nominalvorp

That's really thoughtful advice, tmp. Much appreciated. Another aspect of this that's been difficult is that I feel my CV will be so much stronger by April or May. At the moment, it's rather bare, but there are some institutional honors I may receive in that time-frame. However superficial that may seem (and however meaningless it might be to a committee reviewing my application), it would give me that all-important confidence.

I guess it's difficult finding any schools that aren't incredibly competitive. Not that I want that. Certainly not.

Hi all, I'm a senior at a mid-level (think top 50) liberal arts institution. Here are my numbers: 3.4 GPA 3.6 in History 590V/580Q/5.5W on GRE My GPA is dragged down by a freshman year in which I missed three full weeks during spring term due to athletics. In any case, I'm a candidate in the Honors program, which includes a primary-source undergraduate thesis of about 120 pages. My primary interest is modern Britain, and specifically domestic conceptions of the Empire during the interwar period. I've got strong letters of recommendation, plan on working very hard on my SOP, and have a quality writing sample based on a primary source. I am focused on going straight for the PhD, but understand if I must do an MA program to bolster my credibility. My list is as follows: BC Vanderbilt Indiana NYU Carleton U (possible MA backup plan) Am I applying to schools out of my range? Am I a lost cause due to a middling GPA? The department at my school is very small, and class sizes are often between 12-17. And the majority of my classes have been with professors who do not give out A's very often, if ever. Anyhow, thanks in advance!