Clear Strengths and Clear Weaknesses

[ReallyNiceGuy]

I went back to school at the age of 30. I had only intended to finish a BA in history to achieve a personal goal and because no one in my family has ever finished. I went to the cheapest school in my area (it is accredited) because I finance my education myself. I entered my current university with the 2.4GPA I "earned" at the age of 18 when I didn't take college seriously.

Fast forward 3 years and I'm set to graduate in spring 2012. Professors encouraged me to go further than a BA. I listened and I've worked really hard. Here is what I will present in applications:

1) 4.0 in the last 2+years; I estimate the cumulative from both institutious will be something like 3.67 (3.9 in major).

2) I have presented 3 papers at national academic conferences across the country

3) I am a writing tutor at my University and a Writing Assistant for a Professor (essentially an undergraduate TA)

4) The school gave me an "oustanding history student of the year" award.

5) I am a member of 2 honors societies

6) I started two on campus organizations

7) I have an EXCELLENT chance to be published by October

8) I can easily get letters of rec from as many as 7 Professors; 2 of these openly told the entire student body I'm the best student the program has ever seen

However, I am a natural "I can do more" type of person and I have the following deficiencies:

1) My language skills in the region I would like to study are weak. I'm working on it, but I am where I am at the moment.

2) I did not go to the best undergraduate institution. I am the definition of working class, as is my school.

3) I've been studying really hard on the GRE, but my scores continue to hover around 1100 (550/550). I take it in about one month and realistically, I do not feel I can get +150 between now and then.

I want to apply as a MA student to hone my language skills. The institutions I want to attend most are top 20. Am I aiming too high? How much will I be "punished" for having not attended a premier undergraduate program?

I know, I know: TL;DR

Anyone who has a chance to offer any words, be they encouraging or "realistic" is greatly appreciated.

ReallyNiceGuy

[cunninlynguist]

Firstly, congrats on showing the dedication to return to school, and doing such exemplary work!

I can't really offer much on actual experience, seeing as I just graduated and will start applying this fall. However, it seems like you'll be able to make a very strong case for admission at your programs of choice. Undergraduate reputation, from what I've read and heard, isn't a big deal - particularly if you can demonstrate that you're well suited for graduate work. If you were graduating with a 3.0 in a fluff major, it might be an issue, but that's clearly not the case. Your presentations and likely publication will be valuable.

Given the strength of the other components of your application (I'm just assuming; history isn't my field, so I'm not cognizant of the average applicant), your GRE score shouldn't be a major point of emphasis. Ideally, you'll do well enough to exceed any minimum requirement. Some programs don't give it much thought beyond the initial screening process. And, for example, a 550 on the verbal section would place you in the 75th percentile (whereas a 550 on the quantitative portion, more irrelevant for a history student, would be the 36th percentile).

The only thing I can't comment on is regarding the language skills. It sounds like you're well aware of what you need to do, though, so I trust you can make the necessary strides, or, demonstrate to admissions committees that you'll do everything in your power to get up to speed so that it won't hinder your ability as a graduate student.

[ReallyNiceGuy]

Thank you very much for the response and I hope that you are right. I am putting together applications for this fall myself. I wish you the best of luck with getting into the school you would most like to attend!!