I need some help and advice on a history Phd

[ZachryT]

Hello, I’m new to this forum so I apologize if this sort of thing has already been covered. I am a history major and am currently entering my junior year at St.John’s University. I am very aware that my gpa is very low (at a 2.65), but I started college off with a 1.6 and have put in decent effort over the past 3 semesters to try and work on my average. However, I am very committed to getting my Phd in African History and am willing to put in hard hours to make this happen. My school offers a 5 year combined BA/MA program, and I am know that I can get into this, but I am wary of the price and would rather see if it is possible to make my goal happen without having to go that route. Does anyone have any advice? As a side note, I have very good research and presentation skills which correlate highly with my discipline.

 

[dr. t]

I'm not sure you're going to like this advice. 

 

You have a bad GPA from a notorious party school, which you have tried to rectify with a "decent effort". Assuming 4 courses a semester, the numbers you've provided means that "decent effort" works out to a B-average (a GPA of 3.0 exactly, actually). This would not suggest to me or to a hypothetical admissions committee that you possess either academic discipline or very good research and presentation skills.

 

So, the question is this: you say you are "very committed" to getting that PhD, but so far your haven't shown it. In concrete terms, what's changed?

[TMP]

With a GPA like that and a bad freshman year, admissions committee may be more inclined to focus on your grades within the history major and relevant courses (after all, we have had people try pre-med at the beginning...).  

 

You may be well-served to take time off in between to gain a little bit of life experience, demonstrate that you can hold down a job or follow through with a major project, etc.  Right now, focus on pulling up your GPA, connecting with your professors, and reading as much as you can.

[Deadwing0608]

Although my situation was different in the particulars, I was in a similar position on the GPA front when I entered my junior year of college.  I graduated with a 3.2-ish overall GPA and a 3.89 in major. The overall GPA won't kill you, at least it didn't kill me. To improve your application, I would suggest two things. First, that you start thinking about writing a senior thesis. So you're interested in African history...but what time period? what theme/methodology are you interested in? Have you started looking for primary sources? Once you have some concrete ideas about what you're more specifically interested in I would approach a professor in your program. They can likely help you talk through and develop your interests. In my case,  I wrote an honors thesis based on translated primary sources and it ended up being my writing sample for the applications I completed during my senior year. Second, I would suggest that you set your sights on funded MA programs. That's what I did after I finished up my BA. I have spent the last two years in a fully funded MA at a well-regarded state school. I'll be starting my PhD at a top 15 school in the fall. 

Edited July 2, 2015 by Deadwing0608

[thedig13]

If you can't get into a PhD program during your first admissions cycle, I'd go for an MA. Maybe or maybe not your particular school's BA/MA program, but definitely something somewhere. A student with a mediocre undergrad record can often "make up for it" (in the eyes of a committee) if they have a strong MA record.

 

I'd also consider, as others have suggested, taking time off between undergrad and grad school. I didn't, and sometimes wish I had. Beyond that, admissions committees seem to favor people with "more experience," whether that means "life experience" (whatever that means) or graduate training; in fact, while I was an undergrad scouting out prospective PhD programs, one professor whom I contacted openly advised me not to apply because they generally don't accept people right out of undergrad.