Jump to content

MattMedia

Members
  • Posts

    7
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About MattMedia

  • Birthday 04/08/1982

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Boston, MA
  • Interests
    Home front history in WWII, bicycles
  • Program
    History PhD

MattMedia's Achievements

Decaf

Decaf (2/10)

2

Reputation

  1. I don't see in what way I made it sound like I resented academia for getting paid to do nothing but research/write... I generally think people should get paid for their writing if that writing is useful, and was asking what the pay rates were.
  2. I agree with Pudewen here. The idea that "you don't become a historian to make money" is somewhere between naive and adorably noble. We are not spending years of our lives in difficult graduate programs that make you jump through hoops just to be allowed to study to be hobbyists. Being a historian is a profession, and it's by no means silly to ask where you can and cannot expect to be paid for things. As someone who's literally made about 90% of all his income ever doing history work, I find the assertion ticklemepink makes pretty, well, goofy.
  3. Has anyone actually published in a historical journal? I've done some textbook work, but have yet to submit to a journal. I'm curious to know what the pay rate tends to be for something like The Historian or Journal of American History vs. smaller, more specialized journals. Thanks!
  4. MattMedia here, signing in via Facebook. I can't get my username to work, it won't recognize it for some reason. At any case, I'm certainly not planning on paying for a PhD. It's a total dealbreaker for me. I'm willing to get (and pay for) an MA if I have to, but again, I'm sticking around here. It's home right now, bottom line. I have to say to the above user who discouraged me earlier, you've literally given advice directly opposite to the advice I've been given by every single academic I've talked to. Every one of them has recommended I stay in the area, without exception, so forgive me for dismissing your advice. As for the rest of you, I appreciate the feedback. I know it's an uphill battle. BC is not a "safety." Forgive me for suggesting that. I mean that it's the place I'm applying to that seems feasible. Harvard is an incredible longshot. BU has a reputation articulated by other users. BC has the funding I want and is the level I want. I'm not sure I'll get in, but I feel pretty good about my prospects. I'm also applying to Clark and UMass-Boston (that's my actual safety, MA). BC and BU are more my "feasibles." There are scholars at both places I feel really good about working with prospectively, whereas at Tufts and Brandeis, for example, I sort of came up empty.
  5. I want to go to school in the Boston area because I live in Boston and relocating would be difficult because I'm married and my wife has a job. I've been told by multiple advisors that that's not unreasonable and two of them even recommended it. I'm interested in going for American history in the 20th century. My specific interest is social and cultural life in American during WWII. This is one of the reasons BC is so appealing. All the schools I listed have people who have done work in this period, but BC's faculty has one professor who's work particularly stands out to me. I'd like to teach on the collegiate level eventually. I'm also interested in writing books. Currently, I am under contract to write a book for a history imprint and I've already contributed to a college textbook. As for what I'm "willing to give up," I'm certainly aware of the rigors of a program, and I am willing and able. That said, I can't be dragging my wife to somewhere where she doesn't have a job.
  6. I took my GRE today. It didn't go swimmingly, but could have been worse. I pulled a 620 verbal/630 quantitive. I'd estimate my essays at 5-5.5 range. I'm looking for schools in the Boston area with PhD programs. I've looked around quite a bit, and have been surprised to find that almost all of them are incredibly competitive. Currently, I'm looking at the following schools: Harvard (I know. But this is America. I have every right to believe I'm a super-genius despite any evidence) Boston College (My top choice, really) Boston University Clark (Worcester! Alright, alright!) and UMass Boston (MA program if I fail to get into any above PhDs) I feel pretty good about UMass, obviously. I feel less than stellar about Harvard. BC, BU and Clark seem totally achievable to me, though. I have excellent letters of recommendation from notable scholars within the Boston history community, I've been working for a historical organization since I graduated in 2005, and I'm confident in the writing sample I'm working on. I know that a GRE score isn't a make-or-break thing, but is 620 too low? I went to a second- or third-tier school, depending on who you ask, but ranked 40ish in the Northeast, where I earned a 3.73 GPA (3.85 within department). I read on PhDs.org that BC's history dept. average is 660, so I'm not so far off. Are there any people here who have applied to these schools? What are your thoughts?
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use