hellokitty

Dear Jilly11, I did my MA History at a dirt-cheap university that basically charged about $1000 per course. With my part-time-work, I managed to keep paying for the ten required MA courses as well as the monthly interest payments on my massive undergraduate (and in forbearance for perhaps eternity, LOL) debt. Living under the care of family has obviously allowed me to pay for my MA. In an ideal world, an MA would come to you for free---but as the other people of this discussion thread have noted, the MA usually does not. I will say that I really, really enjoyed my MA History program, which really sharpened my interests and provided a great counter-weight (like a 4.0 History GPA) to my 3.63 undergraduate History GPA. I have no doubt that the MA improved my academic resume---and it certainly had a role in getting me into my present doctoral (albeit not PhD) program in history---and on a doctoral fellowship! I do not need to say that the MA also gave me a lot of fans among the History Department faculty who will continue to take care of my academic hopes and dreams in the future (i.e. through recommendations). If you need to pay for an MA, please consider going to the cheapest alternative possible. I honestly do not consider the name/reputation of the college very important. In any event, cash-strapped people do not have the luxury of considering big-name (and therefore big-price) colleges. I hope this helps!

Chosen as alternate to Beginning Korean....but I have far bigger concerns on my mind, i.e. the fate of my PhD History Applications this year. Still, I really tip my hat off to those who made the Korean CLS. I thought I had a pretty much unassailable application LOL, but I seriously think that a professional connection to the language means ever so slightly more than an academic one---and my entire application rested on the latter and not the former.

Hi folks! I thought I could reply to this thread too....but I tweaked the original format to reflect my slightly different track. BA Institution: Ivy League Major(s): History Minor(s): Asian/Middle Eastern Studies GPA in Major: 3.63 Overall GPA: 3.68 Position in Class: Third (lowest) Honor Group MA Institution: In New York Major(s): History Minor(s): N/A GPA in Major: 4.00 Overall GPA: 4.00 Doctor of Arts Institution: In New York Major(s): History Minor(s): N/A GPA in Major: 4.00 Overall GPA: 4.00 Position in Department: N/A Type of Student: Asian GRE Q: 760 (84%) GRE V: 660 (94%) GRE W: 5 (87%) Research Experience: Presidential Scholars Research Assistantship (Undergraduate), MA Thesis Publication Pending on seventh-century Korean history (2012) Awards/Honors/Other Recognition: Church Scholarship (2010), Doctoral Fellowship (2010-2011) Pertinent Activities or Jobs: See above Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Sunday School Teacher at my church (2009-present), interning teacher at my after school academy (2003-present) Languages: English (native), French (proficient), Korean (weakly proficient) Special Bonus Points: Rare field (Transnational Jesuit Missionary Activity among Korean exiles/natives, 1550-1750) Applying to Where: PhD History Rejected: 6 (Columbia, CUNY Graduate Center, U Nebraska-Lincoln, U Hawaii at Manoa, Indiana U); PhD History Decision Pending: 6 (U Iowa, Notre Dame, Catholic University of America, NYU, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Binghamton) Letters of Recommendation: Specialists in African, Mongolian, Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Early Modern English, and American history Statement of Purpose: The two biggest themes of my SOP lay in my emphasis on how much mentors have taught me and the many ways with which one could study my proposed field. Writing Sample: A 25-page-paper related to my field Communication with POI: A few professors told me about some members who might take an interest in my field, but this interest has not translated into an admission offer. Lessons Learned from Application Process: As I suspected, the History PhD applications process counts as highly selective. I definitely consider it a roulette game that almost depends (almost) solely on luck.