ReallyNiceGuy

has anyone on here ever changed their topic (not altogether, just maybe a tweak) only for the purposes of being "up to date" even if it wasn't necessarily your "passion?" I mean, on the one hand PhD applications in the humanities are clearly informed by the love of the topic you're exploring; on the other hand, it's a job application, and one should exhibit the traits/skills your future employer demands. right?

And unless you're moving from abroad it's almost certainly cheaper to move for two years than it would be to pay for a MA. There are enough programs that fund MAs that, in my opinion, if you're not 100% sold on one of your acceptances and you can afford a break for a year then you should seriously consider if it would be worth it to take a year off and apply for a funded MA. *by no means am I suggesting that receiving one is easy or a guarantee; I'm simply stating "they exist and you should find them."

I politely disagree that they are unicorns. You'll just have to do a lot of research on programs to locate them. Furthermore, there are schools who have effectively shaped their department around funding MAs. My MA is funded and I received 2 other such offers. What you need to do is research MA programs as thoroughly as you would any other program. Almost every department will tell you something along the lines of "we do fund MAs, but the group of MA admits are placed in competition with each other for the funding (meaning something like 1/10 receives the money; that's just an example)." The other, and I think possibly the "more likely to pay dividends" scenario is a school that offers a MA but does not offer a PhD. In this case, you're certain (well, sorta certain depending on the department/school) to get money (since no money is going to the PhD students the MA is the terminal degree) and you're also not going to be treated like a pariah. By that I mean, the faculty doesn't have X number of PhD students they are focusing on and then all of a sudden they're getting pestered by some first year MA student (don't take that the wrong way, I'm in a MA program too). (Please keep in mind everything I just posted is about 40% what I've learned in a MA program and 60% what I've been told on here.) Finally, they ARE rare. So, unless you are REALLY lucky, you're likely going to have to relocate. As far as getting money once you're in from a place that didn't promise you anything? I really haven't the slightest clue. /my longest gradcafe post ever

So what you guys are saying is "RNG, you're better off applying for jobs than for PhD programs."

Ivan- you were wait listed for a FLAS from which school? UNC or Duke? Did you apply for a FLAS from Indiana?

I always thought to myself "self, the fact that there are so many good historians in lower ranked schools is more evidence that in order to GET a job one needs to go to a good school!" That said, I don't want to bring people down, but I fully expect (nay, demand) that next year when I'm applying to PhD programs someone to tell me "RNG. You're a RNG. But you really need to think about whether or not it's worth it to you to go to _____________." Of course I could be wrong about everything. What do I know? I'm a student just like you.

I am in a MA program now and I think three people in my cohort have made considerably more radical changes than you are describing. I think you'll be fine.

I don't want to be rude, and I don't want to derail a thread, but I've literally never heard anyone say that a GRE score, unless it is really, really low, can "do you in." I thought the consensus was "do well enough" on it and then move on? Either way, thanks for the link to the rankings!

I have nothing constructive to offer, I just wanted to note that I took a look at this board, saw this thread and realized "S*&% I have to start putting my applications together AGAIN (I'm in the first of a MA program)- and SOON." (I don't mean tomorrow; I just mean this semester will be over in no time, then the summer will fly by due to continued language training and then BAM- fall term.) So thanks for that. HA!

Who else is attending SWSEEL for Russian this summer? I will be attending (I'd be stunned if I entered less than level 7), FLAS or not- though I'm crossing my fingers! Congratulations to everyone with good news this cycle!

Thanks for the replies and feedback!

the dig- thanks a lot for those links- they're really helpful. I have a question and I hope someone on here could maybe offer an answer? Some of the schools that the dig listed considered a B in the second semester of the second year of a language to be sufficient for entry. Do you think that someone with near fluency in their primary language and one academic year and a summer intensive (say, Middlebury) in their secondary language would meet that qualification? I'm just curious if one academic year plus one intensive summer= 4 semesters. Thanks everyone and good luck if you're applying this season.

thanks karent! good luck with your applications this season!!!

Does anyone know what's going on with the Indiana SWSEEL summer 2013 application? The application page has said "will be available in December 2012" for weeks. Thank you!!!

I'm interested to hear other people's opinions on this issue. I thought the general attitude toward graduate GPAs was "do as well as you possibly can, but do not prioritize a 4.0 over research and writing your thesis." Further, I know for an absolute certainty that at least some MA programs basically hand out 4.0s. My undergraduate institution's MA program is notorious for this. There are also other schools that make real efforts to combat grade inflation. If I'm just a first year graduate student and I know this then I'm certain that ADComms do. Basically, I'm surprised that a person could make straight A- throughout their entire graduate career, produce a good sample, get good letters, and write a good SOP and be punished for that A-. That's really baffling to me.

I know that you intended to address this to the OP, but I appreciate it too!!

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One year ago, I was in your situation. I'm older than you. And during my first attempt at college- well, I didn't take it very seriously. I finally finished my BA at a school that doesn't have a reputation- it's not a bad reputation, it's not a good one- because no one knows it even exists. And my GRE was just above average. I applied to 9 programs, got into 8, and was offered funding at 3 (2 MA programs and 1 PhD). I chose one of the funded MAs because literally everyone says that an applicant with a MA has a considerably better shot at a great PhD program. I addressed my "issues" in the first paragraph of my SOP. When I apply for a PhD program I won't address it at all because, as someone on here once told me "they will know you are not a 'blue blood' almost immediately." Depending on how dramatically you improved, you might not have to say anything? If you had a 2.2 when you were 19 but went back to school when you were 25 and scored a 4.0 for 3 straight years I would be really surprised if anyone cared about that 2.2. That said, there are people on here who are at places like Princeton and I have the sense to defer to their wisdom. I got some really good advice from people on this board like TMP, StrangeLight, SimpleTwist, natesteel, and New England Nat, so I'm here to try to be that for someone else. My point is to tell you that it can be done. Good luck.

Do you mean to say that if one has already accomplished a decent (say 160) score then they would not benefit from the classes? Why?

Does anyone have any experience with this? Does anyone have any idea how relatively common this is? Does anyone have any thoughts on this in general? Does anyone else (besides me) think I'm quite ridiculous for spending my Saturday night pondering this? Thanks.

I don't believe that no one on this board or in this thread has never taken a GRE course.

To everyone who will say "don't bother, study on your own"- I really thank you for your advice, but my mind is set. Specifically, I am concerned about improving my verbal score. My verbal score was good, but I want it to be great. Who here has experience with these prep courses? Was it worth it? Thanks! RNG

Thank you so very much for the thoughtful replies. More than anything, I certainly want to ensure I do not destroy myself or offend anyone. And you're of course right that I have plenty to learn. Thanks again!

Thanks for that reply! I'd actually be really excited to see other methodological AND interpretations of my area of interest; but I don't want to deviate too far from that area of interest. Is it considered rude or unacceptable for a first year graduate student to basically say "I do not want to take this course and I'll do anything to avoid it?" Because I essentially would.

HA! Hilarious. I'm really sorry about that really glaring and stupid mistake. What I meant to say is that they've learned English by listening to it but with their own language's subtitles. It doesn't matter. Ultimately, you've offered great advice and I especially like the idea of using music to help. Thank you very much and I apologize for the ridiculous typo!