a fragrant plant

are there anything out there for international students?

I did my research Master in the UK. Before I applied I contact a professor whom I wanted to work with and she said I was eligible for their Master by Research program. I suggest you contact the faculty members to see where you stand. BTW - are you applying for the taught or research master? The taught master is fairly easy to get in.

I heard that the F2 can transfer to H1B if he/she finds a sponsor? Am I wrong?

i wouldn't put relevant coursework on my cv. transcripts should be more than sufficient. if they want to know they'd ask you to list your relevant course work in your electronic application (Harvard does). here are my headings, hope it gives you some ideas about what to put into your CV. i'm sure you have more than half page Research interest Education Scholarship & Awards Teaching Experience Fieldwork (a.k.a. research experience) Presentation Additional Training Work experience (fortunately it's still briefly related to my research) Collaborations and Volunteer Work Language Reference anyone has any comment on my headings and the order of them? many thanks!

a professor told me that unless the person who reads your writing sample finds your work extremely enlightening, writing sample longer than about 15 pages won't get read all the way through. for this reason i've chosen a 12-page paper as my writing sample. my advisor had a look at it and said it was fine. although a short paper may lack the depth that you expect to find in a 40+ paper, admission committees usually favor something concise and to-the-point. if you have doubt, contact the departments you're applying. for me the max length ranges from 10 to 35 pages. you can submit a longer paper, just be prepared that it may not get read all the way through. if i were you i'd go for either A or C.

I suggest you send them your CV detailing your educational background and academic accomplishment. It will help the recommender to construct an effective LOR.

i know they're going to add the highlighting feature in the future but when i took it in august there was no hightlighting feature.

i'm in social science so i can't really comment or advise on programs in your field. i think you should talk to your academic advisor or a professor in your discipline to see what they think. after all they'll be the people who write you letters of recommendation. generally speaking it's easier to get into a master program in comparison to a PhD track. the benefit of doing a master before applying to a master+phd program is that you have the opportunity to gain hands-on research experience. when you have sound research experiences, gpa becomes less important.

well said. thank you! if i'm admitted for 2010 i'll be 33, 34 when i graduate. too old? i don't think so.

To be honest with you, I'm very disappointed to learn they require the GRE. I hope the GRE is just a graduate school instead of a departmental requirement. Many studies have shown that people with non-traditional social or academic backgrounds are disadvantaged when it comes to standardized test due to the lack of resources available to them. Why would a discipline that pride itself on censuring inequality use a standardized test to prevent those people from entering academia? Don't they realise that they're in a way perpetuating social distinction? Moreover, Are we saying OK to monopoly?

if you want to experience a new major or simply earn a master degree to enhance your resume. apply to the taught master in the uk. it's a one-year program and is very easy to get in. all you need is a not-too-bad academic record and cash as funding is rare for international students. if you are serious about doing research, apply to the MSc by Research+PhD program or the MPhil then re-apply for the PhD. the uk schools don't require the gre. but you do need to have a research proposal in hand that elaborates 1) what you're going to study 2)why the proposed research is important (a.k.a contribution) 3) methodology

may i ask what program are you applying? i took the gre in august and my combine score is similar to yours.

cost £110 in london plus a return flight from my city to the capital.

cheesethunder, don't risk it. it doesn't matter how many classes you took from a school, you need to order transcripts from every single post high school institutions that you have attended. i learned this from a graduate admission guidebook.

2.2 is a bit too low for top programs in any field. my advice is to apply to a less competitive graduate program for a master and work very hard to ace at every single course you take. earning straight As at graduate level will dramatically enhance your admissibility to the top graduate programs.

I totally agree with this comment. Don't forget about the other two very important factors in graduate admission: 1) your writing sample 2) how well you fit into their department.

can someone explain to me why it is a good idea to include an unpublished but submitted paper on one's cv? i thought one should only mention things that he/she has achieved in the past?

this article explains why. but i'm skeptical about the third point. what do you think? the author said: mportance of GRE Scores -1 First, GRE scores are a standardized tests which forms the basis for comparing applicants to programs. Faculty who are on admissions committees do pay attention to college grades when making graduate admission decisions, but grades are not standardized estimates of how well an undergraduate student learned the material in a class. Some professors are easy graders and give a high proportion of A’s. Other professors are difficult and an A is measure of exceptional ability rather than the average class grade.You can influence professors decision by sending email to professor, but read the article twice before you reply contact professors. Professors who are making graduate admissions decisions at University Y have no good idea of how to compare a student with a GPA of 3.62 obtained at University Z vs. a student with a GPA of 3.62 obtained at College C . If the student from University Z has GRE verbal and quantitative scores of 540 and 560 while the student from College C has GRE verbal and quantitative scores of 630 and 720, now the comparison of the two students seems clearer. When professors find it hard to estimate the value of GPA within U.S. Universities, certainly it will be very hard to find the value of grades for schools in foreign countries. Importance of GRE Scores – 2 The second reason for the importance of GRE scores is that most university graduate schools require GRE scores as part of the graduate admission process. Thus, GRE scores are used by all types of departments, when making admissions decisions. Thus, the GRE test is relevant to anyone interested in pursuing an advanced degree whether the graduate degree is in Physics, mechanical engineering, Computer Science or pharmacy. For most universities, applicants to a graduate program must have GRE verbal + GRE quantitative scores more than 1000. Moreover, various departments often compare the quality of their graduate programs by comparing the average GRE scores of the graduate students who are in their programs. mportance of GRE Scores -3 Many Graduate School programs report the average GRE scores and undergraduate GPA of the applicants accepted into their programs on their web sites. You should look at those scores. If your scores are lower than average by one-half of a standard deviation or more, then your probability of being accepted to that program is so low. You will have to think twice, whether it is worth your time and money to apply to that program. If your GRE scores and your GPA are all above the mean, then your probability of at least getting is an interview is at least reasonably high, and other factors, such as your research experience as measured by publications and conference presentations and your letters of recommendation, will an impact. Also other factors like Statement of purpose, leadership skills, research experience, experience relavent to field you are applying are important. But if you do not have a good GPA and high GRE scores, none of those factors are relevant. These factors are used to differentiate among students with good grades and high test scores. These factors will not make up for poor grades and low GRE test scores. http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/gre-scores-importance/

ETS sucks! I hate them so much! Can you believe that it took more than a month for me to receive my official score report? They say it normally takes 4-6 weeks to deliever the score to test-takers who reside outside the USA. I was like, do they mail by ship?

how to highlight paragraph/sentence during the test?

hey cheesethunder, i totally understand your feeling. i'm just like you, GRE retarted; but i'm worse. english is not my native language so it makes the verbal even harder. i'll retake the exam in nov but i don't think i'll reach the 6xx line for verbal. i hope i'll make some improvements if i can't make the miracle! i think you should just focus on other aspects of your application. i would love to start my SOP right now but i'm just so occupied with the gre. i just want it to be over so that i can focus on editing my writing sample and my SOP. a very good SOP will compensate, i hope, a so-so verbal score. i would also advice you to look into a few safety schools, just in case. good luck!

thanks so much for all of your great advice! when i emailed professors at the universities i'm applying to. one of the professor offered to read my SOP. the professor said: "I hope you will apply. If you need me to look at your personal statement later and get feedbacks, let me know." do you think i should send my draft SOP to this professor, as she suggested?

There is a prof in Cali who warned me aboout the dearth of budget. He asked me to write him again early next month to see what the budget situation is like. I'm so grateful that he's being frank but I don't know if budget cut alone will deter me from applying. I really like that program. But you're right, if they make it clear that they won't provide any financial aid this year and if that's what you need, you probably should save the application fee.

Thanks! But I'm residing in the UK. Are there any internet proofreading services that are proved helpful?

excellent advice! thanks!