Kitkat

How are everybody's application's going so far? Almost have my first one done! getting excited....

I think that there are more reasons why schools allow this other then the fact that academic LOR's can be seen as biased. There is an increase in the amount of people who take some time off before to grad school. They happen to work in a field that is related to what they are applying to grad school for, and therefore is actually relevant. There also might be the fact that they have been out of school for so long that having all three letters from an academic source almost useless, since many of them would not remember you. It tends to be also that while people are allowed to have non- academic letters, they still have to have at least one when they are applying to grad school. While I agree with your point that LOR's should not be looked at as the most important part of the application, I don't think that is actually what most reputable sources would say is true when applying to grad school. Most would say that they are part of a number of things that grad schools look at in the package. I know that in the sciences, research is a very important factor, as well as your writing sample(for why you want to be there and be a good fit), as well as interviews if the school has them. So I think that most schools actually do what you say, and look at the whole package. As for who gives you a LOR, it is based on who you ask. I think that if you make the argument that there are limited options of people to ask, due to things like large classes or biased teachers, but at the same time, you have to remember that profs are people to. If they don't think that they can write you a strong letter, then they might not be able to, but if you have three, and only one of them is so so, I think it is less of an issue. People keep getting into grad school despite the difficulties in getting letters. It could be that profs didn't like Einstein because he didn't go to classes or do the work. And if he was not serious about going to class or doing the work, how could the profs he had say that he would be serious about his graduate work? Yes he was a smart man and did a lot of great things in the field of physics, but try to look at it from the profs point of view. Part of what they want to see is that you are really serious about going, and I can see the point of saying that Einstein did not seem very serious about it.

At this point they should be accurate . The ranges were because they were switching between two major versions of the test. On the old test they were giving out the actual scores at the end of the test. They were only giving out the ranges as they switched between the two.

It all depends on what schools you are looking at. They all have their own application dates, and that is when you should be applying by. With the GRE, you should take it when it depends on when those application are due by, in the sense that you should take it soon enough that the scores would get there by the time that the applications are due. So I suggest you should figure out where you want to apply to (soon?) and take the GRE as soon as possible. I don't know what the normal deadlines for most MS programs is, but I expect that like most programs they are due at latest due by Feb. or Mar. at the latest.

At the diagnostic tool of my last actual test at https://grediagnosti...gred/signIn.jsp that other people linked to. All you have to put in is your registration number, the day you took the test, and your birthday.

Got a 169(98%) with 4 questions wrong on the verbal sections, 1 on the first, and three on the second. (36/40 right) I got a 160(84%) on the quant scores, with 4 wrong in the first section, and 5 wrong in the section. (31/40 right) Based on where I went wrong, geometry was my weak point on the quant. Not really surprised there, it never was my strong point. But whatever, still got all of the great score I will ever need ever again on this test.

I would add to what Starstuff in saying that part of the reason (I think) that they are using more common words is so that they can see if you know less well known definitions of those words. As for how common the words they use I would have to say this. They are more common then they were on the old test but not as common as most words that we use on a daily basis. It is easier I think on the new test because, like it has been said, you get it in context, so you can use that to help you on the test.

The only problem with this might be a situation where you have to put it into the applications program for the paper, which might limit how much you can fiddle with these things. I have heard some people have had a problem with this.

Thanks for the advice! Very calming advice. Not like the application is due tomorrow or anything, but still...

So I took the GRE, and had it sent to 4 schools for free, and will be having it sent out to the last few schools. There is one school I have a Dec 15th deadline, and it was one of the first I had it sent out to with the whole free thing. One of the others I sent it out to has already confirmed that they received the scores, but the one with the Dec. 15th application, doesn't have it up on their website yet. What I am wondering is what people think I should do. There seem to be several different options. 1) Email the program to see if they received them. 2) Upload a copy, which they seem to give an option for. 3) Wait a week or so to see if anything changes on the application page. 4) Some combination of the above?

First, welcome to the group! Second, as I have heard from all sorts of people including the undergrad adviser at my school and my PI, there is no harm in applying to school that you think you would have a hard time getting into. You never know. Third, picking schools is hard, but its important. Just try not to finish it all off at the last minute. And all of the smiley faces were good to see. Its a good way to go about it all.

I know that for the program that I am applying to it is also 500 words, but that is in one of the science departments, not through the medical school.

And I'm back again, I'm using this place as a good place to de-stress and realize that there are a lot of other people out there with me.

I don't want to sound mean or anything, but if you really open to anything and have a 2.5 GPA, why are you thinking about grad school? I would think that it would be less of an issue if you had a good reason for the GPA and had a proven interest in the field you wanted to go into, but the impression that you don't have that considering the way that you are asking this. By proven interest I mean things like internships, research or something like that. I only mention this because with a lot of the fields that you listed, they can get pretty competitive. But I think that the main thing for you is, do you really want to go to grad school or are you just not wanting to get a job or something yet? After all you are looking at 2 to 6 years of your life depending on what kind of degree and possibly a lot more debt. You should make sure that you are really serious about this. That and adcomms will probably get a good idea of how serous you are about your application when you apply. If I am questioning you about this now, they probably also will when you apply, and most likely will reject you if they feel that you are not as interested in the program as other applicants.

Sounds like a good plan so far for what you have. And you never know with Stamford and Berkeley. One of my advisers said there should be a couple schools you don't think are likely, just in case you are that one person with not the best package, but with the best fit. Good luck with the whole thing! I hope you get that letter, cause that sounds like it could be a good one.

I don't know about those, but I assume that it follows that sort of patten. In a similar vein, I am assuming that if the schools were looking at percentiles in the past, they will be looking at percentiles now. I am wondering if people think that they will change them based on the new test?

I am not going to argue that the real world had headlines, It does. Then there are the section headlines, but they are generally just things like Intro, conclusion, that sort of thing. So in that sense, headlines are useless, and that is if you are lucky. If you look at major science journals like nature and science, there are not even those sections really. And as I have said before, headlines are really there to tell you a very simple description of what is in the article. In a case like this, having a headline will not help me if I am trying to write a grant proposal based on an article, the headline won't be useful. Being able to read, understand and extract the information is. The headline is a tool for me to find the articles worth reading. The headline does not give me the details that I would need. Bigant, how much important information do you think you can really get out of the headline, when the question asks for details from the passage. I am totally with Eigen on this. This is the point that I have been trying to make this whole time. I feel that headlines are a very simplified view of what the article/journal/passage. They don't give you detail, which the test is looking for. Other issues with the test notwithstanding, I still don't see how headlines will help you find the details in a passage.

Tested on 9/3 My range when I took the test was V740-800 and Q740-800 Verbal 167 (98%) Quant 160 (84%) So I was expecting a bit higher on my quant based on those, but whatever. This is still in the middle to high ranges of all the schools that I am applying to. I think that all the later testing might be altering what people are getting to the lower ranges for those of us who took it earlier.

Yeah, mine have changed again as well. Now it is: V640 = 162(90%) Q670 = 152(61%) AW 4.5 (72%)

I think that you will continue having a problem. Not that it is impossible. But the issues is that during the summer, most grad students are scheduled to do full time research, not to take classes. Of course I am basing this on from what I have seen researching the schools that I am looking at, and knowing some of the grad students at my school. But from what I gather, within the sciences in general, it seems like it is common practice in most sciences that classes are during the year, when many grad student also have TAships and the like, but the summers are specifically put aside for full time research.

I don't think that headlines that important to the text. In my mind they give a very vague idea of what it is that it is trying to tell me. Try to explain to me why you think that they are important, how exactly you think that the headline will help you. I say all of this in context of what the test is trying to test us on, not what is applicable to the real world. As to their function in the real world. Yes, all sorts of things in the real world have headlines, titles and that sort of thing. But the function of headlines and titles in this case is to help us figure out whether it is something that we want to read in the first place. It is to help us figure out what is relevant to us. Back to the test, we have to read the passage that is in front of us. It is not like they are giving us two passages, and ask us a question, and we have to figure out which passage to look at. Which goes back to my point. What is it about the headline that will help you on the GRE? You would still have to go into the passage to find the answer. I can't think of a situation where they have asked a question, where I thought, "Oh I wish I had a headline".

I used google doc/ spreadsheets to help me figure out what schools to apply to. I am still using them to help me keep track of what I need to get done by the deadlines, but am being slightly OCD at this point about that. But I think that is because I am doing things for the applications so much sooner then they are due, and because I have already done so much research on the schools.

I think that what the poster was trying to say was this. As you can see, the person who previously got a 770 is in the same group of people who got a 800 on the last test in the sense of being in the 99%. With the verbal now, you are sort of getting the same problem that you had with the old test in that you have still the 99% covering several different scores on the test. What we should be saying that the new test, as far as the verbal scores, can mess you up about the same as the old test. On the other hand, if a 770 and 800 convert to the same 170 on the new test, then it does screw you over more, in the sense that there is no way to say that there is or is not a difference, where with the old test, you could still see some difference. Although I do see the point of saying that once you hit the 98 or 99% does that 1% difference really mean anything, what ever program you are applying to? After all, the quant scores needed more help distinguishing in the higher percentiles then the verbal did.

I think your fine with the last paragraph. For students who are just starting to look for schools, its a good tip to start off at. I think they just need to remember to make sure that it would be a place they would be happy at. I know that its important to contact faculty. I mention it as something that is important, but I am wondering how important people think it is to getting in. I know that one of the applications for one of the schools that I am applying to asks if you have contacted anyone in the area you are interested in, and give three spaces to list who.