Last Minute Career Change... need some serious help!

[vanasme]

When I came to college as a freshman I was a pre-med biology major... fast forward three years and I'm a history major, french minor. For my first year of college I was a biology major and pre-med. I eventually dropped the biology major and became a history major, added a french minor, but continued to be pre-med. After a couple rough semesters as a pre-med student, I've realized that I've lost my passion for medicine and I REALLY want to do something with history (be a professor - like 90% of all other history majors...). The problem is that I'm going to be senior and have only now realized that medicine just isn't for me and I feel way behind. Since I was taking so many classes for pre-med I haven't been able to concentrate on history as much as I would have liked. Therefore, I will have to use the summer after my senior year to finish up all requirements. I will still have my commencement ceremony in May, but I will still have 2 classes to finish up that following summer. My question is, how does that affect graduate school (I'm looking at masters programs right now), if at all. I will have finished my degree by the time I enter graduate school, but I'm not going to be done until the end of June... is that going to matter at all?

Another concern of mine is that I really don't have any history professors that I would be comfortable asking for a letter of recommendation. Because I was so focused on medicine, I put all of my efforts into establishing relationships with my science professors and only talked to my history professors outside of class if I had a question about something mentioned in class, or questions I had on a paper I was writing. Therefore, I really don't think I had any lasting impressions on any of my history professors, so how do I find people to write my letters of recommendation? Do I just hope I can establish a relationship with my professors at the beginning of next year and ask them?

I'm just frustrated because I have a true passion for history and I feel that I have a strong GPA (a 3.6 overall, some of the science classes killed me, and a 3.7 in my history courses) and a strong writing sample that uses a lot of primary sources. Since I'm a french minor I'm proficient (at least in reading) in another language which I'm sure will help. I also think that I will do well on the GRE, but since I've decided on history so late in the game I'm worried that it's just too late. I know that realistically it's not, but I'm just nervous because I feel that I've made up my mind so late.

Finally, I really don't know where to begin looking for graduate programs. I'm looking at getting my masters first because I don't think that I would be admitted into a PhD program without extremely strong letters of recommendations, a higher GPA, and more "experience" like working with a professor or publishing. The problem is that since I'm so new at all of this I really don't know where to begin looking. I want to get my masters in Colonial American history, but I don't what to look for in a school to determine if it has a good colonial america program. I'm sure that this is a long stretch, but is there any sort of list that ranks graduate programs? I would REALLY prefer to stay in Chicago (I'm a student at Loyola University now) because I love the city and honestly couldn't imagine living anywhere else, but I know that I have to realistic and think about my future. I know that Loyola, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Depaul offer a masters in history (University of Chicago and Northwestern only have PhD programs), but I wouldn't consider Depaul and I'm pretty sure that Loyola doesn't specialize in Colonial American history so that pushes me towards to UIC, but I just don't know if they have a reputable program... Does anyone have any suggestions for Chicago or elsewhere? I'm willing to go anywhere in the U.S. that isn't the middle of nowhere - location is pretty important to me, I don't think I could survive somewhere with a population of 10 people... I'm also willing to go to Canada because I have a lot of family there (mainly in Ontario) and I know that in Canada you're MUCH more likely to be awarded a TA position as a masters student, which is almost unheard of in the U.S. and it's also a lot cheaper... I have a decent amount of debt from undergrad and I know that I'm going to into a lot more debt, but I have to REALLY look at cost as well...

So I guess this post just show how confused I am on all of this and I would REALLY appreciate any advice! Thanks in advance!!!

[Minnesotan]

History of Medicine or History of Science programs might be interested in you. If you're interested in them, it's worth looking into.

[anese]

I was going to recommend the same, History of Science or History of Medicine--these are also programs that receive fewer applicants over all and might be "easier" to get into. (Note the "easier" in quotations.) My advice would be to go ahead and apply to PhD programs next year--and if you are worried about recommendations, perhaps you can establish relationships with history professors if you take some courses as a non-degree student over the summer or next year?

I was in a situation similar to yours--but I was a bit fortunate in that I realized what I REALLY wanted to do at the end of my sophomore year. This gave me the opportunity to establish new professional relationships and I changed my BS in Psychology and Biological Sciences to a BS in History and Public Policy.

Professors also made similar recommendations about pursuing programs in History of Science/Medicine to me, but I was more interested in a liberal study of American History, so I focused largely on US History programs and American Studies programs. So, if you are not interested in His of Science/Medicine, don't feel trapped! I experienced a wide range of rejections and acceptances from competitive programs for various reasons. Ultimately, I accepted an MA offer at a program at NYU with the opportunity to continue on to get a PhD.

Granted, I got an earlier start than you (junior year)--but don't worry. It may seem grim now, but you still have time to establish some professional relationships. Visit some of your former professors and discuss your plans, and if you are still worried about not having established any relationships, ask if they need a research assistant over the summer or next year (even if it's unpaid--a costly but ultimately beneficial investment) that could be a good option for you. Or just talk to them about their willingness to write a recommendation. I will caution you with this--I had one rec from a professor I only took one class with, now that is generally not a good idea, but when you need 3 you need 3...and it worked out in the end.

I believe that the most important thing, especially in your case is to work hard hard hard on your SoP and see if you can get a history professor to review it/work with you on it! You can demonstrate your interest in studying history and really prove that this isn't just a sudden career change for you. Even with my largely lackluster recs I was told by several committees it was what got me into the final rounds for consideration. Also, apply to a wide range of schools and consider going for the MA your first time around, not only so that you can figure out your focus but also so that you can demonstrate your commitment and establish new professional contacts! If you are serious about becoming a History professor (which I think you are ) then the idea of doing all of this should be exciting for you...

So don't panic...it's not over 'til it's over!