scyrus

Just heard back from CMU HCII - I'm in! Also, rejected from Stanford. It's kind of a bummer, but I've long thought that I only applied to Stanford for the name without being really passionate about the research they did there (which is surprisingly limited in the areas I'm interested in).

Not necessarily. HCC is not the same as Robotics.

Officially accepted to University of Washington =)

What's your specialization? I applied to ECE because it houses their Security programs. If you're security-minded, that may be why?

I don't think the people who heard back applied to the HCII. I assume it's a different review process because we had to explicitly select HCI instead of CS in the application process. But maybe I'm wrong (hopefully not)

I applied as well, under Computer Science =) Does anybody know if the NSF requires/encourages/ignores fall semester grades?

I received an e-mail from a professor I listed in my SOP from UIUC

I'm actually submitting a paper to Siggraph this year, so I may get to go regardless =)

Congrats yourself. Yes, I'm in HCI, (with some security and AI collaborative interests). I applied to Fluid Interfaces, Human Dynamics and Information Ecology. You?

No mention of that, just yet. I'd imagine they want to get a few rounds of admissions in before deciding

Got into UIUC as well. Full funding =)

Just submitted my last application tonight. Out of curiosity, I'm wondering where everyone else has applied? My schools are listed in my signature. The long wait begins...

1. You will need ID (Driver's license) and your confirmation sheet/number. You will also need to fill out a disclaimer. On the disclaimer sheet, you will have to rewrite (in cursive) a paragraph they have in print about how you will not supply anyone with information about the test, etc. and then you will have to sign it. All in all, you should only need ~10 minutes. When I took the GRE, I got there thirty minutes before my appointment and they actually let me start the test twenty minutes before my scheduled time. 2. In the test center where I took the test, I simply walked out of the room and had to sign myself out. When I came back in, I had to sign back in. This was the case even if I wanted to take a break when there wasn't an "on-screen" break, such as when I had spare time left over on my 45 minute essay and stepped out to get some water. And yes, you need to show ID everytime you reenter so that they can be sure it's not your evil twin trying to take the test for you. 3. I had to leave my stuff in a locker, so leaving my cell phone there was fine. But yes, they do not allow you to bring anything into the room except for your ID. Not even chap stick.

I learned most the Barron's words list as well, and on all my practice tests I scored consistently in the 720-740 range. Unfortunately, on test day, I had to guess the antonym to the word Plangent (which I couldn't even vaguely recognize as being part of the English language) on my second question. I ended up getting a 680, probably at least partially due to that question . Moral of the story, I think: don't get too caught up on the word lists, there will likely be a word or two you don't know regardless. Improve your vocab, certainly, but focus on time management and strategies for answering questions with unfamiliar words. I think that will be your key to the 800V (if you really even need it, that is. I think a 7x0 score would be sufficient for just about anywhere).

Thanks for the responses. After some soul searching, this is what I've come up with: If any school is going to reject me because of a 770 instead an 800, I probably don't want to go there anyway. I'd rather spend the time on focusing on my research and actually graduating now =). By the way, Dr.Faustus666, how did your applications go? Or were you going to apply this fall, and not last fall?

It depends on which schools you're looking at, but in general 700Q is a low score for engineering. I would suggest retaking the test because you will be below the cutoff score for many good engineering schools with that score. That said, other parts of your application are more important, so if you happen to have exceptional research experience schools will be more likely to forgive a low gre score.

Brief summary of my situation: I'm a CS student seeking to apply to PhD programs this coming Fall, and have a 4.0 and a couple of years of research experience from a top 10 CS institution as an undergrad(top 10 is in Graduate CS rankings, though). I don't have any publications. I scored a 770 in math, and a 680 verbal on the GRE. Currently, I'm in a summer research program at a very prestigious research institution, and this research will likely, but not definitely result in a peer-reviewed publication. This research program is also offering me a subsidized Kaplan GRE test prep course. I pay $50, they pay the rest of the overwhelming majority. Therein lies my dilemma... When I got my GRE results, I was content, but not happy. I know I can get an 800 on the Math, I even did so on the practice tests. However, the GRE being a minor metric used in admissions, I figured a 770 is good enough. If I buy the $50 course, I will probably want to take it again and waste hours of time on the prep. If I don't buy the prep course and don't get in to the universities I want, I will probably feel that I wasted a valuable opportunity. What do you guys think? Will a 770 in math keep me out of the top CS schools? Should I take the course and, by extension, take the test again?

Hm...not sure you did the conversion correctly. If you were the best among your peers, it would be really surprising if your GPA was only a 3.0/4.0. Just FYI, that statistic is for general undergraduate admissions. Graduate admissions is an entirely different ball game and is department specific. I'd be willing to wager for Graduate CS admissions, UIUC probably has somewhere around a 10% acceptance rate. Or nothing nearly as high as 69% at the very least.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I really shouldn't be too caught up in rankings . Unfortunately, for my particular interests(being odd as they are), the only schools I've found with strong matches in research are actually the top ranked schools in either CS or NS, which somewhat limits my options. I see...so you're saying even if there's no formal guarantee of aid, it is still possible/likely to get Research/Teaching Assistantships(depending on the school etc.)? I'm guessing the aid comes in the form of tuition remission? I actually was considering Canadian universities for the MS =). I hear Toronto and Waterloo, in particular, are regarded highly. Thanks for the info about UBC and McGill - i'll definitely check them out and see if they're good fits!

So, I'm currently an undergrad at a top 10 university for Computer Science with a great gpa(4.0), great gre, decent research experience(2 years with an undergraduate research assistantship, will be doing an REU at Stanford this summer, and will be researching all of my final year as well and hopefully get a publication or two), a year of experience working abroad on an internship, and decent, but probably not incredible, letters of recommendation(mostly worked with grad students with little contact with professors). I'm extremely interested in Brain-Computer Interfaces and AI related topics, and so next fall I'll be applying for my PhD in Computer Science or Neuroscience(depending on which program fits me better in a particular university). However, I understand just by browsing the boards this year that lately grad admissions have been ultra competitive - to the point where my profile hardly guarantees me admission into any of the top programs I want to go. So, in addition to the PhD applications, I was thinking it might be wise to apply to a few master's programs, just in case I get rejected to all my PhD choices. Therein lies my dilemma - I do not want to go into too much debt for a master's, but do not want to drop too far in rankings from my current institution to find funding either. The Master's will purely be a stepping stone for me to get into top choice PhD programs later, so I'd rather not put myself in a situation where my undergrad institution is significantly more prestigious than my Master's institution. So, I wonder if there are any Master's programs in HCI or AI at the top 10-15 schools that are funded, at least partially? Is it simply a matter of apply and you might get funded or do certain programs offer funding and certain programs definitely don't no matter what? Also, does the academic incest stigma apply to those who only get a Master's from the same university as his or her undergrad, or is it only for the PhD?

A couple of points to consider: There's a decreasing marginal utility to these courses. That person you mentioned who increased his or her score by 250 points was only able to do so because that course had a lot to teach someone with such a low score. In your case, the course will probably be able to give you a few helpful hints but nothing ground-breaking, I'm sure.Getting your GRE Q up likely just requires more practice on your part(don't get Kaplan's Advanced Math Book though, they're either terrible editors or themselves don't know how to do basic math). Practice, find where you make careless mistakes(i'm sure you know all the math required and your score is probably just low due to careless errors/time), get faster at recognizing the type of problem presented.Lastly, and maybe most importantly, the GRE's don't get you in - they just keep you out. You can use that money for much better things

It's hard to say because I obviously don't know anything about how you did previously, or your background, but I would say that the GRE is mostly mental. You probably already know everything you need to know about the Quantitative section in terms of actual knowledge, now it's just a matter of practicing to get faster(either by recognizing how to solve the problem or actually performing the required operations) and spot where you most frequently make errors so you'll be more aware of them during the actual test. For the Verbal section, if you start learning 5-10 words a day now, by the time you take the test you'll have significantly improved your vocabulary without stressing too much in a short period of time. Other than that, some light refreshment on strategy for both sections the month prior to the exam should really be all you need. My 2 cents anyway =)

Are you actually interested in pure EE research/coursework? I have similar interests to yours, and am planning on applying to Stanford Neuroscience next year because they have, specifically, a Neuro-engineering program. I would think that's the better fit for you, right? I know it is for me. I'm currently an undergraduate at Tech, so maybe I'm biased, but for what it's worth Tech is ranked 2 nationally compared to Stanford's 10 in biomedical engineering. Also, if you consider that you will actually be studying what you want at Tech(instead of spending 5-6 years researching and learning about something only tangential to your interests), I think maybe you should weigh Tech a little higher. That said, taking the lenses of objectivity off, Stanford is my dream school and I would be hard-pressed to turn them down if I were in your position. Whatever you chose, you can't go wrong so good luck! And yes, do as Slorg says =)

I'm sure the Adcoms in Harvard, Stanford, Columbia etc. know both about the existence of the Netherlands and it's relative location on a map. I wonder why you even chose to apply to universities in the U.S. if you have such a low opinion of the people you are applying to work under and with for the next 5-6 years. As far as choosing between you and a student from the states with similar credentials, I can't be positive, but I'd say universities generally know about how many international students they can afford to bring in for a year, and that you will primarily be competing with other international students. Which is not (necessarily) to say that they will definitely only except a certain number of international students vs. domestic. However, the cost differences between funding an American student and an international student is significantly different, so it's unlikely that you will be vying for the same spot. Hypothetically, if you were vying for the same spot, because of the aforementioned cost difference I would say the American student does have the edge.