lollipop

Obviously you didn't read my previous posts carefully. Or perhaps you don't even want to waste your time reading them?

I'm not sure if you're also Chinese (considering the use of words and your tone, I think you are), but what makes you clueless may not be the same case to others, especially there's something conspicuously missing here. I always think I have a flair for languages and as a matter of fact, I have systematically learned English, French and Japanese and have a pretty robust command of them. I used to be thinking of pursuing languages-related graduation education, but as I age, the "intellectual questions that I'm passionate about" evolve as well. Plus, if I were to stay in the States after my graduation and find employments, wouldn't it be better for me to major in journalism, international politics or international relations? In short, my real passion lies in languages and anything "international" or "global". Besides, professionals in journalism, international politics or international relations usually command more than one foreign languages other than their mother tongue, n'est-ce pas? It's true that I haven't spent a decent amount of time to study for this exam but I think I still have decent, if not competitive, results, despite the fact that I took it three times. I don't know what makes you think there's no excuse for my math score. Maybe the stereotype that Chinese, or East Asians, for that matter, are usually excellent in math? I've never been good at math since the moment I received elementary education in China. However, I've always been good at English throughout my academic progression in China. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I say there's a bond between the U.S. and me. As you may know, almost everyone in China now learns English but I think few would have a comparably good understanding of the language if the same amount of time and efforts were spent in learning the language. In other words, as far as I know, very few have a command of 3 foreign languages at my age. And I think that's a manifestation of the flair for languages that I'm always proud of.

well, thanks for your very insightful and helpful comment. Yeah, it sounds a little harsh, but maybe that's exactly what I need to hear right now. I know it may sound absurd to you guys but I do feel that I have some kind of "bond" with the U.S. and quite a few events in my life somehow convince me about that. I'm considering grad schools because that is, for now, the only viable way for me to set my feet on U.S. soil, decently. Besides, I still think I feel like acquiring more knowledge and earning a U.S. degree. and I'm still able to achieve those goals. I've heard that the US academia is quite liberal so I'm not sure if the following comments are unpalatable to some but I'll just go ahead. I may not have a competitive enough profile now but I believe in destiny (sounds ridiculous from someone in China huh?). And my friends always joked with me that if I had been born in the U.S., I would've been a conservative already. Subconsciously, I think I'm trying to pursue graduation education as a way to see if my supposed bond with the U.S. really exists. Ironically, if such a bond does exist, it's unlikely that human behaviors would influence it, right?

okay, then what about fellowships? I'd still like to get enrolled in private schools.

lol the title above avatars is really confusing here and I made the same mistake!

Yeah, I'm aware of it but voila this is the score I have now. Plus, I don't think institutions have already got comfortable with how to interpret and compare scores and percentiles from old GRE and revised GRE, so taking revised GRE might not seem an attractive option to me. I haven't taken TOEFL ibt, could a high TOEFL score somehow offset the impact from my relatively low GRE score? And if I do want to get a scholarship with the current score, what tiers of schools should I be looking at?

yeah, I know that but unfortunately I didn't make it. In some Chinese forums on GRE preparation, they always talk about a "decent" score like 1200 and a "competitive" score like 1300. But make no mistake, when they talk about these overall scores, they consider their math score to be 800! not everyone(obviously not me), but most. So basically they're saying they'd be satisfied with their 400 or 500 verbal score. I'm always curious about this single question: faced with a V:500 Q:700 and a V:400 Q:800 score reports, how would admissions officers interpret these two scores and which one do they prefer? And I've done some Google research about GRE scores and found this. http://www.askdeb.com/blog/education/what-is-an-average-gre-score/ surprised to find 450 – 500 on each part of the tests is "often" acceptable.

I'm afraid this is the best score I can churn out for now and like I said, I'm already 27 so I really can't afford to take it again especially considering that we have revised GRE now, meaning different format(so different strategies for preparations), different scoring schemes and possibly different interpretations by institutions. What I'm trying to know is what sort of grad schools I'm at least having opportunities of getting in with my current scores. Yeah I heard of that before. If you take GRE more than once, you'd better have a "significantly" higher score than previous ones. But, what constitutes a "significantly higher" score? say, a 200 increment on each part?

yeah, especially considering the fact that I'm Chinese.

yeah, I know, things are not good but I just want to have a vague understanding of what kind of schools I can possibly get enrolled in, like top 80, or top 100. As caffeinated pointed out, I have met 1000 combined minimum that many schools require, so I don't want to easily give up and actually I can't afford to take it again since I'm already 27, when some "life-altering" decisions seem ever more crucial to me. I'm like standing at a crossroad, perplexed.

I have crappy gre's and mediocre everything else. Then what about top 80 or even top 100 schools? Oh, and I need to apply for scholarships.

Thanks! And I actually appreciate honest opinions. I don't have a supportive family and suffice it to say that I'm on my own, all alone, all along. That's the most serious "distraction" I meant.

well, it's not a proud thing to say, but the fact is I have taken it three times. It's worth mentioning that I never seriously prepared for it, or barely prepared for it, not because I didn't want to but because there were so many distractions in my life that constantly dragged me away from the course I was taking. I'm Chinese and had already graduated from college. My major in college is computer science and technology. I want to apply for journalism, international politics or advertising programs. GPA back in college is like 3.5. Haven't taken IBT yet. Below is the score report: 07 6G V:430 (43% below) Q:620 (52% below) AW:3.5 (26% below) 07 10G V:350 (21% below) Q:640 (56% below) AW:4.0 (45% below) 11 6G V:480 (57% below) Q:660 (61% below) AW:4.0 (45% below) What do you think? Am I still entitled to apply for top 50 U.S. grad schools or programs? Thanks in advance for your advice!