AGRE 770, Please evaluate my list

[MDK]

GRE score arrived and added above, Q:790 , V :340 , A:3.0 .briefly : sucks
Now , any comments ?

[CalmLogic]

Someone with a 320 verbal who got admission at GA Tech:

http://www.urch.com/forums/admission...tml#post287617 (Admitted at GeorgiaTech -- Computer Science PhD)

The case above had a higher AWA score but was a PhD admission. Also, the guy had a couple publications.

Do you have any writing samples you can send? Like a report from your best project?

MSU gives similar advice:

Samples of published papers or course project reports (optional). Ph.D. applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a non-returnable sample of their technical papers (in English).

MSU Department of Computer Science Graduate Program

Originally Posted by MDK

Michigan State University // They ask for V 550 , I think i'll be out of the competition

I didn't see that at their website. Do you have a link?

[MDK]

I couldn't find it :S. but I am sure that I read it in the summer when I was digging about MSU.
They must have updated their website recently; the design of the requirements page also changed . I am glad that they removed that cut off.
BTW , they added another constraint regarding the TOEFL , they want ibt scores , not the pbt unless there is an extreme difficulty.

BTW , my best project is the one that I am currently working on , it involves research.

I guess the reason behind my bad scores was ETS , since they scheduled the GRE , Subject GRE and TOEFL in the same month. and I had no choice but to take them since we don't have computer based exams here.

[CalmLogic]

A former poster has this advice:

As far as the verbal is concerned, dont worry about it, ok!!!. Two reasons. Firstly you are not a native speaker and that goes into your favor. Secondly you belong to the ultra cool CS club (hehe all my non-cs friends are fed up of me singing hymns of CS all the time). You are not applying for something like Psychology or English literature where your language skills are held important. If I were in the the admissions committee, I'd be more concerned about your research skills, classroom performance, sop (1150: V350 Q800), aims, goals, aspirations, recommendations etc. Think about it .

I have many examples where people with low verbal have gone into the top programs in cs. My senior year project partner (during undergrad) is currently doing his PhD in Computer Architecture from University of Illinois at Urbana (ranked among the top 5 in cs) with a Q: 800 and a V: 420.

The point being is that there is absolutely no need to be disheartened or anything. I am sure you could have done very well in verbal, and I have no doubts about that. But I am equally confident in your abilities to write up a superb statement of purpose. If you haven't given TOEFL, give it with your best shot. It will help you make up for the verbal. Also I believe you are gifted with a very nice understanding of using and communicating in English. Ask your recommenders to mention that aspect in your recommendations.

http://www.urch.com/forums/just-fini...html#post25681 (1150: V350 Q800)

[CalmLogic]

An archive of MSU's website from July 2006:

For the new GRE, the total of Verbal and Quantitative scores should be at least 1360, and the Analytical Writing score should be at least 4.5.

http://web.archive.org/web/200601122.../how2apply.htm

For more:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.cse.msu.edu

I would consider sending an e-mail to their graduate admissions specialist/advisor/coordinator and see if they have really changed their tune. On the other hand, they don't expect most students to have taken the GRECS. To get a 770 on the GRECS, verbal skills are definitely required.

[MDK]

CalmLogic, thanks a ton for the wonderful site you guided me to .
I got some news that cheered me up after the verbal disaster

For the Masters program, the average scores of recent successful applicants to this program have been: GRE: 639 verbal, 781 quantitative. 5.2 analytical. TOEFL: 654 paper/280 computer version. CS Subject Test (AGRE): 757. The average undergraduate GPA has been 3.68 (on a 4.0 scale).

http://web.archive.org/web/200609011...dmissions.html

This was the admission statistics for for fall 2006 at university of Texas. Now I am believing in my GRECS score more than anytime before. Since accepted graduates for 2006 have taken the subject GRE in 2005 , and as CalmLogic mentioned in other topic that this year exam is harder than the 2005.

BTW, I think this is great news since it shows that, apparently, a lower formula score is required than in 2005. In other words, the 2007 exam is more difficult than the 2005 exam. So my theory was wrong about the 2005 exam being a good indicator
http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-compu...tml#post519304 (post AGRE)