DrFaustus666

I'm also in humanities and have had several telephone interviews. They're really useful because you can not only show the interviewer how well you'd fit into their program, you can also get an idea if you'd like to work with this or that professor (and/or program). If they want to talk to you over the telephone, it's probable, but not guaranteed, that they've already read your statement of purpose. Be sure to be very upbeat and enthusiastic; if English is not your native language, don't apologize for any mistakes you might make in English--professors understand that you're under pressure and shouldn't hold any minor grammatical errors you make in spoken English against you. DO be sure to speak clearly though, and somewhat slowly if necessary.

If you're very frugal (and you obviously are!), you could earn the MSW, work for a few years, while banking a substantial portion of your income, and try again for PsyD. A friend of mine did exactly that: she was about 45 yrs old when she started the doctoral degree, but was able to take off several years and pay her own tuition. I'm sure her admissions committees must have liked her commitment and long-range planning as much as her actual "numbers." I'm not saying you need to wait that long, but only to point out that you've got your whole life in front of you, and it may well not be strictly an either/or situation.

wright brothers

On the question of "will a retake hurt my application?" every university, often even individual departments within the same university, has different policies. Some use the highest, some average the scores, etc. You'll have to ask each individual school what their policy is. ETS's official policy is that any method is OK as long as the university uses the same method for all applicants. The bad news is that the only thing that's SURE is: a top-notch score the first time is your best bet

Not only that. Things can get lost. When I applied for my first MA (back in the late 1970's) I had to have my recommendations sent THREE times. I received a phone call advising me that I was admitted. Then a few days LATER I received a letter saying my recommendations had not been received yet. I called the person who had called me, telling me I was admitted. He said, "Don't worry about it. Nobody will stop you from registering for courses [ even though I had no paper confirmation of my acceptance ]." And remember, that was BEFORE the days of computerized record keeping. There was no record of my admission anywhere. I just told the registrar's office that "Dr. XYZ told me I was admitted." They accepted my money and enrolled me without even calling Dr. XYZ to confirm my story (though it's possible they did so after I left the registrar's office). Dr. XYZ was right. I enrolled without difficulty, and I finally received a written acceptance letter in November, while I was preparing for final exams in my first semester! Absolutely true.

An 800-V is in the top 1/4 of 1 percent. I.e., 99.75% of test takers scored lower than you did. CONGRATULATIONS ! ! ! ! And a Quantitative 650 is not a bad score at all, unless you're applying for Engineering, Astrophysics, Math, CS, etc. And, as Bukharan said, there's never been anyone yet who reported that their official score was different from their on-screen score. One thing that does vary slightly from year to year, is the percentile ranking. ETS's website acknowledges this possibility. I.e., a 500-Verbal might be 43rd percentile one year and 45th percentile the next year. It's just due to differences in the test population.

The "conventional wisdom" is that if your native language is not English, admissions committees will grant you a little bit of leeway. Also, many threads on this forum say that the TOEFL then becomes more important than your GRE Verbal score. But remember that at the very most selective universities, you'll be competing against international students whose English is superb. One international student on this forum got a 750 in English, which is superior, even for a native speaker.

You haven't provided much information about yourself, and in a vacuum it's hard to answer your question. The 800-Q is essential I would think. Are you an international student? What about your GPA, and where did you attend undergraduate school, with what majors, etc. Do you have well-known professors as references? Publications? Research? Etc. Etc. In general, at the top 5 schools in any field, the competition is brutal, and unless the rest of your application is absolutely stellar, you probably do need a 600 or higher on verbal, while keeping your 800-quantitative. My two cents.

long way

fullsteam ahead

Hi MusicForFun, While your scores may not be what you wanted/hoped for, I do not think they will kill your PhD application. Based on Powerprep statistics (from 2002-2003) for PhD's in Psych: your 530-V is 65th perentile and your 650-Q is 80th percentile Even taking into account the fact that everyone's scores have risen 20-30 points on average in the last 8 years since those statistics were current, they don't look that bad to me. I'm betting the AdComms will just figure you had a bad day on GRE-day. John

Well, the attitude of your faculty begs the question, "Why did they admit you in the first place?" if they're so staunchly opposed to women as clergy or theologians (I'm guessing from your program: M. Div.). Be that as it may, you can directly ask the regular professors if they'd be able to write you a good recommendation -- assuming of course that you can trust them to give you an honest answer. If the answer is yes, then at least one regular professor's recommendation would be advisable. If not, then ask the adjunct for a recommendation. I'm sorry to hear that such misogyny still exists. Women have proven themselves to be equally adept with men in every human endeavor except for fathering babies and a few athletic areas where a man's muscular build gives him an advantage. Indeed (I'm sure indulging in polemics is frowned upon in this forum, but here I go anyway) the Catholic Church would have benefitted immensely from the presence of women in its priesthood, if for no other purpose than to serve as whistle-blowers against the astonishing number of pedophiles who've been flushed out of the woodworks in the last 15 years. Good luck, John

go figure

Hi workinprogress, Judging from everything I've seen on this site in the last year, well, your grades are super, and that's a BIG plus. Yes, your Q-770 is a little on the low side. I don't think it's as disappointing as you make it out to be, but a high Q-score is certainly important for the top-notch programs you want to attend. So, I'd say, yes, it'd be worth it to you to try to get the extra 30 points ... which could amount to only two or three questions right that you didn't get right last time ... meaning pure luck could work in your favor: you might get questions that deal with things you're better at, be it complicated factoring problems, convoluted sequences, or whatever. But from a standpoint of mathematical-reasoning ability, there's really not much difference between a 770 and an 800. I can't guess whether a work recommendation or an academic recommendation would be better, except that you might pick the person who's best known in the field ... or ... if they're both roughly on a par, the one who's likely to give you the most glowing recommendation. That's a tough call.

newms, you never cease to amaze me. Your thoughtfulness and open-mindedness are indeed admirable. You're right once again. It all depends on how well the OP's fellow students know her, and how much she cares about their opinions. OP: Be sure EVERYBODY knows you're a superior student; or, if you're not, be absolutely certain that your relationship has no effect on your grades. If you have to hit your boyfriend over the head with a hammer to enforce this, do so!

speed stick

Hi Secret-Name, I'm much older than you and it's hard for me to guess what your fellow students (and professors!) might think. I can share the experience of a former girlfriend of mine, who went to a very prestigious university in Great Britain (either Cambridge or Oxford, I won't say which) -- and dated a professor, marrying him immediately upon graduation (he was 25 yrs older than she). When they finally made their relationship public, having tried every method known to man to keep it covert, 1. "Everybody" already knew. 2. She did feel ostracized, and one brave-but-forthright student told her directly that for her own sake, she should not date someone in her own field, because "everybody" assumed her superior grades were due to favoritism. 3. Their marriage lasted only two years. She then remained single for 25 years, while he immediately married another student, with whom he'd been having an affair. Bottom line, amor may vincit omnia, but you'll pay a high price. I think you probably realize that already, but I thought I'd chime in with my former girlfriend's story. By the way, her marriage to her prof had no effect, positive or negative, on her career. John

speed addict

dorm monitor

Sure? As in "A 1-to-1 negative correlation between commercial test software and ETS's powerprep software has been unmistakeably and unimpeachably proven using regression analysis; the sample set comprises thousands of cases spanning decades of research. All studies have been peer-reviewed, cross-checked, and double-blind executed. The predictive validity of this conclusion is all but certain (n = 100000, p < 0.00001)." No. Some people's commerical scores do resemble the real GRE. But MOST people score lower on the commercial tests than on the real GRE. At least, most people who report on this forum say that. And a group of us have pondered this, and independently come up with the same conclusion: The most probable reason for this is that the commercial companies have a vested interest. They want you to buy their books, enroll in their preparation classes, and if possible, they wish you to take the le action ne plus ultra, sign up for help with one of their private tutors, which can cost up to $250/hour or more. If you don't believe me, just take a gander at Kaplan's or Princeton Review's websites and check out their rates for private tutors. I will make one recommendation, and I'll preface that with this disclaimer: I am NOT in any way affiliated with Manhattan GRE, but their free on-line CAT came closer to replicating my recent live GRE than any other online test has so far done. And I will also say, I have not attempted to make any comprehensive study of the subject. If you want more info on Manhattan GRE, contact Tdearr on this site. He or she IS an employee of Manhattan GRE.

Hi, First let me preface this by saying my employer is the U.S. Judiciary, where judges are have only slightly lesser status than the deity of your choice. So, take it with a grain of salt. I'd ask the Judge. I also don't know your field, but I do know mine -- and around here, if a judge smiles at you, you get promoted; if he/she frowns at you, you might receive a disciplinary letter. My two cents. Good luck. John

big deal

laundry day

dirty laundry