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Dragonfinity

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Everything posted by Dragonfinity

  1. I guess I'm talking about qualifying exams. We first have 2 written comprehensive exams: Algebra and Analysis. Then you choose an advisor and a field and prepare for you oral comprehensive. Then you write and defend your dissertation. Has anyone actually transferred for this reason?
  2. if you don't report your score to a top 10 university, they will assume the worst, prob even worse than you got. I know you won't want to hear this, but unless your app REALLY stands out from the rest of the world, less than 90% will kill your chances. Does anyone have an experience that contradicts me? I would love to hear such a story! C
  3. Ok, so maybe I am jumping the gun. I am a 1st year math ph.d. student, and I didn't pass my comps. I get 2 more tries, but I am worried. I have straight A's, and friends of mine who come to me for help have passed. I am not such a good test taker. Anyway, if I don't pass the comps at my present school, they said they will graduate me with a Master's and help me find a good job. However, I just want the ph.d., I could care less about the job (at least not until I have that degree). Some of my friends completed their master's before entering our ph.d. program, so they had 2 years on me (no wonder they passed the first time). Does anyone know if there are schools that will take a chance on a good student who couldn't pass his comps at a different school? Thanks. C
  4. Hey Psy, didn't realize it was you. Sorry. I agree with your point. It is "a" factor, but certainly the math score is more important.
  5. If what you know isn't as important, then why would you need to self-study it? :hmm: The question we should ALL be asking ourselves is WHY are we going to grad school. The self-study comment is right, but for the wrong reasons. Most of us want to be doing research, the ultimate self-study. What you learn in grad school will help you get there. WHAT you learn is the only thing that is important if you want to make a significant contribution in your field. If you just want a teaching job with tenure, WHO you know might be more important. In other words, are you an intellectual or a politician? C
  6. If you don't get at least a 780, you will have a hard time getting into any good math program. Claiming that you can't do it because you are careless isn't a good reason. In fact, the admissions committee would think even less of you if you told them that. If you know why you are scoring so low, fix it. A career in mathematics takes patience and careful precision. You shouldn't be making careless errors at the graduate level. The Q section is deliberately tricky, but it should be easy for you with those grades. You need to be more patient. Also, I disagree with the above comments about the verbal score. All else equal, a school will look at your verbal score. Maybe if the commenter from Oregon had gotten a 750, he would be at a higher choice. Anyway, just my 2 cents... C
  7. Okay, the course title seems misleading then. It sounds more like an applied math course in a variety of applications. In your shoes, I would take the course that gives me more useful knowledge. Try to think ahead beyond admission. Once in your doctoral program, you need to be well prepared for your course of study. And, as you know, there will be little, if any, hand holding at that level. I wouldn't worry about one more course with that prof if that is the only reason you are taking the course. If it is an easy A, are you learning anything that will be useful to you later? If you a truly exceptional student, you shouldn't merely be content with admission but should be looking at being sucessfuly in what you will be doing in your graduate study, as well as what you would like to do afterwards. C
  8. It sounds like you are interested in Economics? Is that correct? Brownian motion involves Physics, so I am not sure why you would want to take it. If you think a math class will strengthen your application, then take the real analysis course. Its not really as hard as you think. As for the prof, take the course if you think it will help your app, otherwise, it sounds like he already knows you well enough. C
  9. I am a lawyer (actually, I am technically retired, as I didn't want to pay bar dues since I am now going for my Ph.D. in math). While not a copyright attorney, the fact is that Testmagic is not the instrument by which it is being shared. The messages are people asking for it. I don't know, and I don't think you can prove, that anyone has actually sent it. There is no copyright violation where people are asking others to supposedly break the law. C
  10. The author is an idiot and a ripoff. And on top of that he is a stupid businessperson. You can go to his website, pay $40 for a VERY bad outline (which you download), and then request a refund if you are not satisfied. In all honesty, people should stop asking for it because it is a terrible tool to study by. If they can't get the princeton review book internationally, then study your math books. This is a bare-boned outline and not even worth the time to read, at least not if you want to do well enough on the exam to get into grad school in math. C
  11. GRE is only one factor. You could have a perfect GRE and still not gain admission to these schools. They are VERY selective, and admission seems to have almost a component of luck involved. Others may have better experience, more publications, better recommendations and statements of purpose, etc. They admit only a very small percentage of applicants (less than 10 percent, for sure, possibly much less), so they can afford to be picky. That means, if 2 applicants are equal on all but their GRE score, they'll take the guy with the better score. Also, I believe they look at the TOEFL scores for international applicants. Have you taken that yet? My best advice is to also consider other schools. It will be very hard to pull your verbal up that much, especially as I notice your written english above could be stronger. Schools 11 through 20 are not as incredibly hard to gain admission to, and they can be equally good programs. C
  12. If I am not mistaken, they are just an on-campus group/organization. The team name is the Yellow Jackets (hence the Bee). Check out http://ramblinwreck.collegesports.com/, official athletic site of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. C
  13. Let r = radius of circle, then each side of the square will be 2r because it is inscribed. Hence, Area of circle (white part) = pi*(r^2) Area of square = (2r)^2 = 4*(r^2) Area of Blue part = Area of square - Area of circle = 4*(r^2) - pi*(r^2) = (4 - pi)*(r^2) Ratio of Blue part to whole square = [(4 - pi)*(r^2)]/[4*(r^2)] = (4 - pi)/4
  14. BAB cannot be chosen twice. In this problem, B is chosen for the first and the second consonant. Look at it this way. Choose B as the first consonant, then you have 21 choices for the second. B is only one of them. Then, choose C as the first consonant, again, you have 21 choices for the second (C is only one of them). Keep going through all 21 consonants. So, you have 21*5*21. You are overthinking this. It is a really easy problem. C
  15. Repeated consonants are allowed. There are 21 choices for the first letter, 5 choices for the second, and 21 for the third. Your answer assumes all the letters are different. C
  16. I doubt Top 50 schools require 165. In fact, I know they don't. University of Georgia's average class last year had a 163. They are around 25 to 30, I believe. Top 10 will definitely require that score, and maybe even Top 20 nowadays. In my day (10 years ago), 165 would easily get you into a Top 20 school. Anyway, clearing 160 is always a good idea if you have your eye set on a very good school. Still, there are many good schools that you can get into with high 150's. Shoot for a minimum of 155 is you want to be assured admission somewhere, otherwise you may be scraping the bottom of the barrel. C
  17. When you accept an offer, you are signing a contract. Even if you give a verbal acceptance, it is still a binding contract. Thus, when you later "decline," you are committing a breach of that contract. The university can pursue legal remedies against you if they wish, including an injunction against another school from allowing you to enroll in their program. I have no idea whether this happens, but it is a risk you face. C
  18. I don't know if this is an appropriate thread or not, but I thought it might be interesting to see how many of us will be attending here, their degree, and department, research interest (if any yet). I'll start: Ph.D. Mathematics (prob. algebra/topology). C
  19. Couldn't tell you about what to read as I am not in your field, but it is always a good idea to contact the prof and see what, if anything, he might want from you. Remember, the prof had to work very hard to get his grant money, and it is VERY important to his career. At least politically, you will help yourself if you ask. C
  20. For ANY value of x, 2x is fixed (and thus bounded). Since 1/(n+1) -> 0 as n-> infinity and 2x is bounded, 2x/(n+1) -> 0 as n -> infinity. C
  21. Is Stanford that much better? I thought Tech was #5 in engineering. I have always been told that a general rule about grad school is that if they don't pay you, you shouldn't go there ('cause you are second rate to them). C
  22. I agree. I bombed my math subject GRE, but then I started writing the adcom and telling them what happened, why I thought it happened, and why it shouldn't matter. Then, I asked them if they would interview me so that I could demonstrate my committment and abilities. I don't know if that is the reason, but they eventually did interview me and offered me a position. Grad school is very hard to get into nowadays. Instead of focusing on the schools you are NOT going to, remember that you are one of the top new people in your field. Only a VERY small handful of people get into grad school. When I started out, Georgia Tech was my safety school. To make a long story short, the subject test changed all that, and I had to accept that Tech would be a good admit, despite having nearly straight A's in math classes at Yale and Columbia, including some graduate courses. Still, I realize that there are 100+ schools below mine with students going for their Ph.D., so I have to be happy that I am still at a Group I school. Your profile is strong. Do the master's, do it well, and then you'll probably have a good shot at a top 10 school, or at least not much below. C
  23. Hey Psy, I have to do a minor in another department at Tech. I hate applied math, which is why I wanted to go to Tech. I was once told that Michael Artin (Emil's son, and the author of the famous "Algebra" book) deliberately went to MIT so that he had to confront his dislike of applied math. Anyway, it is a good idea. Since you are a physicist, how tough will Quantum Mechanics be (I do have the yearlong calc-based physics course, albeit it wasn't a particularly rigorous course)? My only other alternative is to take computer law and policy classes in the Comp Sci dept (which should be easy 'cause I'm a lawyer, but will be far less useful in my career as a mathematician). Although I've said it before, congrats on your admit. Oregon is a good math school, and once you have the MS, you can apply to stronger schools for your Ph.D. BTW, I didn't realize you were Israeli. Isn't that a US Territory? LOL I still think you would be held to a higher standard. Case in point, you got a 87% and had trouble with your admissions. I got into a similarly ranked school as you with a 57%. As I said though, your academic background is very strong. You should move up when you apply for a Ph.D. Maybe you'll get better reccs now that you are in a math dept. May I ask why you are not going for a Physics Ph.D? C
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