AdilB990

Check out the following links: http://www.ets.org/gre/news/comprehensive_gre_data https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide_table4.pdf And relax!

Yes it does seem quite reliable! Signed up for it around 10 days back.

That will be great, cheme2014. The more feedback I get, the easier it will be to make a budget before I head to the US. Thanks in advance.

@RabiaBKhan: Getting your SOP critiqued is a very wise idea. Gives a whole new perspective that you might overlook on your own. I did the same during my application process last year, and it helped me a lot in improving my SOP. A few tweaks here and there can have a significant impact. After all, it is THE most important part of your application package.

First of all, congrats on that score! There's no reason you should be disappointed. The Quant score is excellent while the Verbal may not be as good but, as a fellow non-native English speaker, I can assure you it's still perfectly decent. So cheer up! But I'm confused by a few of the things you've mentioned: as far as I know, GRE isn't a prerequisite/requirement in UK and Europe (at least not in my field). I could be wrong because I applied in the US but that's what I know. Further, you have alluded to financial constraints (same here, I feel your pain ). With that in mind, once again, Europe, UK, Australia are generally more expensive than US schools (also, keep the Rupee conversion in mind!). I'll give you a few examples from my field: Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, SUNY Buffalo are all high ranked and well-reputed engineering schools but have surprisingly low cost-of-attendance, if compared to similar-ranked (or even lower-ranked) schools! I'm sure there will be more such examples if you dig deeper. Just my 2 cents, it's your choice at the end of the day. Finally, I agree with MastersHoping above: you don't need to retake the GRE - unless you're absolutely convinced that you can do better. And I'm pretty sure you'll easily manage a 100+ on your TOEFL. All the best for everything!

Congrats to both above! We're all on board now. Really pleased to see some activity in this thread. @samsales: It'll be awesome if you can get back to me, I'll be really grateful! You can post your findings here or inbox me - whatever seems convenient. Thanks in advance!

I was just about to bump this thread but cheme2014 did the honours. Good to know you're on board as well, cheme! I'm heading to VT this Fall. Being an international student, I can't visit prior to classes but would definitely want to know the living costs? Also it'll be great if someone can tell me of some reliable leasing companies and any scams that I should be wary of? Thanks.

Thank you for the push, iphi and juilletmercredi! I'm a bit more confident about applying now.

Thanks a lot for the feedback, thegirldetective! You're absolutely right about the SOP, I should be very convincing as to why Purdue is a great fit for me. I've already asked them about my score and got the exact response you've quoted. Doesn't help at all! Sadly, I don't have time to reappear otherwise I definitely would - 160 in quant is the minimum to be competitive in engineering fields. I should add, I'm an international applicant and a non-native English speaker, and got a 157 in Verbal which is much higher than Purdue's average of 151. So, my overall score is 315. But the whole process for applying to US grad schools seems so complex that its difficult to assess where one stands.

I have a simple query: I really want to apply to Purdue. However, for my Department, the average Quantitative score of last year's enrolled students was 162! Mine is 158 unfortunately. The rest of my credentials (academic record, SOP, LOR's etc) are not exceptional but they're not too bad either. Should I apply?

Personally, I'll be relying on the local transport system to get to places. So its good to know that the Cambus is effective and operates frequently. And not having a car will mean that I'll have to find an apartment within the city. Having looked at the University's off-campus housing website, I get the impression that I'll be able to find a decent place to live. P.s. Best of luck on your grad school application journey, AuD2018! I hope you get into your first choice school.

Its really cool how detailed your responses are - almost as good as being there! Thanks again, really appreciate it. Are you already attending UIowa or is it your hometown? You know a lot about the city! Going by what you've described above, I'd say my grocery expenditure will be about 150 a month?

Nope. I have the same Q and AW score while my Verbal is lower (157). I got into Virginia Tech - which is a high ranked civil engineering program (in the top 10 according to US News website). Best of luck!

Thank you for the response, girlscoutcookies. It is very insightful. I already have an acceptance from UIowa - it is very likely that I'll be heading there in Summer 2014. It's quite comforting to know that decent one-bedroom apartments are available in the 500-700 range (especially considering that I'm an international student, so expenditure is a major consideration). I have another query: what is the average monthly expenditure on food? I know it probably varies for everyone but just need a rough estimate. I'm not a cook at all, so early on I'll have to rely on buying meals. Thanks. Adil

Yes you should! It is very unlikely that you'll get in with these scores.

I'm so glad that both of you got the point I was trying to make. And the fact that you've been to Iowa City gives me much-needed insight. As for visiting each place myself, well, being an international applicant (who's thousands of kilometres away), that's not an option for me unfortunately! I sure hope the final decision doesn't come down to 'flipping a coin'. Thank you, kate and gellert, for your valuable feedback!

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That's sound advice, katethekitcat (love your profile name btw ). Appreciate it! Here's another point that I feel needs to be considered seriously before deciding a school: location. I've lived all my life in a big city in my country. So I'm used to having everything nearby: shops, cafe's, restaurants, etc. Now I really want to attend Virgina Tech but when I look at Blacksburg, it has a population of approx. 40,000 (60% of whom are VT students). And to make me a bit more apprehensive, its quite a boring place - from what I've seen and heard on the internet. Its worth mentioning that I'm not a party person or a socialite, but I'd still like to spend 2 years of my MS in a place that's got some excitement. Tell me, am I being silly or weird? Or is this a worthy consideration? Thanks! Adil

No, they're both unfunded! Coincidentally, their estimated annual cost of attendance is almost exactly the same.

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I've been accepted to 2 schools so far without funding. And despite extensive correspondence with each university, I've come to know that international students are not offered any external funding (e.g. scholarships, fellowships, grants etc.) unfortunately! So as far as I understand, we (international students) have to, pretty much, rely on TA/RA-ships etc. However, things might be different for your field.

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