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lol. i love it. @d1389jjch's suggestion about US and Canada resonates. I'm not sure what kind of fields were involved in the German Studies BA, but I think they'll count for something. At least in North America, I get the sense a lot of departments are happy to see interdisciplinary studies. One of my MA cohort friends did her BA in American Studies, and even her research in the History MA is still very "studies" flavored. So, I don't think German Studies necessarily disqualifies you from a History MA right away (although I have no idea to what degree it is the case for German universities). If you have the appropriate language for your area of focus, that's very important, especially going into MA programs that emphasize research and PhD programs too. A lot of your cultural language courses probably included a unit on history; you could emphasize this in a SOP or something as a source of inspiration or interest for your pursuit of grad studies. My undergrad minor (in transnational/comparative studies) included some overviews of political science/relations type stuff, you can always spin it a contextual way where you'd like to better understand the historical roots of current issues or something like that. The fact you are interested in (and, actually, even know of) historiography shows that you're not just into antiquarian stuff-- you have a real sense of the discipline already. Emphasize the work you've done in upper division history courses, even if they were few. I agree with @Sigaba that you should start churning up some good idea for research projects-- potential primary sources to dig into further? a historiographic argument you want to explore? It also might help to do some research on schools that tend to have a pretty interdisciplinary focus. If they have various collaborative workshops/clusters/seminars/events, etc., these will be great to know how you could fit into the university with your own educational background. Best of luck!

I think I'm certainly applying to more schools than I probably would if certain schools didn't have a moratorium on admissions. There were at least 2 top programs I definitely would have applied to that aren't accepting students due to COVID, which I think pushed me into applying to a greater number of mid-range places than I would have if I had had the opportunity to apply to the top programs. I'm applying to 12. I imagine I would have applied to about 6-8 if I had some of my top picks still around, since they were such great fits and I had great feedback from potential advisors before the pause on admissions was decided. In my MA cohort, I'm really the only one applying to PhD programs; there are two other students who ordinarily would have as well, but they both decided to wait a year. Overall I think more people are waiting, but I also think that will make some of the remaining schools more competitive for people who are responding how I am, by applying to (probably) more places than we would have ordinarily, due to fewer faves. I'm not hard-set on any school this year (my advisor tells me this is a good thing, haha) but I sort of wish I had my heart already set on a certain school for that (tormenting, but thrilling) whirlwind feeling. There's several places I know would be good fits that I'm still pretty excited to be applying to, but I'd be lying if I said covid and its disruptions/uncertainty this year didn't put a damper on the process for me.

I agree with @feralgrad. And, as someone who has had to adjust papers at the halved rate, I definitely recommend opening up a new document and starting from scratch. Maybe jot down one bullet point per paragraph before you begin to help you cover your basic points, but it is waayyyy easier trying to meet a "new page goal" than it is to cut half of an entire SOP when you've just spent several days crafting each sentence so carefully. It stinks. But we believe in you.

Hi! A good GPA is always good, no matter what field you're in, since so much of it demonstrates strong work ethic and ability to meet demands. You say literature has always been your passion (that's a good thing! certainly an important first checkbox), but you may want to ask yourself more questions, as you're doing, about your familiarity with Literature as a discipline. (In History, for example, there are tons of people who are self-proclaimed history buffs, love antiquing, watching documentaries, or tracing family genealogy... but those passions, interests, and hobbies paint a much different idea of "history" than what it is as an academic discipline: historiography, methodology, primary source research, etc.) Another thing you may need to be thinking about is how your undergraduate degree and your MA in school counseling contribute to whatever end goal you have for pursuing Literature. The main question here, is: Why? Why are you going into Lit? Do you want to work in secondary ed? Teach at community college? Go on to do a PhD? And secondly,Why now? Regardless of your reasons for pursuing Lit (which, from an admissions standpoint, will most likely HAVE to be more concrete/tangible/developed/quantifiable than simply having a passion for the subject), you will need to be thinking about how your previous educational background has given you the skills for an MA in Lit, why you're pursuing Lit now, and how you see Lit+You as a dream team for whatever future goals you have. (All of this, eventually, will also have to be meshed into your specific reasons for applying to the school.) I'm obviously not qualified to speak about the Lit field itself. Taking some undergrad classes may be one approach. Another idea is to reach out to some of the Lit professors at your former undergrad or the grad schools you're interested in and ask what kind of training is recommended for applying. Some programs might welcome a diverse background history, some might not be interested, and others might have you take specific/extra courses to "catch-up" on the basics. The only way to find out is to ask. The beauty of MAs is that there are often many different undergraduate degrees that can be applied to the MA level as an educational background. In the end, GPA matters, but I think it matters less than the questions, motivations, and goals that drive your studies. All the best, hope this helps! ?

No. (Well, definitely not bibliography, at least. If a professor asked for X#-page paper, you wouldn't include 3 pages of bibliography in that page count. Same with admissions requirements, in my view. I don't count the cover/title page in the page count, either.) I cite in Chicago with footnotes (for History), so I do lump that together with body text as the main pages that I count. ^^^^^ This. It's is a clever work-around that would certainly be acceptable if it makes sense to pull it out from the context of your text.

Yeah, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Glad you got the reassurance from your advisor.

I can't speak specifically for your field nor odds of getting in those schools, but it sounds like you've done some excellent work in recent years and that will shine through your application materials. I've heard stories of people with lower undergrad GPA than you and ended up getting accepted at an Ivy League for PhD, with glowing LORs like you. It's not as though you've gone in the reverse, in terms of GPA. So, believe in the strengths of your recent work—that is who you are now! —and trust that that will carry you forward. That is, after all, all you can do! The right school will see where you're headed and be excited to support you as you advance your studies. ? Best of luck!

What kind of a meeting is it? If it's a formal interview, I know someone who just did some med school interviews and she's worn a nice blouse and/or blazer for it. If it's a casual just-to-meet-you-and-hear-about-your-interests meeting, which I've had with a potential advisor, I just wore what I was wearing that day (casual, but not sloppy or busy with patterns or anything.) Zoom meetings/pandemic have changed how people dress these days (there was an interesting NYT article about this recently), but in general it's better to air on the side of overdressed rather than underdressed. Whatever you wear, you should look polished and put together. Clean hair helps. I think a nice buttoned shirt goes a long way without looking too stiff (just make sure it's crisp—iron out those wrinkles!! Wrinkles make a good shirt look sloppy.)

I'm sorry, that sounds like a really challenging situation. I do recommend approaching her for feedback on your writing, and, like @Sigaba said, come to her with a how-can-i-learn-from-you mindset rather than making a change-my-grade appeal. That way, your professor won't feel on the defensive about justifying your grade—you're simply coming to ask for an explanation as if you accept the grade you've received. Her no-feedback rule is probably just to simplify her life so she's not spending days grading essays, but I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for a brief explanation. She'll probably bring up specific things for how things can be improved in the future (rather than explaining what you did "wrong" in her eyes, which might happen if you were "challenging" her over a grade.) You could ask her for her recommended historiographic articles/books, the works she admires for structure or organization, etc. to show you're interested in learning more about the field and the historical craft for the long haul.

I think it depends on how distinct each chapter of your thesis is. If it makes sense to treat them as separate papers (ie. they deal with different-enough topics/different focus, argument, etc.), and it seems possible for you to rework them into standalone papers, then do that. In asking for two research papers, though, it seems like they're interested to see you deal with two different topics. So if you have a separate paper that's workable, you might just want to spend some time polishing it up. And--if there's enough time for this--you also can try asking the professor from that class if they could read it over and offer a few suggestions. Best of luck! (and clever username, btw!)

The applications with the 20pg limit have said to indicate which sections if it's longer than 20, so I'm okay.

I'm listing one professor who I've gotten in touch with and heard that they're willing to potentially supervise and I say that I can envision them as a potential supervisor. I then list 1-2 other profs whose interests would also be supportive and just put that in there to show that I've done a little research on the department as a whole. Good luck!

Yup. I have a 30 page paper I'm using. I'm attaching the whole doc, but for schools that only ask for 20 pages max, for example, I'll also upload a cover letter that tells them to read from x section to y section, skipping over z section. The cover letter will explain what is in those portions, so they will understand the content I cover without having to read it.

Hi! I'm not a stats person (History!), but in general, I'd recommend not letting the level/rank of university determine whether you apply or not. A top-tier school globally might actually not be the strongest in your particular program. Instead, think about the kind of environment where you would thrive. This will take a bit of research on each of the schools. (Usually looking at the department webpage and the graduate school webpage will be sufficient). the size of the program (do you do better as one fish in a sea of other students, or working closely with professors?) the professors in the department (are they experts in what you hope to study? or at least adjacent/competent in your interests?) the courses or research opportunities traditionally offered by the program (do they actually teach/research the field you're interested in?) institutional resources (like specific centers or something) that might have the intellectual and financial resources that would complement your interests. What size university? (Big, small, medium?) What size city? (Metropolis vs. college town?) Cost of living? What's transportation like? A place like UVic is going to be a lot more expensive (on an island, pricey rent, $$$ for ferry to mainland) than Simon Fraser, for example. Funding opportunities? etc. If you're worried your GPA or GRE scores are going to hurt your chances of getting in, then I'd recommend having a couple other "backup" schools where you believe it will be easier to get into. A lot of programs will list what percentage of their applicant pool gets admitted, so you can find out there. But I'd focus a lot more on whether the actual program, rather than the school, is going to suit you. If the application doesn't require GRE scores, I wouldn't include them. In my field, most are not requiring them (due to COVID) so I won't be listing them on my applications.

I'm applying to Temple for History PhD and they say it should exceed 303 for verbal and quant. You're at 317, I think that's fine. I'm not sure what UPenn has a recommendation. My GRE scores were squarely average. I took them two years ago for my current MA program, and I'm pretty sure my score for those two sections are 302. lol. I'm still going to apply, and for me it's not worth it to retake it because Temple is the only school I'm applying to that is requiring a GRE this year. Most professors don't give a fig about GRE scores from what I've heard, and to me I see it more as an application formality. I know I have a good writing sample, SOP, and strong letters of recs, so I feel confident holistically, even with my less-than-stellar GRE score. For an MA program, it's not as customary to reach out to potential advisors ahead of time like it would be for a PhD program, but if there's someone who absolutely aligns with your interests, it might not hurt to give your application a tiny boost. Overall, I think it's more important to make sure your writing sample and SOP are really strong (get an advisor/others to read over it) and make sure your recommenders really know you well enough for a strong letter (and/or supply them with a short CV/transcript/old assignments to jog their memory about your strengths). If you have the time/money to squeeze in another GRE test taking sesh, it wouldn't hurt. But I would devote my precious stress over other things, personally.