Jump to content

Cliopatronus

Members
  • Posts

    8
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Location
    U.S.A
  • Application Season
    Already Attending
  • Program
    PhD. History

Cliopatronus's Achievements

Decaf

Decaf (2/10)

1

Reputation

  1. Perhaps this thread has already been done. But, just out of curiosity and interest, I’d like to put the questions out there again: What are some works in your field that you think historians in other fields would benefit from reading? What are some works in your field that you would recommend to non-historians? What are some works that have completely re-defined your field in the last couple of decades? Feel free to answer all or just one of the questions. I’m hoping this will generate some interesting reading suggestions.
  2. Completely agree with the last comment. Memorizing words is next to useless because GRE does not ask you the meaning of the word. You don't need to know what the exact definition is. You just need to know the context in which they are being used. I did exactly what the last comment suggested - i.e. create groups of words with similar meanings. For example, you might create something like this: Category: Poor / poverty Words: Poor, penniless, destitute, indigent, impecunious, needy, impoverished, etc. I'm sure you can look up more in a thesaurus. This way you don't need to learn the exact meaning. You just need to remember that these words have something to do with poverty or being poor. This will not only save time, but help you remember more words. I would say that you should create as many of these word groups as you can, and you'll be in good shape.
  3. I was in a very similar situation as you are now. In the end, I decided to take a year off between Masters and PhD. I have been working for the last year, and will now be starting a PhD this fall. My main reason for taking a year off was that I wanted to work and pay off some student loans. That worked out well, and I now feel much more financially secure going into a PhD. But, even if finances weren't an issue, I think taking the year off was the right thing for me. It just gave me some breathing room after a very demanding Masters program, and a chance to clear my head, refresh, re-charge, etc. Stepping away from it for a year convinced me that academia was what I truly wanted to do. I think I might have burned out if I had gone straight through. In terms of downsides, I would say that it's challenging to apply for a PhD when you are not a student. As a student, you are in close proximity to libraries, professors, campus resources, etc that can all be very helpful when applying. Not only that, but as a student your schedule is more or less flexible if you need to study for the GREs or prepare applications. This is not necessarily the case if you're working a 9-5 job in a non-academic environment. In my case, even something as simple as arranging transcripts or calling references became a major pain because I had to leave work early so I could get it done during business hours. Or, if I needed to look up a book or a journal article for my application, it became a major chore as I was no longer close to a university library. But, these annoyances are in no way insurmountable. And, personally, I would still take the year off if I could choose again.
  4. It's a fun website. But, it's not useful for GRE studying because many of their advanced words are nouns (i.e. actual names of things). To my knowledge, GRE vocab never tests you on nouns. GRE vocab is about generic English words - mostly adjectives and adverbs. They'll never test you on the names of things.
  5. I definitely thought that Manhattan math was harder than the actual test.
  6. If you are pressed for time, then definitely focus on verbal. But, you should know that it is possible to get your math score up significantly by spending a little bit on time on a few key concepts. The way that the math section is designed, a small number important topics account for a large portion of the questions. So, if you can get those under your belt, your score will go up. I think Kaplan has a cheat sheet or some such which divides math topics into basic, intermediate, and advanced. Forget about the advanced because they only account for a few questions on the test. But, intermediate topics cover a lot of questions, and they are easier to pick up. And, you'll be surprised how many of these are based on simple "tricks" - if you only know the trick, you can get the question. Something else that really helped me was practice tests which break down math questions into topics (i.e. circle questions, triangle questions, arithmetic, geometry, etc). Take those practice tests and see which topics you're having a problem with. Then, focus on those topics only. Good luck!
  7. I feel your pain! Those science-heavy passages are such a drain on your time. I think it comes down to luck - I was lucky enough that my actual GRE didn't include a single scientific passage. But, it could easily have been the opposite. So, you have to prepare for the worst. Practice with the science ones, so that you are prepared. And, if you end up getting a non-science one, it'll just be a bonus. In a way, reading passages are really the only unknown part of the verbal. So, one way to tackle them is by bulking up on vocab, so that you do the other questions really quickly, leaving more time for reading.
  8. Yes, as others have pointed out, you will have a chance to work on languages while you are a student. You don't need to be 100% proficient from Day 1. BUT, I would re-iterate the point that was made earlier: if you apply with no languages and no sign of having taken any interest in learning them, you may effectively shut yourself out from certain programs (obviously, nothing is absolute. Maybe they will be so impressed with some other part of your application that they will take you in regardless.) So, even if you don't think you will need French or German or whatever language, I would suggest enrolling in something - an evening class, an online course, a summer class - just something which shows that you have the motivation and ability to do it, if needed.
×
×
  • 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