I am a bit confused

[bunburygirl]

Hello! I'm new to this forum and I'm not very sure what exactly will help me get into a good grad school.
I had CS as my main honours subject in my BS program. I actually want to combine it with neuro-science or bioscience to get a more interdisciplinary line. I studied quite a lot of biology in high school.

1.Will taking the CS subject test increase my chances of getting such an opportunity?

2.How should I go about it? Will taking part in any research program help?

[CalmLogic]

I actually want to combine it with neuro-science or bioscience to get a more interdisciplinary line.

Some professional and research fields that come to mind: Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Scientific Computing & Visualization, AI

As far as increasing your chances, each program and even each professor on the graduate committee is different in how they weigh things. At least for some programs, your safest bet is to do published research that matches the interests of at least one person on the current faculty.

At almost any CS department, getting a good score on the GRECS will boost your application and getting an impressive score of 800 or above can really help a lot. The program is that it's tough for most people to get an impressive score, and so their time may have been better spent doing research. Unlike the general GRE, the people taking the GRECS are a very small, select group of people, which makes it difficult for some CS majors to even get a 50th percentile, depending on the intensity and breadth of their CS background. So, if you haven't already, I suggest you look at the ETS practice booklet to gauge the difficulty. (The GRECS exam can also help compensate for lacking some prerequisite CS courses.)

[bunburygirl]

Hey thanks...
Do you have any idea what all is required if I want to research on topics like dyscalculia and dyslexia? What branch of science will I have to take up then?
Can it be combined with computer science?

Though it probably seems like a lame question...what is the highest one can get in a CSGRE exam?

[CalmLogic]

You can look in the ETS practice booklet for an idea of possible scores. For a more realistic perspective of score distribution, read the posts in the following thread, e.g.: http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-compu...t513709-7.html

An impressive score for an MS applicant may be a scaled score of 800 or above, depending on factors like the rank of the university one is applying to. For a non-CS major or for someone with a less than stellar GPA in computer science, one only needs a good score (rather than an impressive 800+) to get a boost.

For researching something like dyslexia, there are obviously the basics: psychology and neuroscience, linguistics, and education (instruction design, etc.). You may know more than me since I haven't studied dyslexia or dyscalculia. In computer science, some correlates to the above mentioned fields:

psychology: human-computer interaction (usability, multiple interfaces like speech recognition and eye tracking), AI, etc.

education (instruction design): human-computer interaction (HCI)

neuroscience: AI (neural networks, machine learning, computer vision, etc.)

linguistics: natural language processing (computational linguistics)

(BTW, the GRE Psychology Subject Test is super easy compared to the GRECS. This is just to say the GRECS exam is very hard. And a person with a psychology degree may be better at HCI than someone with a CS degree.)

[bunburygirl]

Oops...it seems such a combined field of so many mainstream subjects.

Actually I am probably a dyscalculic...so its a subject close to my heart. I found this out pretty recently...since then I've been trying to rope it in with my BS computer science skills. I really want to help other dyscalculics so that they get a better chance at living their lives.

I checked out the psychology booklet for subject GRE. Would it be too wild if I appeared for two subject GREs? I am just speculating because with subject GRE you have the added advantage of suppressing your scores if they turn out rotten. I am actually thinking in terms of preparation- whether or not it will be too much to handle.
Also wondering what the help it would be in getting into US colleges. What course will offer such a varied range?

I got a 1390 in my general GRE and am currently completing my computer science degree in St. Xavier's College. I am working on a college project on steganography. Will any of this information increase my chances of getting into a good US college? Any suggestions on how to improve my CV?

[CalmLogic]

I am just speculating because with subject GRE you have the added advantage of suppressing your scores if they turn out rotten

Right. If you don't select any score recipients prior to taking the exam, you can keep it a secret or later decide to pay $15 (or whatever it is) per school to report the scores with your General GRE scores. (The GRE General scores and Subject scores can be reported together for no reporting additional charge.)

. Would it be too wild if I appeared for two subject GREs? I am just speculating because with subject GRE you have the added advantage of suppressing your scores if they turn out rotten.

Well, even if you were interested in HCI, AI or another filed that related psychology to CS, taking 2 subject exams could still be a problem if you score poorly on the GRECS (which is not uncommon). This is because all of the previous Subject Tests you will have taken for the last 5 years will be reported together. In other words, if you want to report your Psychology score but didn't do well on the GRECS, both scores would have to be reported unless you only report your General GRE scores.

Any suggestions on how to improve my CV?

Ask your undergraduate CS advisor about ways you can work with professors on research projects.

Actually I am probably a dyscalculic...

That's hard to imagine given your GRE score

[bunburygirl]

Well not really...given the fact I have to colour code all my text books and have a very bad short term memory!!!! I guess I fared better because the test was computerized and not much chance of turning a 54 into a 45.

Thanks a lot for your help. I will give research work a try.
Hopefully something will work out.
I'll come back with a fresh batch of questions as soon as possible.