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Seeking

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Everything posted by Seeking

  1. You should work with March as the time for decision, not May-June. It takes about 3 weeks for the official scores to reach the schools. So, you should re-take the GRE latest by mid-Feb. You can write somewhere in your personal statement that you are re-taking the test in mid-Feb and the new scores will reach them by March. Some schools have an extra section for explaining the scores. If they have this section, write about it here, otherwise write in the personal statement. For UCI, you can write to your potential adviser.
  2. It depends upon where you are applying. For mid-range schools you may just get in with those GRE scores. For top-ranked schools GRE scores may not be enough. Psychology happens to be a discipline where both sections of the GRE matter.
  3. You can ask the schools if they will consider late submission of GRE scores. Make sure you have enough credits (at least 18-21 or 6-7 courses) in Software Engineering, if you are changing from Management Information Systems. Otherwise, apply in Information Systems. You'll have better chance there. Explore this website to get the references to various study materials that people have recommended for GRE. In any case read the ETS Guide for GRE.
  4. International Relations may require statistical analysis. If you have time for January deadlines, re-take the test.
  5. Well, considering the number of people who get a PhD in English from well-ranked schools in the US, it's not wise to get an English PhD from a low-ranked school that doesn't ask for the GRE - chances are that a well-recognised US school will always require the GRE. It's better to take a chance and send your applications and apply to top 2-3 schools in UK and Canada as well. It's only a matter of taking a flight back home during vacations. It's not such a big deal. There are thousands of students who go abroad for higher education - often crossing half the planet - and stay abroad for years without returning home. You are not going that far to Canada or to UK. And who knows, you may get into one of the US programs you've listed above. But if you must, you can have a look at UMKC's I-PhD programs. They don't insist upon a high GRE score.
  6. For Software Engineering your Quant score has to be 160 or above - at any school in the US, even if you get by with a low Verbal score, but I am not sure 148 is good enough. You need at least 150 on the Verbal. If you are applying to top-ranked schools, make the Quant part of the GRE as close to the 95th percentile or above as possible.
  7. Bullet Cat, First, don't stress out. You need to be relaxed to complete your application process properly. Second, send emails to the top-ranked ones where you are applying, telling them your overall profile, the area you are interested in and ask whether your GRE scores will act as a filter. If they specifically say your GRE score will be a hindrance, drop them, otherwise take a chance and apply. Now there is no time to re-take the GRE and certainly not for the 6th time. I think the money that you will spend on your 6th re-take on the GRE you might as well spend it on your applications - you never know what will happen. Third, apply to the top 3 in Canada - Toronto, McGill and British Columbia and also to the Top 2 in the UK - Oxford and Cambridge. You don't require GRE at these schools and they are as prestigious as the best in the US - and with a Masters degree, you complete your PhD in 3-4 years at these schools. Their PhD will also lead to jobs in the US.
  8. English has one of the largest number of applicants within the Humanities and hence, Verbal score may become relevant as a filtering out mechanism. All the same, if you can demonstrate exceptional literary skills, you may be able to overcome the low Verbal score on the GRE. You need to make sure that your writing sample and personal statement are distinctive. Columbia website says that typically, their successful applicants have their GRE scores in the 95th percentile. However, it also says that other parts of the application matter more than the test scores. Since now it's too late to re-take the GRE, I would say make the rest of your application as best as you can and apply. You never know which way it will go.
  9. Your diverse experiences are in fact your strong point. Many people do apply in different areas in different universities. It just means that you have to spend more time in tailoring your application to a new area for every school. But you are applying next year, so you can do this. While decorative arts should not be a problem for you, for 18th-19th centuries French paintings it would be better of you take at least one non-degree credit course. Since you have time, I think it should not be difficult for you to manage your Museum job with one course. If you choose to go for only decorative arts, then this is not necessary and you can just do your Museum job. I would suggest taking a topic that you can relate to one or more areas that you have worked upon. This will make your application strong. A topic that makes a comparative study of some selected works from different periods can weave together many areas that you have worked upon. In addition to choosing the research areas, you also need to focus on research questions - the clearer and more innovative they are, the better it is for you. You need to clarify the focus of your research questions and I think it should not be difficult for you to get into a good program.
  10. Samaj Chinta, Random Dood has given some excellent advice. Follow it. I don't think you are aiming too high. I would suggest also applying to IDS-Sussex, SOAS, Oxford and Cambridge in UK and the ISS Netherlands. They don't require the GRE, but are as prestigious as the top-ranking schools in the US.
  11. Sociology is a Quant-intensive discipline, unless you want to do purely theoretical criticism. Still, in a Masters program you may have to take Quant-intensive courses. But if you have taken Quant-intensive courses before and done very well in those courses, you can draw attention in your personal statement to your performance in these courses. At the same time, you can also ask your potential advisor if a low GRE-Quant will be a hindrance in your admission. You can also tell them that you are registering for a re-take of GRE and will take it as soon as the next test becomes available to you.
  12. Well, I know a case where an A was made into a B+ - not erroneously, but because of politics. The person managed fine with good grades in other courses, publications, research etc, but of course there is a difference between a B+ and an F. But you can imagine the shock on seeing an A turned into a B+ - and being told it was a conscious decision. The student was ill for some time, but managed fine. If it's only about an F that was erroneously recorded, you don't have to go the full 4 years length of a 2nd Bachelor's degree. If I were you, I would just take some non-degree credits - this will also give you a 3rd recommendation letter writer. In your statement of purpose, you can always say that your F was erroneously recorded and can't be corrected now. If you do well in your non-degree credit courses, your statement will be quite credible. Of course, this means that you apply in the next cycle, after completing your non-degree credits.
  13. Essay - show as much knowledge as you can in the required length. Make sure to include footnotes and references. If the essay is related to your proposed area of research, it is better. 1 line research topic - research topic means research topic, not research objectives - this is exactly what they want you to avoid, that's why the insistence on 1 line. So you may write any variation of "Economic Policy of Higher Education, with a special focus on......" The rest of it you will explain in your personal statement.
  14. I think you need to re-take the GRE for PhD admissions. You can apply to some lower-range schools, but since you are in top-20 now, I don't know if this would reflect well on your CV later. I suggest that you apply to some good Masters along with PhD programs, including to some in Canada. If you get a good GPA in Masters, it will make your application strong for PhD application later. If you want to save time, you can also apply to some good 1-year Masters in the UK. In case you get into a good PhD program in the US on the strength of the rest of your application, of course that will be the best. So, make the rest of the application as strong as possible. You can also apply to some top 3-4 ranked PhD programs in Canada and UK, where GRE is not required, but they work just as well in the academia. Of course, ethnic American literature should be studied in America, but postcolonialism/transnational and immigration will work in Canada and UK. Also take care that you don't apply to the Masters and PhD in same schools in the UK and in Canada.
  15. Takeruk, Thanks for your very detailed description. I'm sure it will help candidates to decide about Queens.
  16. Most of them do. I think it would be better to make a list of the few that don't because that list would be shorter and would also caution future applicants.
  17. Takeruk, Thanks for your very realistic insider's picture of the Queens. From the outset, yes it does appear very attractive, but only insiders know that there are some systemic problems there.
  18. Yes, exactly. The program is certainly very attractive. So you can cast a wide net and when the time comes to decide, you can think about it - certainly better than feeling you didn't apply there. Good luck with your application!
  19. I suggest you apply to some funded Masters (there are a couple of threads on that topic here begun sometime early this year), to Queens in Canada and to some PhD programs in the US. That way, you'll have a wide range. If you're a non-traditional candidate and you don't have many chances on your hand, then perhaps applying to just US funded Masters and PhDs would be better. Queens is definitely good, but whether your advisers there will help you to get a job in the US cannot be comprehended at this stage. It will depend upon how you fare there and what kind of rapport you create with them there. If you are the outgoing type who can establish a friendly rapport with people easily, you can include Queens in your list.
  20. If you are talking about the Queens in Canada, it's one of the four or five top-ranking schools in Canada - think of it as an Ivy of Canada, though lower-ranked than U-Toronto and McGill. The Art History program is quite good there. It has some very promising professors - and mostly PhDs from top-ranking US schools, which means they would have contacts in the US. But of course, it also depends upon what you want to study within Art History and whether your area is represented there.
  21. Yes, the above shows what disciplines require good quant scores and what disciplines don't. Humanities require a higher verbal score and is not much concerned about quant, so NS works there. English is an exception in this group, not because it requires quant scores, but because they often serve as filter in the selection process. STEM and Social Sciences require good quant scores, so NS doesn't work, because even if you are sending improved verbal scores, these programs may want to know how you might have done on the Quant section.
  22. Lamantin is right. Don't worry about your Quant scores; they are not very important for Art History, unless a department specifies that they expect Quant scores above a particular level.
  23. I think the Journalism candidate will be fine with the low Quant score. But the Psychology candidate should improve a low Quant score as much as possible, since Psychological research partially depends upon quantitative analysis. Hence, a low Quant score is not likely to reflect well on their application. If your verbal score is good, you may re-take only the Quant score.
  24. While both above commentators make great suggestions, it should be borne in mind that Political Science research is partially quantitative in nature and is a Social Science discipline, while History is a Humanities discipline that is not largely based on quantitative research - unless one is researching in an economic historical topic. Hence, the Quant score will be important in the Political Science Department while it won't be of much interest in the History Department. In case of a candidate wanting to research in economic history, the quant score may become relevant. So, I would suggest that Political Science candidates having a Quant score of 157 should try to improve it as much as they can. Of course, it also matters where you are applying. In some departments a Quant score of 157 may be acceptable, but in most competitive departments it may not be regarded as sufficient. On the other hand, a History candidate with a quant score of 157 may be just fine, unless they are planning to research a topic that requires quantitative analysis, in which case they should try to improve their quant score.
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