<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am a rising Senior at Brandeis University with a cumulative GPA of 3.5.
I am a History and East Asian Studies Major and my GPA for History is 3.7.
My GRE test scores (unofficial) are 750 Math and 760 English.
I speak and write Chinese and Korean fluently.</p>
<p>I have couple of questions. </p>
<p>Firstly, what are my chances of getting into top history graduate programs? (Ivies and such) Just curious.</p>
<p>Secondly, when I apply for Grad school, I plan to apply for East Asian History. Is it necessary for me to get recommendations from an East Asian History professor? I am planning to get recommendations from History professors outside of this field. The main reason for this is because all the professors that taught me East Asian History have left school, and I was only able to spend limited time with them. I received good grades from them and can get in touch with them, but someone told me I should ask for recommendations from professors that know me the best, and they happen to be professors that are outside of this field. </p>
<p>Thirdly, when I apply, should I apply for History major with East Asian specialty or just simply East Asian Studies?</p>
<p>Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and hope to hear back some answers!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Top graduate programs aren’t necessarily Ivies. It depends on the individual department. Program/faculty fit is more important than prestige. </p></li>
<li><p>LORs can be from non-East Asian professors.</p></li>
<li><p>There are no ‘majors’ in graduate school. Some programs may be labeled East Asian Studies, some may be East Asian History. It doesn’t really matter as long as it fits your needs.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>While I agree with Student35 on points 1 and 2, I strongly disagree with point 3.</p>
<p>If you want to have the best chance of being hired by a History program, your degree should be from a History program. Many History programs look down upon “Studies” programs.</p>
<p>yep, your best bet for getting hired after grad school is to get your PhD in history rather than area studies.</p>
<p>your GRE scores are excellent and your LoRs can come from people outside of east asian history, but your GPA isn’t out of this world. it’s good and will definitely make you merit consideration at most programs, but you will be competing for spaces with people who have 3.9s and 4.0s. that said, top 10 schools aren’t out of your reach, but your acceptance will come down largely to fit with a program and with a particular professor. look for professors who study the region, theme, and time period you want to study, who are in departments that have a strong east asian history program at the graduate level. those are your best shots, whether they’re ivy league or not.</p>
<p>numbers (grades, score results) matter a lot less for admissions purposes than writing samples, LoRs, and strong statements of purpose. make sure the connection between your research interests and your prospective adviser’s expertise and the program’s overall strengths are clear. if you can’t make the “fit” obvious, the admissions committees won’t make it for you.</p>
<p>other than that, good luck!</p>
<p>Generally I would agree. But when he mentioned East Asian programs I immediately thought of Harvard. I would think their EALC program would be more attractive than their history program, even for employment in a history department.</p>