grad school

I only have one year left to my B.A. which means that I need to start thinking about grad school and so that I can apply in the Fall.

Has anyone else here gone through the process of applying for grad school? Any advices?

I am studying in history, especially in American history and I would love to study in the US. I might be able to get government funding from Canada to go study in the US but I'm not too sure about that. More likely, I'll have to get funding from the school I apply to.

I think I have a good chance of getting in. I have a GPA of 3.7 so far (not great, but should be enough... class averages are usually around 2.7, sometimes lower), I am working as a research assistant for one of my profs, I will be writting a thesis next year and I have been elected to the executive of the association of history students.... I should have good references from my profs too.

So now I need find universities that I would like to apply to. First, I should narrow down what kind of research I want to do.

I am kind of stressing out about the whole thing.

First of all, you should prepare to apply for grants and fellowships (the grad school equivalent of full scholarships). Before I lost my grants and fellowships I was a much happier person.

There are several excellent grad school forums available online.

Prepare for the GRE subject tests in History. I have a perfect score on the GRE math and GRE biology. They definitely have opened the doors for me.

Apply for grad school in the same university as your undergrad. They offer more fellowship/grants opportunities to people they know. Some of the profs I knew recommended me for the Reagents Fellowship, which I got (and unfortunately lost a year later due to PTSD, but I don't think that would ever happen to you. The PTSD was due to a freak accident)

Try to publish a paper before your undergrad is over. I wished I had done that. I should had taken my time and wrote a paper instead of graduating in three years. Once you are in grad school nobody cares about how good you were in undergrad anyway. Research is all that matters.

I have had people telling me that as far as a science major, you should be married before you join grad school, because all the time spent in research really kills your dating mojo. I found that to be true in the science field. Grad school can be very hard on relationships and I wished I had been married before joining grad school.


However since you are in history I don't think the advice necessarily applies to you.

Also make one of your current professors into your mentor. Talk to them about what you want to do, and what you need to do to get there.

I have a prof who I know will help me. He is supervising me on my thesis next year and I am working for him this summer. Plus we get along great.

I haven't even thought about the GRE. I'll have to look into it. I don't think it's used as much in Canada but if I want to apply to the US, I might have to do it.

First thing, I need to figure out exactly WHAT I want to study, then find out WHERE... then HOW to get in. My prof said as soon as I figure out what I want to study, he can give me names of good profs who are working in the field.

As far as the dating thing goes, I'm not having much luck as an undergrad so I don't think it can get any worst!

My word of advice would be to get your letters of reccomendation from people who know your work ethic, not your grades, as much as possible. The admissions people see tons of letters saying "So and So got an A in my class and worked really hard blah blah blah" but what they want to see is "Even though so and so had some trouble doing this job, I never saw them quit and they were always working and had a pleasant attitude, etc etc". Great letters of recommendation can make or break your application.

Usually admissions is looking for grades, test scores, recommendations, and experience. A strong showing in a few can make up for a weak area, so don't freak yourself out about making everything strong.

Also, if they require you to do a personal essay, make it about yourself - why you're interested in their school and why they should be interested in you. Tell them why you would be an asset to their program, as well as specific reasons why you want to go to school there.

As far as picking out a school, make sure you talk to the grad students as well as official people at the school. No one is going to tell you how it really is better than disgruntled grad students! And if you have to pick a professor to work with, it is absolutely vital that you learn as much about him/her as possible, preferentially from people who have worked under him/her. Lots of professors seem great at first, but turn out to be living nightmares to work with!

Oh, and as for what you're studying - pick something you're really interested in. Maybe what catches your eye when you read a newspaper or what you listen to on the news or programs. But if your field is anything like science, its important to remember that where you start isn't always going to be where you finish, and the important thing is to learn something new where you are. I know of two professors who started out in Microbiology and are now in two totally different fields - one decided to leave his tenured position at a university to study dog diseases and the other just decided to go into neuroscience in his post-doc. They are both well-accomplished in their fields now, so don't be afraid to do something and then do a 180 down the road.

Best of luck to you!

Originally Posted by Sandtigress

My word of advice would be to get your letters of reccomendation from people who know your work ethic, not your grades, as much as possible. The admissions people see tons of letters saying "So and So got an A in my class and worked really hard blah blah blah" but what they want to see is "Even though so and so had some trouble doing this job, I never saw them quit and they were always working and had a pleasant attitude, etc etc". Great letters of recommendation can make or break your application.


Best of luck to you!

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Pam should know. She is a really good student.

Apply to a lot of schools, too. I only applied to four and now I'm transfering as an undergrad because I didn't get in. My gpa is a 3.95 and my GRE verbal score was in the 98% so I know it wasn't that! And I had good letters or rec... it's sort of a mystery to me still why I didn't get into some of them.

Anyway, do not go to the same school for grad school as you did for undergrad unless you want to be there for the rest of your life. In grad school for history I'm assuming you want to at least start out as a professor, right? If you've been at the same school your whole time it's going to be very hard for you to go anywhere else. Plus a different school will give you different perspective, etc. You're right about coming to an American school for American history though.

Look through one of the rankings magazines like US News and World report or something.

Although the best way to do it is to find articles that interest you in peer-reviewed journals and track down the prof who wrote them.

My boss is the graduate admissions director he advisesthat you DO NOT go for the same school as your BA etc as to some people it looks lazy and could be favouritism. If he has two candidates to choose from with equal qualities he chooses the one with the most 'diversity' (in schools) as possible as they adapt to different styles of learning quicker than someone who has always been taight by the same profs.
Other than that I agree on whateveryone else said.

That is not necessarily true for all majors. Both Sandtigress and I were genetic undergrads at Texas A&M and both of us go to grad school in here. So far we are happy with our choices.

I think it depends on the major.

Research is all that matters. If you do good research nobody is going to care about where you come from, etc.

ETA: A lot of fellowships are only eligible to U.S. citizens. That might be something to take into consideration.

Yes but you are still a grad student and not yet out looking for work... we run a paid internship and just don't take people who have spent all their higher academic lives in one university.