imokyoureadrone

I'm a 2011 Ed Ph.D. hopeful, but my stats aren't going to change substantially between then and now. I go to a public liberal arts college. My topic of interest is history curriculum/instruction and the history of education -- specifically the history of history textbooks and curriculum materials. Right now, at my college, I'm working with a faculty member to revamp our world history program. Based on an idea I had, we're completely changing world history as it is taught here, and that's pretty awesome. I will have been a TA for both an American survey and a World survey by the time I've graduated, as well as having taken a practicum on the teaching of history. I'm doing a research project with a professor this year about narrative in fundamentalist Christian homeschooling history textbooks, which will hopefully culminate in a published paper. I'm also presenting at multiple conferences in social studies education/history education/history of education (four or five conference presentations in all, depending on one acceptance I'm waiting for but suspect I will get). My GPA is hovering right around a 3.6, but may rise to a 3.7, and my GRE scores are pretty good -- I used to teach GRE classes for Kaplan, so I'm pretty good with standardized testing. My writing sample is excellent -- I'm trying, with the encouragement of my professors, to get my first publication with it. I'm interested in exploring curriculum for the ways in which it changes students' conceptualization and consciousness of history. My main weakness is that I will not be graduating with a teaching certificate, which is a conscious choice that I am aware could undermine my chances at getting into good programs. I'm going to be applying next year to: Stanford (their history ed program takes ONE student per year, but Sam Wineburg is my idol and I have to give this a shot) University of British Columbia Indiana Michigan Michigan State Kansas Maryland Minnesota Washington University in St. Louis Does anyone have any other suggestions for someone with my interest base? I've researched the hell out of schools, but if I've missed a school that's absolutely aces in history ed, please let me know so I can add it to my "apply to and visit" pile.

Seriously, those tests are fucking child's play. Anyone who can't pass them doesn't belong graduating with a B.A., and I'm not even joking. The level of content knowledge expected in those tests is laughably, terribly bad, and a rather horrific indictment of our teacher education system.

Thanks, virmundi. It's good to know that -- and good to think about the fact that people have been in my shoes. Where do you go? I'm hoping for Indiana.

One of my advisors specifically told me not to get a double major in Education because it could hurt my chances, which is why I asked. It's a relief to know it's not a big deal. I also hope no one will see that one of the conferences (the one REALLY far afield) is in fat studies and decide I'm an unmotivated fat slob or something. You have no idea how paranoid and anxious I'm getting about grad school -- I feel like everyone else who's doing history Ph.D. apps is like "I have a 3.9 and a GRE of 1520 with five publications in high impact journals," and it just terrifies me. I am going back to undergrad after almost a decade away, so I guess I have a nearly unhealthy fear of the real world and getting rejected everywhere I apply.

This upcoming semester (the second semester of my junior year), I will be presenting at three conferences. One of them is pretty far out of my field, and the other two are peripherally connected but not directly in what I want to be researching in my Ph.D. program. This is because the two biggest conferences in my field (history of education) occur in the fall, and I will likely be presenting at those conferences as well. I am looking forward to the spring conferences specifically because my field is small and if I fall on my face at my first conference, it won't be in front of anyone I need to impress. When I apply to grad school this upcoming year, will the conference attendance that wasn't in my field look bad? Will grad schools think I'm not dedicated enough to my field? Or will they just like that I have the conference experience? Am I just overthinking everything yet again? I do that sometimes.

I'm applying for Fall 2011, pursuing topics in the history of education (specifically the history of the social sciences/history curriculum in American schools) and also have research interests in collegiate history pedagogy. I am planning to apply to several programs I seem to have a really good fit with, especially Indiana University, which has a Ph.D. minor in the Teaching of History that's right up my alley. I've been in contact with profs there and at other schools who seemed very enthusiastic, moreso than I perhaps originally anticipated (one even said that her school would probably be the "best fit in the country" for my research interests). Profs have been really cool and one even contacted her old advisor (at a more highly ranked school) to give me more options. Sounds fantastic, right? One big problem: I am not sure if my GPA totally bones me. In History of Education Ph.D. programs hosted by Ed schools, I'm pretty sure I'm okay with my 3.5-3.6 (with a 3.9 in my major). I also have a few W's because of a family emergency that occurred last year. I'm presenting at one national conference this upcoming spring, and probably another in fall of 2010, and have a pretty stellar writing sample already that I'm polishing with an eye to eventual publication in a history of education journal, I'll have glowing recommendations, and undoubtedly a really good SoP. I'm just worried that my GPA will absolutely sink me. I never thought I'd be in a position where I was embarrassed of my 3.5, but I am now. Everyone says "fit is the most important thing." How does it factor in when the school where 3 professors seem to be actively "courting" you has an average GPA in the program of 3.8? Am I driving myself absolutely bonkers over nothing?

Oh, it's too many cats for sure, but just the right number of husbands.

rising_star, has your friend encountered any major issues because of his/her relationship?

Wow, thank you so much, guys (and thanks for the non-judgmental answers, they are a relief!). I hadn't looked into Toronto at all but now I think I'm absolutely going to do so.

My non-legal husband and I are intending to be researchers, not classroom teachers. It's only my legal husband who will be teaching. Of the three of us, he's probably (okay, definitely) the most normal/non-threatening person. Actually, he's probably one of the least threatening people I've ever met. I totally hear you about not knowing how to even look for this kind of acceptance. GLBT acceptance is definitely a good thing, but I'm not sure how/if it correlates to people accepting poly relationships.

There are seven cats here, and five (soon to be six) people living here. But it wasn't our fault, really. My husband and I had three, and when my other husband moved in he brought one. We also moved here with another married couple, to split housing costs, and they had three of their own. Too. Many. Cats!

It's funny for me to think of it in those terms, because my household feels very normal to me, but I suppose it's pretty "alternative." I have two men I consider husbands, one of whom I'm legally married to (obviously can't get a marriage license for a second husband). We have all cohabited for almost two years and have known each other for seven, and dissolving either of my relationships is not an option. My non-legal husband and I are both interested in pursuing Ph.D.s in Education (him in Mathematics Education, me in History of Education), and my legal husband is planning to become a classroom teacher immediately post-graduation. We are not interested in being closeted, particularly since by the time we graduate from our undergrad program (we're non-traditional students in more ways than one, I'm the youngest of the three of us at age 25), we'll have a child that will be co-parented by all of us. At this juncture, due to some research projects and good test scores/GPAs, we are not worried about admission most anywhere, so I now have some time to city shop. So. Does anyone live in an area that you know or believe would be pretty accepting of our arrangements? I don't want to have political issues with possible advisers or anything, nor do I want to live in a place where the state would decide to take our kid away just because we're a three-parent household. No, this isn't a joke, so please check the facetious answers (i.e. "Go to Utah, I hear they're friendly to polygamists there") at the door. I am genuinely concerned and really want to make the choice that is best for my family and my education.

Hey RavinRaven, saw you over on LJ too, I think, in whogotin. Congrats on making it into your top choice!

Unfortunately, the last 2 years of the education program are absolutely set in stone here with no room for deviation or taking additional classes (because of the number of out-of-state practicums we do). Thank you so much for the advice on the SOP -- I'm going to go nuts when it comes time to write it, I know, and I'm hoping I don't totally blow it. Before I came back to school, I was a journalist: first a reporter, then a news editor, then an opinion editor/editorial writer. I loved those jobs, the last one in particular, but I felt I was preaching to the choir too much as an editorial writer. In other "not related to English/education directly" ventures, this summer I've got a university grant to basically write a local foods cookbook and travelogue. That's English-y, but not in terms of literary studies, certainly. And the recipes are going to be delicious! It's not the sort of thing I figured would "go" with my application materials or anything, though. Am I wrong to think that? I'm also hoping like crazy that my undergrad institution doesn't sink me -- it's a public liberal arts college, and while it's not super selective or anything, we do have tons of opportunities for undergrad research (which is why I'm here). I am hoping that not going to giant state school and deciding to stay here at the lib arts school isn't going to look ridiculously unambitious to adcoms.

In two years, I'll be in your shoes, and I'm watching this with a pretty great amount of anticipation. I am getting my bachelor's degree after a 7 year stint in the real world, and would like to go directly to a Ph.D. program in C&I or LL&C after graduation. Here's the problem: I know which programs are highly ranked, but I don't know if my scores/grades/et cetera will be enough to get me into those highly ranked programs. Here's what I'm looking at graduating with: 3.5 GPA (this should be sustained until the end of my B.A. for sure -- the next 2 years of classes are regarded as the easy ones in my program, which is ugly but true) GRE of 780 verbal 750 quant, should also have a Miller Analogies Test result of comparable goodness by that point A writing sample I think will be pretty good, and potentially one or more papers published in undergrad journals Active work in research with a couple of profs on campus, in both the English and education departments, both of whom will likely write stellar recs Worked in the campus writing center for most of undergrad life I know these are good enough stats to get in SOMEWHERE, so that's not the question. I am just wondering whether this is good enough to apply to the big leagues -- or if I should stick to lower-ranked schools. The GPA is certainly not stellar, and there are a couple of really crappy grades on it (C- in one course, a C in another, both well outside my major, one was a lab science). Any input? What can I do to make myself a better candidate for grad school? I have two years to work on this for a great admit. Right now my top choice is probably WashU, but I'd also have a soft spot for UIC, even though it's a lower-ranked school, if I could work with Bill Ayers. Any help on making myself a better candidate, for both admissions and funding, would be fantastic. What do you wish you'd done differently? What worked well for you and seemed to make a great impression on admissions folks?