Jump to content

TheFez

Members
  • Posts

    170
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

Everything posted by TheFez

  1. "The field I'm in isn't known for being gay friendly and I came into grad school not sure what to expect." I must be so naive... seems like most any field today is receptive to gay people. I mean it's not like you are studying t be a plumber, right? I say - go for it. Screw 'em if they don 't like it.
  2. No - that's reason is not a good reason. They may feel like any time you don't like something you will not put forth the effort. I cannot say that there is a hard GPA "cutoff" at any school let alone at 50 different schools. But generally 3.0 is considered the bare minimum. I am not sure if you are considering a PhD program or Masters program and that makes a difference as well.
  3. Retaking the GRE won't help much as your quant score is good enough and your verbal while low, would not otherwise keep you out - but improving it is not likely to move the needle much. Your GRE scores are not the problem -- your low GPA is. And that may be tough to explain away. A 2.9 is going to create some concern.
  4. I am not sure that coming from a professor, the reasons you give for a low GPA will sound very credible. Unless the professor has personally observed your "bad choices", or if one of your poor grades were in his class (and there were a good reason that your grade does not reflect your true ability) then it seems a little odd for a professor to address this. It's probably something you should deal with in your SOP if the grades are so poor as to warrant being addressed at all.
  5. LOL... These GRE discussions attract some goofy discussions. OF COURSE what matters are percentiles - since you are trying to find the best candidates. AND OF COURSE percentiles are directly related to the numeric score - that's why ETS has been struggling to fine tune the percentiles associated with different scores. In fact the old 800 point system as revised, in part, to provide more granularity to the high end. And people should quit bitching about the GRE. It's a reality. And it's actually a useful tools since without some standardized test of some sort you cannot compare "apples to apples". But a score is just another expression of a percentile. Most people who complain about the GRE are not those with high GRE scores. And - what many students don't want to face is that a good GRE score can be achieved with some effort AND THAT is part of what the score reflects to a smart Ad Comm. A student who doesn't have top ability and doesn't practice or study for the GRE will not do well. But even a limited ability student who applies themselves can score in the 80+ percentile. SO the GRE is a signal of how well a student prepares.
  6. I think a major problem when comparing practice to actual test scores is that people (like The Fez) tend to freeze up a little on test day - i.e., Test Anxiety.
  7. One concern is that an ad comm may not be able to distinguish between a lack of motivation and a lack of academic ability. I don't think you should be a "non-degree seeking student" - go back and get a second degree in a related discipline (e.g. Finance) My logic is a two-fold: 1. A CS degree with a 2.2 is not going to get you in anywhere. Fortunately is only tangentially related to your new field of interest. That's the "reset" - get a new degree with high grades in all your courses. Better yet at your old school where the difference will be stark. 2. If you want to show seriousness - then you need to get serious and focus on a goal. I mean what kind of curriculum are you going to construct for yourself with courses designed to "bolster your GPA"? 3. If you don't get into a grad program even with a second degree - at least you will have one marketable degree. Question : It's been 5 years since you graduated. What have you been doing? Why the interest in a new field? The one thing many people will tell you is that grad school requires much more motivation (and ability) than undergrad. It's also going to be pretty costly. Are you sure this is really something you have a passion for?
  8. Maybe their web sites, or the department secretary can tell you their office hours. Then you can always pick up the phone and CALL. 2-hours isn't that far if you know they will be in when you get there. Good LORs are important and worth putting the (early) effort into.
  9. This time last year I was planning what I would be doing a year from now.
  10. Just what I don't need in my 1st year of a PhD program.... dames.
  11. The Top 10 Reasons Why I want a PhD: 1. So I can play doctor with girls. 2. I have this cool frame that a diploma would fit perfectly in. 3. I have 5 years on my hands with nothing else to do. 4. I like getting student discounts at the movies and on magazine subscriptions. 5. I am addicted to the Grad Cafe and it would be weird to lurk here without being a grad student. 6. I spent $160 on the stupid GRE exam - so I am pretty committed financially. 7. I really wanted to be a post-doc but they told me I need to be a doc first. 8. I look really good in a six-cornered cap. 9. I thought a P.H.D. stood for a Pizza Hut Driver 10. I did it for the health insurance.
  12. These days most schools prefer, and some schools mandate, electronic submission of letters. In the case of hard-copy letters, it is more customary for the Professor to mail the letter directly to the school - but it's not uncommon for them to give them to the student in a sealed envelope, signed across the flap. This is the way I did it to better manage the process - since I read too many horror stories about missing LORs. But make sure you fill out and sign the waiver form that is common with hard copy letters. Sections of those forms are for the professors to fill out and sign as well, and then include with their letter.
  13. I disagree with the previous posters logic and conclusion. The GRE is a percentile test and you should be able to achieve a similar or better score with the new GRE. I don't think it's "harder" and even if it were you are graded on a percentile basis. Obviously your quant score is perfect. So the best you can do is the same - with the risk of dropping a bit (but it's not likely as an 800Q student you would blow it). The verbal portion has changed a bit. Some feel it's "easier" because there is supposedly less emphasis on vocabulary. Though I found the two versions very similar (I had a 165 verbal - so pretty high). It's your AW score that's low --- and you could improve with some preparation. But for Operations Management, I am not sure a low AW score would really hurt you - though 3.5 is pretty poor. You might want to do some homework and asking at programs what they think about the AW score and minimums/cutoffs. If anything, I think the revised GRE is easier for some reasons... For math - there is a calculator. I like that that because I tend to calculate stuff too much, I am slow at it, and I make dumb mistakes. You can mark a tough question and come back to it. For me - when I start to feel stuck on a question, I begin to panic, and this detracts from getting it done. My time suffers. The skip ahead and back feature fixes this. Finally - I think ETS has now announced Score Select service which allows you to send whichever set of test results you want to schools, (or all of them). So there is no downside except the fee, your study time and taking the exam to trying again and eliminating the risk of a marginal verbal s core and low AW score on your top quant score. I say Do It.
  14. Two things about improving reading comp: 1. Increase your reading speed and comprehension. Reading faster gives you more time for analysis. Reading speed can be improved through practice. Reading complex material on a daily basis. 2. Improve your analytical skills. Why are you picking wrong answers? What's faulty in your analysis? For this you may benefit from some 3rd party practice materials with explanations. I have been a Magoosh fan for Math, and can't vouch for their verbal program - but their explanations are usually excellent at training you to think like the test takers. You need to understand why your choice is not the best choice and develop a methodology. (Unlike math - many of the choices in verbal questions are not completely "wrong" they are just not the "best" answer ... so a detailed explanation of why choices are not the best may help get you in the groove.
  15. Who knows? Probably not. But if you are asked for a reason I would come up with a better explanation than "I was bored".
  16. How about... "It's been a while since we talked. I hope your summer is going well. I am looking forward to the Fall semester. Is there anything I should be doing in the interim to get a head start? "
  17. I don't think the Manhattan math is particularly hard - but I have posted that I think the ETS practice tests are a bit too easy.
  18. Honestly, most Ad Comms are not going to want a portfolio of your work, especially a collection of awesome ideas. They are certainly not going to want source code. They want your transcripts, GRE scores, LORs, SOP ... and then maybe one or two writing samples. If you have won awards, been published, spoken at conferences - then they will want to know that. If you want to point them to more -- then maybe posting them on a web site is a good idea. Nobody is going to find them under some obscure URL like www.dardiesawsomeideas.com If you are invited on an interview - then bring some stuff along just in case the right opportunity comes up. Yes, creativity is important, but so are grades, scores, recommendations.
  19. Borders did not go out of business because people share/steal books any more than carbon paper companies went out of business because people steal documents. Amazon is taking over Seattle as internet book sales are doing great thank you. Last year their e-books outsold printed books as well: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/technology/20amazon.html I know the OP wasn't discussing books, but predatory pricing by college textbook publishers has become so onerous that congress is investigating: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/consumerawareness/a/gaobookcosts.htm One of the consequences of a monopoly - and textbooks is one of the worst cases since it's a "required" good - is a black market. The internet facilitated the sale of used textbooks, so the textbook makers respond by jacking up prices and crating new editions almost every year. What is a student expected to do. I just bought a used math text for $200 online. That's outrageous.
  20. Mr. Taylor, A few comments: 1. Your B and C grades won't be looked upon "sympathetically" as there's little sympathy among ad comms. A "C" in business Calc could spook them - unless, as you say, you do well in your math courses from here on out - then it will likely be discounted. 2. You also want a good GRE-quant score. Depending on the program, somewhere upwards of the 80th or 90th percentile - and up. There's a lot of 170Qs applying. 3. Why are you "lingering"? I also took more courses (than my masters in econ), I took more math, and did research. That was probably a plus. It also gave me good LORs - which are important. If you linger - make it count.
  21. After I got my masters I was asked to teach some classes at my old school. I was talking to one of my ex-profs and I called him "Dr." (as I always have). He said "Fez, you don't need to call me Dr. anymore, you can call me Bill". I told him I couldn't do that. It just didn't feel right. He said "okay, after you get your doctorate then you can call me Bill". and I said -- "After I get my doctorate you can call me Dr." Seriously, I call any professor by the title "Dr." or "Professor" unless it becomes abundantly clear its inappropriate. I am personal friends with some professors and go out socially - so I call them by their first names (though not when others are around, especially students.) There's no "maybe" about it - the relationship is a subordinate one. It's also a matter of respect and tradition. Tradition is not necessarily = antiquated. One gut check is to listen the way one professor refers to his colleagues to students. I always hear them say "Go ask Dr. so and so" or "check with Professor XYZ".... and they are peers. So that is sending the clear signal.
  22. A few thoughts come to mind. First, the value of a poster at "some obscure" club or "a modest departmental award" has almost Zero marginal value. It's pretty clear what Ad Comms place value on because you have to get photographed, fingerprinted and sign sworn affidavits (i.e. GRE/GMAT/LSAT scores), or it needs to come directly from the source in a sealed signed envelope (Transcripts), or emailed to them from three different people (LORs). So that's where 95% of their decision comes from anyway,right? That might leave a small area to influence a decision with other "fluffy" stuff. But then: 1. For most people, the marginal benefit of lying isn't worth the marginal cost. The small-world principle of 6-degrees of separation makes doing this very risky for most people. (Imagine the consequences of that made-up "modest departmental award" being accidentally discovered. Yikes - try getting an LOR from your UG professors when they hear about that.) 2. Those that aren't scared by that thought may be the weak applicants who get declined anyway. It seems reasonable that a person who would be "desperate" enough to lie on their grad application has struggled with coursework and school already. So cheating most likely happens by those who don't benefit from it anyway.
  23. I have had to restrain myself from going bonkers. I have received so little communication so far. The I get emails about a departmental retreat - but it's scheduled right during Grad Student Orientations. Most of my class schedules are still TBA - so I don't know what my week will look like. But I think this is par for the course(s) with PhD programs... left-hand/right-hand coordination problems.
  24. LOL.... how in the world could we answer this question? I can tell you that a 140/143 is around 10th to 18th percentile. So if you are smarter than 20% of the other people you win. On the other hand - I don't know many programs where 140 is the requirement. 150 is certainly not "crushing it" as it's around the 43-44 percentile. For my programs in econ you need a 162+ Quant just to be a serious candidate at a good program. Many applicants have nearly perfect 170s. Here's a chart that might be helpful (though ETS is always updating this as they tweak the new test). http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/concordance_information.pdf
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use