spunky

i wrote a paragraph, read this and decided it pretty much summarized everything i had said. 
 
so... ditto that. 

as a non-psychology major talking to another i would strongly suggest you take the test. if you had a more 'traditional' background (i.e. major/honours in psych) you could probably skip it but i've found psych programs tend to be very, very picky with the people they let in and the moment you deviate from the standard candidate, it raises a red flag (unless you deviate in a REALLY good way).
 
years after i applied to my MA program my thesis advisor told me that i was sort of on the chopping block during the application process because of not having a psych BA or BSc but that my stellar score on the subject GRE (because i studied like CRAZY for it) was what saved me... and it sort of makes sense. as i assume it happens in most grad psych programs, you don't just only take courses directly related to your field. you'll have to get a few credits from maybe a social or personality psych course or a biopsych course and if you don't have degree in psych, it begs the question of whether you can handle these courses or not (which i'm sure you can, but admission committees don't know that). at this point, the only solid proof you can provide that you're well-versed in the major areas of psych would be the subject GRE. 

i think it's a great idea. but i also think it's an idea that, if pursued seriously, would probably suck up more time than you'd like.
 
i'm a small (online) business owner and the opportunity to 'expand' my business presents itself every once in a while (at least once or twice per year). as you mentioned, i like the business because it frees me from the terror of tuition increases, stipend reductions, budget cuts, etc. that can happen at any given moment (and which i know deeply impact other grad students in my department) but when i look at my schedule and make a realistic assessment of my time, i realize that expanding the business necessarily translates into reducing the hours i have allocated for research/PhD work. and i like my research too much to sacrifice it for a better paycheque since i'ma already making decent money... but i still keep the business running on the side because if getting an academic job fails (which is highly likely but i still keep my hopes up) i can always do my business full-time and live off that.
 
so my advice would be: great idea, but be ready to make sacrifices (particularly if you're just starting up) and these 'sacrifices' could be more costly than what you'd be willing to take on.  

I've never seen a chick do a pull up, proper deadlift, or clean in my life. they always stick around the floor mats or treadmills, and only really wonder towards the free weights with their guy friends or bff. granted, I don't visit the gym all the time, but the pattern is pretty obvious. 
 
by clean I mean power clean. I've seen them do cleaning a lot hehehehe

weight lifting at the gym 5x week + cardio (either 1h or half an hour, depending on the intensity) 6x week. my husband used to play hockey so he's got a good grasp of how to train and he's been helping me out.
 
to be very honest with you, i hate every minute i'm at the gym since the moment i get there until i leave. but i hate to be out of shape even more (especially during the summer) so i just suck it up and keep going. 

it's tricky, more than anything. and the tricky part stems from the fact that you're expected to be able to both recognize  and apply psychological theories and concepts more than memorizing facts about them. i only remember one or two questions related to my field (so in the methods/statistics section of the exam) but i remember going "oh boy. this is one of those questions where unless you really understand this stuff you're just gonna fall for the tricks".

as a non-psychology major talking to another i would strongly suggest you take the test. if you had a more 'traditional' background (i.e. major/honours in psych) you could probably skip it but i've found psych programs tend to be very, very picky with the people they let in and the moment you deviate from the standard candidate, it raises a red flag (unless you deviate in a REALLY good way).
 
years after i applied to my MA program my thesis advisor told me that i was sort of on the chopping block during the application process because of not having a psych BA or BSc but that my stellar score on the subject GRE (because i studied like CRAZY for it) was what saved me... and it sort of makes sense. as i assume it happens in most grad psych programs, you don't just only take courses directly related to your field. you'll have to get a few credits from maybe a social or personality psych course or a biopsych course and if you don't have degree in psych, it begs the question of whether you can handle these courses or not (which i'm sure you can, but admission committees don't know that). at this point, the only solid proof you can provide that you're well-versed in the major areas of psych would be the subject GRE. 

ha!!! PREACH IT! 

i know this has nothing to do with the present topic but that post above kinda reminded me of this one XD
 

i know this has nothing to do with the present topic but that post above kinda reminded me of this one XD
 

ha!!! PREACH IT! 

well, i am not a member of any fraternity either, but i do know a few guys in the Beta Theta Pi local chapter of UBC to sort of get an idea of how it is and i guess in terms of whether St John/Green College would offer the same sense of "brother/sisterhood" as one of these fraternities (which i'm guessing it's what the OP is going for) i would have to say it's not really the same. i don't really know St John but i used to date someone who lived @Green College so i know the inner works of that one a better. and i mean, sure, you do eat with other graduate students and you could sort of get involved in things like, i dunno, the  Holidays dinner and stuff like that. but unless you made a decent effort, like you said, to reach out and meet other people it was pretty much like living in any other apartment. the guy i was seeing at that time just knew the person he lived with and his next-door neighbour and he had been there for 5 months when i first met him. every now and then we would have casual, 15-20min conversations with a few other students during dinner and that was about it.
 
but those fraternity thingies... oh wow... those people really get into it. like when they do that "Storm the Wall" event they usually sign up together and go to the gym and train together and just to do stuff together all the time. i do get why undergrads develop brother/sister-like bonds. you just do a lot of stuff together with other people. my guess is that us, in graduate school, are just super busy with research and teaching and grant applications and conferences, etc. so we don't really have much time left in the day to sort of work on developing the bonds that fraternities/sororities foster by the very virtue of just having a lot of time to do so. i guess it's just a natural part of becoming an adult... developing and fostering relationships just becomes a lot more difficult the older you get. that's just a fact of life.  
 
i tangentially referred to the "secret society" stuff because i remember hearing that people like freemasons referred to each other as 'brothers' and stuff like that. so i kind of assumed something like "oh look... it's like a frat but for older, more 'professional' people". although i'm darn sure they don't have toga parties

By doing something other than moping.

This response is worthless and adds 0 information for me and for any guest/member.

As for the GRE, Not just McMaster solely doesnt require GRE, but UK Top Uni's like Oxford, Cambridge & LSE doesnt require it, and they are equal in terms of selectivity & prestige to Harvard, Stanford & MIT. Does that make "Drake University (US school)" that requires a GRE better than Oxford Uni that does not?

& who you're to judge that I suffer from lack of ethics? Nothing but an anonymous, which totally makes 0 weight & credibility to your replies. Save your time by doing better useful stuff.

social life? in graduate school? what is this strange entity you speak of?
 
meh, i guess it's just what you make of it. if you have a lab/research group you regularly work with, they'll probably become your immediate social group. 
 
if you don't have one or don't really get along well with them...well... then things can get really tough

SHHH!!! all those people are potential future clients of the likes of me!
 
the less they know about this stuff the more i can charge them! 

Except that Kuwait isn't a 'third world country.' It is one of the most developed countries in the Middle East and has a HDI ranking that is in line with Central and East European countries. It has the 5th highest GDP per capita in the world. He doesn't have a Ph.D. from Kuwait, just a masters; there is a difference.
 
I was just pointing out that perhaps getting a masters from the University of Cincinnati when he already has one in the same subject wouldn't really help him to wherever he is trying to go.
 
 
That's why I asked for the clarification.
 
I am also not American, so you can stop with the condescension jackass. It would appear that you are the one who is ignorant of other countries around the world, not I. 

SHHH!!! all those people are potential future clients of the likes of me!
 
the less they know about this stuff the more i can charge them! 

Greetings everyone

Sorry, but yes. As i have stated in the topic.

Trust me, Its not that my once and only time that Ive took GRE my scores were very low. I dont mind having low scores in somethings I almost wont be dealing with (Graduate studies in Political Science) actuallt, it is more than normal to get low scores with such an exam, specially if it had nothing to do with either common knowledge nor the major itself.

Heres why I think the GRE should is a Bad indicator of prospective students performance:
1- The Quant. Part of the exam isnt hard as many claim, however, since my major is among arts & humanities, why do I have to deal with such quant. Methods? If someone claims "you will do quant methods in statistics in your grad studies" im sorry to tell that I am already a grad student, took two statistics in social sciences & research scored B+ in both classes at the graduate level. And almost nothing in those classes were included in the exam, only very minimal type of questions. What has algebra and geometry to do with social sciences quantitave research methods for Gods sake?

2- we all took math classes during highschool and almost all the educational levels throughout our lives, why atleast the highschool grades of math dont be asked for to indicate how we perfom & comprehend math?

3- the verbal part is very confusing for many. We as prospective international students are actually non native english speakers, however it doesnt mean we dont know how to handle a good academic writing skills, the verbal part of the exam includes many words that I almost had never knew they existed. By the way my score in the IELTS is 7.0 which is equivalent to about 100 in TOEFL IBT. So it is very confusing to evaluate my english as a language knowledge from a the verbal part on the GRE. As non native speakers, no matter how well and great we may score in the verbal part, we will use the dictionary many times often, which is not a negative thing.

4- Why most US Grad. Colleges ask for the GRE? Why arent the TOEFL/IELTS arent enough? I know that both tests tend to examine different types of things, however the GRE is frustrating, I do not think it represents how will I do in english at all. If I didnt know the word, why is that a bad thing?

5- I may accept the fact that GRE being used in Tier 1 prestigious universities to dump many applications they receive, however why many colleges are following their approach? I think its illogical to imitate someones motives despite the differences between both situations.

6- GRE plays a huge role in admitting grad prospective students. Why is a 4 hours exam overweighs a 4 years undergrad GPA, years of extracurricular activities , additional graduate classes in prior colleges and a satisfying score of TOEFL/IELTS?

Id like to conclude that the GRE is a shameful test to evaluate how distinct an applicant is. Its great to see many score very well in GRE, in fact, many of them are actually native english speakers. Give me an Arabic version of the GRE, I swear to God Id score atleast 169/170 in the verbal part which puts me in the 90% percentile easily.

International applicants should be considered with less GRE score restrictions, actually some universities do that like Boston uni. & North Carolina Chapel Hill. But I hope the others understand that fact.

I havent wrote those words as im mad of my low scores. Im actually proud, because I know that test should be removed as a strict requirement to admit or reject applicants, My application without it is good, why an illogical test demolishes my chances?

I really hope that most of universities either dont require it, or make it an optional thing to add to your application, at least with the social sciences.

Thoughts would be appreciated,

this is quite interesting because that was actually sort of my case. my program is unfunded. most people apply with funding coming from some sort of agency (which i was ineligible at the time because i was an international student) and there are no RA/TAships until the PhD level (and those few and far in-between and not very well-paid anyway). there is even a note on the website when you apply not to get discouraged if you don't receive an acceptance letter because most of the applications get rejected due to lack of funding.
 
another international student told me that, when he applied, he printed out some personal financial statements and attached them to his application, just barely making reference to them in his SOI. 
 
so i did the same thing (and asked my mom for some extra $$$ so the financial statements would look flashier) and got in. my advisor never mentioned whether that was a factored in my acceptance or not (and i never asked) but most students senior to me said it must've played a role because applying without proof of funding in this program almost amounts to asking for a rejection letter.
 
i guess at the end of the day you just use whatever you can to get in, cross your fingers and hope for the best. 

SHHH!!! all those people are potential future clients of the likes of me!
 
the less they know about this stuff the more i can charge them! 

as another international student who is not a native English-speaker i can say that it is very important for you to convey the idea that you can write and express yourself efficiently in English. i know for a fact that professors are wary of taking in students if they feel they'll spend  too much time correcting their grammar or English style mistakes.
 
if you feel like your verbal GRE is lacking, make sure your analytic GRE and your statements are top notch. 
 
i struggled with the verbal GRE as well, but found out that if you memorize a lot of the obscure English words the test uses, you'll be fine. it may be an absolute bore, but if you commit as many words as you can to short-term memory, you'll see  a great improvement in your scores. 

special emphasis on this. 

special emphasis on this. 

Speaking as a dumb American, I don't think I'd bat an eye at seeing a Spanish university listed on a resume. I might decide to google it, but seeing wiki call it the best university in Spain is all I need to know to be satisfied. As for the cash cow stuff, I highly doubt American HR know anything about countries/universities have the English language programs as low effort degrees and which have them as rigorous programs. I didn't even think about such a thing before reading this thread, to be honest.

That said, I do think that getting into a US university is probably better, as more people will recognize it. If you do a non-US school a university in Canada or the UK would be a better bet.