[SOP Brevity]

I am applying to a masters program in math/statistics.

For my first application I wrote an SOP that had a 500 word minimum and I think what I wrote was well written and succinct. However several other schools I am applying to use a common application where the SOP can go to as many as 1500 words. I am considering just amending my well written 500 word SOP and submitting it to these other schools but am hesitant. Is it a really bad idea to go that far under the minimum? Or would veteran adcoms appreciate brevity? I could add a bit to show more of my personality but am a little worried about watering it down.

Any input would be much appreciated! Thank!

[Who to pick?]

LoR should come from someone who knows you personally and can vouch for your (strong) academic record and future enthusiasm in continuing graduate studies. if you think your second boss can do a better job at this than your teacher, then pick the boss. unlike most people think, 2 out of 3 (or even 3 out of 3) LoRs don't have to come from the professors at your institution. they just have to be someone who truly think that you will be a good candidate in graduate school.

when i did mine (am applying to PhD), 1 was from my MS advisor, and 2 were from famous PIs whom I had worked with in my internships (2 PIs at 2 different institutes).

Ok, thanks so much. Seems like solid advice.

[Who to pick?]

Hi,

I am planning to apply to graduate programs in mathematics soon and have 2/3 people identified to write LORs for me. One of the two will be a former professor and one will be a boss at a former research lab. From the remaining people I could approach I can either choose from current/former bosses at research labs (who I have strong relationships with) or former professors (who may not remember me as well). I've heard that professors make for the best LOR's but am wondering if I should go for the bosses in this case. Any input is appreciated.

Thanks!

[Transcript Question re: Withdrawal]

you don't have to include this transcript if this class wasn't transferred to your 'main' school. and since you withdrew from the class, i assume you didn't transfer it. since the class passed on to the oblivion, you'll be fine without this.

Thanks for responding. I'd be interested in hearing more opinions, especially because I will be including transcripts from several schools where I did various post-bacc work.

Thanks again!

[Transcript Question re: Withdrawal]

Hi,

I took a single class at a university that I ended up withdrawing from due to work/commute issues. Should I include a transcript from this school in my applications? This was the only class I tried to take at this institution.

Thanks!

[GRE Biology Subject Test]

I don't wanna sound like a shill for PR but its prob worth the $20 investment, right?

[GRE question]

Hi. I'm planning to take GRE for the first time at the end of this October. For those of you who have taken the GRE recently... other than then the usual GRE type questions (i.e. Verbal: Antonyms, Analogy, Sentence Completion, Reading Comprehension... Quantitative: Quant Comp, Problem Solving) were there any new types of questions on any of the two sections?

"Two new question types are included in the computer-based GRE® General Test. You may see one new Verbal or one Quantitative question in your test. These new questions will be counted toward examinee scores as soon as an adequate sample of data has been collected."

That's from ETS website, and it is NOT for the revised test of next year. Looks like they added numeric entry in the quantitative, and a new type of reading comprehension on the verbal. Did anyone encounter these types of questions?

Let me know guys. Thanks.

Does anyone have any more, preferably definitive, information on this? I have a friend who took the test within the last month and said the same things people have mentioned in this thread: Experimental section were identified (it was an essay), there was no numeric entry, and no multiple sentence completions. Can anyone confirm?

Thanks

[Where to hire a GRE tutor?]

Wanting to take the GRE next summer (or even next fall), but would like to get a tutor to drastically improve my score. Any advice, specifically for Boston? I have been slowly memorizing Kaplan's GRE word flash card set, as well as the Princeton GRE book.

thoughts??

-Nick

Maybe buy some study books first, complete them and then decide if a tutor is necessary. Otherwise Boston has tons of schools, I bet you could find some good options on craigslist.

[Boston & Cambridge, MA]

I am starting a Ph.D. at BU in September and have a couple of questions regarding where to live. How far and accessible is Jamaica Plain from BU? I don't want to ride the T for 2 hours everyday so perhaps J.P. is out of the question. Also, do many graduate students live in Brookline or is it mostly populated with undergraduates? Any helpful input would be appreciated. Thanks.

Brookline is nice and would be relatively easy to commute to BU from. Most undergrads probably live in Brookline's next door neighbors, Allston and Brighton. JP is probably a little bit of a tougher commute unless your classes are close to Kenmore.

[Kaplan CAT vs ETS CAT]

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on how the Kaplan CAT stands up to the actual ETS CAT. I've taken 2 Kaplan CAT's and overall have been more or less happy with my scores. I'm just wondering in advance if anyone had an opinion on whether Kaplan's CATs were easier/harder/same. Also I plan to take a Powerprep CAT soon with the hopes that it will be closer to what ETS offers, or at very least will diversify my test taking experience.

Thanks,

Will

[GPA]

You'll probably find this thread helpful:

Thanks for the referral!

[standard deviation on GRE]

You should probably know that in a normally distributed data set ~ 68% of the data falls within 1 SD of the mean, 95% within 2 SD's, and 99.7% (aka, just about all) within 3 SD's.

[Average GRE Scores per Program]

Thanks everybody for the tips. It seems to me that while schools generally don't list the average GPA of those accepted per individual program, they are more or lest listed by broader field of interested per school. It leaves things a little murky for me as someone interested in statistics to get lumped in with pure math and engineering applicants but is still generally pretty helpful. Thanks again.

[GPA]

OK thanks for the tips. I do have research experience and publications. I guess I need to make a list of the programs I'm serious about and find out if they have an intransigent GPA cutoff. Also, I'm unclear on what some of these acronyms stand for. I have LOR, but am iffy on SOP, WS and DGS.

EDIT: OK I have SOP and WS but still need DGS.

[GPA]

Hi,

I graduated with a sub-3 undergraduate GPA, and though I have taken and subsequently aced six classes since graduating my GPA remains sub-3. I am just wondering what this means for programs who list a minimum GPA requirement of 3. How likely is it that I overcome this with a solid GRE score, references, and personal statement ?

Thanks,

Will

[Average GRE Scores per Program]

Hi,

I'm sorry if this topic is redundant but I was wondering if anyone knows if theres a resource out there that lists the average GRE scores of those accepted to various programs. I am specifically interested in applying to Statsitics/Biostatistics masters programs, but many of the program websites I've been to keep things ambiguous, stating only that GRE scores need to be submitted.

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks!

Will