Are you interested in a research based MS or a terminal MS? If it's research based, what area are you interested in? Those schools are good schools to look at, but you really need to look out for which schools match the research area you are interested in. It will be difficult to gain acceptance if your interests don't match up well with the research at that university.
Was he giving you advice on which schools he thought you would be a good fit at? I ask because usually schools/profs ask this kind of question after you have applied and they are wondering if you would enroll if they gave you an admit.
Hi anthropologygeek, do you usually find this information at the department level or at the graduate school level? I ask because for most of the schools I've looked at, this information (particularly the admissions info) isn't available for my department and doesn't seem to be available from the grad school either.
You should still be ok, but check with the programs. Most allow you to enter your scores yourself and will be ok if the official scores from ETS arrive shortly after the deadline, since they most likely don't look at apps until January. Some programs stipulate that ETS scores must arrive by the deadline so you should just check with your schools to make sure.
Pick a period when you will have enough time to properly prepare yourself. Next summer would be good, you could also consider the period between semesters at the end of this year/start of next. It's really up to when you think you can have a good solid 4-6 week period before where you could devote yourself to really preparing for the test.
Hey Kitkat. I think that's the right decision. With as much time as you have, you have a really good opportunity to put together an outstanding application.