iowaguy

My applications have asked for a single test, i.e. when you give the V, Q, and AW scores, on the same line you have to put the test date. So you can't really cherry pick that way, you have to choose one test date and give the scores from it.

Can you use that Zotero/PDF-XChange setup with some sort of a tablet (kindle, etc) so it's easier on the eyes? I just can't imagine staring at a standard computer screen for hundreds of hours of lit review... Your eyes are probably much younger than mine

Ideally you would give your LOR writers at least a month. All 3 of mine requested that I sent them my letter of intent. Think of it as good motivation to work on your SOP

IMHO, it's a pretty good response. At least he is taking on new grad students (I have received some emails saying they aren't and that is basically the end of the discussion). I would pursue conversations/discussions about potential research topics since he left the door open for that - it's a way to show you're serious about grad school and have some ideas of your own, professors like that! If you're geographically close, don't underestimate the power of meeting someone in person - I did that with a couple of POI's and I think it really helps. Best of luck!

I personally used flash cards. Manhattan has 1,000 flash cards that I recommend you learn pat (500 Essential + 500 Advanced). I also did the 500 Kaplan GRE (most were also on the Manhattan but didn't hurt to see them again & in a different context), the GradFlash computer flashcard program (1,305 words), and the GRE Vocabulary Builder Flashcard Book (900 words). Again, some of these words overlapped with other flashcards, but that only helped to reinforce my learning. For "fun" I did the Vocabulary Synapse computer CD which quizzes your knowledge of 1,000 vocabulary words in context (more like you would actually see the word on the GRE). With all the flashcards the most time-consuming part is the initial pass-through. I would go through each flashcard to see if I knew the word really well, without flipping it over (i.e. just looking at the word without any context). The actual GRE is going to also give you some contextual clues, so if you know the word down pat you won't have any trouble with it in its GRE context. Anyway, if I knew the word (after checking its use on the reverse side) then I put it aside never to be seen again. All the words I didn't know pat I put into a review pile. Then EVERY NIGHT right before I went to bed (that's my personal best time for retention of new knowledge) I would review a chunk of the words I didn't know. Once I knew the word pat, I removed it from the review list. This was very intimidating at first when staring at a huge pile of flashcards that I didn't know. Eventually, after 4 months of doing this, I knew every single word from all of those flash card lists. I was also reading the Economist & NY Times online to practice seeing some of these new words in context. The cool thing about learning new vocab is that (most of it) sticks with you after the test. Best of luck!

I'm entering lit review mode, and am thinking about how to best set up my organization system. Do you print a hard copy of every journal article in your "bibligraphy library"? Or do you just keep an electronic copy of each pdf? I can read hard-copy materials easier than a computer screen (less strain on my eyes & nice to get away from the computer sometimes), and enjoy highlighting parts of articles that are most interesting/pertinent, but it seems unwieldy to somehow put all of those hundreds of (eventual) journal articles in a hard-copy binder and keep them organized... I have heard of some PhD students that have their entire bibliography in a long electronic list, then they just pick & choose which documents are going to be in a particular bibliography that they're using for a journal article they're trying to publish... Have also heard of biblio mgmt software that helps with this such as BookEnds, EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero, etc... Thoughts? What works for you? Thanks!

I actually think a strong vocab might be an even bigger advantage with the current format. I took the "old" GRE 10 years ago when applying for my M.S., and the "revised" GRE this fall. True, vocab is critical with the "old" GRE antonym section. But the "revised" GRE has a question type where you have to pick the combination of 2 words that make the sentence true. The percent chance of guessing correctly is lower on this format (1 in 10 random chance) than the old format (1 in 5). http://magoosh.com/gre/2011/the-new-gre-and-guessing/ If you know your vocab, you can eliminate several of the answer possibilities, and this "new" question type is actually very easy. OTOH, someone weak in vocab is going to do worse on this new question type if they have to resort to guessing. There are also several questions where you have to fill in the blank. On the "hard" 2nd verbal section, most of my fill-in-the-blank were 3 parts, each of which had 3 options to choose from. Again, having a strong vocab is a big advantage since the chance of randomly being able to choose answers is very low when all 3 have to be correct in order to get the question right.

IMHO, the fastest way (apparently Deckard doesn't think so), given the question format you presented, is simply to generate a couple of numbers divisible by both 10 & 12 and test whether they are divisible by 24. By the time you break down the 3 numbers in your original question (10, 12, and 24) into their prime factors, I would have already moved onto the next question by figuring out that 60 (divisible by 10 & 12) is not divisible by 24. You should always be looking for the fastest, most efficient way to answer a GRE question. There is usually more than 1 way to find the right answer. The GRE quant section is as much a test of your ability to find the fastest method as it is a test of your knowledge of math theory. Therefore, I don't think breaking numbers down into prime factors is the most efficient way to test for divisibility. YMMV.

I don't think using prime factors is a good way to try to deduce divisibility. Let's reword your original question: "If y is divisible by 12 and 2, is y divisible by 24?" 12: 2, 2, 3 2: 2 24: 2, 2, 2, 3 Here you can see that, even though the sum of the prime factors of 12 & 2 equals the sum of the prime factors of 24, a number divisible by 12 and 2 (for example, the number 36) is not necessarily divisible by the number 24. A better approach, IMHO, is to plug & chug numbers and test their divisibility. And it's also faster to do so, which is always the best strategy on the GRE.

In my applications the only time I have seen that exception (assuming the school otherwise requires a GRE) is in the case of extensive professional experience, i.e. an applicant has been out of school for a number of years and has acquired an impressive portfolio of experience (one school that I'm applying to specifically mentioned something similar in their application materials).

I was in the 6 paragraph range - intro, 4 supporting ideas, and conclusion. I am a fast typer and was typing almost the whole time, after taking a couple of minutes at the beginning to lay out my outline on my scratch paper and allowing a couple of minutes at the end for a quick proofread & interjecting a few $100 vocab words. My ideas weren't very developed, I approached it more as a brainstoriming session - i.e. here are as many thoughts on that topic as I can come up with in 30 minutes. Think of it as a rough draft, get as much typed as possible while answering the question & sticking to the basic formula... Best of luck!

It wouldn't hurt to email another prof or two if you like that university's program, most schools assume (expect) that you'll be contacting more than 1 faculty member when determining your fit. From my experience, that is a pretty standard response from a prof. Funding seems to be pretty tight right now, and with the "fiscal cliff" there seems to be some uncertainty about future funding. I have received that same type of email response from quite a few profs in the last couple of months... Your best bet, IMHO, is to keep contacting profs until you find one (several) that are indeed planning to take on grad students and that are a good fit for you. Then focus your efforts on them - read their research papers, talk on the phone, go visit, etc...

Not sure why you think i'ts the other way around. Statistically speaking, looking at the admission statistics from top schools, they don't take too many with sub-par GRE scores, otherwise they couldn't maintain their averages of 160+V, 160+Q. OTOH, state schools admit lots of sub-par GRE's and their lower average GRE scores attest to that...

IMHO, your best advice for scoring a 5 is to write as much as possible. I think length is one of the main criteria (possibly subconscious) for the essay graders. And, of course, follow the basic essay formulas.

Make sure you take the free Poweprep computer test by ETS, it simulates the actual test conditions very well & will get you into test-taking mode.

I would try to meet with him in person if at all possible, perhaps during his open office hours. It is crucial that your thesis advisor write one of your LOR's, it will look suspicious if he doesn't...

If I remember correctly, you'll have to decide whether to submit your test-day scores before you see the results of your test... i.e. you won't be able to look at your new scores to see whether your Q is higher/verbal doesn't drop before deciding whether to submit them that day...

Looking at the award deadlines for this fellowship, it looks like a grad program accepts you without knowing how you came out with this fellowship? i.e. you'll accept an offer (including TA or RA) before you find out whether you receive the EPA fellowship? Some applications have asked which external funding sources I'm applying for, but why would it really matter on this EPA fellowship if the grad school has to make a decision earlier than the award funding is announced?

Mentioning a mediocre GRE score in your SOP will only sound like whining or making excuses. After all, you can re-take it as many times as you want...

I would personally just phrase it as having a good Spanish friend which helped you fully immerse in the culture, better learn the language, etc...

I wouldn't mention in SOP, I think it might backfire & come across as whining. For others reading this forum, this is yet another reason to take the test early (well before your deadlines) so that you can retake if necessary...

U Montana Environmental Studies grad program has some of this emphasis. Check out Professors Hassenein, Brown, Covitt, Saha, Spencer. And Missoula is one of the best small cities in the country, IMHO Feel free to PM me for more details about U of M Env Studies program...

Are you applying for MS or PhD? The questions are different, IMHO. Myself, I send them a blurb on my background and ask whether they are taking on any new PhD students for fall 2013. If they aren't then really no point in further communications with them at this stage of the game (although they might be a good candidate for your dissertation/thesis committee). Some profs don't reply. Some email back with a "yes, I'm taking on one new student in fall 2013, your background looks like a good fit and I encourage you to apply". Some profs have just left it at that, some have included some detailed questions about my research interests/experience, some said we should talk on the phone, some have encouraged me to visit campus. If they want to talk more I keep the conversation going and at that time try to see how interested they are in my dissertation topic, ask specific questions about the PhD program at their university, etc. This is where you're trying to screen them for potential fit as an advisor. If applying for a masters, their availability for new grad students is not so crucial, unless you're looking for full funding in exchange for an RA spot, in which case you need to verify that they are going to have an RA spot open (this usually more of an issue with PhD applications, many/most M.S. don't do funded RA's). That's just my opinion, YMMV. Best of luck!

Are you sending this reminder through the online application system (ApplyYourself is what most of my schools are using) or are you sending an email through your personal email? I was wondering if the ApplyYourself might be preferable as it presumably has a link to the eval included in the email?

How many fellowships are typically given out for each "Topic Title"? Trying to figure out just how competitive this Star Fellowship is and whether it's worth pursuing... Let's say, for example, for Topic Title "Chemical Safety for Sustainability: Pesticides and Toxic Substances," how many fellowships do you think would typically be awarded? And how many typical applicants for a given topic title? Thanks!