awells27

My second to last application is at Univ. of Michigan, definitely a long shot to study with Gabriele Boccaccini in Second Temple Judaism given the large number of apps. This professor is so busy that I would rather just present in my SOP and writing sample my fit within the program. I know my research focus matches, and I don't want to catch this guy on a bad day. I appreciate everyone's advice here, as there seems to be compelling reasons to go in either direction. I contacted Marquette today and was told to go ahead and apply. They said that, since my POI was not on the admissions committee, it was actually essential that I present my research proposal to him. In this way, the committee would ask his advice for applicants in his particular emphasis. It was implied that this advice was rather weighty.

Has anyone here been admitted, or know of someone who was admitted, to a PHD program in religion without contacting the POI in advance. In other words, there are a couple programs to which I want to apply, and having been through the whole POI ordeal with other schools with varying but mostly positive results, I thought maybe I would just take my chances and rely on the strength of my application with the last two apps. Do they always want to associate a name with a face?

I would never assume anything is "utterly superfluous." If you're starting to burn out and getting the same results each time, consider what type of questions you are getting wrong, allocate some time to reviewing principles and simple exercises, and then practice under timed conditions. Many believe that Manhattan's 5lb book was excellent prep before the test, since it gives such detailed answer explanations. Of course the GRE will not sink your application, but you should approach the test as if it is critically important, but not to the point of stressing out. You never know who will be evaluating your app; hopefully it will be a professor who thinks as much about the GRE as you do.

Verbal 93rd/Math 78th/AW 99th. I looked at Yale's admissions stats for religion, and average scores for all categories were 95th or above. Even with better scores, their admissions rates are around 5%. Univ. of Virginia said close to perfect GRE scores are often rejected because the SOP is unacceptable. My top schools I am seeking are Hebrew Union, UPenn, RIce, Michigan, and UCLA (What I would not give for a safety school). With one other school, I am still awaiting a response from a POI on whether they are considering PHD students in their emphasis. My masters GRE scores, old format, were 1320 (very high verbal and dismal math), which was acceptable for Case Western but not enough for a fellowship. They matter more I believe in accordance with the higher the tier of school to which you apply and how much funding you seek.

I know. I just had a professor say his department had no funding for next Fall. He then asked if I would be applying to Yale, and I could only mourn the fact that Yale might very well want 90th percentile in math as well.

It all depends on who is grading your AW scores and how many people took the test during your time period. Some people's stuff simply gets graded quicker. ETS say to allow them 3 weeks I believe. An 8-10 day turnaround is on the quick side.

If I had to do it over, I would definitely have made a habit of reading passages from technical journals. The scientific RCs undoubtedly knocked me out of the highest verbal percentile.

Ha Ha, insouciant was on many practice tests but not the real test. On my verbal test the vocab was dreadfully easy but the sentences were completely convoluted, so convoluted that if I wrote them I would fail any paper on the graduate level. Here's the thing, if you got a 6 on AW, you could probably score a 5 (93rd percentile) at least if you took the test over in order to raise your other scores. If you get less than a 6, then you take the test over anyway. It's good to use some GRE words a few times on the essay. I think I used suzerainty for describing an imperialist take-over, obviate, and fledlging for some phenomenon that was just getting started. The GRE is so stupid.

164V/160Q/6AW. Verbal and Quant scores missed the next percentile ranking by one point. Magoosh had an example on their blog of a factorial fraction with subtraction on it. They said you would never get a question like that on the real GRE, so why explain it. I got exactly that type of question on the GRE, so I have to thank them for their insight. I studied all summer just to get those scores. With the AW grade, there is no way I'd take the test over as a humanities candidate. Only schools off the table are ones I would not have applied to: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, etc. You should be getting an email about your scores any day now. I got mine in 8 days. Keep up hope on the writing, as I blew the directions on the first prompt and still got a 6, but I think my grader must have been high on something.

Manhattan and Magoosh give much harder Data questions than the real GRE I encountered. I doubt I got one data question wrong. My problem was certain types of math questions for which I saw no examples on any of the practice resources, including ETS.

How many apps would constitute applying widely. I have considered playing the numbers game, since PHD admissions are so competitive, so I'm not sure how many apps to stop at.

I wouldn't get all worked up about the test, since not all people are wired for standardized tests. I know I cannot do any better on the GRE, because I simply cannot get math questions correct over 80 percentile within the restricted time, and I'll never understand what they're looking for in the RC. As far as what people look for, every department is different. Some profs know the test is flawed, while others find it a convenient way to reduce the number of applications.

I did not like the Kaplin book either, but the online resources of ten practice verbal sections and 5 practice tests are invaluable. Their math, unfortunately, is easier than GRE on test day.

The verbal section is much better in the 5lb book than in the individual TC/SE book. THey probably realized how much the first one sucked.

You don't have to do every problem in the eight books. The main thing is that you understand the instruction parts and do the problems that are GRE stlye. Some of the problems are ones you would never see on the real GRE, as they are exceedingly fundamental. I personally think the text completion/Sentence equivalence book is useless. It may even stultify your confidence. The Reading Comp is too detailed, but the essay section is quite good. For verbal, I would study the Kaplin/Barron's 1589 word list, or Magoosh's 1000 word list, or Manhattan's 1000 word list, all available on quizlet for free. Then download the Kaplin book. If you don't have it, go to Barnes and Noble, grab it off the shelf, and use it at the cafe to supply the right info when you are on Kaplin's website. Then you will have ten practice verbal sets and like 5 practice tests. Do them under timed conditions. The five pound book, normally around question 20 of each math section, gives you GRE style questions. Then pray before you take the test, since you are taking on evil face to face.

That question is almost impossible to answer. Most of my ANE classes at Fuller were half doctoral students, and I have heard from my main ANE professor that recommendations he wrote to a faculty that knew him well still rejected a well-qualified student; yet I have also heard him say that his recommendations often carry much weight at certain schools. For myself, applying in formative Judaism/Christian origins, I am looking at professors of interest who are breaking down the barriers between Old and New Testament. I found such barriers a stumbling block during my seminary experience. Hebrew Bible, of course, is another story.

Actually, I totally support your demand for a refund, although in my case I think they should add one point to my verbal score, which would land me in the next percentile. I would seriously consider, since you got a discount on the Manhattan series, buying their 5lb book. You can do the exercises under timed conditions after completing the smaller books. Many test takers believe that book has helped their scores.

I have come to your exact conclusion. After contacting Dedman, for example, they said the normal procedure is for long-distance students, if POIs consider you a match, to conduct either a phone or skype interview. It would definitely be unnerving to go all the way to Baltimore to find out the professor gave me 2 minutes and walked away uninterested.

I just contacted a professor that I really want to do research under, and he said he was very interested in continuing the conversation in person. Then he said, "Will you be at the SBL annual meeting in Baltimore? We could talk in person then." I desperately lack funds to go as of now, yet I wonder if this was his way of assessing my seriousness. With his onslaught of new publications, he could very well be presenting there.

I've heard time and again that the graders appreciate nuance. So I would never make an absolute claim (even though I just did). Therefore, "many claim that nuclear energy provides a cheaper alternative to conventional fossil fuels." In this case, you would need to cite an example.

At least you didn't have barking dogs and classic rock music blaring from the thin walls. I should be demanding a refund as well. Beware of Manhattan's lame book on text completions. There are multiple low frequency words in this book. Otherwise their books are good. It's hard to get good verbal practice. I found Magoosh and Kaplin the closest approximations.

I agree, except do not buy the Manhattan Text completion book, as it is full of low frequency vocab words. If you only have one month, watch as many Magoosh math videos as possible, take a practice test every few days, study magoosh's vocab list, as well as the combined Kaplin/Barrons 1589 words on quizlet. You don't need to do magoosh's verbal videos, only their practice questions. Follow either barrons basic book or Manhattan's for the AW. The 5lb book of GRE questions by Manhattan is only 14 bucks online. DO not opt for Barrons 69 dollar GRE online, as their tests were easier than the real GRE.

I received an email contacting me of the availability of my official scores online 8 days after taking the test. I'm surprised there are no terminal Masters programs in your field. Have you looked hard enough. 3.64 and a GRE imrpovement coudl make you quite competitive for a masters program, as for these, barring the topmost tier, your GRE Verbal/AW does not necessarily have to be 90th percentile, although for funding perhaps. I did two masters degrees prior to applying for PHD this fall. The reason your position could be difficult is because schools may see applicants submitting graduate level work and transcripts in their application, while yours is on the undergrad level. Yet you should know your field better than me.

LOL, that would be awesome to take an ETS testing center to court. You might want to check the average verbal/AW scores for admitted applicants in the schools to which you are applying. Unfortunately for PHD programs, only a few schools too which I am applying show an average verbal score below 90th percentile. I can't speak for psychology.

So do you think you will take the test again? BTW, I agree that the exam is seriously flawed. I was thinking that the writing section should actually be some sort of an interpretive assignment for a text in one's field, rather than a silly analysis of whether more benches should be placed in a city park.