Tcmgrad

I'm going to be writing my GRE in a week and I'm kinda stumped on how to approach the Issue essay for the AWA.From what I've been reading about the issue prompt of the AWA, a lot of websites say that sticking to addressing what the prompt asks for is the best method. But I had recently taken a GRE AWA course and the instructor stated to me that I should choose to either Agree or Disagree and stick to what I choose. But most of the prompts ask to discuss the "extent" to which I agree or disagree, for example: Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position. Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based. Since most of the issues they propose seem to be extermely absolute (ie. using the words always, should etc) wouldn't it make more sense to describe the extent to which I agree by also include situations or points that promote disagreement? This would make it a lot easier to actually describe my opinion on the matter. For example, for the following prompt Nations should pass laws to preserve any remaining wilderness areas in their natural state, even if these areas could be developed for economic gain. Wouldn't it make more sense to say I agree because we need to preserve the environment for other species but saying "any" remaining wilderness areas is too extreme since in developing countries farming these areas could promote economical benefits for the poorer population. Or does this seem like I'm wavering between two opinions which would result in a weak thesis?

I posted this on the Applications board, but this one seems to be more accurate for the topic. I recently finished my Engineering undergraduate from a Canadian University in an interdisciplinary program that encompassed topics in Electrical Engineering and Materials Engineering. I have a 3.7 GPA on the American scale and I haven't written my GRE's yet but on average the practice tests show a Ver:157, Quant:159 and I'm hoping to improve it to Ver:158, Quant:162+ in the next two weeks before the test. I plan to apply to Carnegie Mellon, Berkeley, U Texas-Austin, Cornell and maybe Stanford (skeptical of my chances of getting in) in the states but I can't seem to decide whether I want to apply for Materials or Electrical Engineering programs. My undergrad had a bit of both but most of my research experience is mostly in Materials ( two 4 month research co-ops). But I am a lot more interested in pursuing graduate school in Electrical Engineering, particularly in VLSI, IC design or Nanoelectronic devices design/fabrication. I have take EE courses in these areas (except IC design) and my capstone project was related to micro-fabrication of solar cells which falls under both EE as well as Materials Eng. I also have industry level co-op experience with PCB validation which falls under EE but is not really research related. All of this half-assing was basically because I was keen on Materials Engineering early on, but after seeing the job market this year, I feel Ill be much better off with an EE masters. So far, I have 4 professors/bosses willing to provide me with a recommendation letter, two of which are in the materials/chemical industry, and the other two who are in EE (they specialize in VLSI and Device fab which is what I want to do). I am confident that my Materials related references will be more personalized, while the EE ones are most likely to be more generic ( professors from classes I had good grades in.. but I havent had much personal interaction with them). Do you think I should apply to Materials Engineering which I have a better portfolio for or EE which Im more interested in? Also, I am not really familiar with acceptance numbers to most of these universities and cant seem to find them. Do you guys have an idea of whether I am roughly in the ballpark for being accepted into these universities or should I be aiming lower? Sorry, I know this is very confusing and thats why I've been debating this in my head for a couple of month now.

I recently finished my Engineering undergraduate from a Canadian University in an interdisciplinary program that encompassed topics in Electrical Engineering and Materials Engineering. I have a 3.7 GPA on the American scale and I haven't written my GRE's yet but on average the practice tests show a Ver:157, Quant:159 and I'm hoping to improve it to Ver:158, Quant:162+ in the next two weeks before the test. I plan to apply to Carnegie Mellon, Berkeley, U Texas-Austin, Cornell and maybe Stanford (skeptical of my chances of getting in) in the states but I can't seem to decide whether I want to apply for Materials or Electrical Engineering programs. My undergrad had a bit of both but most of my research experience is mostly in Materials ( two 4 month research co-ops). But I am a lot more interested in pursuing graduate school in Electrical Engineering, particularly in VLSI, IC design or Nanoelectronic devices design/fabrication. I have take EE courses in these areas (except IC design) and my capstone project was related to micro-fabrication of solar cells which falls under both EE as well as Materials Eng. I also have industry level co-op experience with PCB validation which falls under EE but is not really research related. All of this half-assing was basically because I was keen on Materials Engineering early on, but after seeing the job market this year, I feel Ill be much better off with an EE masters. So far, I have 4 professors/bosses willing to provide me with a recommendation letter, two of which are in the materials/chemical industry, and the other two who are in EE (they specialize in VLSI and Device fab which is what I want to do). I am confident that my Materials related references will be more personalized, while the EE ones are most likely to be more generic ( professors from classes I had good grades in.. but I havent had much personal interaction with them). Do you think I should apply to Materials Engineering which I have a better portfolio for or EE which Im more interested in? Also, I am not really familiar with acceptance numbers to most of these universities and cant seem to find them. Do you guys have an idea of whether I am roughly in the ballpark for being accepted into these universities or should I be aiming lower? Sorry, I know this is very confusing and thats why I've been debating this in my head for a couple of month now.