job market? Were you a competitive job applicant with knowledge of in-demand fields or did you have the misfortune of specializing in the wrong fields at the wrong time? Do you bear any responsibility for your sour relationships with the professors you named? I also think your comments would be less controversial if you had offered guidance on how to manage expectations and be prepared to pivot.
 

Yes, with a touch of self-destructiveness (hint: never name names in an open forum) and a generous dose of defensiveness.
Your admission that you're still seeking "a job that doesn't drive [you] crazy and gives [you] the comfort to pay my mortgage, go on vacation (...eventually), and pursue [your] hobbies and interests" suggests that you're no nearer to knowing the answer to the question "What am I going to do with my life?" than when you were in graduate school.
The statement also suggests that you may not be as familiar with the demands of working in the private sector as you would have readers believe. ("Managing a team of technical writers at a Fortune 100 company" is an ambiguous job description.)
Even the most satisfying and lucrative jobs are bedeviling. Home ownership is much more than paying a mortgage -- it is also utilities, insurance, taxes, dealing with neighbors, project management, maintenance, and deferred maintenance. Vacations are more and more deferred and increasingly disrupted by work. Hobbies and interests are hard to maintain as workdays lengthen and workweeks expand. 401k's alone may not earn enough money for one's retirement. And, if you haven't discovered already, a cult of personality in corporate America can be at least as corrosively soul crushing as one in the Ivory Tower--especially if that cult has set up shop in HR. IMO, your overall argument would have been stronger had you bumped that infamous thread with a post in which you outlined the steps you took to remedy what you found wrong in your department during your time at Ohio State.
What committees did you join? How did you seek to remedy bad relationships with professors? Were your experiences actually as commonplace as you allege? What kind of training did you get for going on the job market? Were you a competitive job applicant with knowledge of in-demand fields or did you have the misfortune of specializing in the wrong fields at the wrong time? Do you bear any responsibility for your sour relationships with the professors you named? I also think your comments would be less controversial if you had offered guidance on how to manage expectations and be prepared to pivot.
 

Yes, with a touch of self-destructiveness (hint: never name names in an open forum) and a generous dose of defensiveness.
Your admission that you're still seeking "a job that doesn't drive [you] crazy and gives [you] the comfort to pay my mortgage, go on vacation (...eventually), and pursue [your] hobbies and interests" suggests that you're no nearer to knowing the answer to the question "What am I going to do with my life?" than when you were in graduate school.
The statement also suggests that you may not be as familiar with the demands of working in the private sector as you would have readers believe. ("Managing a team of technical writers at a Fortune 100 company" is an ambiguous job description.)
Even the most satisfying and lucrative jobs are bedeviling. Home ownership is much more than paying a mortgage -- it is also utilities, insurance, taxes, dealing with neighbors, project management, maintenance, and deferred maintenance. Vacations are more and more deferred and increasingly disrupted by work. Hobbies and interests are hard to maintain as workdays lengthen and workweeks expand. 401k's alone may not earn enough money for one's retirement. And, if you haven't discovered already, a cult of personality in corporate America can be at least as corrosively soul crushing as one in the Ivory Tower--especially if that cult has set up shop in HR. IMO, your overall argument would have been stronger had you bumped that infamous thread with a post in which you outlined the steps you took to remedy what you found wrong in your department during your time at Ohio State.
What committees did you join? How did you seek to remedy bad relationships with professors? Were your experiences actually as commonplace as you allege? What kind of training did you get for going on the job market? Were you a competitive job applicant with knowledge of in-demand fields or did you have the misfortune of specializing in the wrong fields at the wrong time? Do you bear any responsibility for your sour relationships with the professors you named? I also think your comments would be less controversial if you had offered guidance on how to manage expectations and be prepared to pivot.
 

Congratulations on your admittance to Michigan.
Please be careful with this plan of action. It can be hard to get up to pace from a full resting stop.

I stand by what I said in this post earlier on a closely related topic. In short, you should stay with the original offer because that program has turned applicants down because you had signed a contract verifying that you'd be studying there.
 

Yes, with a touch of self-destructiveness (hint: never name names in an open forum) and a generous dose of defensiveness.
Your admission that you're still seeking "a job that doesn't drive [you] crazy and gives [you] the comfort to pay my mortgage, go on vacation (...eventually), and pursue [your] hobbies and interests" suggests that you're no nearer to knowing the answer to the question "What am I going to do with my life?" than when you were in graduate school.
The statement also suggests that you may not be as familiar with the demands of working in the private sector as you would have readers believe. ("Managing a team of technical writers at a Fortune 100 company" is an ambiguous job description.)
Even the most satisfying and lucrative jobs are bedeviling. Home ownership is much more than paying a mortgage -- it is also utilities, insurance, taxes, dealing with neighbors, project management, maintenance, and deferred maintenance. Vacations are more and more deferred and increasingly disrupted by work. Hobbies and interests are hard to maintain as workdays lengthen and workweeks expand. 401k's alone may not earn enough money for one's retirement. And, if you haven't discovered already, a cult of personality in corporate America can be at least as corrosively soul crushing as one in the Ivory Tower--especially if that cult has set up shop in HR. IMO, your overall argument would have been stronger had you bumped that infamous thread with a post in which you outlined the steps you took to remedy what you found wrong in your department during your time at Ohio State.
What committees did you join? How did you seek to remedy bad relationships with professors? Were your experiences actually as commonplace as you allege? What kind of training did you get for going on the job market? Were you a competitive job applicant with knowledge of in-demand fields or did you have the misfortune of specializing in the wrong fields at the wrong time? Do you bear any responsibility for your sour relationships with the professors you named? I also think your comments would be less controversial if you had offered guidance on how to manage expectations and be prepared to pivot.
 

Yes, with a touch of self-destructiveness (hint: never name names in an open forum) and a generous dose of defensiveness.
Your admission that you're still seeking "a job that doesn't drive [you] crazy and gives [you] the comfort to pay my mortgage, go on vacation (...eventually), and pursue [your] hobbies and interests" suggests that you're no nearer to knowing the answer to the question "What am I going to do with my life?" than when you were in graduate school.
The statement also suggests that you may not be as familiar with the demands of working in the private sector as you would have readers believe. ("Managing a team of technical writers at a Fortune 100 company" is an ambiguous job description.)
Even the most satisfying and lucrative jobs are bedeviling. Home ownership is much more than paying a mortgage -- it is also utilities, insurance, taxes, dealing with neighbors, project management, maintenance, and deferred maintenance. Vacations are more and more deferred and increasingly disrupted by work. Hobbies and interests are hard to maintain as workdays lengthen and workweeks expand. 401k's alone may not earn enough money for one's retirement. And, if you haven't discovered already, a cult of personality in corporate America can be at least as corrosively soul crushing as one in the Ivory Tower--especially if that cult has set up shop in HR. IMO, your overall argument would have been stronger had you bumped that infamous thread with a post in which you outlined the steps you took to remedy what you found wrong in your department during your time at Ohio State.
What committees did you join? How did you seek to remedy bad relationships with professors? Were your experiences actually as commonplace as you allege? What kind of training did you get for going on the job market? Were you a competitive job applicant with knowledge of in-demand fields or did you have the misfortune of specializing in the wrong fields at the wrong time? Do you bear any responsibility for your sour relationships with the professors you named? I also think your comments would be less controversial if you had offered guidance on how to manage expectations and be prepared to pivot.
 

dissertator here (so i've seen several cohorts come and go) and wanted to add something about alt-ac: your department, wherever you end up, will be very ill-prepared to help you transition to alternative jobs or develop skills outside of traditional academic skills. your advisors are people who never had to think about alt-ac; they've most likely been in academia their whole adult lives so even if they mean well, they can't offer you much in preparing for the tremendous likelihood that you will not receive an academic job and will need to pivot and market yourself in a different way '
so basically, you need to be prepared to do your academic work while also developing skills that will make you more marketable in the "real world." i've been developing communications/marketing skills since my first year here through a campus job, which is nice and hopefully will lead to something that can pay the bills after i graduate (i'm one of the suckers who has bought into the sunk-cost fallacy and decided to just finish the phd since i'm already dissertating) but it's also tiring to be seeking out these professional development opportunities on top of normal academic duties 
also, i've seen one person in my program get an R1 job the whole time i've been here. the market is bleak bleak bleak. everyone thinks they will be the exception but that's not how exceptions work. if you're going to enter the phd no matter what, i encourage you to start preparing for alternative employment from day 1 

This whole post comes across as just another form of proselytizing. I am truly sorry that academia disappointed you as it will many others, but please consider that the people here are intelligent enough to question these issues without needing to watch someone sell their brand in a TED talk. 

IMO, yes, you should think this opportunity through very carefully before making a decision.
Can you provide a little more information?
What's the firm's overall workforce culture? Does it have a lot of "lifers" or do most people move on after a few years? Will you be eligible for pay raises based upon merit or cost of living? What does your benefits package look like (generally)? Are you eligible for performance bonuses? Does the company have a national or international presence that would allow you to transfer once or twice? What are the opportunities for career growth/advancement? Does the required commitment translate to a high level of job security? What happens if you get terminated for cause? What happens if you get laid off for circumstances beyond anyone's control? How will the $100k "loan" impact your credit? What's the vibe you get from management? Do you suspect that the $100k would be used to keep you in line if SHTF? You could run the numbers of the $100k as a zero interest loan vs loans with interest rates comparable to what you'd get as a graduate student (4.3% ish). Then figure out how you could invest the money you're not paying in interest. You can also give some thought about the opportunity costs of making regular payments on the loan versus not having that burden.
On top of that, you could figure out a plan to save $100k in three, five, or seven or nine years in the event you want to leave early. For this option--and other back up plans-- you might want to hire a financial planner.
[Were I in your shoes, I would program at least two ten-year budgets by month, if not pay period. One budget would assume accepting the agreement The other budget, would assume taking out loans and ending up at a firm that's a better fit. For both budgets, I'd include assumptions for pay raises, performance bonuses, vacations, and various flavors of discretionary spending. For the latter budget, I'd assume that I was going to change jobs at least once over the ten years after you earn your degree. This assumption would require projecting additional expenses -- job search, retraining, moving expenses, journey to work transportation costs, maybe even additional clothing expenses.]
 

Half tuition is definitely a good scholarship! It looks like (to me at least) most people are typically getting none to a few thousand, so congrats on your offers. No one can tell you what next year looks like, unfortunately. Who knows if there’ll be more or less applicants or funding. If funding is your biggest priority, you should probably go to the cheapest school for you (unless it’s significantly lower in academic quality than others, but I doubt that). But of course, it’s important to consider other things like location, curriculum, and faculty.
For me, funding is a big concern, but I also have a kind of YOLO mindset. Sure, UCLA will be over twice the price if I get into it as opposed to my second choice, and I’ll be sinking myself into a lot of debt, but UCLA has been a dream school in an amazing location and social environment (the sports, arts, etc!), that I think the experience and pride I’ll feel will make it worth it.
However, I still feel like going to a much cheaper, lesser-known school will give me the same set of skills that can ultimately land me the same job as if I went to UCLA. Planning doesn’t really seem to care about where degrees come from (though the location of where your school is can definitely help you work where you want, ie LA). But I think planning degrees overall travel well. And prestige isn’t the end-all — a planning office in CA will probably have everyone from Berkeley to a small state school working at a similar position there.
TL;DR, at least for me, I’m not only going to grad school for a degree, but for the life experience. I’m willing to pay more for that. I’m only going to grad school once in my life. This is NOT advice, let me be clear, but just my personal reasoning for myself. I’d agree with the previous comment - if you just want to get your foot in the door, then a cheaper school will do just fine.

IDK if this standard is realistic. Who among us has not had those moments when we're sure that either we and/or the person who wrote a well received work doesn't know WTF history is about? 
@apotteba, I would suggest that you understand that it's going to take thousands of hours of work to get to the point where you understand history well enough to spend thousands of hours more work to create new knowledge. Along the way, you will face make or break tasks. Throughout, you will be competing for resources, funding, and support against other aspiring historians--some of whom will have been majoring in history since middle school.
IRT your opportunity this summer, I recommend that you visit the websites of highly regarded history departments to see if you can find documents related to the preparation of an undergraduate thesis or honors thesis. (To get you started, here's a link for Happyland University's senior essay.)
When it comes to developing a topic, I recommend that you ask yourself (at least) three questions simultaneously:
What topic/field/area/time period do you want to write about? What primary source materials are available? [I seriously screwed up on this one when I picked my dissertation topic.] What is the state of the historiographical debates?  Understanding these debates is crucial because they will help you develop the specific questions and controversies you want your paper to address. Concurrently, I recommend that you develop reading lists that help you to understand the following questions:
What is history? What is historiography? Why is the study of history important today? [This is a trick question.] What is the "state of the art" of your area[s] of interest? How did the most accomplished and respected practitioners in your fields of interest develop their skills as historians? (@AfricanusCrowther's recommendations are right as rain, this post is meant to serve as a rain jacket.)
At the same time:
Start a journal (analog or digital) in which you start jotting down your questions / thoughts / theories about history. Use the journal to develop your writing skills as a historian. Obtain this style manual .  IRT your stated interests, try to imagine questions and themes that may link them together and from there generate questions and imagine themes that may take you further along the path or towards different paths. (Just spit balling, how about a comparative study of how film was used to alter configurations of power in Russia and Columbia at either the same time or under the same conditions (examples include the efforts of the U.S. to expand its power in the Western Hemisphere and Eastern Europe. 
ETA:
Something to keep in mind, COVID-19 has underscored the extent to which academics and other professionals in the Ivory Tower don't know how to read a balance sheet, much less decipher it. And at the same time, academic history remains a profession in crisis.

How about using your accounting skills to prepare a research paper that is essentially an audit of the AHA?  Your source materials would include the documents available here. You could evaluate the financial performance of the AHA against KPI identified, if not clearly defined, by the association itself. You could also compare the AHA to other professional organizations (history and/or other disciplines). You could also discuss the way the AHA and other organizations have used data the last couple of decades -- do these uses reflect the best practices of professional accountants?
 

IDK if this standard is realistic. Who among us has not had those moments when we're sure that either we and/or the person who wrote a well received work doesn't know WTF history is about? 
@apotteba, I would suggest that you understand that it's going to take thousands of hours of work to get to the point where you understand history well enough to spend thousands of hours more work to create new knowledge. Along the way, you will face make or break tasks. Throughout, you will be competing for resources, funding, and support against other aspiring historians--some of whom will have been majoring in history since middle school.
IRT your opportunity this summer, I recommend that you visit the websites of highly regarded history departments to see if you can find documents related to the preparation of an undergraduate thesis or honors thesis. (To get you started, here's a link for Happyland University's senior essay.)
When it comes to developing a topic, I recommend that you ask yourself (at least) three questions simultaneously:
What topic/field/area/time period do you want to write about? What primary source materials are available? [I seriously screwed up on this one when I picked my dissertation topic.] What is the state of the historiographical debates?  Understanding these debates is crucial because they will help you develop the specific questions and controversies you want your paper to address. Concurrently, I recommend that you develop reading lists that help you to understand the following questions:
What is history? What is historiography? Why is the study of history important today? [This is a trick question.] What is the "state of the art" of your area[s] of interest? How did the most accomplished and respected practitioners in your fields of interest develop their skills as historians? (@AfricanusCrowther's recommendations are right as rain, this post is meant to serve as a rain jacket.)
At the same time:
Start a journal (analog or digital) in which you start jotting down your questions / thoughts / theories about history. Use the journal to develop your writing skills as a historian. Obtain this style manual .  IRT your stated interests, try to imagine questions and themes that may link them together and from there generate questions and imagine themes that may take you further along the path or towards different paths. (Just spit balling, how about a comparative study of how film was used to alter configurations of power in Russia and Columbia at either the same time or under the same conditions (examples include the efforts of the U.S. to expand its power in the Western Hemisphere and Eastern Europe. 
ETA:
Something to keep in mind, COVID-19 has underscored the extent to which academics and other professionals in the Ivory Tower don't know how to read a balance sheet, much less decipher it. And at the same time, academic history remains a profession in crisis.

How about using your accounting skills to prepare a research paper that is essentially an audit of the AHA?  Your source materials would include the documents available here. You could evaluate the financial performance of the AHA against KPI identified, if not clearly defined, by the association itself. You could also compare the AHA to other professional organizations (history and/or other disciplines). You could also discuss the way the AHA and other organizations have used data the last couple of decades -- do these uses reflect the best practices of professional accountants?
 

IDK if this standard is realistic. Who among us has not had those moments when we're sure that either we and/or the person who wrote a well received work doesn't know WTF history is about? 
@apotteba, I would suggest that you understand that it's going to take thousands of hours of work to get to the point where you understand history well enough to spend thousands of hours more work to create new knowledge. Along the way, you will face make or break tasks. Throughout, you will be competing for resources, funding, and support against other aspiring historians--some of whom will have been majoring in history since middle school.
IRT your opportunity this summer, I recommend that you visit the websites of highly regarded history departments to see if you can find documents related to the preparation of an undergraduate thesis or honors thesis. (To get you started, here's a link for Happyland University's senior essay.)
When it comes to developing a topic, I recommend that you ask yourself (at least) three questions simultaneously:
What topic/field/area/time period do you want to write about? What primary source materials are available? [I seriously screwed up on this one when I picked my dissertation topic.] What is the state of the historiographical debates?  Understanding these debates is crucial because they will help you develop the specific questions and controversies you want your paper to address. Concurrently, I recommend that you develop reading lists that help you to understand the following questions:
What is history? What is historiography? Why is the study of history important today? [This is a trick question.] What is the "state of the art" of your area[s] of interest? How did the most accomplished and respected practitioners in your fields of interest develop their skills as historians? (@AfricanusCrowther's recommendations are right as rain, this post is meant to serve as a rain jacket.)
At the same time:
Start a journal (analog or digital) in which you start jotting down your questions / thoughts / theories about history. Use the journal to develop your writing skills as a historian. Obtain this style manual .  IRT your stated interests, try to imagine questions and themes that may link them together and from there generate questions and imagine themes that may take you further along the path or towards different paths. (Just spit balling, how about a comparative study of how film was used to alter configurations of power in Russia and Columbia at either the same time or under the same conditions (examples include the efforts of the U.S. to expand its power in the Western Hemisphere and Eastern Europe. 
ETA:
Something to keep in mind, COVID-19 has underscored the extent to which academics and other professionals in the Ivory Tower don't know how to read a balance sheet, much less decipher it. And at the same time, academic history remains a profession in crisis.

How about using your accounting skills to prepare a research paper that is essentially an audit of the AHA?  Your source materials would include the documents available here. You could evaluate the financial performance of the AHA against KPI identified, if not clearly defined, by the association itself. You could also compare the AHA to other professional organizations (history and/or other disciplines). You could also discuss the way the AHA and other organizations have used data the last couple of decades -- do these uses reflect the best practices of professional accountants?
 

I'm not sure what licensure laws were like whenever that person got licensed, so I can't speak to that. However, nowadays, people can practice as a clinician with a master's level license in counseling, marriage and family therapy, or social work, but they cannot be licensed as psychologists. Some states have grandfathered in master's level psychologists (like Pennsylvania), but only those who got licensed prior to a certain date are eligible for that. Other states, like Texas, have licensed psychological associates, but they often have less practical freedom than licensed counselors. 
Psychology licensure is specifically for those graduating from a clinical psychology, counseling psychology, or school psychology (in some states) PhD or PsyD (some states EdD is acceptable as well). A PhD in Educational Psychology does not lead to licensure because it is not a clinical degree. It's a purely academic degree, just like a PhD in sociology or anthropology or any other social science. Clinical degrees require several years of supervised clinical practice, followed by a full year off-site clinical internship prior to graduation and postdoctoral clinical training hours in most states prior to licensure eligibility, along with passing a national licensing exam. That is not built into an Educational Psychology curriculum. 

I feel for you as I myself got a BA in something completely unrelated. I just got admitted to a History PhD program this cycle after getting a terminal MA.
Have you had any chance to get to know any professors in history? I think I was able to get into an MA program because I took a history course during my final year of undergrad where I was able to produce a reasonable research paper (I also got a LoR from the professor) and build a case for myself. I also did not do an MA in history but a closely related interdisciplinary MA where I was advised by a professor in the history department. I figured it's best for me to get into an interdisciplinary program with good reputation utilizing my other strong features to cover up my lack of focus on history and build my history-related experience from there. I got to work with history professors during my MA and was able to get LoRs from them.
It would be great if there are any instructors who can guide you through writing a research paper in history during the summer institute. You'll need to have a strong writing sample to apply anyway.
My opinion on unfunded/ partially funded MA programs is a bit different from others in this forum. I went into a program with no funding promised, but I knew the program had multiple big funding opportunities and ended up spending much less than I expected. (I am also an international student, so it's extremely hard to get a funded MA offer) Overall, I got what I wanted out of the program: got a degree from a top-tier school and strong LoRs alongside strong research experience, which helped me get into a fully-funded doctoral program. But it was only worth it because I had a clear goal going into the program. I agree with @AfricanusCrowther on how you should know what academic history is about before you start your MA program. I am not encouraging you to take on a debt, but I just wanted to share my experience.
 
 

Can you provide additional information about what this "summer research institute" will entail?
You have your work cut out for you. Most people will think that the ship has sailed. IMHO, the most important thing you can do right now is figure out what sorts of questions historians answer, what kinds of claims they make, and how they use evidence to support their claims. Being an academic means contributing to the production of historical knowledge and pushing debates within the field. Read academic history journals (I'd start with the American Historical Review, the Hispanic American Historical Review, and maybe other journals related to your interests in economics and film). Read The Craft of Research. Read an introduction to contemporary historical thought, like Sara Maza's Thinking About History. Then try to write research papers that replicate what you see in a smaller scale. If none of your classes assigns a research paper, ask one of your professors if you can write one as an optional assignment.
Part of this work will be learning that history is a massive field that comprises an overwhelming number of methodologies and theoretical approaches. If you wish to pursue history on the graduate level, you will need to identify which methods and theories inspire you the most and are most helpful for answering your burning questions about history and historiography.
Only when you really understand what academic history is about -- the language that it speaks, the knowledge that it creates, its terms of argumentation -- should you consider master's programs. And you should look for a program where tuition is free. Don't take on debt.
The problem with academic history as a profession is not the "pay," but the scarce supply of good jobs.

Thank you! I have indeed asked for the parameters, was answered kindly. It was basically a 15 minute conversation. Not really sure how it went, I forgot a ton of words but managed to keep up with the conversation. I'm supposed to be notified soon if I had been accepted to the program, and I heard that they sometimes actually give feedback if you hadn't been accepted, we'll see.

Black Women in STEM on Twitter may be of interest. Maybe also Blk + In Grad School and the accounts listed here.
Also, one can not go wrong reading posts by juilletmercredi, a moderator on this BB, especially this one. 

If you use this tactic, it is crucial for you to understand which works your examiners feel fall into the category of essential / must read / "ignore at one's peril." And even then, @ashiepoo72's guidance is great.
Keep in mind that quals are not just for your professional development, they are also a ritual designed to make you suffer. Do what you can to focus on the former and to compartmentalize the latter.
If you've not done so already, try to talk to ABD's who have taken their exams with members of your committee. They can offer great insights. Also, if members of your committee have copies of previous exams for their undergraduate courses on file at a library, give some thought to giving them a look.

Late to the dance. In circumstances like this one, I recommend asking about the parameters of the exam rather than the purpose.
IME weirdness and anxiety can combine to set the stage for asking questions about purpose with an odd tone.
Conversely, questions about parameters of a task provide opportunities to appear calm and engaged and to receive information that can be used to answer the "why" question. 

@AP@dr. telkanuru@Sigaba@OHSP@Tigla
As promised, I have returned. I was accepted at four schools, got in off the waitlist at one, and rejected by five. I chose to accept the offer of a school that was not my first choice, because I quickly built strong rapport with the people there and discovered that they might actually fit better in terms of my interests, temperament, and future goals.
Thank you for all the help and support that you have shown me during this application season. 

@Jeffster--

My conclusion is based upon using the search function for less than a minute and finding several threads that answer the questions asked in the OP. That is, in less time than it took the OP to type up the questions, the member could have found previously offered guidance.

I understand that many newer members of this BB would like to think that the challenges they face are new, that their questions are unique, and that their insights are novel. This attitude undermines the effectiveness of the BB because it encourages newer members to start new threads rather than to build upon existing ones.

In regards to your characterization of my "hijacking" the thread, you have again demonstrated an inability to read carefully. The OP specifically asked for "age related' advice which my reply offered.