jujubea

If it were me I'd take the November one, because the stress of whether my scores got in on time would not be worth it to me...! But everybody has their own style and tolerance for different types of stresses...

Sorry man, I don't know a thing about Computer Science programs, except that they exist, and are important, and have a lot of funding...!

Yeah I'd say you're freaking out too much about it. I definitely understand WHY you're freaking out ... but you don't need to. And you aren't a bad person for applying to grad school to improve your life while working some place in the meantime. That's just life. Now, if your boss asked you up front, are you applying to grad schools any time soon? And you were like, no, then that'd feel a little different, morally speaking. Anyway that's not your case, so chill! I agree with everyone's advice above.

You're doing an arts program? Seems fitting to me... but I don't know much about arts programs' SOP guidelines. I guess it depends also on what you mean by spilling your guts and soul, certainly you have a lot of both, so it wouldn't all fit in a measly SOP -- which parts in particular are you worried about? What do you go into exactly? I'm amused that both of you have cussed for this thread ... it's so appropriate! I felt the need to cuss also, but damn if I couldn't figure out somewhere to fit it in to my response...

I don't mean to sound harsh, but I would strongly reconsider retaking the GRE after some more studying. If you're going into an English graduate program, I am pretty sure they will want to see at least 150+ on the verbal section, and a lot of decent places ask for a combined total minimum of 300. I'm not an English major, though, so take my advice with a grain of salt!

I hope you're applying to UCSB. They have a spectacular program for what you're looking into. Eastern traditions, Judaism, relevant languages, and even a Cog Sci emphasis. Some seriously cool research coming out of their PhD students right now. Oh - and bonus - since it looks like you're starting with MA first, they have a MA/PhD combined program, meaning you can streamline right on towards your PhD without reapplying. But they also offer a terminal Master's, if that's what you're looking for. Their programs fits my needs and interests so perfectly, it's the only Religious Studies program I'm applying to. Unfortunately, they have a less than ideal funding situation from what I understand, so it's pretty unlikely I'd get my financial needs met there in the end :/

Great! Good for you

I don't know but your Puffin is adorable.

Do you want to be a math teacher? If not, I wouldn't worry about it. Check out Magoosh's GRE averages link by major and tier. It looks like you are in a more than fine range.

I actually had no idea whether this was appropriate either. I'm applying to mostly MA programs (with the intention to continue to the PhD, but I must reapply at those times), and I have been reaching out to faculty. Obviously I'm still in the application process so I can't say whether that worked out well, but I can tell you that it is really nice to get to know some of the professors I might be working with, and to get a feel for the programs and how they're managed. Some places have warm, engaging, interested and interesting faculty, while others lose emails, forget to respond, or aren't willing/able to be helpful to prospective students only at the MA level. I want to be somewhere where the faculty understand and support that I intend to continue to the PhD afterwards, so these interactions can be a little bit telling. All of my reaching out has also led to invitations to visit the campuses and departments, and to meet faculty - which I am really, really excited to be doing. I intend to mention faculty I hope to work with in my SOP, but again, I'm not sure how standard that is at the Master's level generally, let alone for professional master's program.

Denver has an interesting program I briefly considered (applying for Comm there instead). What regional area and/or which religion(s) do you want to focus on?

I kind of just generally agree not to use Kaplan. Not only is it incredibly expensive, but I also noticed some fishy things about their materials. Specifically, the online course, which has 4 practice tests, and ten 20-question sets each of verbal and quant, appeared rigged to make it look like your score got better, because a majority of the questions in the LAST sets of problems (the last quant set, the last verbal set, and the last practice test) had a disproportionate majority of low-level and medium-level difficult questions.. especially low-level. This is in comparison with the numbers in the previous sets, which all have at least 3 or 4 hard-level questions each. Perhaps I'm looking too closely, and perhaps each course is ordered differently, but it seems like that would be a clever ploy to give you great scores on the last sets of the problems so that you feel you've really improved with Kaplan's course, whether or not you actually have. I think they do a good job of making you feel like you've gotten a lot from them - the stack of books you get with the course is enough to start a miniature library - and in some ways they do give you a lot: access to video tutorials, electronic versions of all material, virtual, scheduled practice tests in addition to the ones in the books and the online course. It is a lot of stuff. But I'm just not confident about the quality of it. It seemed to me you can get most of the same, of probably better quality, with less expensive and more tailored programs like Magoosh. Anyone want to buy some Kaplan prep books off me...?

Wow great job. Especially considering you didn't prep much for the verbal, and you still broke 155!

Yeah I screwed myself with the panicking too. My second quant section was a mess, and I kept kicking myself over it, saying dangit, I got the easy one... Dangit dangit dangit.... And then trying to refocus and tell myself to stop kicking myself... But I'd inevitably go back to it. I would say at least one good full minute in total was wasted on that. If you include how it affected my problem-solving, it probably took a cumulative 3-4 minutes in gearing up back up or re-engaging in the problem at hand. Like unraed, my last quant section was more on par with what I'd seen the first go-round, and I am sure the middle section was the research section because the questions were of a very different style and wording than the other two Q sections, and also as compared to the PowerPrep questions. The real second (third) quant section was also still easier, but not by very much, and I still had a hard time doing due diligence on keeping track of time, such that I had to hasten my problem solving and partially estimate the last two questions or so. Research section or not - it's my own fault I have this time issue... and I know if I'd done more timed practice tests, I would've been better prepared.

Why can't you do it right away? Not enough experience? You were in the military at the same time as doing your undergrad? Will they allow you to take a break and go back in? Or are you currently enlisted and want to go back in as an officer? Or a a military civilian? Reserves? Regardless of the mil aspect, there are pros and cons to taking the GRE right now. Pro: your brain is fresh with the math and vocab of your undergrad. Con: your critical thinking skills could be underdeveloped (total guess here, they could also be stellar!). Pro: you take it now, you don't have to worry about taking it later. Con: unless you do poorly, and you'll have to shell out $200 again once you're really ready. Also, the options you present don't have to be either/or. You could both gain lab experience and take classes, AND take the GRE and apply to grad school. Kind of a win-win in some ways, because you'll be getting that experience regardless of what's next. You'll be in good shape if you don't get in anywhere, and you'll be in good shape if you do. My humble two cents.

Man, it sure is nice to be going neurotic with other people rather than going neurotic alone

Yayyyy, your post made my day!

Look past it? You're an embodiment of the field! ---- Well, I positioned the streak so I can downplay if I need to, and the color I'm looking at next is not very bright. I love that the planetary sciences professor has other-worldly hair color.. so, so fitting.

Thanks for all the great responses! smg, awesomely put. I'm really on the fence between all your answers in my own head. My initial response was also: what?! Heck no. I'm gonna be who I'm gonna be. Take me or leave me. But then I thought of how devastated I'd be to not get in to any of my schools. And if it was just the hair that was the reason, of course I'd change it! What is me is the juxtaposition of professionalism with a little wild side. That's why I like the streak.. it's just a little streak, but it holds a lot of meaning for me (I know that seems silly to others! I get it). I've always been that way, combining unexpected traits, hobbies, or styles. Think boxing and poetry. Rough camping and spa days. Purple hair and a nice plain suit. Now that I say these things, I guess it kind of reflects what I want to do with my communication degree, too ... I'm having an epiphany! 8O

I couldn't find a single thread about this ... And only one mention of someone who had "brick red" hair for her interviews ... and no indication as to whether she made it in anywhere. I frequently dye a strip of my hair various unnatural colors. While I am not applying to any particularly socially-conservative institutions (I think..) my significant other mentioned to me yesterday that I might want to hold off on dyeing it again because I am about to go on campus visits and meet POI's and others. My hair happens to be all a uniform natural color right now. Is one small strip of dyed hair really so bad? I figured with the 80's back in action on the runways these days, that dyed hair was becoming something of a norm, at least a temporary one, even for us less-young folks. Would I really hurt my chances because of some tastefully done (imho) hair color?

Lol! Me too! Story of half the perusers here I'm sure... I had generally thought that as long as you break 160 on both scores it should be quite good ...so my 158 quant gets me nervous about funding now, though not necessarily admission.

Hmmm, ok, thanks guys. I told him in the info packet which professors I was hoping to work with - or at least some of them, so I'm not sure that's it. And I can't do in-person unfortunately, we're a few states away from one another. But your suggestions sound good, so I think I'll give it a try - tell him what the instructions are, and be more clear about the profs I hope to work with - and see how it goes.

Yes... This question gets asked in varying forms all over the place here...! Here's a recent similar thread with a good Magoosh link I found for checking out score ranges by major and by school tier ranking.

One of my programs has similar, almost exactly the same wording. They use it for specific school-wide scholarships and fellowships awarded to students who the school feels will add to the diversity of the student population. Your program might be different though. Have you asked anyone there yet?

If the only essay required is called a Personal Statement, it should actually be treated as a Statement of Purpose. If they ask for both an SOP and a Personal Statement.. then there should be specific instructions on the program websites indicating what they look for in those second statements.