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  1. Downvote
    Seeking got a reaction from TwirlingBlades in Freaking out about a grade...any advice?   
    To give another perspective, I have seen quite a few Art History and Fine Art students from different schools who have got only As and A-s and when I talk to them, I find them very average in their understanding of their subjects - which means that their grades are highly inflated. And this includes the crop from the Ivies.
     
    To Francophile1, a letter grade has different meanings in different departments and also in different schools. So, you need to talk to your Advisor or Graduate Co-ordinator about it to get a perspective on this. Normally, B should not be too bad if you're making a GPA above 3.7.
  2. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from Komugi in Imperial College London Vs. Masdar Intitute (MSc, Environmental Engineering)   
    An Imperial College Masters can lead you to the top-ranking funded PhD programs in the UK and North America.
     
    Perhaps after PhD, you can find a high-paying job at the Masdar - that is, if you want to come back to your part of the world after a Masters at the ICL and a top-ranking PhD in the West.
     
    As a highly-regarded researcher or professor, you can make greater contribution towards building Masdar than as a Masters and PhD student there.
     
    If you want to explore opportunities in the West after PhD, then Masdar degree won't be much help - not because it's not good, but because that's the way the world is oriented - whether we like it or not.
     
    If you want to stay in the Arab World or in some other Asian country rather than go West, then Masdar is a good choice - however, exclude Singapore, Japan and South Korea from your list in that case, as a Masdar degree may not go far in these countries.
     
    So, you can make your decision based on what you want to do after PhD.
  3. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from HermoineG in Should I take the GRE a sixth time?   
    No they don't. Most people's GPA and GRE scores don't line up. I repeat - GRE is an expensive nuisance that has nothing to do with Graduate Research.
     
    But yes, taking it for the sixth time is unseemly.
  4. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from smilemegan2015 in Meeting with a Potential Advisor - Is this an interview?   
    I recently met one of my potential advisers - he asked me to come and see him. It was an informal meeting, but he asked me questions to gather as much information about my academic background as possible. He asked about what I had done before, why I wanted to apply for this PhD, how it was going to help me, what major questions I would explore in my research, what preparations I had in this area, about my writings, language skills and about other authors I had read in my discipline.

    He also advised me about some points I should discuss in my Statement of Purpose, which might make my application stronger.

    I don't know what prospects I have of getting selected, but I feel this discussion helped me a lot in understanding the admission process to some extent.
  5. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from rococo_realism in GRE: Any way to dodge this elaborate, money-making scam?   
    It's true that GRE is an expensive unnecessary annoyance. I have never quite understood its relevance.
     
    Candidates' verbal/linguistic/analytical skills are well tested by TOEFL/IELTS, writing sample and SOP, in addition to the previous GPA and also referred to in the LORs. 
     
    If additional linguistic/verbal skills are to be gauged in a standardized test format, then all candidates - including the English speakers - can write the TOEFL/IELTS and these scores can show the language-related skills of the candidates.
     
    There is no need for additional verbal and writing skills to be tested on the GRE. Further, there is no reason why the candidates in non-Quant-intensive disciplines should suffer the GRE-Quant test. If this section is important for the candidates in Quant-intensive disciplines, ETS can make it available as a separate test for them, rather than making it mandatory for all candidates, regardless of whether it is important for their Graduate study or not, as is the case at the moment.   
     
    The current General GRE also does not make the distinction between different kinds of skills needed for different Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines. 
     
    For example, Social Sciences research requires data analysis based on graphs, tables and numerical values. However, they don't require advanced mathematical calculations used by the STEM researchers.
     
    In contrast, Humanities researchers almost never use any kind of quantitative data analysis. But their research involves an advanced level of reading comprehension and verbal-analytical skills. Social Sciences researchers also use these skills, but in lesser degree as compared to the Humanities researchers. STEM researchers don't need this kind of advanced verbal skills.
     
    So, if GRE has to be a requirement for Graduate admissions, there is a need to revamp the test and have 3 versions of it for three categories of candidates - there should be an 1) advanced Quant-intensive + simple verbal section GRE for STEM candidates, 2) a less Quant-intensive cum more advanced verbal GRE for Social Sciences candidates and 3) an advanced verbal GRE without Quant section for Humanities candidates - based on reading comprehension, innovative and critical writing (not the kind that exists now) and critiquing the arguments in a few given passages from the Humanities disciplines.
     
    If this kind of overall revamp is not possible, at least the Universities can ask for only the IELTS/TOEFL scores from all candidates regardless of their native language and the ETS can develop a Quant only test for the candidate who require the Quant ability.
     
    Different disciplines can have different minimum scores requirement on the TOEFL and IELTS, depending upon the level of language ability required.
     
    The form in which GRE exists now has no relevance and it requires an unnecessary investment of time, money and energy.
  6. Downvote
    Seeking got a reaction from febreze in Freaking out about a grade...any advice?   
    To give another perspective, I have seen quite a few Art History and Fine Art students from different schools who have got only As and A-s and when I talk to them, I find them very average in their understanding of their subjects - which means that their grades are highly inflated. And this includes the crop from the Ivies.
     
    To Francophile1, a letter grade has different meanings in different departments and also in different schools. So, you need to talk to your Advisor or Graduate Co-ordinator about it to get a perspective on this. Normally, B should not be too bad if you're making a GPA above 3.7.
  7. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from Horb in Should I take the GRE a sixth time?   
    GRE doesn't test research potential - and that determines how likely one is able to succeed in Grad school, not the GRE scores.
     
    The tests administered in undergrad levels are very different from the GRE and in any case, Grad level classes rarely have tests. So, there is no point in having the GRE on the presumption that it tests a candidate's potential to do Graduate work. The truth is that it doesn't in any way, because it doesn't test research potential or skills.
     
    When you write long papers or dissertations in undergrad level, you are developing research skills to some extent. It's not as if Undergrad courses don't train people in research skills at all. besides, every candidate to Grad school has to submit a writing sample, which demonstrates research skills - this is precisely why writing sample is one of the most important parts of the graduate application.
     
    But regarding GRE - it doesn't test either research skills or research potential and hence, is not relevant to Graduate research at all. It's just a filter that has been developed to keep the flood of candidates out, nothing more. And candidates have to spend a lot of money and undergo unnecessary trouble to test themselves on this filtering mechanism, which is unfair.
     
    Personally, I feel General GRE would make much better sense if it was divided into 3 types of tests for STEM, Social Sciences and Humanities - STEM GRE should have highly advanced quantitative section and a verbal section that tests general English writing and analytical skills, Social Sciences GRE should test more evolved English writing and analytical skills with Quant section dealing with only statistical analysis, not the high level maths required in STEM disciplines and the Humanities GRE without the Quant section, but testing highly advanced English writing and analytical skills.
     
    Within this, candidates for Biological Sciences who don't have to deal with advanced Maths should test on the Social Science GRE. Further, analytical passages should draw from within the STEM, Social Sciences/Biological Sciences and Humanities disciplines for the 3 GREs. They should test innovative and critical thinking rather than the way they are designed now.
     
    Current "One size fits all" model doesn't make any sense at all and it wastes a lot of time, energy and money of the candidates. If the GRE has to make any sense, it should follow at least the above 3-GREs model.  
  8. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from Horb in Should I take the GRE a sixth time?   
    No they don't. Most people's GPA and GRE scores don't line up. I repeat - GRE is an expensive nuisance that has nothing to do with Graduate Research.
     
    But yes, taking it for the sixth time is unseemly.
  9. Downvote
    Seeking got a reaction from Lamantin in Freaking out about a grade...any advice?   
    To give another perspective, I have seen quite a few Art History and Fine Art students from different schools who have got only As and A-s and when I talk to them, I find them very average in their understanding of their subjects - which means that their grades are highly inflated. And this includes the crop from the Ivies.
     
    To Francophile1, a letter grade has different meanings in different departments and also in different schools. So, you need to talk to your Advisor or Graduate Co-ordinator about it to get a perspective on this. Normally, B should not be too bad if you're making a GPA above 3.7.
  10. Downvote
    Seeking got a reaction from fox44 in what my application looks like   
    Dfindley,
     
    You need to understand some pragmatic aspects - 
     
    You may be right about points, ranks etc taking precedence over pure research, but that's how it is and the Graduate School is not going to change because an applicant says so. If you want to get into their program, play by their rule. 
     
    When you actually reach the Professorial rank, you can begin to change the system your way. But as long as you are on the receiving end, you can't change the system. Till the time you become a Professor, you have to play by their rules, or you don't get there - it's as simple as that.
     
    1) So, I would say, postpone your application till next year. This year, take a couple of non-degree credit courses in your area of research and do well in those courses. This will also give you the two more referees you need at the moment and you will be able to show  better grades in the area you want to research in.
     
    2) Further, it's true that your book may be ground breaking, but the academia looks at the publisher's name on the front page before reading the book. Therefore, the suggestion given above is really good that you should send your book to two professors in your discipline to get comments about how to revise your book for a publication from a well-known publisher. Revise the manuscript according to those comments and send it for publication to a well-known publisher.
     
    If your book is ground breaking, some or other good publisher will definitely publish it. You may have to contact several publishers before you get accepted by one and you may have to face rejection by a few, but you'll make it if your book is good. Tell the publishers that you have sought comments from scholars and have revised the book following those comments.
     
    Use this year to do all this. Then, next year you will be ready to apply to Graduate school with a book accepted for publication by a well-known publisher, with better grades and with 3 references.
     
    3) Finally, you should take into account the fact that your ideas may be innovative, but it's not possible to elaborate upon all your innovative thoughts in a 2 page personal statement, which is the most important part of the application. Writing sample also helps, but they usually don't have the time to read through every sentence in depth to understand the innovative thoughts that have gone into making of the writing sample. They have about 300 applications to go through. They will most probably skim through your writing sample to see if you have the potential to write academic papers and will look at your personal statement.
     
    So, I would say apply next year to whatever school in the US you want to go to, but also apply to UK and some European universities. This is because in Europe you have to submit a full-fledged research proposal instead of a personal statement. A research proposal will give you the opportunity to highlight your theoretical arguments and to discuss how you want to further explore these ideas. besides, in a research proposal you also have to show how your research is innovative and ground breaking.
     
    Because of the nature of the application format in Europe, I think your application will be more successful in Europe than in the US. And if you apply to top ranked universities in UK and in EU, you can get a job in the US with that degree.
  11. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from Kharisma in GRE: Any way to dodge this elaborate, money-making scam?   
    "One size fits all" is a bad idea for testing "general skills" for Graduate Research. For the simple reason that Graduates are not going to use the same "general skills" in their varied disciplines. There is no such thing as "general skills" for all Graduate research disciplines.
     
    I have not argued that the GRE should be done away with - I understand that when a program gets a number of applications, or even if it gets a small number of applications but from different parts of the world, a standardized test score comes handy in selecting the candidates.
     
    I have only argued that the GRE should not be the most important criteria for selecting the candidates - it doesn't test the skills required for Graduate research and certainly not in the specific disciplines.
     
    I am only arguing for making the GRE more relevant for testing Graduate Research skills - the current version of the GRE doesn't do it. I don't see why there is a problem in having three versions of the GRE - with varying focus on different aspects of the Verbal and Quant skills to be tested for three different categories of disciplines - I am not saying it should be discipline-specific, just that it should test the verbal and quant skills according to the measure and form in which candidates use them in different streams of Graduate schools.
     
    I really don't see what's the problem in having a STEM GRE focusing on advanced quant and general verbal skills, a Social Sciences GRE focusing more on the type of quant and verbal skills used by the candidates in Social Sciences and a Humanities GRE focusing only on the advanced verbal skills and not on quant skills.
     
    This will only make the GRE reflect the Graduate research skills in a more realistic manner. There is really no point in making the candidates go through a test that is really not related to Graduate research skills.
     
    The expenditure is not only $150 if you calculate the resources needed to prepare for the GRE, re-take of the test if you don't get good scores - and you don't get good scores not because you will not make a good researcher, but because GRE is not related to Graduate research skills - the extra cost of sending scores to more than 4 schools, the more cost of sending scores next year and re-applying to more schools if you didn't get in this year - not because you were a bad researcher, but because you scored badly in a non-graduate-research skills related test. The overall cost comes to over a $1000, perhaps more. And the registration fee for GRE has increased and it will increase further in future.
     
    Everything cannot be measured in terms of money. Add to this the extreme stress, anxiety and unnecessary efforts the Humanities candidates have to go through for this meaningless test for Humanities. Add to this the stress STEM candidates have to go through on a verbal test that doesn't test Graduate verbal skills anyway. Add to this the unnecessary effort and stress the Social Sciences candidates have to go through to master a test that tests their Graduate quant skills only partially and doesn't test the Graduate verbal skills - much of the energy is wasted in mastering questions that are not relevant for Graduate research in Social Sciences.
     
    So, I am only arguing that this test can be made really more helpful, relevant and realistic if only it is recast into three versions with varying focus on verbal and quant skills, each suitable for the stream it is designed for. And it is really not a great feat for the ETS to accomplish.
  12. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from Sarah Bee in That point where you feel it's not happening...   
    Loric,
     
    I am sorry to hear about all the struggles you've had.
     
    Well, any school that treats its students like your last Grad school did is not worth going to. It was not your fault. It's not as if you didn't get it. It was just that your Grad program didn't get how to handle a student who thought differently - the professor's Yale degree not withstanding. As I said, I have seen enough Ivy Graduates who don't know how to be a good academic, but who flood the academia.
     
    And any Grad program in Arts that doesn't talk about "isms" is not worth its salt.
     
    So, I would say don't worry about your past record and don't get tensed thinking about what might happen now. Just relax. 
     
    If you can afford it, apply to some more funded programs whose profiles look as though they will be a good fit for you and if a Professor there responds to your email positively.
     
    In the worst event, you can explore job options, work and save money and get back to Grad school next year with more experience.
     
    It's not the end of the world. So, think positive and who knows, you may get in with funding.
     
    Feel free to pm me if you need any advice about Grad applications.
  13. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from TakeruK in GA/RA/TA Stipends   
    As you say, it varies by the program, school and the area.
     
    In some places, the full funding amount may be lower than in others, but there may be plenty of work opportunities to supplement your income, or to completely cover your room and board costs.
     
    In other places, funding amount may be higher, but the cost of living may be extremely high, thus making this amount insufficient.
     
    You can write to the current Graduates in the programs you are applying to in order to get a sense of the funding and costs situation in these places.
  14. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from danieleWrites in Teaching Portfolio   
    While you are a TA in Graduate School, or completing your PhD and looking for a TT position, or alreay teaching in any capacity, a teaching portfolio helps you to advance in your teaching career.
     
    Have a look at this link for strategies about how to build a Teaching Portfolio - 
     
    http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/reflecting/teaching-portfolios/
  15. Downvote
    Seeking got a reaction from music in Freaking out about a grade...any advice?   
    To give another perspective, I have seen quite a few Art History and Fine Art students from different schools who have got only As and A-s and when I talk to them, I find them very average in their understanding of their subjects - which means that their grades are highly inflated. And this includes the crop from the Ivies.
     
    To Francophile1, a letter grade has different meanings in different departments and also in different schools. So, you need to talk to your Advisor or Graduate Co-ordinator about it to get a perspective on this. Normally, B should not be too bad if you're making a GPA above 3.7.
  16. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from ajaxp91 in 1/3 making a mistake when entering grad school?   
    I think the comparison between a company and a university is not appropriate.
     
    The primary aim of the Grad School is to train candidates in research and teaching skills, which these candidates can use in their future career. Whatever teaching and research employment they get in Grad School is by way of giving them the opportunity to hone their research and teaching skills.
     
    On the other hand, companies hire candidates who already have skills and who are willing to use their skills for the benefit of the company. In the process they also hone their skills further or acquire new skills, but that's the not the main aim of the companies while hiring employees.
     
    Precisely because the Grad School is into training the candidates in research and teaching, they don't necessarily regard it as a loss if some of their best candidates find a job half way through and leave. If they find a lucrative job, it is a matter of prestige for the Grad Program that even a few semesters' training they gave to these candidates has turned out to be fruitful. They may even use it as an index of their top-grade training quality to attract more top-grade candidates.
     
    Grad School has well-conceptualized degree-programs of 2-5/7 years for candidates who would like to use the full range of training for the entire 2-5/7 years. But if some candidates can have a successful career with less than the entire term of a degree Program, it's not much problem for the Grad School. It means that they have been able to train these candidates so much that they could achieve their professional aim with less than the full-term training. In this sense, the Grad School has achieved its aim.
     
    As for the lab work getting affected, there are always candidates available to carry further the work that was done by the previous candidate.
     
    This is one of the reasons that often more candidates are taken than they can accommodate, with a view that some of these will leave. And this is the reason the most qualified candidates are selected - they are most likely to get the desired training in the shortest period of time.
     
    In fact, the candidates who stay for a long period in Grad School are going to cost more because more resources are required to be invested on their training.
     
    We need to understand that Grad School is not a regular employment in the sense a regular job in a company is an employment. The dynamics of Grad School are different from the job dynamics in the companies. 
     
    PS - Deliberately hiring the less qualified candidates who will stay loyal by avoiding the top-quality candidates is what the Third World countries do, because loyalty at the cost of quality is more important to them. And it shows in the cumulative results the countries show. 
  17. Upvote
    Seeking reacted to TakeruK in 1/3 making a mistake when entering grad school?   
    50% sounds right for the "completion rate", which to me, is defined as someone who leaves with a PhD in the field they started graduate work in, especially in STEM. In Canada, the 2-year thesis+research based MSc and the 3-4 year PhD are independent program (meaning even if you stay at the same school and with the same supervisor, you have to go through the entire application process again, including LORs from your current supervisor to your new supervisor (which is the same person); also you need a MSc to apply to a PhD program). A MSc degree is a very useful and employable degree in Canada so many students decide that this is enough training for them to go do the job they want (teach at community college, work as staff scientist or lab manager, work as the science consultant for a museum/planetarium, work in industry, etc.)  The people that go and finish up the PhD are the ones that intend to remain in academia, and not everyone will decide to do so. Both programs are always fully funded in STEM, so a MSc is often considered a good, low-risk way to see if you are really interested in research for the rest of your career!
     
    In the US, there are very few terminal funded MS programs in STEM, so leaving with a MS is almost always considered a "consolation prize" for not being able to get to a PhD. I also think the requirements for non-terminal MS in the US are much lower--it took me 2 years of classes plus full time research, a thesis and a defense to get my Canadian MSc but to get my US MS I will just have needed to complete all my classes (just did!) and fill out a piece of paper and voila! So, I think a MS in the US is worth less and more students feel the need to push through to get the PhD, or voluntarily leave for other interests.
     
    So, I would not be surprised to see "completion rates" be lower in Canada, even lower than 50% while they might be slightly higher in the US, maybe 50-60%, because the MS isn't as helpful.
     
    In my undergrad program, from observing the number of astronomy grad students coming in and graduating each year (there's not that many, and we attended their defenses), I think about 50% of MSc graduates indeed remain to pursue a PhD at the same school. At my MSc program, out of the 5 of us that came in, only 1 person is now remaining there for their PhD (so officially, the completion rate is 20%), but 2 of us are pursuing PhD's elsewhere (so technically, the "academia retention rate" is 60%). During my time in that program, I witnessed about 30% of all people enrolled in a MSc program graduate and remain in the same program for a PhD. The majority of the graduates decide to pursue other employment with their MSc outside of academia and some of the graduates do PhDs elsewhere. A small fraction of people do not finish MSc programs at all.
     
    In the US, when I visited programs, one statistic that every department wants to boast about is their "completion rate" or "retention rate" or whatever word they want to call it. However, this percentage is almost always the number of people who pass the quals and are not asked to leave the program. Every school will boast rates above 90% and many of them say 95% or higher. But they do not include people who decide to leave the PhD program, nor do they include people who are forced to "voluntarily quit" due to crappy conditions (e.g. supervisor assigns them crappy projects that do not work out, supervisor not doing their job and no one catches it until too late, supervisor loses funding and can no longer support students but no one else is able to take them, supervisor moves and student decides to not continue etc.). Finally, perhaps most importantly, this rate rarely includes the students who fail the quals the first time and chooses not to make the second attempt. Or, the student feels pressured to "choose" to not make the second attempt because of extreme lack of support from advisors/faculty, which sends a clear message to the student! 
    So, for prospective students, always be wary of the school's boasted completion rate and other stats (such as which % of graduates end up in certain types of jobs). Ideally, you would want to see these numbers relative to the total number of students that enter the program in the first place!
  18. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from Pol in 1/3 making a mistake when entering grad school?   
    Here we need to differentiate between various categories of students who don't finish Graduate School.
     
    Some drop out because they didn't meet the evaluation standards - and their initially being intensely willing to get admission into a Grad Program has nothing to do with their under-performance. They were intensely desirous of this degree, but they didn't foresee that they would not be meeting the expectations of the Grad School.
     
    Some lose funding for reasons other than grades and are forced to drop out. Again, they didn't see that this would happen.
     
    Illness is another reason for not completing.
     
    Some leave because their Adviser leaves and they don't want to work with another Adviser. They too didn't foresee that this would happen.
     
    There is a % of students who get a job half way through Grad School and since at the end of Grad School they had intended to get a job anyway, they decide to leave.
     
    The last category is of candidates who couldn't have got this job offer without their Grad School credits. Even 1-3 semester's Grad School credits make them attractive in the job market, which wouldn't have been possible without these Grad School credits. So, they are not failures. Rather, they are successes. And, their intense involvement with Grad School is justified because it made them do well in whatever semesters they completed and eventually they got a job because of it.
     
    So, first, this data should include information about why these students didn't complete and where they went after leaving.
     
    Second, they are not making a mistake by getting into Grad School. People change their way of thinking throughout life, they change their ambitions and their goals in life. At no point can we say how we will think a few months or a year after today. And no one can foresee a circumstance that will arise in future.  
  19. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from ajaxp91 in 1/3 making a mistake when entering grad school?   
    Here we need to differentiate between various categories of students who don't finish Graduate School.
     
    Some drop out because they didn't meet the evaluation standards - and their initially being intensely willing to get admission into a Grad Program has nothing to do with their under-performance. They were intensely desirous of this degree, but they didn't foresee that they would not be meeting the expectations of the Grad School.
     
    Some lose funding for reasons other than grades and are forced to drop out. Again, they didn't see that this would happen.
     
    Illness is another reason for not completing.
     
    Some leave because their Adviser leaves and they don't want to work with another Adviser. They too didn't foresee that this would happen.
     
    There is a % of students who get a job half way through Grad School and since at the end of Grad School they had intended to get a job anyway, they decide to leave.
     
    The last category is of candidates who couldn't have got this job offer without their Grad School credits. Even 1-3 semester's Grad School credits make them attractive in the job market, which wouldn't have been possible without these Grad School credits. So, they are not failures. Rather, they are successes. And, their intense involvement with Grad School is justified because it made them do well in whatever semesters they completed and eventually they got a job because of it.
     
    So, first, this data should include information about why these students didn't complete and where they went after leaving.
     
    Second, they are not making a mistake by getting into Grad School. People change their way of thinking throughout life, they change their ambitions and their goals in life. At no point can we say how we will think a few months or a year after today. And no one can foresee a circumstance that will arise in future.  
  20. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from m-ttl in GRE: Any way to dodge this elaborate, money-making scam?   
    It's true that GRE is an expensive unnecessary annoyance. I have never quite understood its relevance.
     
    Candidates' verbal/linguistic/analytical skills are well tested by TOEFL/IELTS, writing sample and SOP, in addition to the previous GPA and also referred to in the LORs. 
     
    If additional linguistic/verbal skills are to be gauged in a standardized test format, then all candidates - including the English speakers - can write the TOEFL/IELTS and these scores can show the language-related skills of the candidates.
     
    There is no need for additional verbal and writing skills to be tested on the GRE. Further, there is no reason why the candidates in non-Quant-intensive disciplines should suffer the GRE-Quant test. If this section is important for the candidates in Quant-intensive disciplines, ETS can make it available as a separate test for them, rather than making it mandatory for all candidates, regardless of whether it is important for their Graduate study or not, as is the case at the moment.   
     
    The current General GRE also does not make the distinction between different kinds of skills needed for different Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines. 
     
    For example, Social Sciences research requires data analysis based on graphs, tables and numerical values. However, they don't require advanced mathematical calculations used by the STEM researchers.
     
    In contrast, Humanities researchers almost never use any kind of quantitative data analysis. But their research involves an advanced level of reading comprehension and verbal-analytical skills. Social Sciences researchers also use these skills, but in lesser degree as compared to the Humanities researchers. STEM researchers don't need this kind of advanced verbal skills.
     
    So, if GRE has to be a requirement for Graduate admissions, there is a need to revamp the test and have 3 versions of it for three categories of candidates - there should be an 1) advanced Quant-intensive + simple verbal section GRE for STEM candidates, 2) a less Quant-intensive cum more advanced verbal GRE for Social Sciences candidates and 3) an advanced verbal GRE without Quant section for Humanities candidates - based on reading comprehension, innovative and critical writing (not the kind that exists now) and critiquing the arguments in a few given passages from the Humanities disciplines.
     
    If this kind of overall revamp is not possible, at least the Universities can ask for only the IELTS/TOEFL scores from all candidates regardless of their native language and the ETS can develop a Quant only test for the candidate who require the Quant ability.
     
    Different disciplines can have different minimum scores requirement on the TOEFL and IELTS, depending upon the level of language ability required.
     
    The form in which GRE exists now has no relevance and it requires an unnecessary investment of time, money and energy.
  21. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from Loric in That point where you feel it's not happening...   
    Loric,
     
    I am sorry to hear about all the struggles you've had.
     
    Well, any school that treats its students like your last Grad school did is not worth going to. It was not your fault. It's not as if you didn't get it. It was just that your Grad program didn't get how to handle a student who thought differently - the professor's Yale degree not withstanding. As I said, I have seen enough Ivy Graduates who don't know how to be a good academic, but who flood the academia.
     
    And any Grad program in Arts that doesn't talk about "isms" is not worth its salt.
     
    So, I would say don't worry about your past record and don't get tensed thinking about what might happen now. Just relax. 
     
    If you can afford it, apply to some more funded programs whose profiles look as though they will be a good fit for you and if a Professor there responds to your email positively.
     
    In the worst event, you can explore job options, work and save money and get back to Grad school next year with more experience.
     
    It's not the end of the world. So, think positive and who knows, you may get in with funding.
     
    Feel free to pm me if you need any advice about Grad applications.
  22. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from spectastic in That point where you feel it's not happening...   
    Loric,
     
    I am sorry to hear about all the struggles you've had.
     
    Well, any school that treats its students like your last Grad school did is not worth going to. It was not your fault. It's not as if you didn't get it. It was just that your Grad program didn't get how to handle a student who thought differently - the professor's Yale degree not withstanding. As I said, I have seen enough Ivy Graduates who don't know how to be a good academic, but who flood the academia.
     
    And any Grad program in Arts that doesn't talk about "isms" is not worth its salt.
     
    So, I would say don't worry about your past record and don't get tensed thinking about what might happen now. Just relax. 
     
    If you can afford it, apply to some more funded programs whose profiles look as though they will be a good fit for you and if a Professor there responds to your email positively.
     
    In the worst event, you can explore job options, work and save money and get back to Grad school next year with more experience.
     
    It's not the end of the world. So, think positive and who knows, you may get in with funding.
     
    Feel free to pm me if you need any advice about Grad applications.
  23. Upvote
    Seeking got a reaction from Roquentin in Teaching Portfolio   
    While you are a TA in Graduate School, or completing your PhD and looking for a TT position, or alreay teaching in any capacity, a teaching portfolio helps you to advance in your teaching career.
     
    Have a look at this link for strategies about how to build a Teaching Portfolio - 
     
    http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/reflecting/teaching-portfolios/
  24. Upvote
    Seeking reacted to ratlab in Are other graduate fields of study and programs stupid? Discuss!   
    What's your field Loric?
  25. Upvote
    Seeking reacted to St Andrews Lynx in Are other graduate fields of study and programs stupid? Discuss!   
    It's some kind of arty, theatrical MFA you're applying for, isn't it?
    Tell us its title, and we can tell you how stupid we think it is.
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