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PhdApplicant311

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Everything posted by PhdApplicant311

  1. Carefree, congratulations! You're done with it. And not a bad score at all given that you weren't sure you had enough time.
  2. Sorry I didn't read - only one school. Can't you apply to a few more at least?
  3. Dear doctor-to-be, I think this is probably common enough for people who've been out of school for long. I am having the same problem. I have excellent work experience, I am going to get great references and I thought, having given myself 3 months for the GRE, I will ace it (or at least do well enough in Quant), but it didn't exactly work out that way. If I were you, I would SERIOUSLY consider applying. Don't wait for better GRE scores. Even among the top universities, at least half of them would give more importance to - as Brown describes it - 'qualitative' aspects of the application. Don't get disheartened by the GRE scores. Try your best for the second GRE round and if you get the minimum of 305 - good for you. At least you made the cut-off. If not, still apply. I think given how great the rest of your application sounds, you have a good chance. REALLY! Apply.
  4. @bumchikibum would you be kind enough to share a link to the post please? Thanks!
  5. Thanks phillyhed! I'd be grateful for anything over 150!
  6. I don't know Grapefruit, sometimes you prioritise and things don't work out. I killed myself over getting excellent research experience, working much harder than was expected and now I am getting excellent recommendation letters. I moved on to the next task in perfecting my application and that's working on my GRE and my scores have just been getting progressively worse after every test (specifically in quant), so I am not sure if a less than perfect GRE score reflects your effort. I think we all start with different baselines and sometimes it's hard to make up. If you never really paid attention to math at school, 3 months of a gruelling gre prep is not going to take you to 160. I think many, if not all, adcoms recognise this. I find it rather appalling when I read websites (Cornell, for example) say similar things about best candidates putting their best foot forward....
  7. How is this even possible? I was hoping after every test and review and then re-test my quant scores would get better - the number of questions i get right do but not the scores. 5 more days left and I was hoping I would have reached the 155 mark at the very least by now! Please help what can I do? Should I just accept I have no aptitude for maths, while verbal scores count the most, I am not even sure of getting over 160 in verbal which would somewhat make-up for the worsening quant scores. Manhattan 1 Quant: 151, Verbal: 156 Power Prep 1: Quant 147, Verbal 156 Manhattan 2: Quant 152, Verbal 159 Manhattan 3: Quant 150, Verbal 158 Magoosh: Quant: 149, Verbal 163 Power Prep 1: Quant: 145, Verbal 161 (Took this today and for the first time got the most number of quant questions correct - 23/40 and was expecting at least 155, got a shock of my life when I saw 145!!!!)
  8. Cafewriting, I'd say that's a nice big jump on Verbal, and Magoosh Quant questions can be tougher than they are on the exam, as attested by many users. Good luck! I am also trying to get through the day reviewing all the topics again. Btw, don't skip Data Interpretation, that's a guaranteed set of 4 questions at least on the test (a minimum of 2 in each section).
  9. Cafewriting, I have 10 more days to go as well (Nov 19th really but I am assuming 10 days, I am also pregnant so I have 'off-days'!) and my practise test scores are just like your real test scores and am really nervous. I have been prepping diligently but over the last few days my brain has frozen. I am unable to even do basic addition and I seem to have forgotten all the rules I learnt a while ago. I am not able to solve problems and when I see the explanations, I go, "of course!" I seem to know the stuff but I am not able to do it. I was going through the Manhattan 5 LB problems topic by topic, 10-15 problems in each topic. Now, I am wondering if I should just stop for a while and if it's worth spending two days cramming all the basics again through Manhattan Guides, Magoosh Videos and the Empower Videos, and then start practising again. BTW, if you haven't taken practise tests, start taking them ASAP. You will feel much more confident, given all that you've done so far, you're probably not as far behind as you think you are. Unhelpful post but I thought I'd just share what someone in a similar position is going through. Good luck! And whatever you do, just don't stop studying. It's incremental and all adds up.
  10. Thank you Greenlight! UPDATE: I've just been revising inequalities from the Manhattan 5 LB book and I feel so silly for asking this now! This is a super simple inequality problem as it turns out.
  11. Thank you GvH... wish you luck this year! I am sure things will go well. Thank you Brent, I do look at your videos from time to time. Thing is my GRE exam is on the 19th of next month so I don't really have the time to focus on each topic before moving to the next. I am trying my best though, we'll see how it goes. Thanks for putting up all those videos for free btw!!!
  12. Dear Mockturtle and StrongTackle, Thank you for your response. Mockturtle is right! StrongTackle, I chose the exact same answers and I had also missed the 'disagree' which was so cunningly put there. The other thing I realisd after reading your answer was that if you think about it deeply, champions and venerates doesn't exactly mean the same thing. That's something both of us missed! Venerates means to respect deeply and champions means to support.... isn't it? But then again, abhors means to hate and repugnates means "to stand firmly against"... Oh well! One question at a time to conquering the GRE! Thanks guys.
  13. Dear GvH, I cannot thank you enough for your response! I feel the same way and it's nice to hear you say this. I agree the Magoosh questions are good practise and I am going to try different ways to solve their problems. I am just curious, I see you're applying for a PhD... other than the GRE are you facing other 'stumbling blocks' while putting your application together? A mediocre GPA (3.5), from a top-notch school in the UK though, a lack of publications and conferences are bothering me. I've been looking at all the rejects from previous years that applied to the same programme with high GPAs, publications etc and I am wondering if I stand a chance. Lately though, I have been thinking that if 4.0 GPAs with publications and other awards are rejected - perhaps one needs to pay real close attention to the "good fit" aspect. I have some fantastic recommendations (also from a high profile ivy league prof!) and a good resume... I am hoping paying real close attention to my application and a trying to come across like a perfect fit could help. Assuming, my GRE prep doesn't fail me!! I don't know!!!
  14. It is classified as 'Devilish' by Manhattan Prep! Many in the government disagree with a plan to debunk the low budget grassroots effort to expose the frivolity of Project X; the government employee’s union, with a newly elected leadership that more closely reflects the opinions of its members,__________ Project X.championsveneratesfights againstis partial toabhorsrepugnates
  15. Hi Rich, I sat through the whole test it module and took the Manhattan test. My scores were 151 and 156. I honestly never thought I'd make it beyond 150 in Quant and it's a very poor score but.... that's what it is and it's an improvement for me. I didn't focus on the verbal at all and was done in 15 minutes, and I spent the next 10 mins or so doing RC. I am not so worried about verbal. I just wanted to get through the test and see how much I score in Quant. But I must say I used Test it! extensively on the test. In the first section I got 8 out of 20 questions right and I used Test it on at least 4 of the answers I got right. I understand plugging in numbers is not foolproof and it does not replace knowledge but I am curious to know why it may not work on some questions, I have a related post here and I've got some answers but if you have the time please let me know what you think. http://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/70142-gre-quant-why-doesnt-plugging-in-work-in-this-problem/ Thanks!
  16. Plugging in Numbers (Test it!) had been a life-saver.... but why doesn't it work here? If a – b > a + b, where a and b are integers, which of the following must be true? Indicate all that apply a < 0 b < 0 ab < 0 I tried a = 3 and b = -2 3 - ( -2 ) > 3 + (-2) 3 + 2 > 3 - 2 5 > 1 a < 0 or 3 < 0 - False, or - 2 or b is less than 0 - True, 3 x -2 = -6 or ab < 0- True However, the answer is only choice B or b < 0 is true. Another option I tried was a = - 3 and b = - 2, which satisfies the equation but gives me another set of answers. Sorry if I am being daft here! Appreciate your help.
  17. Thanks Gughok, I am going to put in more effort to see what's going on here. I sat through the whole bunch of Algebra videos and some of the earlier problems I thought were too layered make better sense now... Let's see how it goes. Thanks Bumchiki! I am so going to do one of those Manhattan tests today!
  18. BumChiki Thank you. I am too nervous to take those tests yet but I will start soon. Thanks for the encouragement! How many hours a day did you spent practicing these questions?
  19. Hi all, I am here to ask for some serious advice. I have been prepping with all kinds of material but primarily Manhattan Set of 8, ETS OG and Magoosh. I started out really bad at Quant and got through the set of 8 books, including exercises and some of the drill sets (I intend to do the rest) but I am a little worried that I am simply not able to crack a majority of the Magoosh Quant questions in their practise review options. I have even tried sitting through an entire topic of Magoosh Video lessons thinkiing that perhaps some of the other material missed out on crucial info (numbers, for instance and now algebra) and then solving just those questions but I am still not able to do them. This is not the case with the other material I have been using. If there is an ETS problem I don't get at first, for instance, after I watch the explanation I get it and I am confident that I'd be able to tackle a similar problem. But this is simply not the case with Magoosh. It's not that the problems are hard - I am okay with a challenge, absolutely okay with it because I have really worked my backside off over quant these past few months - starting from multiplication tables (seriously!).... so I am beginning to wonder if these Magoosh questions are needlessly convoluted. Sometimes you have to go 3-4 layers of reasoning to solve a problem - if you have a Magoosh membership you probably know what I mean. Anybody out there used Magoosh and genuinely felt their quant scores improved because of it? I have read posts in the past by folks who've said I re-took the test with Magoosh or I used Magoosh and was disappointed with my scores - I wonder if this is because the problems are so pointlessly circuitous that it really doesn't help in the end? I am probably going to get through the whole damn thing anyway - at least about 70% of the questions but I feel so discouraged. Please give me your take on it or any tips you may have to share to work more productively through Quant. I know it looks like I have invested a lot in the material but the books I have borrowed and Magoosh membership was heavily discounted. After feeling so blah I went right ahead and bought a 1 month's Empower GRE membership as well - I only have one month left to prepare, and I saw a few videos but I haven't used enough to see if it offers a better alternative.
  20. Dear Elvidi, I started my prep feeling really nervous about quant as well. I second Bumchiki and Erin. I found the Manhattan books (set of 8) incredibly useful for understanding the core quant concepts tested in GRE. I also find Keshwani's videos incredibly useful. His video openings are annoying but if you can skip them I think his work is very useful. I am still prepping so I don't know yet how much I will score but I found these two resources great to understand basic concepts (finish Manhattan first and then do Keshwani, start practising GRE problems from day 1 and continue till the end). Magoosh is another much-hyped resource, if it won't pinch your pockets, go for it. I have found it a good addition to my prep efforts - but it's not the ultimate score enhancer or can't be the sole resource. It's useful nevertheless. Hope this helps. Honestly, I am incredibly nervous about quant as well but I am really trying and have found that these resources have helped me come a long-ish way with more to go!
  21. For anybody who stumbles upon this post - I found the courage to ask for the letter and the super busy Ivy league professor was more than delighted to write me a letter. this is a big step forward for me and could really help my application - we will see how it all turns out!
  22. Hi GuruLakshmir, I recently wrote to all the schools I was going to be applying to and confirmed if they accept Interfolio. 3 out of the 6 universities I am applying to said they would accept, but it's still worth it as I feel my letter writers who have incredibly busy schedules have lesser work. I don't know how it'll all turn out but Interfolio gives me the hope to apply to few more universities than I thought I could as the main reason was I was scared to impose on my recommenders' time. Let's see how it goes I will post about my experience after it's done.
  23. I recently got a Masters after close-to a decade and hustled a lot to get good LoRs from undergrad. Went back to my old school, assisted the professors there with some extra classes, sucked-up to really annoying employers etc. But the result was worth it as I got into a top university in the UK. This time around. I intend to apply for a PhD to schools in the U.S. and once again, I have spent the whole of this year building relationships with potential letter writers but I am really nervous to ask. One of them is a renowned professor from an Ivy League whom I assisted on a very prestigious project he was working on pro-bono and needed someone to just do the work for him. He made it clear to me a dozen times that he has "15 jobs" and little time while I was working with him... which makes me very nervous to ask, although I really slogged it out, and went all out for him for very little money. Similarly, I approached my department head from the UK and worked innumerable hours for her on a project very close to her heart. Both of them were incredibly thankful in their emails (we all work in different countries) but I haven't been able to bring myself to write those letters. I am not sure what has changed since pre-masters and now! How do I find the courage to write those emails? I am not sure if this post appears frivolous but I am really nervous as I feel a lot more is at stake this time. A letter from the Ivy league professor and my former department head - renowned in the field - could be game-changers and I am worried it won't work out.
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