Hi yall, New here, need your advice please :)thank u

[roxy316]

I graduated 3 years ago, with a degree in political science/international affairs...from a great school

 

I have been im limbo and all over the place

 

one year after graduating, I applied to the poli sci, program at my alma mater, and got in, however, i went to one class and dropped the class, i did not like the theories and stuff, i think i enjoyed the international part of my major, so i felt the theories and stuff were really boring...haha, i know, but i dropped the class, so it did not affect me or anything, because I did not really recieve a grade or anything, i dropped it within the drop date....

 

brings me to this past year fall 2012, i interned and also had 1.5 years working for a local business, I thought, hey why dont i apply to MBA program, so I did, and got rejected, it was really competitive, and think my local business work experience did not cut it....plus my school is located in a top metro area, they get lots of experienced career people

 

so it brings to this year, I landed a part-time teaching job, at a local public school, teaching 3 periods, government/history, and realized maybe I should persue my masters degree in History, I like it and looked in the syallbi of the masters programs at my Alma, and think I should apply....

 

my biggest question is, since I have applied to 2 different programs at my ALMA (got into one, rejected by one) and am going to apply to ANOTHER program, will they look down on me, and be like "oh this girl is crazy and unstable" look at her applying to different programs (i think they may be able to see my records etc)....I would really love to go to my alma for history MA program, and I really think 3rd time is a charm

 

Also, at my alma, I was elected to student govt, as a result I started many things on campus, was on deanslist for like 8 semesters, also graduated with honors...my gre is kinda bad, (b/c my Grams was really sick, and died, kinda did not study as well as I did, but I did get into the poli sci program, so I guess its not that bad??)  I am willing to retake, but I hope I can get in with what I have now...

 

also, since i was a poli sci major, in undergrad, how do history professors look at that when granting admission to candidates for history MA, I only took 3 history class in all my undergrad career, got 2 B's and 1 A: it was 2 of the required ones gen eds and one that I really liked....

 

thanks to all, if you read my schpell, thank u for all your advice...any advice or input/comments is much appreciated

[polisci12345]

[Azruel]

If I had to give any advice on the matter... it would be a series of questions. What do you want to do? What do you like to do? Why do you want to do what you think you want to do? Why do you like to do what you think you like to do? Does what you want to do and what you like to do overlap at all? If so, or if not, what are your goals for graduate school? And finally, is your alma mater your only option to achieve your academic or career goals?

 

The answers you may generate to questions such as these will not always overlap with any form of consistency, but that's ok at the point before you actually consider applications to graduate school in any field. It's all about you when deciding after all, so you have to know yourself a bit before moving on.

[roxy316]

lol, i love that video, thats totally me

 

and thanks guys, what u said is def true...need to think alot, lots of ?'s need to be answered...

[Azruel]

Yeah, it's really just a question of knowing yourself and your interests, then knowing the field you want to go into (content-wise), and knowing whether the careers within that field (or at least those than can be extrapolated from an advanced degree in that field) are something you would pursue. If you get a "green light" on each of those in that order, then it may be a good idea to go for it. Otherwise, go back one or two steps and try again. Also, there are always interdisciplinary programs if you find yourself on the edge of more than one area of interest.

 

As long as you will enjoy what you do, you can not go wrong (and even if you find out you don't enjoy it, you can always try something else; it may just take some extra work to get into what you do want). Best of luck to you.

[eponine997]

It's really not that unusual to be confused about what you want or where you stand or what you should do at 25 (i'm assuming you're around that age based on graduating 3 years ago).  

"Why not?" is a horribly reason to pursue a graduate degree.  They take time (often more time than what you put into undergrad), money (even if you are fully funded, there is still lost opportunity since you almost certainly could be earning more if you weren't in school), and energy (again, usually more than undergrad, because its not like you finish your assignments and then you are done, it sometimes feels like a bottomless pit of research).  Basically, you should probably be willing to eat, sleep, and breath your discipline for however long it takes to complete you degree (unless you're looking at a part time program).  

 

If you are unsure of what you want, programs can often sense that.  They expect you to articulate your goals and interests in a clear SoP, if you can't do that, they often will not admit you.  

 

Will the history MA help you with your career path/life plan or does it just "sound fun?"  If its the latter, it seems like you can engage those interests by taking classes as a post-bac/non-matriculated student, which is what I would recommend (and would make you a stronger candidate should you choose to reapply).  Then if you decide a an MA/advanced degree is for you, you can usually transfer at least some of those credits into your grad program.  

 

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but thorough self-examination now could save you a lot of time, money, pain, and effort pursuing something you neither want nor need.  

 

It sounds like you do have a good job, so there is probably not terrible cause to freak out because you life isn't perfectly plotted out 3 years out of college .  Good luck with whatever you decide