<p>I'm enrolling in Rutgers New Brunswick next year as freshmen. I plan on being a History major with a minor in Education. What can I do (aside from an amazing GPA and GRE scores) to help my chances at getting into Yale graduate school?</p>
<p>Do research.</p>
<p>With all due respect, do you know why in particular you want to go to Yale beyond the fact that it’s “Ivy League” or “prestigious”? Do you know your specific interests in history and whether Yale has the people you want to work with?</p>
<p>EVERYBODY applies to Yale for the History PhD. Well, pretty much if you’re willing to do the book review.</p>
<p>You’re a freshman and you’ve barely started college. I hope that you have learned that college is very different from high school. Same for graduate school, it’s a different ballpark.</p>
<p>I plan on studying US history and/or diplomatic, environmental, ethnic, intellectual, labor, military, political, religious, social, and womens history. I’ve visited Yale before and it seems like a place I could enjoy learning in. The people I met there were very friendly. </p>
<p>I know it’s a whole different ball game at college that’s why I want to be as prepared as possible.</p>
<p>It seems to be me you’re a generalist, which makes sense as a freshman. This is your time for breadth in history. Eventually you’ll know more about what you’re specific interests are. It never hurts to start looking at grad schools now, but I’d say you’ll likely have a much better grasp of your intellectual interests in 2 years.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to dissuade you. Maybe Yale is indeed the place for you to pursue your interests in history, but you need more than that people are very friendly and it’s a pleasant place to be.</p>
<p>wait until u get rejected from Yale then u find out people are not that friendly </p>
<p>But seriously thouh you probably have to find your niche in history and as already hinted you migth find out that Yale is not so strong in these areas. Graudate school is about the strength of the school in your field as opposed to the overall name of the school which is the preoccupation of high school kids.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in history, the first and FOREMOST thing you should do is pick up a language. No, I’m not kidding. Take German or French or Spanish if you’re interested in US history. Languages are generally one of the first things professors will look at to make the first cut of applications.</p>
<p>And plan on taking time off and talk to your TAs in the History department about their life as history graduate students. </p>
<p>Preparing for History PhD admissions is a long, long road with many ups and downs. It’s not easy as it seems because of all the preparation involved (mainly languages, getting some research or teaching experience, writing a thesis) and there are a lot of highly qualified applicants out there. Even when you get in a program, it’s still a long way to actually earning the doctorate. It’s truly made for people who are very, very passionate about history and willing to do degree even if there are no jobs at the end.</p>
<p>Which is why I suggest that you talk to your professors and TAs in the history department.</p>
<p>I would not focus on Yale at this point. I would focus on history and get the best preparation you possibly can. You have a very long list of interests now, which is great. Gradually, however, in the course of undergrad, you need to refine and narrow these interests. One of the best things you could do to prepare for grad school is to do an honors thesis as part of your program, presumably your senior year. Also get a very sound grounding in at least one language. </p>
<p>I am applying for doctoral programs in poli sci and am assuming that history is comparable to poli sci in terms of competitiveness of applications. In polic sci, Yale admits about 5% of applicants. Even if you have a very high GPA and GREs, you can not count on getting into a school like Yale. You apply to a range of schools, cross your fingers, and hope for the best. You also sweat a lot waiting, which is what I am doing now! If you are going for a PhD, you not only need good credentials and great essays but you have to be a “fit” in terms of the research interests of the professors at the school you are applying for. And you have to demonstrate that fit in your statement of purpose. </p>
<p>But all that is a long way off and you may even change your interests. So just concentrate on learning more about history now.</p>