JerryLandis

PS how's the Penn program?

I must admit I have never applied to grad school and know nothing about this, but I don't think it's the end of the world. I got almost the exact same score as you, and the friends I went to take it with got more or less the same (lower verbal and higher quantitative). Now, my score is way lower than the average score at the places I'm applying to. However, considering everyone I know seems to have received very similar scores, I'm not panicking. Sure, maybe it will be a slight shadow on your application, but despite not being a marvelous score, it's not terrible either. I would say to take the energy you're spending worrying about this and use it for something more productive - like keeping up your grades and working on your application supplemental materials. It's too late to take it again, so why waste your time worrying? That's my excuse.

I fail to see how GPA is a poor indicator of someone's abilities. It's not an arbitrary number and, while it may differ a bit from university to university, generally speaking you can tell from looking at someone's GPA how hard they worked at university and how strong of a student they are. Doesn't really apply so much to the GRE, which is taken in one sitting and only really reflects a student's performance in one very specific incident.

I have quite a few sarcastic/tongue in cheek comments in my statement of purpose. I'm sure I'll edit them out at the last minute before I submit my applications, but I want to include them! I am afraid to let one of my professors read my draft, because I'm sure they would consider me a crazy fool for including such unnecessary comments. I am trying to tailor them a bit so they just make me sound really enthusiastic about my subject, instead of really immature and unfocused on serious matters.

My friends I went with to take the test had swine flu, but took it anyway because they couldn't reschedule. It really is annoying when university departments require applicants to take the GRE, but then say on their websites that they consider it the least important part of the application. If it's so unimportant, why waste our time and money requiring us to take it? The final year of university is a stressful enough time without the GRE! Just about as worthless and annoying as the SAT - considering all the pricey products/courses out there that are "guaranteed" to raise a person's score, I have a hard time believing that these tests are really a fair way of measuring general intelligence.

Seek out opportunities that are directly related to your topic of study. It may sound horrible and cynical, but being the president of a charity club won't necessarily be mentioned in applications, whereas working as a research intern will. I'm not saying not to continue doing extra curricular activities, just make sure you're doing them because you want to and not because you think it will look good (ah, the good old days of high school apps, when joining a million clubs could help you out..) Getting some kind of a research internship or serving as a student representative within your department, basically any extra or volunteer position within your department is a great thing to do. Not least this is because it will give your professors something interesting to write about in your recommendations. Get to know your professors well. This is a good thing to do in general, but also because when it comes time for them to write you a recommendation they will have more personal things to say than "so and so got an okay grade in my class." My biggest piece of advice is TAKE THE GRE NOW. I'm serious. I wish someone had told me to take it during the summer after my high school graduation. Your scores are valid for 5 years so it's not too early. Believe me, that math knowledge will fly right out of your head as soon as you stop taking math classes. Also, taking the GRE is really really stressful, and if you wait to take it during the first semester of your final year you will wish you had done it sooner. Good luck with everything. The fact that you're together enough to be researching this stuff at this early stage suggests that you'll probably be fine when it comes to writing your applications.

I did alright on the GRE, but lower than what my desired universities seem to want. I have to say that it's horribly unfair for people who do not live in the United States. For example, in order to take the test I had to pay the equivalent of hundreds of dollars just to travel to the test center (a 7 hour train ride) and pay for accommodation. My test also cost $30 more than it would in the US. Staying in a hostel room with 11 other people is not a great way to get a good night's sleep before an exam! As a result the idea of improving my skills and retaking the test is absolutely out of the question. I am not going to address my score in my statement of purpose, because I don't want to waste valuable words on something like that. I can say, though, that if you want to try improving your score the books are very helpful. I memorized all of the words in the Princeton Review's "Hit Parade," and quite a few of them showed up on the test. However, I think it would probably take hours upon hours of long term intensive preparation to bring your score up by a significant amount. What I'm telling myself is that I don't really want to be part of an institution that would disregard my hard earned academic qualifications and decide not to admit me because of one lousy score on a test that is completely unrelated to my topic of study. That was a long sentence! Anyways, I'm sure that once the rejection letters start flowing in I will wish I hadn't said that, but still, one must remain positive!

Hi, I am in my final year at a British university and am applying to medieval history PhD programs at American unis, specifically University of Chicago, Stanford, Notre Dame, and Yale. Admissions information generally seems geared towards those within the American education system, so I'm having a hard time determining my chances. Bear with me, I have many questions! As it stands my GPA is 3.8 overall and 3.9 for my major, but this is a loose calculation because my university does not use the GPA system - over here I would just say I have a predicted first class degree, a 17.1 out of 20 (18 is a 4.0). My GRE scores are (if I remember correctly) 590 verbal, 640 quantitative, and I have not yet been informed about the essay section although I imagine it's better than the other two sections. I speak one foreign language (Spanish) but am at a disadvantage for not knowing Latin. I plan to take an intensive Latin course this summer and am mentioning this fact in my SoP's. Other credentials include Deans List awards, being a student representative for my department, and receiving a grant from the university (kind of like a paid summer internship) to work on an independent research project, which turned out to be the equivalent of an undergraduate dissertation (14,000 words). This semester I am working on another such project as part of my coursework. As far as recommendations are concerned, I am guessing that I will have 3 very strong recommendations, coming from one quite well known tutor and 2 somewhat younger tutors. That will probably be the strongest part of my application. I am working on my SoP and I think that it is quite good. I have several potential writing samples, just have to choose which one to use. GPA: the unis I am applying to do not release the average GPA of their admitted students. Obviously my GPA is strong but I am afraid everyone else applying will have equally strong ones. Any thoughts on this? GRE: I am aware that my scores are both about 100 points below the average of those admitted to my desired programs. There is no way I am taking the test again though, because it is very inaccessible in this country (and more expensive - cost me over $400 to take it when travel and accommodation was factored in) and I think it's too late anyways. Has anyone here applied to PhD programs with similar scores? Do they seem to make much of a difference? Recommendations: All programs seem to ask for 3 letters of recommendation, but they say that you can submit more. Would having 4 letters help me, or just make me seem self-absorbed? The 3 letters I have asked for are sure to be very good, but there is another professor who has taught me who is extremely well established within the field. While I am sure he would write me a good recommendation, I doubt it would be as good as the other ones. Should I ask him for a recommendation as well, and submit 4 letters? Writing Sample: Exactly how related to my desired area of study should it be? My summer research thesis is very much in line with what I would like to study, but it is twice as long as the maximum page limit and is not the best thing I have ever written. It's still good, but I have written shorter essays that I believe are far higher in quality, and are about topics of medieval history, but are not specifically about my desired subject. Should I submit an extract from the long piece, or one of my other essays? Thanks for reading my questions and considering my situation. These are scary times! If anyone here has applied to any of the unis I mentioned above and wouldn't mind sharing their results, statistics, and particulars of their application, I would very much appreciate it.