Lox26

Hi Cyberwulf, Question for you: how relevant did you find Calc II? People tell me they haven't used it and see no connection between II and III/Multivariate. Would you agree? Is it possible to take III/ then move onto Diff Eq, before I take II? Or would that leave me behind? Also, how many math courses could I take at once? Math topics tend to be sequential, so I am trying to figure out what courses I could reasonably take at the same time. Thanks!

@Lisa, Thanks for your rundown. Would a course in Developmental Cognitive Psych cover developmental psych? My school has a course on neural/social/etc. networks and systems. Is that similar to System Dynamics? **Would you take the probability courses alongside Calc and Diff equations or after? My major stats course went into integration and moment generating functions (was so lost with the latter). I want to be sufficiently prepared. @3Point14, The AI classes available to me all have 3-4 engineering pre-reqs . Could you describe the course you took? Some other questions for you both (and the forum): How do you feel about upperlevel neuro courses like Perception or Language? I think I would be interested in visual perception only, but would I be limiting my knowledge of necessary topics? Also, did you find the development of language relevant to how we represent/encode concepts and therefore to how we make choices; or, is it overkill (stay in such a course only if you really like it). Both also seem like core MA classes for psych/neuro that I would need to take anyway. Better to take at the undergrad level to familiarize myself with the concepts, or to wait till MA level? Thanks!

Greetings, GradCafe-ers! While I am still nailing down a career path, I am confident that I will pursue a masters (fingers crossed) within the next 3 years. What classes would you recommend to put me on solid ground for such a program? I am interested in an interdisciplinary program--such as cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience, systems neuroscience, decision theory, or game theory--that will enable me to study/model how we make various choices. Nebulous as this list may seem, I am refining my interests periodically with more research and coursework. (Admittedly, I'm a ways from my goal!) Current and future relevant coursework include: Stats, Econometrics, Linear Algebra, Game Theory, Behavioral Economics, Intro Psych, Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Computational Neuroscience, Learning and Memory, Social Psych, and Psychopathology. I have also done some imaging research (not fMRI yet, no publications). What other math courses would you recommend? I have one year left (one semester of undecided classes) and plan to pursue an informal post-bacc to supplement my undergraduate work. Looking forward to your responses! Lox

Greetings, GradCafe-ers! While I am still nailing down a career path, I am confident that I will pursue a masters (fingers crossed) within the next 3 years. What classes would you recommend to put me on solid ground for such a program? I am interested in an interdisciplinary program--such as cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience, systems neuroscience, decision theory, or game theory--that will enable me to study/model how we make various choices. Nebulous as this list may seem, I am refining my interests periodically with more research and coursework. (Admittedly, I'm a ways from my goal!) Current and future relevant coursework include: Stats, Econometrics, Linear Algebra, Game Theory, Behavioral Economics, Intro Psych, Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Computational Neuroscience, Learning and Memory, Social Psych, and Psychopathology. I have also done some imaging research (not fMRI yet, no publications). What other psych, bio, and neuro courses would you recommend? I have one year left (one semester of undecided classes) and plan to pursue an informal post-bacc to supplement my undergraduate work. Looking forward to your responses! Lox

Greetings, GradCafe-ers! While I am still nailing down a career path, I am confident that I will pursue a masters (fingers crossed) within the next 3 years. What classes would you recommend to put me on solid ground for such a program? I am interested in an interdisciplinary program--such as cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience, systems neuroscience, decision theory, or game theory--that will enable me to study/model how we make various choices. Nebulous as this list may seem, I am refining my interests periodically with more research and coursework. (Admittedly, I'm a ways from my goal!) Current and future relevant coursework include: Stats, Econometrics, Linear Algebra, Game Theory, Behavioral Economics, Intro Psych, Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Computational Neuroscience, Learning and Memory, Social Psych, and Psychopathology. I have also done some imaging research (not fMRI yet, no publications). What other econ and (applied) math/science courses would you recommend? I have one year left (one semester of undecided classes) and plan to pursue an informal post-bacc to supplement my undergraduate work. Looking forward to your responses! Lox

Greetings, GradCafe-ers! While I am still nailing down a career path, I am confident that I will pursue a masters (fingers crossed) within the next 3 years. What classes would you recommend to put me on solid ground for such a program? I am interested in an interdisciplinary program--such as cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience, systems neuroscience, decision theory, or game theory--that will enable me to study/model how we make various choices. Nebulous as this list may seem, I am refining my interests periodically with more research and coursework. (Admittedly, I'm a ways from my goal!) Current and future relevant coursework include: Stats, Econometrics, Linear Algebra, Game Theory, Behavioral Economics, Intro Psych, Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Computational Neuroscience, Learning and Memory, Social Psych, and Psychopathology. I have also done some imaging research (not fMRI yet, no publications). What other math and (hard or soft) science courses would you recommend? I have one year left (one semester of undecided classes) and plan to pursue an informal post-bacc to supplement my undergraduate work. Looking forward to your responses! Lox

Hi, This is not my field. I just wanted to encourage others not to down-vote your post. As an erstwhile-almost-English major myself, I understand following your passion in undergrad. I also understand that job prospects are not great for English majors (who do not make sure to become well-rounded through coursework and internships...or go into teaching). Most people don't know what they want to be when they grow up. Your predicament is a phenomenon experienced acrossed disciplines, and I empathize with you. I am not sure why/whether anyone disagrees with your outlook. Again, no disrespect to the field--I love literature and enjoy reading, deconstructing, and discussing texts. You seem to enjoy CS and find it stimulating. Job prospects are better. You will likely be happier doing something you love and earning a living wage. I don't see why this is frowned upon. Last, some people may see your post as bragging. I don't, but I understand how others might (they read it as "I'm so awesome and smart and potentially too good for CSULB. Also, I will definitely excel there because I'm a genius."). I think some of the negative votes are a result of your perceived entitlement. I read your post as one of worry, wistful regret, and determined optimism. I wish you the best of luck in whatever path you choose. To anyone out there reading who may know more about CS, please provide concrete explanations of why OP's reasoning is flawed or better paths he/she may choose to attain his/her goal. We're here to help each other.

Taylor, many of the top colleges have insisted that applicants send all SAT scores, despite Score Select for that test. Does it stand to reason that many top grad programs will institute a comparable requirement?

I'm guessing you define success as the top decile. In that respect, you have fallen short of your target for quant. It is okay to be disappointed, but please exercise some tact. Your math score is 87th percentile, and that is nothing to sneeze at. Many people hoped for a score that high but were unable to attain it. To them, and to others with scores similar to/better than yours, you appear to be bragging. Perhaps this is not the case and you are just panicking, but people won't interpret it that way. I won't tell you your score is "good" because that is a relative term and you have decided that 162Q is not good enough for you, but posting that message on a board will only incite ire. Learn to at least feign humility.

I am just curious about whether you are a French buff or Doctor Who fan.

https://grediagnostic.ets.org/GREDWeb/gred/signIn.jsp This is a comprehensive score report that breaks down question type, time to answer, question difficulty, and other characteristics. I'm am so psyched that this exists!

Your practice tests should give you a good idea about your performance. My quant estimate was accurate, but my verbal score fell below the lowest score in the range. In retrospect, my verbal performance was weaker throughout my studying period, and I didn't work as hard to improve my accuracy on verbal. If you were consistently getting harder questions wrong, your score is probably on the lower end of the range or below. If you were consistently improving and missing hard, medium, and easy questions due to careless error, your score is probably mid-to-high-range of your projected performance. I hope you get the scores the need and want!

Rachel, would you please explain more about this.

It's not. This is a more well-thought-out argument. I understand his message now, whereas before it was ambiguous. No one need be intimidated.

This was a better post, with a much clearer objective and thesis.