kahlan_amnell

Me too, in terms of undergrad GPA. To the OP, your major GPA is pretty decent. I'd say you might want to enclose an addendum with your application explaining that you had a bad semester due to personal reasons, and those grades were not reflective of your abilities. Do put this in an addendum, not your SOP or personal statement.

3.2 isn't that bad. People do get into grad school with GPAs below 3.0 even. What is your GPA in your major? That is more important than your overall GPA. I think you might want to retake the GRE after studying math a bit more. Aim to get above 500. Good luck!

I'd say it would probably be a waste of time and money. History programs aren't looking that the Quant section that much as far as I know, and your score is already ok.

I prepared for the GRE in one long weekend, and I did well enough. You could study by devoting just an hour or less a day to learning vocabulary words and brushing up on whatever math skills you thought you needed work in. Unfortunately, you are right, the US is rather obsessed with standardized testing at every level. I wish it would stop. Canadian Ph.D. programs don't usually require the GRE, at least as far as I have heard. US ones do. Some will waive the requirement for people with a MA, but not all will. Unfortunately, you are going to need to find a way to fit in taking the GRE, as not having time is not a valid reason not to. As for your question about students being accepted to Ph.D. programs at the school where they did their MA, it depends. In some places these students are at a disadvantage, in others they have an advantage. I was not accepted to the school where I did my MA for my Ph.D., which was just as well for me because I was ready to move on, and the department I'm joining is a better match for my interests.

You don't need to post the same thing to two different boards.

Sorry, you're probably not going to like what I have to say about this. Don't do it. If you were engaged or married, maybe it would make sense. But for some person you're just dating, it really isn't worth it. If you transfer, you'll probably loose a lot of credits, maybe even all of them. Also, if your department is funding you, they might resent you for transferring, and that could be bad for your professional reputation. If you're serious about this, I might suggest just waiting a year and applying to the school you want to go to rather than spending a year on credits that very possibly might not transfer and possibly annoying people you might need to work with later.

I'm going to as much of it as I can. My department scheduled their departmental orientation on Monday morning, so I'll miss the first few hours. I'd be glad to fill you in on the rest of it though.

19th Century U.S. Social/Cultural and Gender

So, do any of you plan to go to the all University Picnic on the 21st? It is from 11:00 to 1:30 at the Mooberry Track. http://www.wsucalendar.wsu.edu/pages/ev ... 11:00%20AM

When I accepted an offer of admission to a Ph.D. program this past April, I did so thinking that I was not going to be funded for my first year, and might get a TAship my second year. However, last week I got an unexpected offer, a TAship starting this Fall. It includes tuition remission, health insurance, and a stipend that is enough to live on. It is renewable for four years. So, last minute funding offers do happen!

The American historical association has a list of history doctoral programs on their website, and you can search by specialization. Here is the page for public history: http://www.historians.org/projects/cge/ ... Public.htm . I know you are looking for a MA program, so there will be some that aren't on this list, but it might be a good place to start looking.

I ended up buying from Amazon, since I have Amazon prime all items I order from them arrive in two days, which is convenient.

Wow, that is a lot! Is this a MA program you are starting or a Ph.D.? Do you have any funding? What field are you in?

I'd say anyone who seriously has no time to read for fun from when they start graduate school to when they are tenured (or even just in graduate school) has some time management issues. It is one thing if you no longer feel like reading for fun because you have so much academic reading. However, if you want to read for fun and don't have time, that is a problem. If reading for fun is something that helps you relax, find time for it. I find that reading non-academic books before bed helps me relax. Anyway, on the topic of the post, you've been given lots of good suggestions, I'd agree with most of them. Good luck finding things to do until the semester starts.

Good to know for general purchases. Not all that useful for textbooks though, the bookstores there would have to happen to have the books I need, and I doubt they would just all be at one store. Then I'd have to cart them back on the bus between Moscow and Pullman, and another bus within Pullman. (I don't have a car.) So, does anyone know if the WSU bookstore charges tax on textbooks? I ask because I went to undergrad in NYC, which has sales tax, yet I'm fairly sure textbooks purchased at the bookstore were not taxed.

Ah, good catch! I didn't read the date on the original post. I wonder why someone decided to revive this thread?

Also, a question about the bookstore: Does the bookstore on campus charge tax on textbooks? Other campus bookstores I've encountered don't, and if that is the case it would make it worthwhile to buy my books there instead of Amazon, the tax really is quite a bit when you are buying over 20 books. Darn Amazon charging tax in WA because they are based here, I've never lived somewhere where I had to pay tax on Amazon purchases.

Keep away from private loans until you have taken all you can in government ones. I'm also wondering why you think you need so much money. I know Boston is expensive, but I think you might be overestimating the amount you need. Think about it this way: How much is tuition? How much is your rent? How much do you think you'll spend on food? (Cut down on restaurant dining to save lots of money.) How much do you spend on entertainment? Can you cut that down?

So, I've been in Pullman for about a week now, and I'm enjoying it so far. (Particularly now that the heat wave seems to be over.) Is anyone else in Pullman already? Does anyone feel like meeting up for coffee or something downtown or on campus?

Verizon offers bundles that have landlines, and I imagine other phone companies do as well. Otherwise that is true. Sorry for getting off topic.

Just curious, how much do you think they cost? $10 a month is expensive? Because basic plans can cost about that. I'd say if you live alone the chance is greater than you might think. Perhaps I'm just a paranoid former New Yorker though. Did you see the post before yours about an non-emergency reason for having a land line? I guess Skype would work just as well for that though, since it's not a cell phone.

So I just thought of another reason why having a land line is a good idea. Some food delivery places refuse to deliver if the number is a cell phone because they have had bad experiences with people ordering from cell phones as a prank. I have heard that this is somewhat common with chain pizza places. I'm not sure how they tell the number is a cell phone, but some areas do have area codes that are unique to cell phones, so that would do it.

I don't think that is a very good comparison, nor was your previous one about walls, since landlines don't cost all that much if you get a basic plan, so they are not an extreme measure. You can get those plans for 10-20 dollars a month. If you live in an area with severe weather, it can take down the power and can mess with cell phone signals, making the chance of a land line being the only phone working much more than 1 in a million. Sure, terrorist attacks are unlikely in a small town in the Midwest. Snowstorms aren't. Power outages happen, due to weather, or other reasons. A few years back a power generating plant in Ohio caused a blackout all over the Northeast, and power was out for a day in many places, and multiple days in Ohio. For me, I find that when I lived in areas with snow, there were a lot of power outages. Thus, to me, having a phone that works while the power is out is worth the cost. A cell phone might still work during a power outage, but only while it is charged, which is only a few hours of talk time. Fine for an emergency, not so great if the power outage turns into a few day long event, which is quite possible. Also, I would be quite unhappy if a long power outage kept me from talking to my significant other who lives a long way from me. Oh well, those of you who don't have land lines probably have neighbors who do. Hopefully they will let you use their phone if yours isn't working. (I'm not trying to be hostile to anyone who doesn't think they need a land line, just pointing out that I have real reasons for thinking it is a good idea.)

Eh, I disagree. Cell phone networks can go down and leave you without a phone if you have no landline. For example, In NYC on 9/11 and for some days afterward, cell phones didn't work. They are not that reliable in an emergency, it is too easy for cell phone networks to go down. I prefer to have more than one option for phones, it gives me a better chance of something working in an emergency. In a less extreme example, bad weather sometimes makes cell phone reception pretty bad in some areas. Also, check if you can get something cheaper than that basic local. Often there is something where you pay per call. If you don't call much, that can be a very cheap option.

What is your area of study? All my courses for my MA were seminars, no lectures.