Hello everyone, new member here. I am toying with the notion of applying to a phd program next fall (I was going the law school route until a month ago when I got my LSAT results!), and was wondering what kind of backgrounds you guys have. I guess the underlying question is 'do I have a chance!' in this seemingly ubercompetitive world!
So, I'll go first! I graduated from San Diego State University in 2000 with a BA in History, 3.8 average in the major and 3.5 overall. My senior thesis' general theme was the real estate development and boosterism of San Diego County (I tried to prove through census records that the boosterism campaigns of a certain individual did, in fact, bring people to San Diego). I had a great time writing it and was one of the highest graded papers in the class. I was named the top undergraduate for that year and was cum laude, and graduated 'with distinction'. (All of this is with a grain of salt since I went to SDSU!). I am a Phi Alpha Theta member and presented this thesis at their regional meeting that year. I still have an excellent professor who will write me a stunningly good LOC, or so I hope. hehe
Anyway, after I graduated, I abandoned the idea of teaching high school (which was why I initially got into the history major) and went to work in commercial real estate - I have been in that world world ever since - 10 years. I have been the regional research director/manager at a few of the large firms, which involves a lot of work in statistics, market trends, writing analyses, etc. I have also done some continuing education work and am a candidate for a CCIM designation, which is very important in our industry.
So, all that said, with all the time between graduation and my application (2011), my lack of recent work directly IN history (though my career has prepped me for what I want to study - history of real estate, development, urbanization, etc), my alma mater's less than stellar reputation, etc.....what kind of schools should I be shooting for? I will likely apply to all the UCs (I am a CA native) and maybe USC, Stanford, etc. To try to mitigate my lack of a CV, I will be resurecting my thesis and submitting it for publication in the local journals next year, as well as any other history related stuff I can get my hands on.
whew! Long first post. So what are y'all bringing to the application process? I'm very interested in interacting with others who have the same goals as me. I appreciate your responses in advance!
BR
