aspiringhistorian

At this point, I'm hoping that, because more than one of us has this issue, that it's something that will resolve itself when the scores eventually do get posted. Regardless, I wrote to them this afternoon so maybe the ETS will have some insight as well. If/when I hear back, I'll post it for you!

Maybe I'm wrong but so long as you didn't check a box that said that you wanted them to see certain sections, etc it probably doesn't matter... Although if you thought you were reporting it, then that's probably what you did. I'm not sure how much it matters in the long term, but maybe it's worth giving the ETS a call on Monday to be sure?

You're selecting the institution where you are doing your undergraduate work. And then at the end you have the option of filling out the same form for the schools you want to send your scores to.

Oh phew, you are lifesavers. I've been silently freaking out in Starbucks for an hour. Good luck to the both of you

I took the GRE this afternoon and got my scores at the test site. I just went to my ETS account and aren't there. (In fact, it says that I was registered for an exam in April 2011 which I never was... and I got the confirmation email for today.) Does anyone know if there is a lag in how long it takes to get the scores up online? I sent an email to ETS since they're closed, but I'm really nervous now...

Actually, I'm doing that right now! I can't tell if they're easier than the actual exam, but I'd imagine that they'd be the closest to the real thing... I hope.

I'm taking the (old format) GRE on Saturday and I was wondering if anyone knew of any good (and preferably free) practice tests online that they could recommend? I'm using up all the ones in my prep books and am trying to get as much exposure as possible before the exam. Thanks!

I've heard conflicting opinions on the importance of the exam for admissions in the field. Some people say that it's irrelevant because the committees feel that the GRE isn't truly an indicator especially now that the formating is changing, whereas others say it's critical. I know that it's weight lies somewhere in the middle, but I was just looking for more input... I'm taking it in six days and am looking for a little perspective, I suppose!

I know that I'm interested in the way that various European nations have presented themselves at mega-events such as the Olympics, World's Fairs, etc, so in the past I've had to work with art/architecture, technology, sports, and of course, internally and externally-geared propaganda. The way that the average citizen in these cases is affected by and affects politics via these channels has tended to be where my research has led me, which I suppose is more concretely based in history than a theoretical approach typically would be. I'm sure that I'll come into contact with many political historians, but the more feedback I get on this issue and the more I think about it, the more I realize that my direction is more toward History than anything else.

Hahaha if only! Both my roommate and I got in touch with our local Comcast representatives and had the same experience. Frankly, so long as my internet works I don't really care how nice they are, but it hasn't been an inspiring process thus far. We'll see how it goes when installation time rolls around...

I'm only doing the Russian/American slant for the summer, so I don't really intend on making any long-term plans on that front. I'm doing research slightly out of my field so that I have some experience in a more recent timeframe and in a new geographical area so that I could better decide what exactly I wanted to do. I'd prefer to stick to Western Europe although I don't mind the idea of working with Russia/Eastern Europe later on. Linguistically speaking, I'm not qualified for that for the time being, so I'm more or less leaving it alone when it comes to my undergraduate thesis and when it comes to propose ideas for graduate school. I'm glad to hear that identity politics is considered interesting- I love it and I'd like to continue looking at it over the years! I'm just going to search more for POI in the History departments at the schools I'd like to apply to, and go from there.

I'm currently moving into an off-campus apartment and so far my experience has been less than ideal if only for the reason that the woman that they keep putting me in touch with doesn't seem to actually understand how an internet connection works and they get snippy when you try and ask questions. A know a family in the same area who had a similar experience, so it could be a local problem out here in Philadelphia. I'm still moving in so I don't have internet yet there, but I know other people with Comcast and, despite the generally abysmal customer service, the actual product doesn't seem to pose any problems. That I know of, of course.

night light

I've always had a very good record in my department, but I recently had a professor for an advanced 300-level seminar who refuses to give anything above a 3.0 in his classes as a general rule. (He considers a 2.7 to be a 'solid grade') He and I got along great, he respects my work, and he actually and surprisingly gave me above that grade (3.3), but I usually have a 3.7/4.0 in the department. I know that he really supports me, so I've been thinking about asking him about writing a letter so that he could maybe explain why the grade is so seemingly low in comparison to the rest of my record, but I'm not sure. I've always assumed that graduate schools want to see stellar letters and I feel as though a committee would be confused by why he would write me a letter without having given me an excellent grade. However, not having him write the letter would not allow the committee to understand his grading policy and why I have that grade... Advice?

Comcast is the company that everyone around me seems to have (I'm in the Philadelphia suburbs), but no one actually seems to like the customer service and getting it set up has always been a headache, even for me. However, once it's set up, no one seems to have much to say unless something goes wrong. Our bill is pretty normal, but it depends on the package you have with them.

As much as I am comfortable with doing quantitative work, I definitely have not prepared for it that intensely as an undergraduate. I'm about 99.5% sure about my decision to stick with my plan for doing History, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. I want to be able to apply full-force and I was nervous that I could to go the department and they would say that they were not the people to go to. I think I also might have spent too much time looking for faculty with my precise interest and, although that is ideal, it's not realistic and I'm sure, as you say, that professors in Modern European History could still guide me through a thesis. Thank you!

I think the Barron's is great, although I would recommend also looking at the ETS one just because it's a resource that the people who make the GRE have put out there and it may help in terms of being less surprised by the formatting/question style/etc. That being said, there's very little in there that the Barron's can't provide and I would definitely use that. Frankly, I think taking as many practice tests as possible is key so if you can round up any book during the last stages of the exam, I'm sure it'll help.

I definitely do have a geographic focus and my research in the past in this field has mostly been contained within [Western] Europe (France, Italy, the UK, and Germany) during the late nineteeth and early twentieth centuries, although I'm currently doing work on the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War for a grant I'm working under. Because I'm fluent in French and Italian (and am taking German), that's naturally where my research has led me. I am somewhat intrigued by the various theories of nationalism, but I don't think that's necessarily what I want to do my thesis on as it is very broad and it's something I can dabble in throughout my career. Doing Political Science would probably minimize my exposure to Europe, which does concern me. Are there any schools you would recommend if one is interested in nationalism? I have a list of schools I'm looking into, but I'm not finding many faculty members and that's what concerns me.

'Rising senior' means that I am becoming a senior this coming academic year. (It's a term, I think, that's often used during the summer as a clarification for those who might be confused about whether or not I just finished my senior year or am going into my senior year.) Profile-wise, I have about a 3.7 as both a cumulative GPA and a major GPA from well-respected liberal arts colleges (I have a minor at one school and a major at another, but I'll get my diploma from one that covers both). I am fluent in both French and Italian and have done ten years of Latin and four years of Ancient Greek. I'm also taking German in the fall because I've always been a Europeanist in terms of interests and I would have to do it in graduate school anyways. I'm taking the GRE in a month so I'm waiting on that score. I studied abroad at the University College London where I got top marks in my classes (two in History, one in Political Thought) and also did independent research with a professor in both the History department and the Political Science department (he was more a political theorist) and now I have a grant for the summer for further research that I expect might contribute in spirit to my senior thesis. If I were to go into Political Science, it would certainly be more on the theoretical side and, throughout my experience with my speciality, I've never encountered quantitative elements... although I'm sure that would be expected of me in order to get the degree. I'm not concerned about that as much as I'm concerned about interdisciplinary nature of my interest and how that could affect my chances in either department.

Thank you so much! You guys have given me a lot of good questions to think about. I'm pretty sure I'm just going to attack it from the History side, but I wanted to make sure I'm covering all my bases. I'm definitely not trained quantitatively to the degree that I probably should be for Political Science, and I feel as though I'd even be able to broaden my specialty in History for the sake of remaining in the field until I can narrow down again. With Political Science, I would have no knowledge of where to expand or move around in the field given my lack of exposure to it and would probably feel trapped in the long run. Thanks again!

I'm currently a History major specializing in Modern European History. My interests, more specifically, are in the field of Nationalism, which tends to be somewhat interdisciplinary. Because of the location of some of the faculty, I'm trying to figure out if it is worth applying also to Political Science departments given this interest and if I would even have a shot at a PhD program in Political Science given my heavy background in History. I'm nervous that History PhD programs will reject me based on the fact that they wouldn't be able to support my research, so I'm just trying to cover my bases... Advice?

I'm a History major and a rising senior at a liberal arts college outside Philadelphia. My speciality in History is in Nationalism (mostly in Europe, but I'm flexible) which tends to be an interdisciplinary subject and a lot of the faculty in that field are rooted originally in Political Science. Given my heavy background in History, would I have a shot of getting into a Political Science Ph.D. program or would it ultimately work against me?