lizardclan

Dear friends, I applied to the PhD programs in computer science at uc santa cruz & santa barbara. Will either or both programs skype me if they're interested in my application? Thanks!

Hey I'm just using probability theory. In probability theory you *multiply* probabilities together, not add them and divide by 3 like you did. P(getting a 155 or higher on the Verbal section) = 0.31 P(getting a 155 or higher on the Quantitative section) = 0.42 P(getting a 4.0 or higher on the Analytical Writing section) = 0.41 Multiply these 3 probabilities together (because that's what you do in probability theory) to get a top 5.3382% result. I'm pretty certain in my results. /James/

.69, .58, and .59 are *percentage below* (1 - .69), (1 - .58), and (1 - .59) are "top percentage" or "percentage above" My metric computes overall percentage above, not overall percentage below. Assume there were only 2 sections on the GRE General Test. Let's say you got 90% percentage below on both. Then by your reasoning, the overall score would be .9 * .9 = .81, or 81% overall which can't be true. Using my formula, you get (1 - .9) * (1 - .9) = .01, or 1%. You finished in the top 1%. /James/

My practice GRE General Test scores were: 151V, 159Q I just took the GRE General Test, and my actual scores were: 155V, 155Q Hope this helps! /James/

Hi! I'm sharing the following because I want to find out if it makes sense to other people. Motivation: I want to compute a metric for overall GRE performance. Assumption: I assume that there is no correlation between Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing scores. If there were, that would be a serious flaw of the GRE General Test. Definitions: Let V = percentage below on the Verbal section expressed as a decimal, that is: 0.0 for 0%, up to 1.0 for 100% Let Q = percentage below on the Quantitative section expressed as a decimal, that is: 0.0 for 0%, up to 1.0 for 100% Let AW = percentage below on the Analytical section expressed as a decimal, that is: 0.0 for 0%, up to 1.0 for 100% Proposition: Your overall performance on the GRE General Test is given by: (1.0 - V) * (1.0 - Q) * (1.0 - AW) For example, I scored V:155 (69%), Q:155 (58%), AW:4.0 (59%) on my most recent attempt on the GRE. So, my overall performance on the GRE is: (1.0 - 0.69) * (1.0 - 0.58) * (1.0 - 0.59) = 0.053382, or 5.3382% In other words, overall, I finished in the top 5.3382%. Criticism? Thanks! /James/

If you look at last year's results, interviews went out on Jan 18 and 19 (mostly), acceptances went out on Jan 27 and 28 (mostly), and rejections went out on Feb 18 and Feb 19 (mostly). Could be different this year, so draw your own conclusions. :-) -James

Hi! Based on last's year results, if I don't get an interview this week with Berkeley CS, it's probably like an unofficial rejection. I'd be overjoyed for just an interview, but life goes on. :-) -James

Hi, I couldn't find a better place to post than here, so here it goes. I'm interested in options, availability, and opinions on the on-campus married student housing available at UC Berkeley. Thanks! James

Taco Tuesday

Just an update. I have been accepted. Claremont here we come!

Lucky shot

A friend and I are (probably) moving to Claremont. I might be a student this Fall (2015) in Claremont Graduate University's program in information systems and technology. I know the tuition is high, but when I met with the director and program coordinator they INSISTED I apply. We'll be interested in affordable housing. Keep us in mind. Thanks. -lizardclan

California lottery

traffic ticket

I live in Old Town Pasadena, and just visited USC yesterday. I took the Gold Line (light rail train) from Del Mar Station to Union Station, then hopped on a free USC shuttle to the main campus. Going home I took 3 trains: Expo Line from Expo/USC to 7th St. Metro. Red/Purple Line from 7th St. Metro to Union Station. Gold Line from Union Station to Pasadena. Door-to-door, Google Maps says a one-way trip to USC from Old Town Pasadena takes just over an hour. -lizardclan