thekdiggs

Sorry for the late reply. I've been mulling over everything you guys have said, as well as talked to my parents/sent emails to Professors/advisor to see what they thought. Once I head back to school, I'm going to have a meeting with my academic advisor to discuss options. I've really taken everything stated here in this thread to heart, and I'm starting to think a year off could be beneficial for me. I want to make sure I have the best chance possible to get into the programs I choose to apply to, and I want to be able to carefully decide my concentration area. To me, senior year and writing my senior thesis paper (40-50 pages) should be my priority this year, and I fear that the application process will force me to direct my attention elsewhere, which isn't a great idea, in my opinion. Your comments regarding location were insightful; however, I would like to mention that I'm not an ignorant Northerner who thinks the Midwest/South are horrible places. I do not think that. I have friends who have gone to Southern/Midwestern universities and colleges and enjoy them. I understand that cities tend to be liberal (or at least more liberal than rural areas), and after going to college, I'm aware that colleges/universities tend to be pretty liberal establishments. That's not my concern. Runaway hit that on the head - I'm a homosexual woman. I feel uncomfortable being in an area which does not seem very 'gay-friendly,' and where the state laws expressly prohibit gay marriage/civil unions. Everyone is different and handles this differently, and some gay individuals may be able to handle living in that type of environment, but if I don't have to, I won't. And as a sidenote, Kelkel, I dislike the heat, so I understand your aversion to the cold (the opposite of what you're accustomed to). So this is another reason why I don't think I would agree with the South. Humidity and excessive heat give me headaches and stomach problems, and even summers up in the north bother me, where the weather tends to be a bit more mild (but not always of course). Anyway, the conclusion of this is that I appreciate all the help and guidance. I'm goin g to keep my options open for now, but it is possible that I'll be giving myself some time to really think about what I want to pursue for graduate work, whether that be a year or two. Thank you everyone.

Hey guys, thanks for all the really helpful responses. I want to reply to some of the cocerns, but first of all, I really wanted to say thank you! I really need to back up my advisor because he has been the most helpful person to me during my undergraduate experience. He's a young guy (I'm not EXACTLY sure, but no older than 35), so he isn't very far removed from the whole process. I don't think he's out of touch. I simply think that I'm the most promising student he's had in recent years (that is looking to go for a PhD, I would never assume to say I'm the most promising out of everyone, considering I know very smart individuals who have recently graduated or are about to), and he really wants me to succeed. I also think that the program he went to wasn't very strong on languages (he did have to know one foreign language, but like some have mentioned, it wasn't a huge deal), so he may not be as familar with the requirements as I'd like. I'm very wary about taking a year off for a bounty of reasons. One of them is financial, and that I really can't afford to take a year off. I do not have a full-time job, and my loans will kick in in 6 months unless I go to graduate school. I don't have the money right now to pay them out of pocket, and I'd hardly make enough money at my current job to pay them monthly and be able to save. The other reason if I'm afraid I'll get caught up in something (a relationship, some type of job offer, etc) and won't be willing to go back to school OR move to pursue my interests. I definitely want to fit in at the school I go to, that is obviously a priority. However, to me, graduate school is another adventure. I want to go somewhere to start fresh, but I want to enjoy that place. Hence looking at Californian schools, which I think matches up well with my personality and where I see myself in the next few years. I know this may seem superficial to some, but I really want to enjoy my life, and whatever school I choose, I need to be sure that is a place I can live for an extended period of time (considering the length of obtaining this degree). However, I am looking at other places on the East Coast per recommendations, but shying away from Midwestern/Southern schools, mainly because I dislike the political views of what seems to be the majority of the folks in those areas (apologies to any I may offend with this stereotypical view, but it's my personal opinion). The problem with language is that my school doesn't have language classes - or really, not serious ones. I suppose to someone glancing at a class list might THINK I learned something in Beginner Spanish, but it wasn't much. My school is trying an intermediate class this semester, and so since language seems to be important, I might have to go ahead and sign up for it. Or would it be okay to try and give it a go on my own, studying with books/online materials/Rosetta Stone, that type of thing? And as a reply to TMP - I think I know why I want a PhD. First of all, I love to learn. I couldn't stand not going back to school. Secondly, I really want to teach, and I want that to matter, and teaching highschoolers isn't what I crave. I really would like to teach (and learn from) students who are interested in things that I'm interested in. So, the college level. And third, I enjoy researching and writing is perhaps the strongest skill I have in my arsenal. I'd like to develop that further. I'm not sure if these are the 'right' reasons for you, but they are for me.

Hi everyone! I've seen a few others post things similar to here, and I'm just wondering if any of you are able to give me some similar advice. I'm about to be a senior at a small liberal arts school in the Northeast. It isn't well known by any means, and it isn't a top schools in the country, either, if you understand what I mean. Just a pretty decent school. I'm looking at applying to graduate schools for a PhD in history - right now, I'm probably going to look at studying American History (or some type of similar major/concentration/whatever its called at that particular school). I have roughly a 3.91 overall GPA; my history GPA is a little higher, probably close to 3.96. I just took my GRE and got a 160 Verb and 158 Quant; not sure on writing as I haven't gotten 'official' scores, but I expect that to be somewhere between 5-6 for the average of the two. I'm in the honors program, have done some teaching assistanships, and run a voluntary tutoring program as part of the Honors program, which I originally created. I've done a law internship over the summer, as well. Other than that, I really don't have any type of extra-curriculars. I have a pretty well-written paper to use as a writing sample (around 18 pages or so) that uses secondary and primary resources, which was written in the previous semester. We have to write a thesis senior year but it won't be nearly completed by application time. I'm can read some Spanish, but I would not say I'm even close to fluent. Other than that, I have no languages under my belt. This was something I was told 'not to worry about' by my academic advisor, who got his PhD in history (obviously). Yet it seems pretty important from reading around here/elsewhere. I'm applying to schools based primarily upon location: I want to either remain local (Boston-ish area), or move to the West Coast (really California). My top choice is Stanford or Berkelely. Is this unrealistic? I was told by my academic advisor that it was entirely possible, but from reading here, it seems like I'm under the bar, despite the fact that I'm easily academically the 'smartest' person in my history graduating class, and ranked 3 or 4 in my entire graduating class. Also thinking of applying to Brandeis Uni, which is local, Boston Uni, and possibly BC. Are these possible? Thanks for any and all help.