DrFaustus666

Beatle mania

I'm glad to hear that in at least some cases the "AW folklore" is not true: that folklore says that ETS mainly hires Princeton graduate students to be the human readers. But the AW test is still a test of one very specific kind of writing---a kind that some very good writers cannot do, period. Here's an analogy from my own field, music. Mozart for example, routinely wrote out perfectly formed entire pieces, finished in his brain, without corrections on paper. Whereas Beethoven worked and re-worked and re-worked his sketches over years (the notebooks survived, and are an amazing insight into the creative process!). My point is, equally good writers may not be all able to write equally well when under pressure of time. And thank goodness, by most accounts at least, Admissions Committees give this point of view precedence over a 30-minute timed essay, taken under pressure.

Those are excellent scores, if you didn't guess that already.

I stand corrected. I do remember those discussions, your post jogged my memory. Slightly Off-Topic: Is this sharp upward trend of selectivity for prospective clinical psychology PhDs possibly activated by managed health care? That is, since social workers have largely replaced psychiatrists as psychotherapists in the last 20 years --- and maybe a large number of people who might otherwise become social workers are now applying for clinical psychology because it presumably promises better earnings?

I agree. I looked up statistics from ETS (from the year 2002-2003). 560-V was 80th percentile for all psychology graduate students, and 560-Q was 58th percentile for all psychology graduate students. In a word, the verbal score is probably fine for all but the topmost-ranked universities, and the quantitative score, while not ideal, is probably OK if your coursework included plenty of heavy mathematics. (Then the AdComms will conclude that you simply had a bad day on GRE-Day.)

I agree, especially for a science candidate.

ETS's own Powerprep program is the gold standard: the two tests are at almost exactly the same scoring difficulty as the "real" test, and they also implement the computerized adaptive algorithm best. Virtually all authorities (including the big name test prep companies) agree. Be careful to download the right program though. If you're taking the current GRE, you should download Powerprep, and if you're taking the "new" GRE (after Aug 1, 2011), download "Powerprep II." As Bhikarri said, there are dozens of word lists and so on. If you learn most of those words WELL, you'll definitely improve your verbal score. Same with the math sections. In my opinion the "NOVA" book (available only online I think) is the best math book. Good luck, John

This is excellent advice. I'd underscore the above, if you're socially awkward -- my guess is you're not really as awkward as you think you are, but even if you ARE, it doesn't matter -- then stick to the subject. Be 100% anthropologist through the entire phone call. Also if at all possible let HIM/HER do most of the talking. That way you very subtly flatter his/her ego (you're listening carefully to him/her, which makes him/her unconsciously think YOU are even smarter than your credentials say you are) AND you yourself don't need to say a lot.

I'm not a hard science person and can't comment on your first question. Your second question, however, is really paradoxical, at least in the humanities; and I assume also for the sciences: Having money guaranteed to you from Norway would probably help your application at lower-ranked US universities, but my guess is that at the top-ranked universities to which you're applying, there is enough money available to fund the (limited) number of people they'll accept.

If you have extremely strong references, statement of purpose, publications, and research experience, you may have a chance. First, the 3.0-AWA probably doesn't matter if your statement of purpose and writing sample are excellent. But to be really honest, I'm sorry to say that, from everything I've read, a 740-Q for an engineer is too low, at least for those very prestigious universities you mention, and the 450-V is also questionable, but possibly OK. You could consider a top-30 or top-50 university this season. Good luck, John

food poisoning

Just a bump, and not even a big bump. Write a super SOP and writing sample. And you might just get lucky with Yale. People on this forum have gotten into Yale with lower scores than yours. Good luck, John

I've had the same experience: high verbal scores and AW all over the map (4.5, 5.0, and 5.5). I think the AW test is meaningless, and I DO hope that most Admissions Committees realize that too.

Absolutely right. OP: ETS's website says somewhere (please don't anybody chide me for not giving the link right here, I don't feel like wading through the whole bloody thing to find it)---anyway, it says that there is a "heavy penalty" for leaving questions blank at the end. Just HOW heavy? It doesn't say. BUT, the reasoning seems obvious: the "heavy penalty" is to prevent you from trying to "get around" the CAT thing. They do not want you to, say, answer the first 15 questions correctly, then give no answer for the last 13 in the Quantitative section, then expect to receive a score of 800 because you "got every question [ that you answered, with extra time! ] right."

queen-anne's lace

Sounds like a plan to me. You're welcome, and good luck!

Does your statement of purpose clearly outline in detail what you'd like to do? If so, that weighs against submitting a research proposal on roughly the same thing. On the other hand, if the proposal is much better written than the complete paper ... well you get the idea. On the other hand, if your SOP only sketches your specific research ideas, then the research proposal would complement the SOP. You could include in the SOP something like "See full details in my 'Writing Sample'". Clear as mud, eh?

Harpy Emma: Hear, hear ! It's been almost 40 years since I sat in a math class, and you only beat my best quantitative score (690) by 30 points---while my verbal scores in three takings have been 800, 760, and 720--in chronological order (go figure!). But many many things are stacked against me, and I am sure there are others like me, who (possibly naively!) hope against hope that a GREAT GRE score--one of the very few things that we can attain without years of work--may offset weaknesses in our applications. In my own case, that's why I continue to fret, and will take it one more time, hoping to get a high quantitative score also.

holy moley

Here's something else to consider: The new GRE will have questions for which more than one box must be checked to get the question right: Ex: Susie is twelve years old and her brother Bill is 20 years old. Fred, her cousin, is older than Susie and younger than Bill. Which of the following could be Fred's age? A. 7 B. 13 C. 20 D. 14 E. 87 To get the question right, you must check BOTH 13 AND 14. The actual problems will of course be much more difficult than this, and will most likely be in statistics, data analysis, probabilities, etc. I'd strongly advise you to go with the devil you know.

Hi Uram The conventional advice (on this forum and elsewhere) for the current GRE, is memorize memorize memorize. The Barron's book has 3500 words. It would take a year or more to learn that many words from scratch, but if you do -- a score in the 700's for verbal is almost assured -- providing you also study reading comprehension and "analogy strategy" --- send me a personal message on this topic if you want to, I am a native speaker and tutor English. So, bottom line, keep learning words. I think the new GRE will be EASIER, maybe a lot easier, because of the lack of analogies and antonyms. Good luck, John

cutting edge

Were your real scores comparable to what you got on Powerprep?

look sharp