DrOrpheus

Thank you all for taking the time to read and reply! After typing all of this out, and researching some other options, I've come to the conclusion that I will finish my MA here. I'd also like to implement a plan B, C, and D and will be inquiring about picking up a few non-History or Classics courses to make these viable. @blankslate: back against the wall, yes. Very much so. It's the one thing keeping me going from day-to-day. I'm hoping the feeling of kicking ass and taking names comes sooner rather than later, but as long as it comes, I will welcome it with open arms. @UnlikelyGrad: You're just awesome. You helped me with another post last year regarding mental health issues and SOP's. So far, so good, it hasn't really been an issue (surprising, since everything is so screwy right now). I'm sorry that you also have a jerk to deal with. Thankfully once the break is made for me, it is done because we don't have kids. I do believe that getting out of this city would be a prudent move, but he is in a profession that looks down on criminal activity (he could get his license yanked) so I feel that it wouldn't be an immediate threat. The whole needing to talk about stuff only when I'm on deadline is killing me, but because I know it would give him great joy if I were to quit, I absolutely refuse to even take a semester off at this point. @ECGscholar: When I was thinking about things last night and earlier today I had a bit of an epiphany. I'm going to talk to my advisor about adding those non-History/Classics courses. If I don't end up leaving the PhD dream behind, I will have a solid base on which to pursue something kind of cool; a hybrid of history, archaeology, and multimedia that can make ancient history more accessible/interesting to a wider audience. That's what I'm in this for, and this is always something that's been in the back of my mind. I've got the base skills to do what I'm thinking already but could stand to benefit greatly from receiving formal instruction in these areas. If the PhD thing doesn't pan out for whatever reason, I can enter the job market in a capacity similar to what I used to do years ago (and loved except the pay) with more credentials and the potential for better pay. BTW, the check's in the mail. ;-)

OK. I'm in the second semester of my MA and am really being tossed about with emotions and such. There are a few things going on, so please bear with me as they are all important factors in the decision I need to make. Said decision is described in the title; I don't feel like I can finish my MA where I'm at, so I need to make a decision. Problem 1: My husband is a manipulative, emotionally abusive jerk. He will soon be my ex-husband but I am still working out the strategy to make my exit. (Financials and such) So for now, and for the foreseeable future, I will still be with this person--the situation dictates that I cannot even tell him of my intent until the last possible moment. Since I have started grad school, he has gone out of his way to make life outside the classroom as insanely difficult as possible. I won't go into boring details, but I will say that in order to keep some semblance of peace in our house I find that I put aside my work entirely too often in order to keep him somewhat happy. As a result, I'm forced on a regular basis (about 2x/week) to pull all-nighters. I have a mental health disorder. Going without sleep is VERY detrimental to my stability, as is this emotional abuse he's been putting me through. (There's more that I don't care to discuss) My decision is made, like I said above, but I just needed to vent. Sorry. Problem 2: I am at the same school that granted my BA, because Husband of the Millenium would only allow me to apply to two schools of his choosing. He is NOT an historian or classicist. Since the Ancient History faculty at my school number exactly 3, you can imagine the course selection is...not awesome. At all. Last semester I couldn't even take a class with my mentor because it was a course I took as an undergrad. This spring he didn't teach a seminar, and will not be teaching at all in the fall. He is highly resistant to directed reading courses. So 3 semesters without working with my mentor at all. I'm getting really discouraged by this. To compound matters, I need a strong base in Classical languages so I can move on to the next level. Our school is horribly weak in Classics; I'm already forced to do directed study credits for my Greek, and will have to do the same for Latin in the fall. To be fair, the Classics department is bending over backward to give me these hours, but that just means half of my future SOP will be spent explaining them. Problem 3: This one is really whiny but rather telling of the atmosphere I'm dealing with at school on top of that at home. I get absolutely no attention whatsoever from our faculty, where the other student in my specific cohort (who also got his BA here but I didn't know him before now) has professors falling over themselves to help him. These are professors whom I know well, they know me well, and we've always gotten along wonderfully (like bringing-souvenirs-back-from-vacation wonderfully) but as soon as they accepted me into the MA program last spring, they barely speak to me. It's like night and day, and my feelings are terribly hurt by this sudden change in treatment. What feedback I do manage to wring out of them is barely helpful, highly critical, and really doesn't help me improve. In short, they have their favorite and I have been cast aside. Am I jealous? Yes. I'm adult enough to admit that. But is it a situation that can easily be prevented/fixed by the faculty? Absolutely. ------------------- I brought some of the home issues to the attention of our Roman historian, as she went through a nasty divorce a couple of years ago. I thought she might provide insight into the process. Nope. She started to (and is still trying to) talk me into dropping her course, yet still doing all of the work and coming to all of the classes, in order to gain a not-quite-guaranteed spot in her fall seminar. That would be, by the way, the only history course in my period offered this fall for grad students, so it would either be that course (which I have no guarantee of getting a spot in) or not taking a history course at all, which puts me in big trouble administratively as we have to take at least 4 credits in history coursework each semester. I don't really get why she wants me to drop so badly, because by her own admission I've done well on everything assigned. As for wanting me to have more time to get the home stuff straight...since she would still expect me to come to class and do all the work if I hope to get into the fall seminar, how the hell is that giving me time to deal with the personal stuff if I stay in the rest of my classes? *shrugs* So...the department has barely any coursework for my period (that I didn't take as an undergrad), the Classics dept. is anemic at best, the faculty have basically forgotten that I exist, and I'm on the verge of being single for the first time in 10 years so I'm gonna be moving somewhere. On top of this, I have clearly missed the application deadlines for Fall 2012, drawing out the drama further. Would you: 1) suck it up and finish the MA here, kicking as much ass as you can in an effort to stick it to those profs who are ignoring you; 2) take the bare minimum coursework until I can transfer (knowing full well that I might not get in anywhere for Fall 2013 and be forced to finish here anyway since that many credits won't transfer); 3) withdraw from the semester completely while I still can in order to focus on the personal, or; 4) just quit altogether? I love my field, but I'm so discouraged and frustrated in every single aspect of life right now that I don't know what to do. It's gotten slightly better since I made my decision regarding my marriage, even though I have to stick it out for a bit longer, because mentally I've made the break and have kind of compartmentalized that distraction. At the end of the day, I kind of feel like this school was a mistake and it's hurting my potential. I feel unappreciated and unwanted, which isn't helping. But would putting myself in a brand new situation, new city, new school, new faculty, new cohort really help or should I try to salvage what relationship I might still have with the faculty here? Perhaps the bigger question should be: should I say anything at all to the profs? Should I confront them about the perceived preferential treatment issue? Should I even broach the subject of transferring to another school? Those are things I did NOT discuss with the prof when I told her about the marital issues. Sorry this is so long. I just have nobody to talk to that can even remotely begin to understand what is swirling around in my mind and soul right now. Anyway, any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks for reading, let me know how much the bill is for the lasik to fix your eyes. LOL

I'm starting an Ancient History M.A., with an official minor in Classics (Philology) and an unofficial concentration in Art & Archaeology. I've been strongly advised to stay as interdisciplinary as possible to keep a wide range of opportunities open for me after I'm done. (I plan on pursuing a Ph.D. and hopefully finding a TT job...)

I have the opposite problem; you'd think that taking FOURTEEN years to complete my BA would have given me plenty of time to do outside things like fieldwork, etc. but no. I did not have stellar numbers, just barely made the minimum cutoff for the grad schools I applied to. I did have excellent letters though, and am taking an MA offer from my UG institution with the intent of kicking ass, taking names, and watching the fully-funded PhD offers from all the ivies flood my mailbox in about 3 years. OK, that last bit is pure bull, but I think my approach (getting my MA at my UG school) is prudent and will offset my wacky UG transcript (5, count 'em, FIVE major changes, 6 W's, an entire semester of F's, and a transfer to boot) and non-traditional status. On paper, I look like a huge risk but my UG faculty know that isn't the case. It won't be funded for the first year (I wasn't offered a TA position) but I'm grateful that they're giving me the opportunity. Anyway...my point is: don't sweat your age, as long as you show maturity in your work your letters and other supporting materials will show that. I think that is a big factor that many overlook when it comes to getting into a graduate program. Best of luck! (my numbers are here somewhere...but if you're wondering: GPA 3.3 overall/4.0 major; GRE 620V 570Q 4.5AW; one season fieldwork, one presentation, membership/officer positions in several student & national orgs. Like I said, not stellar.)

Got an in-person confirmation of acceptance tonight at a department function. I'll take a fist-bump over a letter any day! (The letter's in the mail though!) SO RELIEVED. I'm sending good vibes out to all of you who are still waiting!

I'm waiting on one more program to determine if I'll start grad school this fall or not. I'm not too optimistic. I'm curious if any of you know of programs that admit for Spring (2012) enrollment. My field is Ancient/Classics, but I'll peruse any that y'all know of right off hand. I'm going to dig into this more on my own, but I'd love it if someone could give me a bit of a hint. Thanks!

We (USF) actually now have a PhD program that's a couple of years old, but no direct BA admits. I think once the PhD program gets established they'll make it a combined MA/PhD.

I only applied to Classics; the History dept. didn't have an ancient track. The results for UF won't be on the status page. It's wacky, and meant more for high school applicants than graduate applicants, I think, when it comes to posting the actual decision. You'll have to call the dept. directly. I haven't seen anything from UF History on the results page, and my Classics reject is only the 2nd result for that dept. Boo, I wanted to be a Gator in my own right. Hubby and all of his family are multi-generation UF grads, so I'm still a Gator by association. That said, USF is my UG, and I don't want to jinx myself but I would hope I've cultivated good enough relationships with my profs to garner an acceptance. If not...I haven't decided yet. I don't have to get a job, but I need to do something to improve my chances for next year.

Had to leave the Classics forum b/c I was rejected by UF, so I guess I'll come play over here for a few weeks. Am I the only person on GC to EVER apply to USF history? There aren't any results for the history program, ever.

Rejected by Florida, got the letter today. I'm not surprised given the app status page going blank about a week ago. That was my only Classics program, so I'm outta here 'til the next go-round. Good luck to you all!