Katzenmusik

To quote the Big Lebowski, nothing is F-ed here. It will be okay. Next semester, take only four classes (which I'm assuming is the norm?)--five classes plus a load of work/activities outside of class is a bit demanding, and you will likely do better if you focus on quality, not quantity. Do NOT transfer to an easier school, as the quality and rigor of your undergrad institution will be taken into account by graduate adcoms. And don't worry--you are not failing, you're just getting B's! It's the junior and senior years that count the most, as well as your courses in-major. Think calm thoughts and do the best you can!

Netflix, cans of chili/boxes of mac-and-cheese, a bicycle and library books. Staying busy and keeping out of bars!

I just started a seasonal position at a historic site!! It is really cool, low-stress and fun. I can pay the bills and don't have to worry about a thing. Plus I only work 3 or 4 days a week, so I have plenty of free time! My main goal is to make a short film! I haven't had time for such creative projects in years. In addition I want to do a bit of traveling--maybe some camping and hiking! This will be an idyllic summer. No stressful job, grad school all figured out... I'm pumped!

Hello! English BA degree-holder here. In general, I'm not sure English is the best degree if money is primarily what you're after. That said, it is a flexible liberal arts degree. A BA in English should signify that you are a good/clear writer and analytical thinker. There are a range of decent and interesting career choices available to English majors without a graduate degree: the nonprofit world (grant writing, etc.), journalism (not many jobs available but very cool if you can get in the door and avoid being laid off), teaching English abroad or domestically, communications/marketing, etc. Publishing is also pretty cool, but as with journalism, it is an industry in trouble. I would suggest taking a year or two to find a job with your English BA degree. Then think hard about whether or not graduate school is really what you want or need. It takes a lot of effort to apply, get in and stay in, so it's worth thinking hard about and not just doing on a whim! Your graduate school options do remain open. The English degree leads most directly to literature or film/media graduate programs, which typically are geared toward grooming future academics and professors. A degree in English won't necessarily hold you back if you want to go into sociology, history, or most humanities subjects, though you might have to work harder in your application to make a case for the relevancy of your undergrad studies. And plenty of English majors go the law or business route or maybe get a library sciences degree.

No, that is not necessarily bad. I got the same answer once (over the phone), and it turned out I was accepted (over the internet).

Haha, don't worry breakfast--I'm carefully considering it from every angle, not solely relying on strangers in internet forums, though I do appreciate their input. :-) My thought process, for anyone else who is weighing a similar choice (there seem to be a lot of us)! 1. The more I started to think about this concept of debt, the more it frightened me. I like to live on the cheap, with the freedom and flexibility to not have a high-paying job. Paying off massive loans would put a crimp in that. 2. I got an opinion from an American history professor at a top program (friend of a friend), and he totally respects the funded MA school and actually recommended that I go there. Two PhD students in his department first went through this MA. There are highly-regarded professors at the school. 3. I applied this cycle without ANY experience in the history field. No research writing sample to send, no well-known history professors recommending me, minimal history courses on my transcript. I thought I would be rejected from EVERYWHERE. The fact that I did relatively well (and was even accepted to one PhD program!) gives me hope that, after the experience of an MA, I could swing myself up by the bootstraps into a PhD program that I am excited about. And if not, at least I won't owe a dime. 4. Very positive vibe from faculty and other students that I'm not quite getting from the more expensive MA programs.

I agree with the others here. You've worked hard for acceptance--are you really willing to give it up so quickly, after sitting in on one law school class? You were about to commit to something huge, a PhD program in a field with certain pros and cons. It is natural to feel conflicted when you have an acceptance in hand and reality sets in. (I myself sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, panicking about the fact that I've applied to history programs and not MFAs in filmmaking, so I kind of get it...) But you clearly reflected on this choice for at least a year or two, and in calmer moments your past self determined that this was, in fact, the right path. Maybe give yourself a year to thoughtfully reflect on the situation (and better prepare yourself for the LSAT and other components of law school admissions, if you do decide to go). Attend the Media Studies program for a year. If you do hate it, at least you'll know for sure and won't regret the decision to change paths. You have little to lose by waiting a year. It's also worth considering that with a PhD, you could be the change you want to see in the Media Studies world--developing innovative, practical applications for the work, etc.

I would definitely go with Ole Miss. You don't need such massive debt from your master's degree! You're just getting started in life, and New School debt would be an anchor pulling you down from the very beginning. (Imagine having to turn down an awesome job because it doesn't pay enough to cover your student loans.) Likely you can get a part-time job while at Ole Miss to actually pay rent. I myself hail from the Deep South and have heard that "intellectual wasteland" jive many times from people who actually have little experience with the region. A place is what YOU make of it!

Go for the top program in your field! If I were in your place and turned down my top school, I would always secretly feel just a bit resentful about it. In the long run, this may be healthier for your relationship.

Yes! I've been to several. The most valuable part was the opportunity to talk with current students, off-the-record, about their experience in the program. You'll learn useful things you might not necessarily learn from the faculty or the department web site. Also I enjoyed meeting faculty in person and the opportunity to sit in on a few classes. My visits are definitely influencing my decision.

Yeah, I'm still waiting to hear back from one MA program. I have basically already decided against it. After weeks of exciting campus visits and emailing faculty/students at other good programs that accepted me, I'm just not invested in the late-notifier anymore!

This advice is helpful to me as well, as I am in the same exact situation!! I did not study history as an undergrad, so I applied mostly to MAs. To my own surprise, I was accepted to a PhD program, where I am now under serious consideration for a fellowship. In addition, I was accepted to a funded MA. Wow! Both of the programs I'm considering are of equal rank and reputation--not elite or top 30 (for what the rankings are worth), but reputable and respected, with great faculty in my field. As of right now, I think I'm going to do the MA, see if this history track is really for me and better define my own interests, then do another round of PhD applications down the line. The MA will open some doors and really help me figure out where I want to go with this. Meanwhile the PhD is a huge commitment that I'm not 100% sure I'm ready to undertake, being completely new to the history field.

Deleted post -- I re-read your post and realized my comment was not actually responding to your question!

Thanks, breakfast. I have been obsessively reading internet sources on this topic, and my decision was A LOT easier before I visited one expensive MA program and fell in love with the school a bit. But you are very right. I need to go with the funding, and actually the faculty at the funded program have been WAY more welcoming and interested in me as a person. It seems like it's best to study for a few years in a place where people care enough about you to fund you rather than take your money to fund someone else. I consciously TRY not to put stock in names and rankings and all that jazz but for whatever reason it is difficult to erase the association of Ivies and other elite schools with quality. I do appreciate your reality check and reminder that at some level it's just sort of silly. The faculty at all the schools I am considering are excellent. Thanks again to everyone who responded with advice!!

Hi everyone!! Thank you so very much for your range of responses to my query! I still am a bit undecided, and in the meantime have been admitted to yet another unfunded Ivy League history MA program! It's great to have these options, but I'm running myself a bit ragged with visits, emails, etc., all the while trying to figure out how selective these MA programs actually even are! (Is it a big deal that I have been admitted, or do they accept everyone who seems reasonable?) My goal is to actually go into the public history field while leaving the door open to a PhD down the line!

Hi everybody! I applied to way too many history programs--mostly MAs as I did not major in History as an undergrad--and I am still waiting to hear back from half of them! Here are my range of positive results thus far: 1. Accepted to one middle-tier/non-prestigious PhD program - seems like I will NOT be offered funding (this has not been 100% confirmed yet but is my hunch). 2. Accepted to one Ivy League MA program which is offering 50% off tuition. 3. Accepted to a second Ivy League MA program which is NOT offering any funding but is only one year long, as opposed to the usual two years (making it the same price, essentially, as #2). 4. Strong interest shown from one mid-tier/non-prestigious MA program that WOULD offer full funding if I were admitted. 5. Admitted to unknown/very non-prestigious MA program which did not even respond to my emailed questions and is essentially off the table now. The MA programs I am still waiting to hear back from will likely not fund me if I am admitted. The possibility exists, but I am not counting on it. Initially I was strongly in favor of option #4, as I have always heard that one should avoid debt at all costs for a history degree, and while #4 is not name-brand, it is reputable and the professors are great. However, perhaps at heart I am an elitist--I know it's wrong and very cash-cow-ish but I can't help thinking I should go to one of the Ivies I was admitted to, especially if I want to do a PhD later. In fact I discussed this a bit with some of the other prospective students for program #4 and they were amazed that I would turn down an Ivy to go there. They said it would be great to get to know certain Ivy League professors and have an "in," and that the chances I would be admitted to a top PhD program down the line would be greatly enhanced. So what do you think? Take a financial hit in preparation for a PhD application in a few years? Or minimize debt and hope my work speaks for itself?

I'd say it's okay to bring notes as long as they are not obtrusive or obvious--you wouldn't want to look like you were reading directly from prepared remarks. If you bring a copy of your resume, a notebook or other paperwork, you could put the notes in there, just to jog your own memory during the interview.

Oh my gosh. That is just completely thoughtless. Why not just send one ApplyYourself link to everyone, then from there give the accepted students a further link to matriculation info? Sorry that happened to you.

ROUND ONE: Limbo! This is an effortless way screen out large number of applicants. ROUND TWO: The ad coms do not review application materials, but rather use them to create paper maiche pinatas. A select few pinatas are filled with confetti & candy, signifying admission. The others are filled with ashes and tears. Applicants are gathered and told to start bashing. ROUND THREE: Pin the tail on the fellowship paperwork!

How are you defining "useful"? What implication, if any, should we draw from these most/least useful rankings? I would argue that a plurality of disciplines is essential. You could perhaps say that, oh, maybe med school is the most "useful." But does that mean everyone who wants to be useful should become a doctor? Isn't it actually preferable for us to have a diverse group of individuals in our society--historians, lute players, biologists and so on--to address our varying human needs?

I hate the whole GRE system, but I must say the Princeton Review really helped. I used it as my sole way to prepare for the GRE aside from taking one POWERPREP practice test (free from ETS). From the practice test to the real thing I improved by 100 points, from 1300 to 1400. The book was worth it. Did you take practice tests before the real thing to see where you stood? If not, you never know--it's possible that you would have done worse without the Princeton Review practice. It isn't really fair to blame the book!

I've handled this by convincing myself I'm not going to get in anywhere and coming up with fun Plan Bs. This approach may have backfired, though. My Plan Bs seem kind of exciting. Do I really even WANT to go to grad school?

The drawback that immediately comes to mind is that they might offer you a less competitive funding package.

I say pay off a few grand in loans but keep the bulk of your savings. The savings give you a bit of freedom and protection in life. And you don't want to have something drastically bad happen, need money, and be forced to take out a loan or credit cards at a much higher interest rate!