sbeck1981

I just completed my interview for a doctoral program (and got accepted!) this week. Whether you're at the masters or doctoral level, I'd suggest these: 1.) Why are you seeking this specific degree? 2.) Why now/why here [at this specific school]? 3.) Have you considered any research topics on which you'll be focusing dissertation/masters thesis efforts? 4.) What can this program do to help you achieve your career goals? 5.) What can YOU bring to this program that sets you apart from other applicants? Good luck!! -Shannon

Here's the deal. I took the Miller Analogy Test (MAT) in 2007. I scored in the 97th percentile. I was admitted to Mensa and my doctoral program of choice (Loyola Chicago). However, I withdrew from the doctoral program upon realizing it was excessively research-based, rather than clinically focused as advertised. I then committed myself to five years post-MSW experience in the field, as is customary (usually) for admission preparation for doctoral study. THAT SAID: I am in the process of applying (currently just waiting, actually, since I took the GRE yesterday) for a new doctoral program of choice. This is a strictly clinical DSW (Doctor of Social Work) program, rather than a dodgy "it has 'philosophy' in the title; it might be more research-heavy than you think" Ph.D, like last time. I took the GRE yesterday and at 29 years old, nearly threw a legitimate temper tantrum upon reading my results. I scored a 610 in VERBAL, and 420 (save the pot jokes!) in quantitative. WHO SCORES THAT WAY??? I know I will get a 5.5 or 6 on writing; that's always been my strong suit, thankfully. But honestly- my verbal score is a good 55 points above the average verbal score of graduate students at HARVARD. What the hell is my quantitative score all about? Granted, I haven't taken math since I was an undergraduate in 2004, but....seriously? I don't score below average on tests, and I totally just did on that math section. But apparently I'm some sort of nutty-ass, right-brained, linguistic genius (well, not "genius," but somehow higher than ALL THE AVERAGE IVY LEAGUE VERBAL SCORES), and a lost cause with numbers. That's what frustrates me, though- I am GOOD at math! I don't know what happened, except that I was up until 4 AM "studying," and I was tired. That has never affected me before. Regardless, I had very little difficulty brushing up on my math the night before the test. When I tested, however, it was not really what I expected per the GRE practice material from the website. No excuses, that crap on the test isn't hard! I don't know WHAT I did! It just seemed like all the elements of math at which I'm really good (algebra, geometry...anything NOT exclusively word problems!) were not on my test. I had 28 word problems, basically, and I realized I wasn't going to finish on time; I ended up clicking random answers, hoping for probability to fall in my favor more than it should for 15 x a 25% chance of a correct response. Alas. I guess I should never play the lottery. Oh, and SCREW THE GRE! If my school wanted something that showed I am disproportionately good at verbal things and not-so-genius at math, they could have ACCEPTED MY MAT SCORE like I requested! It basically states the exact same thing, except even the MAT score was a little higher than the GRE verbal, and that test is *harder!* Some things just make no sense to me.