Hey! Need advice on my chances of getting in!

[Derfasciti]

Hey guys! I'm new here so apologies if this is the wrong section of the forum to post this on.

I'm looking for some feedback on my chances of getting in the WVU M.A. program for history. I'm tentatively looking to study 18th-20th century Russian and/or German history there and am planning on getting my Ph.D right after I get my masters. I'm a resident of West Virginia I'll hopefully be graduating Shepherd University this upcoming May. I've got a 3.6 overall GPA and a 3.6 GPA in the history program here. As for my languages, I've got 12 credits of French and 12 of German (two years respectively). My French is pretty horrible (almost non-existent) but my German's not bad as I took the summer intensive program here at shepherd. I've gotten a petition to go around the school to see if we can import a Russian professor to teach an intensive course over the upcoming Summer but whether or not that will actually happen is still unknown. The language opportunities here are pretty bad. Also, I have received the Marshall Foundation Scholarship which, along with a small sum of money, gives me the opportunity to do original research at the Lexington Marshall Archive on the Russian Civil War and America's involvement in the Kolchak government. I've been told that this looks good for grad school applications (any feedback on that?). I was also the secretary and am currently the president of Shepherd University's History Honor Society - Phi Alpha Theta Pi Epsilon Chapter. Finally, I'm scheduled to take the GRE at WVU tomorrow and right before that I will be meeting briefly with a faculty member there, Dr. Blobaum, who teaches Russian and Polish history just to kinda give him a face to the name on my application.

So knowing all of this, do you guys think my chances of getting in WVU are good? I'm very worried about the GRE as doing some practice tests have left me thinking that I won't do so well on it tomorrow. Do you think that will be a big factor in the decision to bring me aboard? Any tips or advice in general?

Thanks very much for any feedback you can offer!

P.S. Barring that, are there any other safe schools I can apply to?

Edited September 24, 2010 by Derfasciti

[JustChill]

You know you can do a summer intensive Russian program at places like Pittsburgh, Arizona State, Indiana (SWSEEL), or Middlebury. And you can get a FLAS to do Russian, which will cover all your costs. If you're looking at a PhD in Russian history, you will need to bring up your Russian to a pretty high level to have a chance at some of the top-25 programs. I recommend trying to find a summer when you can spend it in St. Petersburg or Moscow.

[TMP]

Agreed with what JustChill said.

I would consider taking a year off and study Russian in Russia (or Kiev if you can- that's getting popular) to bring up your Russian to speed after this year. It may be a better investment than spending money on a MA. You want to be ready to handle original Russian sources in your first year for readings and research (it can happen, depending on the professor!). That is if you're really sure you want to do Russian history for PhD.

Is there a reason why you want to do a MA when your history grades are obviously acceptable?

[Derfasciti]

Thanks for the feedback, all.

Yes, I've been made aware of Russian Summer programs - especially Pittsburgh - but then it comes down to money (living there and all). WVU has the Atlantis Program and that looks like it has potential too. The main reason I want to start with the MA is that I'm still not 100% sure I want to do Russian history and I'd want some time to get used to graduate school and figure out what exactly my research interests are and get my languages up before I jumped into a Ph.d program. That, and applying for your MA and THEN going for the ph.d is easier, at least according to my advisor. I guess what I really wanted to know was if the above stuff I've mentioned seems good enough to get me into WVU.

Edited September 25, 2010 by Derfasciti

[TMP]

Thanks for the feedback, all.

Yes, I've been made aware of Russian Summer programs - especially Pittsburgh - but then it comes down to money (living there and all). WVU has the Atlantis Program and that looks like it has potential too. The main reason I want to start with the MA is that I'm still not 100% sure I want to do Russian history and I'd want some time to get used to graduate school and figure out what exactly my research interests are and get my languages up before I jumped into a Ph.d program. That, and applying for your MA and THEN going for the ph.d is easier, at least according to my advisor. I guess what I really wanted to know was if the above stuff I've mentioned seems good enough to get me into WVU.

If you're worried about languages. The way I read the MA requirement for languages:

Individual faculty may also require their students to master one or more languages, to demonstrate proficiency in particular research methods (quantitative analysis, paleography, GIS, etc.) or to develop other skills as necessary for their fields of study and dissertation projects. Any courses taken to acquire a language or research skill will not be accepted as part of the 30 hours.

You probably should e-mail faculty members of your interest and ask about their expectations. Normally 2 years of French or German will suffice to pass a reading exam with a dictionary.

So you may want to frame your interest in the SOP one of the two ways: A) Try to focus more on German history and suggest that you would like to explore German-Soviet relationship (whatever that big picture you're looking at) and would like to use the MA program as an opportunity to dive into this further and learn Russian OR Suggest that your research interests led to you to Russia because of the questions that your projects are raising and you would like to use the opportunity in the MA program to explore this interest in Russian history further and learn Russian. That way, I think, may allow you just take that proficiency exam in German and consider it done at the beginning of your program without feeling too much pressure to pass that Russian exam after 2-4 semesters of Russian ASAP.

Really, I would just talk to the faculty members, they're going to want to talk about languages anyway. Usually the second or third big question in a conversation over phone or in-person.

[Derfasciti]

If you're worried about languages. The way I read the MA requirement for languages:

Individual faculty may also require their students to master one or more languages, to demonstrate proficiency in particular research methods (quantitative analysis, paleography, GIS, etc.) or to develop other skills as necessary for their fields of study and dissertation projects. Any courses taken to acquire a language or research skill will not be accepted as part of the 30 hours.

You probably should e-mail faculty members of your interest and ask about their expectations. Normally 2 years of French or German will suffice to pass a reading exam with a dictionary.

So you may want to frame your interest in the SOP one of the two ways: A) Try to focus more on German history and suggest that you would like to explore German-Soviet relationship (whatever that big picture you're looking at) and would like to use the MA program as an opportunity to dive into this further and learn Russian OR Suggest that your research interests led to you to Russia because of the questions that your projects are raising and you would like to use the opportunity in the MA program to explore this interest in Russian history further and learn Russian. That way, I think, may allow you just take that proficiency exam in German and consider it done at the beginning of your program without feeling too much pressure to pass that Russian exam after 2-4 semesters of Russian ASAP.

Really, I would just talk to the faculty members, they're going to want to talk about languages anyway. Usually the second or third big question in a conversation over phone or in-person.

Thanks for more feedback! Yes, I actually made the acquaintance of the professor today. As I mentioned earlier we were going to meet up a couple hours before the GRE to discuss exactly such questions. While I was a little intimidated and I'm sure I showed I was a tiny bit nervous, I can hope I gave him a face to the name on the upcoming application, at least. He had mentioned that the languages I have so far, and the GPA both seemed pretty acceptable. So that's good.

GRE update: V: 600. Q: 410. Not too super, right? WVU said the "requirement" (not too sure if that's literally a requirement or just a preference or not) was 1000 combined so in that case I just barely made it.

Hmmm that's not a horrible idea. Now, would the fact that I discussed with him mostly my interest in Eastern Europe (and the Atlantis program which is 1 year in WVU, 1/2 year in Poland and 1/2 year in Estonia -- naturally a Eastern Europe scholarship) hurt me if I do decide to revert back to my German interests? I had mentioned to him that I was indeed still trying to puzzle out exactly which country I wanted to look further into. Still, I guess the main reason I've declared a larger interest in Eastern Europe is the simple fact that I THINK that government jobs (CIA, DOD, State, etc.) will probably be more interested in people who know about potential trouble areas than a place like Germany which isn't likely to start going haywire any time soon. (By all means, if my assessment is wrong, do tell me.) My line of thinking was that if I didn't do academia, then I'd still have opportunities within the government sector. I feel that 18th-20th century Germany is probably my biggest interest.

I am a little confused. Are you referring to a language proficiency test I'd have to take for starting my MA or are you talking about for my Ph.d candidacy?

Edited September 26, 2010 by Derfasciti

[Derfasciti]

If you're worried about languages. The way I read the MA requirement for languages:

Individual faculty may also require their students to master one or more languages, to demonstrate proficiency in particular research methods (quantitative analysis, paleography, GIS, etc.) or to develop other skills as necessary for their fields of study and dissertation projects. Any courses taken to acquire a language or research skill will not be accepted as part of the 30 hours.

You probably should e-mail faculty members of your interest and ask about their expectations. Normally 2 years of French or German will suffice to pass a reading exam with a dictionary.

So you may want to frame your interest in the SOP one of the two ways: A) Try to focus more on German history and suggest that you would like to explore German-Soviet relationship (whatever that big picture you're looking at) and would like to use the MA program as an opportunity to dive into this further and learn Russian OR Suggest that your research interests led to you to Russia because of the questions that your projects are raising and you would like to use the opportunity in the MA program to explore this interest in Russian history further and learn Russian. That way, I think, may allow you just take that proficiency exam in German and consider it done at the beginning of your program without feeling too much pressure to pass that Russian exam after 2-4 semesters of Russian ASAP.

Really, I would just talk to the faculty members, they're going to want to talk about languages anyway. Usually the second or third big question in a conversation over phone or in-person.

Thanks for more feedback! Yes, I actually made the acquaintance of the professor today. As I mentioned earlier we were going to meet up a couple hours before the GRE to discuss exactly such questions. While I was a little intimidated and I'm sure I showed I was a tiny bit nervous, I can hope I at least gave him a face to the name on the upcoming application, at least. He had mentioned that the languages I have so far, and the GPA both seemed pretty acceptable. So that's good.

GRE update: V: 600. Q: 410. Not too super, right? WVU said the "requirement" (not too sure if that's literally a requirement or just a preference or not) was 1000 combined so in that case I just barely made it. I also think I did pretty well on the Analytical -- or at least the Issues essay part of it haha.

Hmmm that's not a horrible idea. Now, would the fact that I discussed with him mostly my interest in Eastern Europe (and the Atlantis program which is 1 year in WVU, 1/2 year in Poland and 1/2 year in Estonia -- naturally a Eastern Europe scholarship) hurt me if I do decide to revert back to my German interests? I had mentioned to him that I was indeed still trying to puzzle out exactly which country I wanted to look further into. Still, I guess the main reason I've declared a larger interest in Eastern Europe is the simple fact that I THINK that government jobs (CIA, DOD, State, etc.) will probably be more interested in people who know about potential trouble areas than a place like Germany which isn't likely to start going haywire any time soon. (By all means, if my assessment is wrong, do tell me.) My line of thinking was that if I didn't do academia, then I'd still have opportunities within the government sector. I feel that 18th-20th century Germany is probably my biggest interest... At least most of the time. If you haven't guessed yet, I'm a bit indecisive about planting my foot definitively even though I need to do that real soon haha.

I am a little confused. Are you referring to a language proficiency test I'd have to take for starting my MA or are you talking about for my Ph.d candidacy?

Edited September 26, 2010 by Derfasciti

[TMP]

Thanks for more feedback! Yes, I actually made the acquaintance of the professor today. As I mentioned earlier we were going to meet up a couple hours before the GRE to discuss exactly such questions. While I was a little intimidated and I'm sure I showed I was a tiny bit nervous, I can hope I at least gave him a face to the name on the upcoming application, at least. He had mentioned that the languages I have so far, and the GPA both seemed pretty acceptable. So that's good.

GRE update: V: 600. Q: 410. Not too super, right? WVU said the "requirement" (not too sure if that's literally a requirement or just a preference or not) was 1000 combined so in that case I just barely made it. I also think I did pretty well on the Analytical -- or at least the Issues essay part of it haha.

Hmmm that's not a horrible idea. Now, would the fact that I discussed with him mostly my interest in Eastern Europe (and the Atlantis program which is 1 year in WVU, 1/2 year in Poland and 1/2 year in Estonia -- naturally a Eastern Europe scholarship) hurt me if I do decide to revert back to my German interests? I had mentioned to him that I was indeed still trying to puzzle out exactly which country I wanted to look further into. Still, I guess the main reason I've declared a larger interest in Eastern Europe is the simple fact that I THINK that government jobs (CIA, DOD, State, etc.) will probably be more interested in people who know about potential trouble areas than a place like Germany which isn't likely to start going haywire any time soon. (By all means, if my assessment is wrong, do tell me.) My line of thinking was that if I didn't do academia, then I'd still have opportunities within the government sector. I feel that 18th-20th century Germany is probably my biggest interest... At least most of the time. If you haven't guessed yet, I'm a bit indecisive about planting my foot definitively even though I need to do that real soon haha.

I am a little confused. Are you referring to a language proficiency test I'd have to take for starting my MA or are you talking about for my Ph.d candidacy?

Gosh, I couldn't have met a prof AND taken GRE on the same day! Yes, just 1000 is all you need. I barely passed myself for my MA program.

I meant that you'll need to take a proficiency exam for your MA at some point in order to get your MA.

Write your SOP however you feel. Your idea of just focusing on Eastern Europe in general and using the MA program to narrow your interests for the PhD is great too. I only suggest focusing on German history if you just don't want to be pressured into taking a proficiency exam in Russian. JustChill, correct me on this if I'm wrong, there isn't that much more of Russian grammar you need to know after two years of Russian (especially first year), so you'll wind up spending more time looking up in the dictionary than taking apart sentences.

Here's an idea for Russian- see if you can apply for the Critical Language scholarship offered by the State Department. You'll have to do a year or two of public service if accepted and taken the course (usually taken in Ukraine or Russia, I think). Yes, Eastern Europe is still critical to US interest but not so much as it was during the Cold War (a joke among anyone with Russian language fluency: "Pray for another Cold War so we all can get jobs!").

[Derfasciti]

Gosh, I couldn't have met a prof AND taken GRE on the same day! Yes, just 1000 is all you need. I barely passed myself for my MA program.

I meant that you'll need to take a proficiency exam for your MA at some point in order to get your MA.

Write your SOP however you feel. Your idea of just focusing on Eastern Europe in general and using the MA program to narrow your interests for the PhD is great too. I only suggest focusing on German history if you just don't want to be pressured into taking a proficiency exam in Russian. JustChill, correct me on this if I'm wrong, there isn't that much more of Russian grammar you need to know after two years of Russian (especially first year), so you'll wind up spending more time looking up in the dictionary than taking apart sentences.

Here's an idea for Russian- see if you can apply for the Critical Language scholarship offered by the State Department. You'll have to do a year or two of public service if accepted and taken the course (usually taken in Ukraine or Russia, I think). Yes, Eastern Europe is still critical to US interest but not so much as it was during the Cold War (a joke among anyone with Russian language fluency: "Pray for another Cold War so we all can get jobs!").

Thanks for the advice! I've been looking at the Critical Language scholarship and unfortunately it says that the Russian is "intermediate and advanced" only. I'm not exactly sure what to equate that to in credit hours but I'm wondering if I'd have the time or resources to get up to that level beforehand. But It's definitely something I'm interested in finding more about. Anyone have any ideas?

Also, is in-state favored for grad schools or is it kinda case-by-case?

edit: I just found the more specific requirements: - "Minimum requirement: completion of two years of college-level Russian, or its equivalent, prior to the start of the program." So, I'm still not sure if this means I COULD theoretically teach myself (and work with a friend or two who is interested in learning as well) and get up to that level before the summer program starts or not.

Edited October 5, 2010 by Derfasciti