Dear List members,

 

I have a senior history major concentrating on Medieval Studies who has high hopes for getting a PhD at a good university and working in our privileged profession. However, I don’t think he’s ready yet for the Ivies (he just won’t get in for another thing). His Latin is imprecise and his writing is uneven. His preliminary GRE was mediocre. But he works very hard, he speaks well, and has great determination…qualities in the long run that will serve him well. It was suggested to me that a good master’s program with a record of sending its more successful students on to the Ivies or equivalents would be a good possibility.

However, looking around at various sources, I don’t see a plethora of such programs: Toronto,, Chicago’s MA in humanities seem the best of the lot. Are there others out there that  are of this level with a good record of placing their students? Is there another route I might recommend to him? This is really an extraordinarily promising student, but he  needs more time and competition and experience. I would welcome any suggestions from the list.

thanks

John  Wickstrom

Kalamazoo College