AspiringScholar17

Just chiming in again with an update. Super nervous about this whole process as the due date for things are slowly, but surely, approaching its way! I changed my school preferences (in order of preference): (1) Northeastern; (2) MSU; (3) U Cincinnati; (4) UC Irvine; (5) UT Dallas. No more Indiana, UPenn, and PennState. Did I mention I was super nervous? I'm taking my GREs next month and I hardly prepared for them...Hoping my research experience, publications, letters, grad school GPA, and statement of interest are good enough to overlook my GRE scores! (Took the practice test and score a 150 on both V and Q).

@sdiaz1924 Hi there! I'm on the same boat as you, except I'm applying for the PhD programs in Crim&CrimJustice for this upcoming fall 2017 semester. Being from Canada, this is my first time doing a standardized test for university admissions, but based on what I'm reading from these forum threads, the GRE scores can be very important -- especially at the Master's level. Even in Canada, I was told that GPA is really important for admissions in the Master's programs, whereas for the PhD, soft scores such as research experience, fit with faculty, and work experience are weighed more favorably. That being said, I think a decent score/safe score for the GREs is around the 300-315 mark. Obviously, aim for higher, but if your application is competitive, the GRE shouldn't the breaking factor. I'm preparing for the GRE myself and will be taking it this November -- I'm going for a one shot wonder, no retakes. I'm also pretty horrendous with standardized testings, but I'm just aiming for the average'ish score of 310-315. Try to email the schools that you're applying to and ask them what the average GRE score is for the students admitted. They should tell you a rough average and also answer any other questions you have. Good luck my friend! Best of luck! I want to do my PhD at Northeastern as well, so if you get into NE for your MA, that would be super cool! Cheers!

@Beals Hi! No, I haven't done any of that stuff yet, either! I am still working on my thesis and preparing for conferences! Anyone going to MCJA in September by the way? Yeah, I have been getting mixed responses about publications -- some people have been telling me that since PhD programs are research based, a proven track record of academic research greatly supplements your application. But that being said, I've also heard the opposite to be true. At this point, I'm just doing anything and everything I can to have a positive CV, haha! Which would include a good GRE score...need to study for that soon, too! And yes, go Canada! I'm applying to PhD programs in the States because I heard that the US has more job openings and they acknowledge degrees from the States more so than other countries. On a more personal reason, I also just wanted to attend college abroad. Having been born and raised in Canada my whole life, I wanted to try something different and the States is recognized worldwide for its academic prowess, so that's also a driving factor in my ambitions. More job opportunities, but also the expansion of the field -- there aren't many crim programs in Canada. UC Irvine is one of my top choices! It would be pretty awesome to attend Irvine with another fellow Canadian ! @RoadtoPhD I don't think you need to worry much -- albeit, easier said than done! Your scores seem good and your other credentials speak for themselves! Haha, super jealous that you have a set of GRE scores already! I'm extremely nervous about the test and need to prep hard for the quant section!

@Partinrn Thank you for your reply! Haha, yes the struggle will become super real when I start applying and begin the interviewing process! Thank you again for your words and suggestions! I truly appreciate them!

@Partinrn@altikr25@liesandfish Hello! I saw your posts from all over this grad cafe page and was wondering if you could enlighten me on some of the score requirements! I read many of your former posts and saw that GRE scores are not the most important factor in many phd programs for admissions. But as an international student coming from Canada, I was wondering if there was a general score that I should aim for -- or, a score that would be considered safe and okay. Of course, the higher the score the better, but around what score should I expect to be comforted knowing that it was accepted by many programs? Also, how long would you recommend I study for my GREs? I focused a lot of my time researching and publishing that I didn't allocate time for my GREs until now -- I plan on taking the exam sometime in October for an application in the winter. Cognizant that studying time depends on the individual, how much time do you think one would need (on a general basis) to prepare for a decent score? One last question (my apologies for asking for many general and silly questions about the GRE): I read that I can take the GRE as many times as I wanted, but do I have to submit the score to the universities every time I write the exam? Is there an option where I can just go into the exam, write it to see how it is, and view my score, and just keep it private? Or is it the case that if I take the exam, although the university won't see my scores if I don't submit them, they'll see how many times I've taken it when I do submit them. Thanks again for all your posts in other threads as well as this one! Congrats on getting into your respective programs! I'm super excited for you all, and hopefully, I can join this feat this coming spring!

Hello everyone! Like many of you who have accessed this platform, I've also followed up with the fall 2016 phd thread and have obtained lots of useful information! I wanted to generate this thread in hopes of serving a similar role for those applying for a PhD position in Criminology & Criminal Justice in the fall of 2017. I am a Canadian student (born and raised north of the border) and did my BA and MA (will graduate in the spring of 2017) in Canada as well. For my PhD, however, I really wanted to study in the States and will be applying to predominantly US schools and programs. I have not taken the GREs yet, but I plan on taking them in late Sept/early Oct given that applications are due in the winter. I have 1 article published (forthcoming), 4 under review (submitted them, but they are currently being looked at and reviewed), and 1 that is being worked on currently. By the time I apply to programs in the fall, I will also have had two conference presentations in my CV. Additionally, I also have RA experience from both undergrad and grad school (2 from undergrad and 2 from grad school). My Master's GPA is 4.0 but my undergrad GPA was 3.2/4.0 (my freshman and sophomore year weren't superb to say the least, but redemption was made in my junior and seniors years, thankfully). The schools that I am super interested in are: (1) Northeastern; (2) Michigan State; (3) UC Irvine; (4) Penn State; (5) Indiana Bloomington; (6) UT Dallas; (7) UPenn -- in that particular order. For those who are also applying to those schools and/or those who have applied and know what they're looking for specifically in terms of academic credentials, could you please share your wealth of knowledge and testimonial experiences? Anything will be appreciated given that I am at uncertain about a lot of things! Do these schools require a certain GRE score? Will my undergraduate GPA bring down my application despite my 4.0 in grad school and my publications? Are 'under review' publications still considered noteworthy from schools, or are only published/forthcoming articles looked favorably? I do not have any TA experience because I opted to partake in RA work -- does that affect my application in a bad way if I have no TA experience? Thanks everyone! And I hope this type of thread can be as fruitful as it was for the class entering into their PhD this coming fall (congrats to all of you who are entering into your programs this fall)! Hopefully, many of us can also follow suit and have productive conversations, as well as make lasting connections with each other through this forum!