habanero

Thank you. That is what I thought (and what I was hoping for).

I was just hypothesizing, and it's really likely that I'm totally wrong. I would highly suggest calling/emailing all of the programs you wish to attend and getting more information.

No problem! I also looked at your CV and your undergrad institution and grades are very good. I would really bet money on you getting accepted to all schools (as long as your LORs and GRE are good...which I bet they are). You seem ideal for any research institution.

If you apply to computer science programs, you will be competing against students who have superior computer science qualifications. According to UC Irvine's FAQ: Ideally, you should know enough to score decently on the comp sci GRE. You might consider applying to programs like the one Rice has (http://psychology.ri...tent.aspx?id=94) or iSchools like UW (http://ischool.uw.edu/) and Michigan(http://www.si.umich....on-requirements). The computer science requirements are few and many of the current students have their undergraduate degrees in psych and information. You will still be able to study HCI, but you will not be subjected to the strict computer science requirements. I am not trying to discourage you from applying to computer science departments, but there will be many students applying who have conducted their undergraduate education with HCI computer science graduate school in mind. Would you consider an informatics degree to be acceptable as long as you are studying HCI? I feel that acceptance to a comp sci program would require much more comp sci, but I could be wrong. Oh, about the classes: C/C++ and Java are the best. Don't bother with C# right now. If you can only take one, start with Java. You WILL need to learn C/C++, so maybe sit in on the classes. Additionally, take Data Structures. Good luck with your dreams!

What was the email? I was in a very similar position. My first email simply asked if the rec could write me a letter. The second email was around 4 paragraphs long and detailed why I wanted the letter and the research I'd done for the prof. It got a response within a day. I'd wait a little bit, but make your second email very formal and act very professional when asking.

For me, the issue lies with the wording of the multiple choice questions. The passages are generally fine--some are confusing, but they're still fine. I had to work on understanding how to choose a multiple choice answer when none of them clicked with me.

It seems highly likely. You've worked on quite a few interesting projects. You've actually made me slightly nervous...don't apply to any of the HCI programs I'm applying to! Just kidding.

Is being a female in comp sci considered 'diversity'? Should I even bother mentioning it? I don't really feel like it, but I will if it is a common thing to do. I was one of two women in the upper div courses, so it might be important. Suggestions?

Eigen, I said something similar a few pages back: "There are many poorly-written papers in academia. It does seem important to be able to understand confusing passages as quickly as possible." I still feel that the sentence isn't particularly easy to understand. It took me a few reads. I got a top percentile on verbal, so I'm not complaining in a bitter grapes manner*. Peer-reviewed doesn't always mean that the writing is clear and cohesive. I do agree that, as researchers, we will need to wade through loads of confusing papers. Not everybody has the same style and good research publications aren't limited solely to those with good writing abilities! *not to suggest that the only valid critique comes from people who did well!!!

I just glanced at the Lit subject test, and it seems that you'd be best served by focusing on reading comprehension questions. You're not going to get the "What play is this from"/"Who wrote this poem", but you can get the questions that are testing your ability to think. Additionally, third-party test materials seem to be notorious for knocking your score down around 100 points. Take a real practice exam: http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/LiteratureinEnglish.pdf

In the sciences and analytical writing: something that is well-written will present the idea to the reader in a completely understandable way. The idea will not be hindered by the prose. I can't speak for the humanities. I'll give a quick rewrite of the paragraph. It certainly isn't perfect (and it is probably less grammatically correct than the former), but I feel as though it's much easier to understand. I tried to use the same words, which really made me grit my teeth! I want to sub dwindled for shrank, ...'high marriage rates' --> ''shrank as marriage rates grew', etc. The paragraph I wrote shouldn't be difficult to understand because it gives you all of the main points. You don't have to think about them. It's almost like a bulleted list. The increase in the numbers of married women employed outside the home in the twentieth century had less to do with the mechanization of housework and an increase in leisure time for these women than it did with their own economic necessity and with high marriage rates that shrank the available pool of single women workers, previously, in many cases, the only women employers would hire. In the twentieth century, there was an increase in the numbers of married women employed outside the home. This change had less to do with the mechanization of housework and increasing leisure time and more to do with economic necessity. Additionally, the pool of single women that employers had shown exclusive hiring preference for shrank with high marriage rates.

I took the exam on the 19th of September (so after you did) and my scores were bounded by 800 (V 740-800 and Q 730-800 blechhhhh). Maybe some exams are more experimental! It's possible that some students got an exam that ETS was more 'sure' of and others got material that was far more 'experimental'. Um, I should stop trying to crack the GRE scores! Endlessly poring over the same info probably won't help me....hahaha!

Don't feel bad! You can improve your scores with practice. Re-register for the GRE and study a lot under similar conditions. Take many timed practice exams. You will be able to do it!!! The pressure is now off, anyways--you scored below what you wanted and the world didn't end! You will be fine. Programs are fine with taking the GRE more than once. Additionally, they KNOW that those who are taking the new exam are at a disadvantage. I have faith in you!

I stupidly looked at the paper test raw scores for that range and forgot that the computer exam had fewer questions! I actually think I missed 7-8 or so. The last Q section I got was really difficult, so I may have done well on the first. Oh, lord. I do NOT want to wait another month + for this. I'm being driven absolutely crazy.

Oh, you know--ETS may have narrowed it with the information we so lovingly provided them.

@ThePoorHangedFool, I don't think she was trying to gloat. She said that she didn't know much about the GRE. Congratulations on your excellent verbal score! I am sure that your Q is fine for most programs you'd want to go to!

There are many poorly-written papers in academia. It does seem important to be able to understand confusing passages as quickly as possible. This is ridiculous. Was it seriously on a GRE?!

I think that this is false; on the official ETS practice test scoring guide, the max score is 750-800. Link here. However, it is possible that they've changed it for the exam. Where on the Internet did you find this information?

Yes, but I went to an undergraduate institution with no grades. Are you speaking about those people who went to small non-research colleges for undergrad and have no GPA? Additionally, 90% is an average of around 790. While my app is strong and I did well in school/ UG research, I highly doubt that admissions would overlook a 750 Q in my specific case. Unless I am totally off (which would be very fine by me)?

When you need to get a 770+ to be competitive, getting a ranged score is torture. If I get a 750, I will need to retake it. Being able to logically think that I will likely get 780 makes me feel much more comfortable. I looked at your profile and you are applying for MFA programs...many of those do not even require a GRE. Those of us wishing to get into top science programs have very little wiggle room with quant scores. A similar analogy would be applying to top MFA programs with a 2 photograph portfolio. Your genius might shine through, but it'd be hard for the admissions committee to justify even giving the app a second look.

So you think that if someone got a 710-800 range, their likely score would be 740-780 as opposed to 735-775? That makes a lot more sense (maybe because it is exactly what I want to hear!!).

Yeah, it seems that the people who would study hard probably self-select for forum posting!

You should look at Information Schools. There are many of them in the United States. You will have a very good chance of getting in if you've studied Comp Sci. The research done there seems to be very similar to the professor that you've linked!

If you only have a set amount of time, I'd work on reading comprehension over memorizing lots of words. I memorized a million words off of Kaplan and Barron and NONE of them were on my exam. The RC skills I learned really paid off--my range was 740-800 (99th percentile). My vocabulary is extensive normally, so you might take this advice with a grain of salt.

Hi! I'd be so grateful if someone could review my 'profile' and tell me my chances of acceptance. I will be applying for a PhD. I am applying to Carnegie, WashU, Berkeley, Stanford, U of Maryland, Purdue, and UWashington (I've been looking at Rice, but it is through the psych department!). If you have any other suggestions, I would love to hear them. 1) BS in Comp Sci/BA in Liberal Arts, but I went to a school with very long written evaluations instead of grades. The school is NOT known for research. My evaluations for my major are, for the most part, very strong. Many mention that my exams were among the best in the class. My GPA would be around a 3.7 or 3.8. 2) Lots of research experience in a few different labs. One was for one year + and I did lots of research technician type things, worked on grants, wrote manuals for instruments, wrote controls for instruments, and helped submit a grant to the NIH with another undergraduate that was very nearly funded. The letter of rec from that professor will be very strong. My other letter of rec will also be strong. 3) I don't know what my GRE scores are yet--my verbal is certainly 99th percentile no matter low or high, and my quant, at worst, is 80th percentile. The ranges are throwing me off! My AW is probably a 5 or a 5.5. 4) My letter of purpose will be strong. I have lots of interests and will be able to happily apply to many different labs. 5) I worked as a tutor for a few years and my boss also was my teacher for multivariable/linear algebra. My letter of rec should be very strong for mathematical and teaching abilities. 6) I was one of two women in my upper div comp sci classes--I really love the subject. I'm aware of my weaknesses, but I would like to know if my strong points might be enough to get me into good schools. Thank you!