CrazyCatLady80

I think there is a certain amount of maturity that can only come from age. Also, your perspective changes. I know I am a very different person at thirty-two than twenty-two. I've noticed this in my MA program where most of the students are in their mid-twenties. We did have a student who was only twenty years old in our program and, in my opinion, she was way too immature. She was extremely bright, but far more interested in talking about boys than history. She didn't see anything wrong with ditching classes to go on a trip to Vegas. Plus, I really think she found it strange being a TA since most of the students were exactly her age. She related to them almost too much. I know this isn't true for everyone, but the fact is that you are still a "baby adult" and you still need time to grow up a bit and really get to know yourself before making such a large commitment.

Ok....after a lot of soul searching. I have narrowed it down to eleven schools (not listed in any specific order) - 1. UMich 2. UCLA 3. Berkeley 4. Brown 5. UWashington 6. UMD 7. OSU 8. USC 9. UCSD 10. UC Riverside 11. USC (American Studies program) My application includes: 3.74 GPA (I will spare everyone the story about that one. If you are curious as to why it so low, PM me); OK GREs (not a strong area, due to a learning disability); solid writing sample demonstrating my research interest, which is a pretty hot, up and coming topic in urban history; at least one or, if I am super lucky, two publications in peer reviewed graduate student journals (note that the one that might be published is from the professor that gave me the B, because he didn't like it); three to four conferences; good letters; and TA experience; and former archivist. As many of you know, I am currently in an MA program. I have an MLS with a GPA of 3.7 something. My undergrad GPA is 3.2 (I believe) and 3.4 in major. Any final thoughts or added suggestions? My main fear is that I am applying to so many highly ranked schools that I will be screwing myself. At the same time, I don't want to attend lower ranking schools due to the job market.

If is not official till you buy the t-shirt/sweatshirt

Congrats!! Glad to see those wait lists actually work sometimes.

Great choice. UCR is a good school, but it is a lesser UC and has a lot of funding issues. I am guessing that is why you haven't heard anything.

I've talked to grad students in the program to see what their general take is of the situation. Most of the time they seem to have a general idea. I've also emailed former students to see what they had to say. The more I read and listen to other people, it is very obvious that there are some schools (usually in the top 20) where you have a clear advantage when it comes to the job market. However, at the end of the day, a lot of it depends on you. If you want a job, you have to go in there from day one thinking about the job market and what makes you a good hire. A lot of it involves networking, CV building, etc. Don't expect the school to place you without doing any work.

Honestly, as I mentioned before, I am an Americanist and know very little about PhD programs abroad. Someone I knew who got their PhD in the UK did this during during his last year. I don't know how he did on the job market, but I thought it might be worth the suggestion.

My department has actually gotten rid of the masters thesis. The main reason has to do with union issues, but the other is that they are basically useless. Students spend massive amounts of time and energy and they end up collecting dust on the bookshelves. Plus, to be honest, as a student at a large public second-rate university, the work from most graduate students is hardly groundbreaking (except for those that are on the PhD track). Instead, they replaced it with the "culminating experience" (I know....the name cracks me up), which is the revision of a research paper they completed in a previous class. In the end, the goal is to have 25-page, publication quality paper. At first, I HATED the idea. In fact, I had a huge panic attack, convinced that a PhD program won't accept me. However, I realized that this wasn't the case and was actually a very good thing, because I wouldn't have to turn a 100-page thesis into a 25-page writing sample. Plus, if I really wanted to do a thesis, I still have the option, because of the date that I entered the program. They are offering the option the first time this semester and I am hearing mixed things about it. A lot of the students are complaining about the amount of work involved, but I think that has to do with the quality of our grad students than the new program.

Congrats and best of luck!! I am sure you will do fine. One possible idea - have you thought of returning to the states during the final year or two of your dissertation? I knew someone who did this, but can't remember how he did in the job market.

I don't think it will get you into grad school, but being a member looks nice on a CV. I list it under my "awards" section.

I am an Americanist so the idea of going abroad to earn a PhD is not in my picture (although I day dream about it occasionally ). However, if I were in your shoes, I think my main concern would be the job market. I have heard stories of people going to fantastic schools abroad and not getting a job once they come back to the states. I don't know about you, but by far the most important thing to me is getting a tenure-track job once I am finished. I know it won't be easy and it may not happen, but I will do everything in my power to make sure that I have that job even if it means sticking with a school here in the states.

The War at Home is a fantastic documentary. I used parts of it in one of my lessons about the 60s. It is very to the point and avoids all the bad 60s cliches, which students know all too well.

Yes...I will see if I have them on my flash drive.

Congrats about UMD! I know they have an excellent MA/MLS program. It is also highly likely that I will be applying there for my PhD. So we should stay in touch.

I say go with UConn. It is worth going into debt if it means getting into a top department and landing a job in a super competitive market. Also, as I have said before, most MAs are not funded. I've had to pay for both my MLS and MA out of my own pocket. I will never be able to buy a house, but, personally, it is worth it.

I've thought about writing something about the riots too. Though I was a child, it is etched very strongly in my memory. Back in my archivist days, I surveyed the Tom Bradley papers at UCLA. A lot of good stuff about the riots, but good luck finding anything. The original archivist really messed up that collection. I did find some wonderful child drawing of the riots. I believe I might have some scanned if anyone is interested in seeing some wonderful documents. Not a lot has been written on the subject, but most of what has focuses on African American and Korean-American dynamic. If you are interested in the subject, one topic you might want to consider is REBUILD LA, the organization established after the riot to help rebuild (duh) and reach out to communities affected by the riots. I don't know much about it, but I've heard it has an interesting history.

What about Ron Kovic's Born of the Fourth of July? He is probably the most famous anti-Vietnam veteran. It is a memoir so I don't know if that is what you wanted.

I find it interesting how standardized tests have become less important in recent years. Back when I was in high school almost fifteen years ago (god....that is depressing), getting a good SAT score was everything. I knew of several students who got horrible grades, but managed to get into really good schools, because they had a perfect score. Now among the high school students I tutor it is looked at kind of joke as well. Guess the same goes for the GRE. I think a lot of it has to do with all that evidence that shows standardized tests are biased in favor of certain groups of individuals.

Thanks, fossilchick. Sounds like we had the same professor. I am finally starting to believe people when they say the GPA isn't that important. I just wish it was more of a 3.8 than a 3.7. Still worried about the GRE, but the rest of my application is very strong.

Personally, I think some of the upper division undergrad classes are more difficult than the graduate level courses. The undergrad classes require more busy work and exams compared to the grad courses which just have you write papers.

Thanks, Bryan. If you don't mind me asking, was the 3.5 your undergrad or grad grades?

In reviewing all these stats, I think the most important thing is health insurance. I've had to pay my own health insurance for the past couple of years and it is horrible. I also feel that if I am going to do all that work for the university (and, yes, I do think of it being more an employee situation than a student), they can at least pay for my medical insurance. Luckily, it seems that most universities feel this way too.

I used to work at Columbia back as an archivist. These days Morningside Heights is more of an extension of the Upper West Side. It used to be far worse till Columbia bought everything around it and gentrified the community. Kind of sad, actually. They still don't do enough for the Harlem community. A random fun fact - Columbia is the number one land owner in all of New York City. They love to pretend they are poor, but, in reality, they are super rich.

The amount of money at that school is downright crazy. Their alumni all tend to be very wealthy and loyal to the school. Kind of like Princeton in that sense. It is in an awful neighborhood. I lived in the South Bronx for three years and never felt unsafe. However, the area around USC always gives me the creeps. UCLA says USC pretends to be something really special, in reality, it really isn't. I think that was true back in the day, but now it is a very good school. Even though UCLA is higher ranked, I would much rather go to USC, but students from my school can't seem to get into their program.

As someone from LA and very familiar with the schools in this area, I am not surprised at all. That school is loaded. The tuition for undergrads is over 50K per year. Hence why is the University of Spoiled Children. Can you tell I am a UCLA fan?