red7tribe
-
Posts
13 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by red7tribe
-
-
Are the GRE scores less important when applying to PhD programs as opposed to the MA?
-
How does the job market for 20C US historians compare to other time periods of American history?
-
I'm in Early America. It's two programs I'm looking at, each with an assistant professor who I think could be good to work with. They are both in their third year. It seems the majority of professors from these institutions receive tenure, and both of them have done a fair amount of publishing so I think it's unlikely they'd be denied tenure. Neither of these programs would be my first choice, but the professors seem to "fit" rather well (though neither program has a more senior faculty member in the field) with my research project, and its the concern over tenure that's making me question applying.
-
You should first check with the school. In some places untenured profs can't be primary advisers. Also, are we talking about NTT or just TT in the tenure process?
They are TT and can be advisers. It's more of a concern on my part that, on the off chance they are denied tenure, I'd be in major trouble.
-
Does anyone have any advice regarding working with non-tenured professors? I've found a couple of assistant professors who I think my research interests match up very well with, but I'm hesitant to commit to someone who doesn't have tenure. I've received mixed advice so far.
-
Hi all,
I'm going to apply to PhD programs this fall. I went to a very small, mostly unknown, liberal arts undergraduate institution, before getting my MA (also in history) from a well-known state university. Obviously this will vary program to program, but how much does the prestige of your undergraduate institution matter if you've received your MA from a well-known university? I strongly believe the lack of prestige of where I received my BA caused me to get into fewer MA programs than I otherwise would have, and I'm not sure if I should expect the same result again this time around.
-
What are the biggest differences between an MA program and a PhD program?
-
Definitely retake it! I say that only because your scores were nearly identical to mine the first time I took it in undergrad to get into my MA program (mine were 157 Verbal, 145 Quant, 5.0 writing). When considering PhD apps, I retook it two years later during my MA after about 9 months of studying (Princeton Review book and online Magoosh practice tests) and came out with 163 Verbal, 149 Math (I'm just not a math person!) and 4.0 AW (but got to report all scores, so schools saw my 5.0 from my first test).
All that to say, your scores (in my opinion) show that you're not *quite* where most PhD programs want. BUT, I think that you definitely have potential to bring them up if you retook it, particularly now being in an MA program and having greater critical thinking skills, ability to read a passage and determine the overall argument etc than you probably did the first time you took it. At least that was true in my case.
Unless you are planning on the Ivies, for most PhD programs, aim for above 90th percentile in Verbal, 5.0 in writing, and at least upper 140s in Quant. I was terrified that my quant score would harm my application, but I got into a top #36 school (according to US News & World Report' s History grad school rankings, for what it's worth). When I went for my interview at said school, several of us at the interview had nearly identical scores: 163 verbal (92nd percentile), 5.0 AW (90th percentile), and 149-150 Quant (Can't remember exact percentiles but they weren't anything to brag about). So don't worry if you can't do math--just study enough to get a decent score but they're mainly looking at Verbal and AW.
Also, as you know, studying for it is a PAIN, but even a modest amount of quant studying can really improve your score. And for Verbal, memorize as many vocab words as you can. That really helped me. Also, for the critical reading, I was always surprised when I got the wrong answer on practice tests because I always *thought* I picked the correct answer. But getting a review book that explains ETS' reasoning behind a particular answer choice was really valuable because the whole point of the test is to think like ETS. So then the question becomes not, "which answer makes most sense?" but rather, "What would ETS think about this?"
Anyway, sorry this is so lengthy, but just wanted to encourage you that if you study for at least a few months, you could definitely improve your score! And just think, unless you're wanting to do quantitative research or interdisplinary stuff with social sciences, this may be the last time you ever have to do math! That in itself was one of the greatest moments of my life. Going to hit 'add reply' before I continue to ramble...but good luck!!! You can do it!!
Thanks, I appreciate your thoughts. I probably will retake it. Even if I just went up a couple of points it would definitely be worth it. How much do you think your quantitative score matters when applying to PhD programs? It is obviously unrelated to what I'm applying for, but I've always wondered if it is viewed as indicative of the applicant's overall intelligence. My math is quite awful, and I honestly thought I was somewhat lucky with even getting as high as a 145 on this past test.
-
I am pondering applying to PhD programs this fall, and am debating whether or not to retake the GRE. When I took it two years ago I received a 159 on the verbal reasoning (81st percentile), a 145 quantitative (21st percentile, yes, I'm awful at math), and a 4.0 on the writing (56th percentile). I'm sure if I took it I would do better on both the verbal reasoning and writing. My writing has improved exponentially since I started my M.A. Program. I just want to hear other thoughts on this. I really don't want to spend the money to retake it, but I don't want to limit myself by missing a chance to raise my scores.
-
For those who have received their M.A., and are now completing(or have completed) their PhD, what did you find to be the biggest differences when transitioning between programs? For example, work load, quality of work expected, etc.
-
Mine should be sitting at about a 3.95 at the end of this semester, so I am just want to see where that fits more generally. Is there a significant difference between what M.A. students should have compared to what they actually do have? I find it hard to believe that too many students are below a 3.8, at minimum.
-
This is a completely general question, but I'd just like to have some perspective. What would you say is the average GPA for a student graduating from an MA history program?
CV Question
in History
Posted
I have a question about my CV. I was recently nominated for an award (best history paper in my university). My understanding is that I should not add this to my CV unless I receive the award. Am I correct?