Do you think that I can get into any grad schools with:
- 3.2 GPA
- GRE: V 155, Q 148, AWA 3.5
- No internships
Well that’s a remarkably vague question. Field? Type of program? Research experience?
History
Still too vague. Here’s what you need to tell us:
-What’s your history GPA? Did you major in history in college? If not, what did you major in, and do you have any coursework in history?
-Do you want a master’s or a PhD?
-Do you have any research experience? In the humanities, that could mean working closely with a history professor on a project, doing an independent study, writing an undergraduate or master’s thesis, etc.
-Can you get three strong letters of recommendation from professors (with PhDs in history, or a very closely related field) who can attest to your potential to succeed in a graduate program? A “strong” letter would come from someone familiar with your research and writing skills, preferably from some kind of extended project you’ve done under their supervision, and who thinks very highly of you. You’d want 1-2 of those, and the other 1-2 from other professors who have taught you (preferably in more than one class), in whose class you performed well, and who thinks very highly of you. For a master’s program, having some letters from professors in whose classes you performed very well is good enough.
-Do you have reading knowledge of any foreign languages? Most PhD programs would like to see students come in with reading knowledge of one foreign language already, and be ready to to begin working on their second. (You usually have to demonstrate proficiency in 2 foreign languages to finish your PhD in history.)
-If you are applying for PhD programs, do you have a good to excellent writing sample? An excellent writing sample would be a chapter/section of an undergraduate thesis or independent study project that you did really well on, and has been edited after consultation with a professor you trust. A good to great writing sample would be one that you wrote for a class, got an A on, and then edited after consultation with a professor you trust. The vast majority of PhD programs in history, as far as I know, require a writing sample.
Your raw GPA and GRE scores are about average to slightly below average for good MA programs in history, methinks. They would be below average for a PhD program in history, and unless you are otherwise outstanding on the other points above and/or have a compelling explanation for the lowish GPA, you wouldn’t be a super competitive student. But of course, there are a wide range of programs in history that you could potentially aim for - so it depends on what kind of program you want.