<p>I have a question for anyone on this forum and I would greatly appreciate an honest answer. Currently I am a history major who plans on starting graduate school in the fall of 2006.</p>
<p>Here are some basics:</p>
<ul>
<li>3.92 G.P.A (overall, 4.0 in major classes)</li>
<li>GRE: didn't take yet (will at end of July...but on practice tests, have been able to hold steady at either 700 or 710 in verbal, math (never being my strong suit...a 420)</li>
<li>I work full-time during the school year (40 hours per week) and summer </li>
<li>With my job, there isn't much time for extracurriculars, but I am an avid volunteer at the local historical society, vice-president of Phi Kappa Phi, and held an internship at a museum where I researched and created an exhibit</li>
</ul>
<p>What I am mostly concerned about is the school I attend. It is a state system school that has had graduates accepted into excellent grad schools...but they are few and far between because not many graduates continue on to grad school (most are happy to quickly enter into their fields). I'm worried that I will not have a chance at getting accepted into a good PhD. program in history because of my school's lack of a grand reputation. I'm worried that my credentials will not measure up to those of Ivy or other superior school graduates. I do not plan to apply to Harvard or anything (I know my limitations), but I am heavily considering U. of Rochester, UNC, U. of Wisconsin, Syracuse and Georgetown. Can someone help me gauge my potential because I'm very unsure of where I can and cannot get in (afterall, if getting into grad. school just consisted of having a good GPA and GRE scores....wouldn't we all get in? :) BE HONEST :)</p>
<p>I'll put it to you this way. I knew a guy who did chemical engineering at Long Beach State for undergrad, and then got his PhD in chemical engineering at Berkeley. I know a guy who came from the SUNY-Buffalo, and is now getting both his MBA and his Master's of Science in EECS from MIT. I know a whole slew of people who went to Kettering for undergrad and then got both their MBA's and their Master's of Science in various engineering disciplines from MIT. </p>
<p>What matters more than scores and GPA is your research potential, as evidenced by what you can publish and what sorts of faculty rec's you can get. That is more important to a PhD program than simply demonstrating high academic potential.</p>
<p>In the Stanford EE program, there are students from places like SF State and SJ State, but they are the rare exception. The majority of the U.S. students are from top 5 undergrads alone, and almost everyone is from the top 10-15 programs.</p>
<p>Okay, there is one thing I forgot to mention. I am going to be engaging in an independent study this fall and closely working with a respected faculty member on it. I know that I can get excellent recommendations, too.</p>
<p>Anyways, I know that my chances of getting into an ivy are slim to nill, but I'm just concerned that I will not get into a respectable (not Harvard or Yale or any ivy like these) graduate program. Apart from U. of Wisconsin, UNC, and U. of Rochester (which are my reach schools), I hope that I have a chance at either Syracuse, Georgetown, or U. of Mass-Amherst (the schools that I feel pretty comfortable with my chances). I hope my current university does not jeopardize my chances at these schools . Yes, I know that I chose to go to my current undergraduate institution. I goofed off in high school and got around a B+ average. I know this is a mistake, but am I royally screwed now even though I tried to turn myself around in college??? :(</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice so far!! I appreciate it.</p>
<p>I don't know...your statistics sound pretty solid from what I can see. I'm not sure about the other universities, but I've heard that most Madison departments (my undergrad school) weight GPA very heavily, and that is considered a high GPA here. They also love publications, so it may be good to think back through everything you've done during the past two years and assess whether it could be described as a publication. Play up the exhibit - exhibit text is like a publication in a different form. Be sure also to name the topic of your senior thesis and talk at least briefly about what you learned during that research, or at least state that that project and your current independent study have made you even more excited about/determined to pursue research projects.</p>
<p>where are you graduating from? i agree with the person above that your stats do look solid. you should apply to berkeley (top 3 history grad program).</p>
<p>Thanks for the help so far. I wasn't sure if my exhibit would be something that grad programs would be very interested in...but I guess I will "harp" on it a little :)</p>
<p>Just for those that are wondering, my current undergrad institution is Lock Haven University...pretty no-name, huh? :)</p>
<p>Also, it makes me feel better that I might have a shot of Rochester. I was very interested in Berkley, too, but I didn't think that I had that much of a chance at all. </p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, what did you do in this exhibit? What kind of project was it?</p>
<p>In general, if you are roughly qualified for top schools (fairly good GPA, some demonstrated experience in the field, good fit between your research interests and faculty speciatly at the place you're applying to, etc.) it would probably be good to apply to all programs that catch your eye. It's impossible to know what any given department selects for - maybe coming from a college they've never heard of will draw their attention, maybe the department chair has been considering publishing a paper on the exact topic of your exhibit - so applying to many is like entering the lottery multiple times.</p>