<p>Sometimes, you have to be brutally frank in your self-assessments. Are you a go-getter, do you have the endurance to spend hours and hours on academic work and research, can you live on a pittance for x more years? And, have you shown yourself you can achieve the grades in college coursework in your major that suggest you have a talent there? And a commitment? All for slim job prospects at a college level?</p>
<p>Why is your gpa low? Did you crap out in a few pre-med classes and then discover history, now get A’s? That would make a difference. What bothers me is you don’t seem to have ideas past “grad school.” You are supposed to have somewhat focused interests in that academic field. Identifiable interests that you could, eg, note here. And, certainly, that would make you attractive to grad profs. </p>
<p>In a prior thread, OP said “general US history.” No, you have to have a better idea than that. You could continue taking classes at a cc, if that’s it. At a no-name masters program, the serious stumbling block is developing the depth and getting the level of mentoring to attract attention by a top PhD program. </p>
<p>This feels so trolly. Could you start a blog??? Sheesh, they’ve got them- and, except for those where profs and actual researchers are the community, they are considered silly. What’s a think tank? Go google. Show initiative, enery and follow-through. Life skills.</p>
<p>I apologize to other posters if I seem annoyed. But this whole thread is about low energy and lofty hopes. If OP is a junior, he needs to get activated, pronto.</p>