<p>Find a job, move out, earn money, start taking the classes you’re missing in order to complete the equivalent of a strong history major. THEN worry about the GRE. Once you hit 160 consistently on practice tests, apply to Ole Miss (or another grad school). You could even just move to Tempe, look for a job there for now, and move to Oxford, MS, once you’ve earned enough money. Moving out will give you the space you need to breathe easier, without your father’s racist rants.</p>
<p>I say this with gentleness: You’re adult. Make one. All adults need to have back-up plans.</p>
<p>If you really want to move to Mississippi for whatever reason, you could find a job at Ole Miss - anything. Financial aid counselor, admissions counselor, student services, anything that requires a BA. Most universities allow their employees to take a couple classes a semester as a benefit of their employment; if you worked at Ole Miss, you could take a few classes in history (grad or undergrad) for free. That way you get to live in MS and you get to take the classes you need to improve your prospects for getting into a program. You could probably even complete the MA program for free part-time if you worked there.</p>
<p>This is advice that could be followed at any university, not just MS - so you could go to Arizona or Arizona State and do the same thing, potentially.</p>
<p>I notice that when people point out the potential weaknesses in your plans, you tend to revert to talking about how rough you’ve had it in college with your dad. I have sympathy for you, I really do, and it seems that others do as well. But quite frankly, that’s kind of irrelevant at this point. It may have affected your achievement, but graduate schools only care so much about that - they want to admit students who they know will be able to succeed in their program, and they do that on the basis of grades and test scores. It’s not bad for you to want what you want for once, but you have to do the work to get it - and sometimes what we want is unrealistic either ever or right at the moment. You want a funded MA in history, which is unrealistic in general but definitely unrealistic with your test scores and GPA. But if you work on that FIRST, then you have better chances.</p>
<p>Although I do want to remind you - again - that funded MAs in history are quite uncommon, and that you probably don’t need an MA in history to do what you want to do anyway. It seems like you are determined to do it just because you decided you like history a lot - and maybe even to push back against your father a little. But ignore him; he’s irrelevant to your decision-making. You need to select a degree that is going to help you get to where you want to go, and it doesn’t sound like the MA in history is going to help you with that.</p>
<p>So what about MYOS’ idea as well?</p>
<p>Given, where I work at the moment doesn’t pay well. And getting a new job hasn’t been all that successful. I could work in Tempe, that’d be something. History is one of those things I was good at. In Junior College my dad almost cast me out of the house for it because of how useless he saw it. That’s how hard I’ve fought for it.</p>
<p>You’re perfectly within your rights to want to pursue studies in a subject you’ve wanted to major in for years but couldn’t. But you’ve got to do it the right way. If you apply to Ole Miss with that GPA, course record, and GRE, you won’t get in and you certainly won’t be funded: your dad will go all “I told you so”. You must do this the righ way. Look for jobs - any job- at ASU Tempe so that you can take the classes you need. Move to Tempe. Live on your own. Build your credentials and increase the number of history courses you have. Give yourself time to prepare for the GRE and get a high score (that means 160 in Verbal and 5.5 in Analytical/W). Have a plan for yourself.</p>
<p>Another idea I’ve had posited, was to move to Oxford with a job and just crunch those courses until I can get it.</p>
<p>Pity enough, maybe even now I’m still shooting for next summer for the move. I’ve grown tired of life here.</p>
<p>Is that beyond reason?</p>
<p>One correction to @MYOS1634’s otherwise informative and realistic post: 5.5 is not the minimum AW score at any program in history, be it master’s or PhD. 4.5 is perfectly respectable and there are some people who get into solid programs with 4.0. There are places on the internet where you can verify this; in fact, Ole Miss seems to accept master’s students mostly in the 4.0-4.5 range based on the self-reported into on TheGradCafe.</p>
<p>Yes you can look for a job at the university (Ole Miss) now. Once you have the job there, move. Or, if you have some savings, move now, rent a small apartment, and look for a job, any job that’ll pay the bills and is related to the university so that you can build that list of As in pre-requisite history classes.
In any case, look for a job at a university and move. :)</p>
<p>That sounds like a more comfortable idea to me.</p>
<p>I’ve been in contact with the University’s staff as well. So, we’ll see how it goes in the next several weeks.</p>
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<p>I’m going to retake the test tomorrow.</p>
<p>It will be the last for a long time. But I feel more confident about it since I know what I’ll be dealing with.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks! I just got back though. I’ll know what to do in a couple weeks.</p>
<p>I’m not against just moving there and taking undergrad classes that I need.</p>
<p>Alright. I may need a bit of pep to get out there. I’m trying to get my money up, and I’m going to resubmit my FAFSA. Other than that my parents haven’t been saying much about it. They have no say in this after all.</p>
<p>Will you be moving there to work at the university? Have you found a job there? Are you moving to Tempe or to Oxford (MS)?</p>
<p>I’m going to look for work. In Oxford hopefully.</p>
<p>The kids I met at the school there don’t talk to me much now, don’t blame them, they’re moving on with their lives. So, I guess I’ll have to rely on Indeed, LinkedIn and whatnot.</p>
<p>Okay. Check out job offers both in Tempe (in relation to the university) and in Oxford. You can also move without a job if you’re willing to take anything until there’s an opening at the university.</p>
<p>Yeah, that too. I guess the transition to a new town feels pretty complicated to me emotionally.</p>
<p>The ideal situation would be to move only after you’ve found a job, but if you’re willing to take anything to pay the rent, at first, until you get a job for the university, that’s another option.</p>
<p>Yeah. That’s the plan, I’m going to start hunting for work. In the meantime I’m trying to switch over jobs here. Might give some extra money to work with.</p>
<p>great plan 
Good luck! We’re rooting for you :)</p>