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The Math subject test is not easy. If you were a math major, it could help to ace it (meaning 80%ile or better). If not, you'd be hard pressed to break 50%ile. I suspect the Physics GRE is similarly difficult. These aren't exams you can just prepare for in a couple months.

Is it really that bad to get a letter for a Master's program from a grad student if they taught a summer course? Summer courses tend to be taught by grad students, not professors. The teacher would likely already have a Master's and be working toward a Ph.D. Is this really worse than getting a 3rd letter from industry, which many folks seem to do? This would also be a grad student at a school I'd be interested in applying to. I could probably get my 3rd letter from an undergrad professor I took 2 classes with (including a grad class) and TAed for twice, but this was in a different (but related) field and I haven't spoken to him in about 4 years.

I'd say Complex Analysis is your best bet as long as it's a "real" (oops) complex variables class, not some easy engineering class where you sit around applying de Moivre's Theorem. Abstract Algebra could also be good. Sounds like your analysis class didn't cover too much if you didn't get into derivatives, integrals, or sequences of functions. I don't like Rudin, especially not for integrals. I took both real and complex classes at both the undergrad and grad level. I didn't like real at either level to be honest. Complex was alright at the undergrad level, all about computation, the class was mostly engineers, not math majors. The grad complex analysis classes I took were great though. There was a lot of nice analysis arguments in the material, similar to real analysis, but the graders weren't anal about things like showing something is < epsilon instead of 3epsilon, etc. The material got hard when we got into several complex variables though. As for real, I want to mention how great Bartle and Sherbert's book is. I used it in my undergrad real analysis class, and I hated the book back then. But then when I was using Rudin in grad school, I pulled out my old Bartle book and it made things so much nicer for me, especially during the integration chapter. I think you can do fine in complex even if you didn't get into Taylor's Theorem in real analysis yet. I mean you learn all that stuff about derivatives as limits, Riemann sums and Taylor's Theorem in freshman calculus, even if at a higher level, so you can still understand what's going on. I wouldn't worry about a B+ though. I also agree with the last poster that a good linear algebra course is important if what you did in your course was just row-reducing and inverting matrices and so on. This is especially true if you still need to take the Math GRE in the fall.

Define decent. Top 50: probably not. Top 75 or 100: sure. Check out UT Dallas, UNM, UD, I'm sure you can find a few others. You may not get as much financial consideration, if any, this late in the game. May also be only for Master's at this point.

They probably won't want pre-college recs anyway. Can you just focus on gen eds for the next year, then try to transfer somewhere in the US and get a CS degree? Then you could focus more on your major classes there. Then worry about internships, REUs, grad school, etc. It sounds like you have an interesting story, so maybe that could turn into an essay (as long as you have good grades/SAT scores) and get into a good school.

PPI is different: https://www.ets.org/Media/Products/PPI/PPI__Sample_Score_Report.pdf

No offense, but 3.5 AW is really bad. You should get 4.5+, or at least 4.0. 158Q is also weak. Internationals get forgiveness a lot for low verbal, and your verbal may be OK (except you're in sociology, not math). Aside from verbal scores, international students typically get much higher scores, and the standards for them are much higher. This may apply more to the subject tests (where domestic applicants might need 700+ and international applicants might need 800+), but I think it still applies somewhat to the regular GRE. I'm sure you can get into some programs with your current scores, but not a top 30 program.

I'm going through some of the same things you are. I did take some CS classes in undergrad but wasn't a CS major. I've been taking classes as a non-degree student at the local university, but I've done about as much as I can there. I still need 2 more classes (3 would be nice) before applying, and I'm headed across the country to take one of them this summer (it's hard to find upper level classes in the summer). Luckily the cost of this isn't a real issue for me. I doubt you can take much more than basic programming, data structures, and so on at CCs. I also wouldn't recommend taking anything more than programming or discrete math at a CC (not even data structures or algorithms). I've been taking classes at a lower-tier school (not a CC), and the classes I've taken are legit, but many of their classes are very soft. For example, they have an Intro to Software Engineering class, and it's really just an easy OOP class. They have an OS class I couldn't get into, but I sat in on it for a week anyway, and it was literally the 2nd half of my Computer Organization class (same textbook, same projects, etc.) which I took during undergrad at a mid-tier school. Not saying that book can't be used for an OS class, but this class was clearly weaker than adcom professors might hope for. I can only imagine CC classes would be even weaker. You can take classes as a non-degree student at many schools, but the main problem is you can't typically register until August (for fall semester), probably December for spring semester. CS has gotten ridiculously popular the last few years (at my small school for undergrad for example, their Principles of Programming Languages class had around 45 students last year, but when I was a student there, they only had 15-20 students in that class, and basically the same growth is consistent at schools all across the country), and it's extremely difficult to get into the classes you need. The other problem is dealing with all the red tape (showing you have the pre-reqs, and sometimes the basic programming classes that are pre-reqs don't match up 100%, so the advisors in the CS department will give you trouble). This all takes a lot of time. After spending the better part of 2 months and talking to probably a couple dozen schools across the country, I've only found 3 schools where you can register as a non-degree student at a reasonable time (i.e., no later than May for the fall semester). As someone your age, it also gets kind of awkward spending a year or longer in undergrad classes with 20 year olds. Even if you take a grad class, they're typically only 22, and it still gets strange.

Retake, especially if you're international.

I didn't send anything in from my summer abroad. I don't even know how I'd get that stuff sent from Europe, or get it translated. It's listed as summer abroad study on my undergrad transcript, with a grade. Never had any issues.

It does make a difference, at least in some fields. Not sure about Chemistry though. Isn't there a Chemistry GRE subject test? Top 20 seems like a reach, though I don't know your field. In my field, most successful applicants probably have 3.5+ GPAs even at top 50 schools. The major GPA will obviously have more weight, but that doesn't mean all of the weight.

Sounds like a rejection, and like they would only admit you if one (or more, depending on the size of the queue) person backs out well after the 4/15 deadline.

I never liked Python, I'm no expert on it though. R seems to be popular for stats stuff, as well as things like SAS or SPSS. Maple and Mathematica can also involve some programming. Not sure how useful they are for stats as opposed to math in general. Never used Matlab.

I think funding has been a bit tighter ever since the recession started, not just the past couple years. To make matters worse, tons of undergrads are applying to grad school to avoid having to get a real job in an attempt to ride out the depression, which makes things much more competitive. Although it's still reasonable to get into good grad programs, summer funding will become much more competitive than it was before in my opinion.

If you're going to a Math Ph.D. program, you shouldn't make any mistakes when reading a graph or figuring out the angles in a triangle.

Wasn't there some discussion about this same exact dilemma (same schools even) on here a few weeks ago?

I'm a little curious about this as well (but CS Master's, not Psych PhD). I didn't major in CS so I need to take another class in the fall before applying (non-degree status). I'm planning on emailing professors with similar interests to me, explaining my situation, and asking if they have anything available, or at least some pointers on where to look for research opportunities.

My background: Math major, was math grad student for a few years, dropped out (this will be the red flag on my apps), applying to CS Master's (not really interested in Ph.D. at this point) this fall. Good undergrad GPA (like 3.7, not the 3.9 superstars who get into the top programs), but little research experience, and none in CS. I'm confident I can get into some decent midrange programs with just the regular GRE, but would acing the Math subject test (i.e., 850+, or at least 800+) be beneficial at all to improve my chances a tiny bit at some of the top programs? Let's say with an interest in algorithms specifically. I'll likely be taking a couple CS classes in the fall to fill in the remaining gaps in my background, but I wouldn't be so busy that I couldn't prepare for the test, even if I somehow managed to get a little research experience in the fall. ...and would they care or even know about the Putnam? I took it back in college a couple times and got a 20. Not enough to get on the Putnam team at the top schools, but still somewhat impressive.

Retake to get a 4.5 on writing unless you really think you got lucky on the other 2 sections and can't reproduce those results. Even so, a 167Q, 155V, 4.5A is probably better for bio.

I don't have experience with the social sciences, but the answer may depend on what field. For example, I imagine economics would want 165+ Q for top schools, but verbal might be more important for history. In my experience of applying to Math Ph.D. programs, as long as you get a 170 Math and like 450+ on verbal (whatever that is in the new system), you're fine. It was just to satisfy the university requirements, the departments really didn't care. Of course there was a very difficult subject test you had to take as well that did matter.

Well I can't do one this summer since I'll be taking an OS class which is going to be pretty intense. I guess I'll have to see where I can get into classes in the fall and just see if I can find any companies that need an intern in the area. CS classes have gotten ridiculously popular the last few years, so it's still a mystery what city I'll even be in in the fall. Once I figure it out, I'll look for a few professors with research interests that would intersect with mine at whatever school I end up at in the fall and see if they have anything available, or could at least point me in the right direction to gaining some experience. Is that the path most people take to get so much research experience in undergrad, other than doing an REU or two in the summertime? I always wonder about applicants at the top schools who come in with 2-3 years of research experience. I do have some research experience, but it's in math, not CS, and it was quite a few years ago. Plus I'm only applying for Master's programs. So as long as I get the CS coursework done, I think I have a fair chance.

So I was planning on applying to schools for spring admission now that I've taken some more CS classes as a non-degree student (I have a Bachelor's in math). But there are some programs I'm interested in that only accept students in the fall (Master's programs). So I'm considering waiting until the fall to apply. I'll be taking classes in the fall as a non-degree student, not sure where yet. I would probably take a couple more in the spring to make my application stronger. But other than taking classes, does anyone have experience with finding either a part-time software development internship or a part-time research project for non-degree seeking students, either in the fall or the spring? Internships are usually in the summer, and usually want you to be working toward a degree. Obviously the opportunities would depend on the city and the school.

To enter industry. I'll just choose the thesis option at application time and see what happens.

At many programs, you just apply to the M.S. program and you figure out the thesis/non-thesis option after admission. At some schools, you have to submit two applications. Is it a bad idea to do so? By this, I mean is it going to hurt your chances when you write one SOP talking about your research interests and another saying you just want to take classes? Ideally, I'd like to get into an M.S. program with a thesis, but I'd still consider the non-thesis route if it's my only option.

Just pick up a GRE book and go through the math section (or go through ETS' math review online... it's free and full of good content). The math itself is quite basic, so it shouldn't take very long to review. The strategies in the GRE books for verbal and writing don't seem to be worth the paper they're printed on. Going on and on about eliminating choices you know are wrong, not wasting time on the harder questions before getting the easier ones done, etc. If you've read books or written papers for 10+ years like most of us have (except possibly some ESL people), you're either going to know the necessary vocab or you won't. You should really have the ability to figure out what word fits (if you know what all the words mean) or how to write a basic essay.