Bukharan

lizard king

I am not doing English and I am not sure about this particular programme at Oxford but, normally, a statement of purpose for an M.St. at Oxford should not be too narrow. You still need to indicate your research interests and a fit with the programme but you do not need to have one specific topi you want to work on. Having said that, if you have one, it is great and you should mention it - it would not hurt (as long as there is someone in Oxford to supervise you). I would suggest you contact an Admissions officer in the English department at Oxford and ask these two questions (I have no idea about the second question). You can also try contact the faculty.

I am not doing Ornithology or indeed science but I'd say that if you write an excellent statement of purpose where you emphasise your background that has something to do with Ornithology and speak passionately of your research interests - i.e. show that you really really care about the subject and the experiences throughout your life have led you to applying to this particular school, to this particular programme - then you have a good chance of getting in. A statement of purpose is often more important for professors than anything else really. All the best to you! If Ornithology if what you want to do, I'd say go for it!

I totally agree with this. I'd write out the full name the first time but then stick to 'Illinois'. Perhaps, until the concluding sentence when many people repeat the full name of the programme and the university.

I got the exact same score on the actual test as on PowerPrep but I do agree that the actual test seemed harder. I took the test two weeks ago.

I'd check Cambridge and LSE in the UK for more policy-oriented programmes (if this is what you meant by 'less academic' and the reference to SAIS). However, even those two ... I mean, it's a Ph.D. - it is as policy-oriented as you make it so. I do not know about the US schools, I am afraid. All the best searching for schools!

From what I've read on various forums, yes. Companies that sell GRE materials want you to take their free sample tests, freak out and buy their preparation materials. Quite often the real-test results end up being (much) higher. Having said that, you should keep in mind that those GRE companies base their test questions and the evaluation of your answers on something. Perhaps, it is often the worst-case scenario you can get on the real test (really hard questions; bad luck at the beginning of the test etc.) - but it can happen and the actual score may prove similar. If you think that your GRE company is too 'harsh', try free PowerPrep and compare the scores. PowerPrep is not perfect at predicting the scores (nothing and noone is) but it is arguably more accurate than many private GRE preparation programmes.

I would just put it in the Education section: full name of the degree, perhaps names of supervisors (if known), perhaps the name/theme of the project/thesis (if known), and state the dates as 2010-2015/2016/2017 (whatever applies). You can also state 'current' after the date. Or 'expected', or 'in progress'. Or simply '2010-' (current)

I agree. You could also try to mask that question/ ask it very subtly. You don't want to be too upfront.

This is THE question. One of my Professors recommended not to e-mail anyone unless you actually have valid questions. Others think differently. I would suggest that you put some kind of a question in the e-mail (rather than just generally introduce yourself) because you ideally expect an answer.

I would say 'yes'.

I would be very happy to receive such responses. Well done, you. I would interpret the second e-mail as, perhaps paradoxically, more promising. The professor is being honest with you and genuinely expresses interest as well as provides some insight on inner currents of the department. The first e-mails sounds great but is somewhat confusing. It can be both well... great (like, almost guaranteed admissions) and vague (once you get admissions = IF you get admissions?) You asked for opinions. As I've said, I'd be happy to get such responses.

1. It would be better to have a college professor write your LOR, no doubt. The question is whether it will do you any harm if an adjunct writes a LOR. I guess it depends on the admissions committee in each college. 2. Why does it matter that the faculty who's writing your LORs are conservative and you are liberal?

Those full tests are not always accurate, so don't focus them and don't worry. In the time that you have left go over ALL the basics of Maths. Then, do a lot practice questions on every section of Maths; identify your weak spots and go over that theory again.

I would be happy to do it as well. No probs.

If I were you, I'd study for verbal. Read as many word lists as you can, write down some of the most difficult and seemingly important words, learn them etc. You still have time! I would take a day off before the test but not a week off.

From what I've heard, November 1st should be fine in this case. It's once per calendar month not once in 30 days.

9th November or earlier! From my understanding, it takes them 2-3 weeks to process the score and update it online (make it official) and then you probably need to allow some time for the score to reach your university. I also took it abroad, and, yes, distance does not aid. After having said that, I believe that 9th November should be a comfortable date! But not later. Good luck studying for the test.

I agree that you better e-mail the department you are interested in. In Oxbridge, a Master's degree would most probably be M.Phil. or M.Litt. or M.Sc. rather than M.A. Oxbridge (or indeed any other university in the UK) does not have much funding for Master's students from the USA or the UK or any other country. The safest bet would be to secure funding from the USA for study in Britain, or apply with area-specific, subject-specific or college-specific scholarships in mind.

I think you have done a lot. I personally just started and I am kind of freaking out that I won't have enough time to complete everything. What I've done: 1. Contacted my referees and requested references. They all agreed (thank God and thank them). 2. E-mailed professors in the schools I am applying to (some replied, some did not). 3. Took the GRE test. 4. Identified the schools I am applying to. I actually have a question. You mentioned that one of your referees submitted all his letters already. I may have misunderstood this. Don't referees submit letters after we submit our applications? I thought the links are sent to them only after we submit the form? Perhaps, I am confusing this with the UK online application system.

By no means I know what I am talking about but I believe that your GRE scores are great and you really shouldn't worry. You are an international student and you scored 680 - this is fantastic! 5.0 analytical is also more than enough. Perhaps I am naive but I don't think that GRE plays that big of a deal when you are applying for a Ph.D. SOP and recommendations are probably much more important.

There is no way to predict where you have a chance to get in and where not but I'd say you have a shot at King's College. Funding is incredibly tough to get at the UK though.

I got an identified Quantitative section at the end. It was actually way harder than Quantitative is usually. I hope they do not include this in the future tests. Also, have you seen the clause that only those are eligible for the prize who scored higher on the identified section than on the marked one. Good clause. I am not eligible. I only spend half an hours doing the identified part because I was absolutely terrified to look at my score. Thank God, I was wrong.

PowerPrep 660V 760Q 580V 790Q Real Deal 720V 790Q Similar to the experiences of a few other people who posted in this thread, I did way better in the real-test verbal section. This is pretty bizarre as I did not feel a difference when taking a test. Certainly, did not expect an improvement. In fact, I was worried that I messed it up to the end (probably because the questions were getting harder). I love the fact that the test is adaptive, it is such a good idea. The quantitative score prediction proved accurate. Good luck to all those who are yet to take the test!