Sio68

Does anyone know whether Humanities subjects do a similar kind of recruitment/interview/visit process? I had always assumed that this was reserved for the sciences where there's more money. I suppose this is just a passing question out of interest, more than for a specific reason.

I had sort of assumed that February would be the earliest I'd hear anything, so I'm not being very obsessived about it this month. I have enough teaching duties to be getting on with! Thanks for the Princeton info New England Nat... although it did make me feel very nervous for a moment! I'd love to get admitted but I think it's the one least likely to accept me *sad face*. Nevertheless, I shall keep an open mind about all of it and try to stay positive! Btw if anyone here applied to UW-Madison, I have been informed that in previous years they've notified quite early (sometime during January). This would fit with them having the earlier deadline.

Hello! I am British and just sent in my applications (in History) so I'll do my best to help! Firstly... yes... it was all like a waking nightmare It's very different to UK applications but as long as you're organised (Which it sounds like you are!) you'll get through it just fine. 1) Depends. (Get revision books and test papers!) GRE Maths is nothing like GCSE, it's more advanced IMO. If you did A-level, you might be closer to ready. I left Maths behind at GCSE and even with an A* I struggled. As a humanities grad you're probably gonna need to start earlier on this (I think I took about 3 months prep) - use Princeton, ETS, Kaplan etc revision books, and dependent on how good you are at Maths you might wanna consider seeing a tutor once or twice to clear up anything you don't understand. You WILL get there eventually; I got a decent score in the end. It seems bizarre that a History programme would care about the quant section, but unless explicitly stated, you should assume that they care a little bit. The usual advice is: the GRE won't get you in, but it might keep you out. Don't bust a gut trying to get a 165... just look for the 150s and I'd think you'd be fine. Verbal and Analytical: You'll be naturally better here and depending on your writing/reading skills, you might not need much prep. I think tbh most British students need to scrub up their vocab to get into the high 160s but just use Kaplan flashcards for a month and that should do it. I didn't revise the writing section, but I did do a few practice papers which is an absolute must. Booking: You might need to travel to take the test.Though your profile says you're in London so probably not... the Pometric centre is in... erm... somewhere near St Paul's Cathedral, I forget! 2) Don't bother. None of my Unis cared. They usually tell International Students not to bother (esp British students). They'll calculate it themselves from your transcripts. Only worry about this if it specifically says so on the web pages, or if you prefer to contact them to double-check. Generally though, they know a First/2:1 etc 3) Yes, email them. They all differ a lot. Some say one thing online, but the reality is different. Increasingly more applicants have MAs these days, so you're not unusual. However, I have been told from at least one place that I can transfer a fair bit. Keep in mind some let you transfer NOTHING! (usually Ivy League). And by the way- you are not making a nuisance of yourself to email. In fact, if you have an idea of someone you'd like to work with then go ahead and email them. Tell them you're really interested for Fall 2014, summarise your research and ask a couple of questions. It shows that you're interested and motivated. I did this with several people, and also went over the visit some of them a few months ago. All were lovely and very obliging! I have no personal experience as to whether it directly helps your application but some here have suggested that it may well help you to stand-out.

I am but I have to admit that I mailed mine myself. There was no use in even asking my home Uni to do it for me... it would never have been done in time, especially factoring in the cost and time needed to reach the US. However... I don't recall any Uni asking for them directly from another institution, so I think it was fine for me to mail them.

My biggest piece of advice is: don't let the internet panic you! I read loads of people's experiences with the revision, and with the test and in the end discovered that it's a very personal experience. For example, some revision books work better for some than others. Some will say that Maths is the same you did at school, whilst some will say it's insanely hard. Some will find one vocab list great, others useless. Basically, I echo what has been said here and advise anyone to get a hold of a few different revision books. Between them you will find sections that help you. I used Princeton and ETS, and Kaplan flashcards. For me, the flashcards were great, the Princeton vocab/analytical part was good and the ETS maths was the best. Whichever you choose (previous posters have some good suggestions) - these are definitely the best way to prep! I spent about 2 months revising, mainly on the quant stuff (since I'm a Humanities grad). I also practiced the AW... not a huge amount, but enough to get my brain very familiar with the type of questions asked and to get myself used to answering each with a very similar plan. I think I probably practice planned 10, and practice wrote 5-8 in the fortnight before the test. This is personal preference, but I wouldn't revise on the morning before test. Relax, switch your brain off and wake yourself up about 30 mins before going in! V 170 / Q 157 / AW 5.5

I have no experience in this (that is to say: I have submitted applications, but received no feedback/decisions) so this is just guess work based on previous grad and teaching experience: Usually I'm terrible for pushing word limits to their max. At my institution we are always allowed a 10% margin, and I always use it. I've been known to exeed this 10% too. I also know that tutors rarely count your words when marking. It's obvious it you have massively exeeded a word count, but never a concern if you go over 10-20%. This being said, I did not risk going over word count on my SOP. I was tempted, but didn't. Applications are a different beast, and submitting things electronically make it much easier to check word counts. Additionally, I suspect that the word count isn't just in place to aid committees in getting through as many SOPs as quickly as possible, but also as a test of whether you can succinctly convey ideas and follow instructions. If I were you I wouldn't risk it. I know how frustrating it is to delete what you believe to be important sentences, but I'd rather do that than have someone dismiss my SOP because I couldn't even follow their instructions. This is not to say that an extra few words (up to 20) would be an issue... I honestly can't see them being precious about that, but an extra 100? Personally, I wouldn't, but there may be others here who see it differently.

I got a 5.5 ... not entirely sure how to be honest! I barely remember what I wrote. Honestly, I think it's just practice. I have never, ever had any kind of essay-writing class; we just don't get that kind of thing in my neck of the woods. My essay-writing skills all come from from having written many, many essays over the past 10 years. Btw: those that got a 5.5 - I think it means you scores a 6 on one essay and a 5 on the other. At least, this is what I was told. I can certainly guess which was which on my scores.

Thanks again for all your help- I really appreciate it! I received an email from Columbia saying that they have just received my scores, and although they are not yet matched up, this will not effect my application. Funnily enough, I also just had my scorecard in the post - I think that it took a little time to arrive from the US. I may well send a scanned copy, because the email from Columbia mentioned that they could review with unofficial scores/scorecards. Looks like all my applications are complete... now it's just the waiting

Thanks for the advice! I had hoped for progress over Christmas, but scores are still showing as not received. As you advised, I've now written to ETS asking for confirmation and date of sending the scores. I'll then get back in touch with Columbia. This is quite frustrating... I'm pretty sure I did everything right! (I certainly haven't had a problem with the other Universities). I just hope this doesn't effect my application

Long time lurker here... finally decided to register because I need a little advice about GRE score submission. Trying to work out how, and by what date each University wants official and unofficial GRE scores was a bigger headache than I thought it would be. However, now that the deadlines have passed, I'm happy to say that 3 out of my 4 Universities have received the official scores from ETS (which I submitted straight after taking the test last month.). Nevertheless, Columbia is proving to be a bit of a problem. My scores are still not showing as received on the application tracker. Now, this wouldn't necessarily be a concern as the site does state (confusingly) - that you have 2 further weeks to send supporting statements, and it may take 4 weeks for them to appear on as received. However, I had contacted the Grad School via email to ask about a slightly related question, and in their response they happened to mention that they hadn't even received my scores yet! This was a month after I submitted them from ETS. I have double-checked the school code, my name, DOB...all correct, plus all other 3 Universities have them. So naturally I reply to the grad school and ask them if there is a problem/what I should do. That was a week ago and no reply.... Now I don't know what to do, especially with Christmas coming up. Should I email them again? Wait it out? (given the 2 week and 4 week rule) I can't really call them as I live the other side of the world and I think it would cost me quite a bit. Any advice or experience in these matters would be greatly appreciated! Once this is sorted, I can relax for a couple of months!