What's the min GRE score I need to get in order to have a chance getting into Top CS Phd programs?

[valeyard]

Hi guys,

I am currently a EECS ugrad student in Cal, I have good major gpa and great cs/ee gpa. However, I really suck at memorizing vocabularies and I only got 500 on SAT verbal and 550 on SAT writing, so English is not my strong point. I am worried if a bad GRE score will decrease my chances of getting into top cs grad programs. What is the minimum GRE score I need to get to have a chance for the Top CS Phd programs? 1200+? 1300+? Thanks in advance for your replies.

Best,

Edward

[fadeindreams]

At the university I work at it's 1100+ to even be considered; 1200+ to be at all competitive. I made nearly a 1300 on mine and I don't think it was too difficult. In fact, the only thing that brought me down was my ugly verbal score (AW was a 5.0, not bad). Shoot for the upper quartile with your percentiles. The raw score matters only insofar as whether or not they will consider you application. Percentile controls how competitive your application is within the applicant pool.

[OH YEAH]

Don't worry about the GRE... what matters is your research and what your SOP and recommendation letters have to say about your research.

Edit: In other words, use the time you would have spent for GRE cramming to work on your research instead!

Edited June 4, 2010 by OH YEAH

[valeyard]

Don't worry about the GRE... what matters is your research and what your SOP and recommendation letters have to say about your research.

Edit: In other words, use the time you would have spent for GRE cramming to work on your research instead!

Thanks for your reply, I am also wondering if 6 semesters of research experience and no paper in the field of my interest (by the time of applying) is considered good for an ugrad student applying for top cs programs?

[OH YEAH]

Thanks for your reply, I am also wondering if 6 semesters of research experience and no paper in the field of my interest (by the time of applying) is considered good for an ugrad student applying for top cs programs?

Hard to say. Were those 6 semesters spent fucking around? Did you make real contributions to the group? Did you just follow what everyone else was doing (or what you were told to do), or did you show initiative? Do your professors know and like you? Do your professors think you are an independent thinker, or just another drone in a lab?

Do you know what you want to do? Does your prior work give sufficient evidence that you are good enough to study whatever subject you picked at a top university?

Grad admissions aren't (totally) about numbers, there are a lot of human factors (and luck) that play into the equation. If you're a top research student at Cal (read--this isn't about you getting good grades in class), then you have a good shot at a top university.

I do have one suggestion--don't read thegradcafe, or testmagic, or any of these other stupid sites. They are timesinks, and not everyone has sound advice (it's up to you to decide if you think mine is or not). I spent a lot of time reading other people's applications, obsessing over other people's numbers, etc. I can safely say now that I've completed the application process that all the time I spent on these activities did not help my actual application. Work on your research, get to know your professors, draft up an SOP and definitely apply for fellowships like the NSF and Hertz. It doesn't matter if you get them or not, because all top universities will fund you, but the experience is valuable for getting you to clarify your thoughts and forcing you to write an extended SOP that you can condense for the real deal.

Good luck!

Edited June 5, 2010 by OH YEAH

[valeyard]

Hard to say. Were those 6 semesters spent fucking around? Did you make real contributions to the group? Did you just follow what everyone else was doing (or what you were told to do), or did you show initiative? Do your professors know and like you? Do your professors think you are an independent thinker, or just another drone in a lab?

Do you know what you want to do? Does your prior work give sufficient evidence that you are good enough to study whatever subject you picked at a top university?

Grad admissions aren't (totally) about numbers, there are a lot of human factors (and luck) that play into the equation. If you're a top research student at Cal (read--this isn't about you getting good grades in class), then you have a good shot at a top university.

I do have one suggestion--don't read thegradcafe, or testmagic, or any of these other stupid sites. They are timesinks, and not everyone has sound advice (it's up to you to decide if you think mine is or not). I spent a lot of time reading other people's applications, obsessing over other people's numbers, etc. I can safely say now that I've completed the application process that all the time I spent on these activities did not help my actual application. Work on your research, get to know your professors, draft up an SOP and definitely apply for fellowships like the NSF and Hertz. It doesn't matter if you get them or not, because all top universities will fund you, but the experience is valuable for getting you to clarify your thoughts and forcing you to write an extended SOP that you can condense for the real deal.

Good luck!

Thanks a lot for your advices. I definitely need to catch up on my researches since I have been just doing what I was told to do in the past 3 semesters. =S Well, I did learn a lot from these 3 semesters tho. I will work on another independent research advised by a different prof next semester, and hopefully I can enjoy the experience and work on something interesting myself without the guidance of a grad student.

I have 1 more question regarding doing research with 2 profs simultaneously, I will make sure I have enough time in my schedule to work on both of them, but I am not sure whether it will make a bad impression on both or either profs. Since these 2 profs are in the same field, they have a few joint publications, and some of their works have been focusing on the same issue but from different perspectives. I think it would be quite interesting to experience both sides to see the different approaches they take regarding the same issue.

Edited June 5, 2010 by valeyard

[timuralp]

I did 3 years of research on 4 of different projects, which really didn't affect my admissions chances, as far as I can tell. I ended up getting into a top 5 school, a few top 10 schools, and had plenty of choice. It actually helped, as far as I can tell, since I could get good letters from a few professors.

Anyway, about working on 2 projects simultaneously, one professor when asked said this: "You know what a futon is? It's neither a good couch nor a good a good bed. You know what an El Camino is? It's neither a good truck nor a good car. You know what a spork is?" That's where he stopped as everyone was laughing, but either way, it may not be a good idea and could be better to just focus on one thing.

[valeyard]

But if I just focus on one thing, I will never be able to have good LoR from other profs.

[OH YEAH]

But if I just focus on one thing, I will never be able to have good LoR from other profs.

Not all of your LoRs will be equal, because you will have grown as a student throughout your college experience. My first LoR writer could not have done as good of a job as my latter two, because I had matured greatly as a researcher for my last two research experiences. Concentrate on a good job, so you have something good to talk about in your SoP. One great project is better than two half-assed ones.

[valeyard]

so even if I only worked with 1 prof for 6 semesters, I still have a chance with 1 great LoR and 2 useless ones?

Thanks

[explorer-c]

so even if I only worked with 1 prof for 6 semesters, I still have a chance with 1 great LoR and 2 useless ones?

Thanks

Yes if that 1 prof would vouch for you and send a personal email/phone one of the professors in your target university.