Grad school, help, please!

[swimmermom3]

I swear it was just last week that you all were helping me with Sailor Dude's Common Application and sharing the joy as acceptances came in and the great decision was made.

However, the fact that Sailor Dude is now officially a senior, tells me I have lost track of time. He is still enthralled with foreign policy and national security and continues to thrive in D.C. He has a few months home with us before leaving in July for a semester abroad in Chile. Because he will be out of the country until December, he needs to take his GRE before he leaves in July in order to meed the application deadline of January 15, 2019 for Fall 2019.

How much time will he need to study for the GRE? He did well on his second ACT and has taken several AP and SAT Subject exams, but he tends to be slow without some speed drilling.

Sailor Dude has a scholarship and a grant, but those go away when he becomes a grad student. What options are there for funding? I realize that is probably an institution-specific question.

What else do we need to know. Ds is fairly good at doing his own legwork, but I still am involved because things have been more complicated and compressed with graduating in three years.

Thank you!

[Hoggirl]

Idk anything about the GRE, but ds just sat for the GMAT on Friday. He bought a prep book and did a practice test cold to see where he was starting from. He’s a pretty good test-taker and was motivated to be “one and done.” I think he just approached it the same way we did for the ACT/SAT. Just took timed practice tests and went over what he missed. Identified weak areas and focused on those. That sort of thing. I wasn’t involved  

Is your ds wanting to do a more professional or academic route with his graduate studies? I think there are two different paths depending on the answer.  Is he wanting to carry on at his same school for grad school? Sounds like he is. And just continue on? I’m not sure about funding under those circumstances. 

[Myra]

Check out if the college grad school that he is interested in requires the GRE.

My son's grad school told him that the GRE is required, but that they just have to check it off that he took it - they didn't even look at the scores at all.  The grad school recommended that he just take it without studying!

 

 

 

[Caia]

My daughter took it without really studying. She was very busy during the time she needed to take it to meet an early admittance deadline. So she decided to take them and would retake at a later date if she needed to. I believe she spent a few hours studying/looking over the format of the test on a couple of weekends prior to the test date. She ended up scoring very well and didn’t need to retake it. It helped get her a grad school scholarship for being in the top 2 by their ranking system.

Her undergrad gpa was very high, but she is not normally a great timed test taker. She mentioned that she could have used more time on the essay.  

The school she wanted to attend had minimum gre scores listed on their school website. They also had stats showing what the average gpa’s and gre scores were of previous admitted classes. She compared what she received to those listed and decided she was happy with her chances. Maybe the school(s) he is interested in have something like that on their webpages?

[Corraleno]

Is he just planning to continue where he is now, or is he going to be applying to a number of different schools? Grad school applications are very different from undergrad because you are basically applying to work with specific professors. So, if he hasn't already done so, he should be identifying (and contacting) profs who share his interests, and who are doing research in areas he wants to pursue, at the school(s) he intends to apply to. His Statement of Purpose (SOP) for each school should be individually targeted to the specific department and specific profs (POI: Person of Interest) he wants to work with. He needs to know whether each POI is actually going to be there in Fall 2019 (not on sabbatical, doing fieldwork, a visiting professor somewhere else, etc), is accepting new PhD students, has continued funding in the area(s) of research the Dude wants to work in, etc. Also try to find out from the department what funding opportunities are available, especially to first year grad students (Fellowship/Research Assistantship/Teaching Assistantship/other kind of stipend? Do those include full or partial tuition or an OOS tuition waiver? Do TA/RA-ships include health insurance? etc)

Have you checked out the GradCafe forums? Tons of useful info there. E.g., there is an excellent example of an introductory letter to a POI at the bottom of this thread. There is also lots of good advice in various threads about writing SOPs, getting good LORs, etc.

[8filltheheart]

What field is he wanting to pursue? Some programs have subject specific gre tests in addition to the regular gre. (Physics does, so ds had to take both. I think grad schools were more interested in his physics score than the regular gre score.)

Also, depending on the field and/or the dept, grad school may be fully funded. Every program ds applied to was fully funded. Some had additional fellowships. For example, UNC has something called the Royster Fellowship. That Fellowship offers additional grant money on top of the typical full tuition, health insurance, $xx,xxx stipend. https://gradschool.unc.edu/funding/gradschool/royster/funding.html Ds was also offered different fellowships that reduced his TA hrs, some 1/2 time, some 1/4 time.

One thing ds learned as he interviewed various depts is that there is great variation in how students go about actually earning their grad degree.  The exams required,thesis defense, etc are not standardized from dept to dept.  

In addition to taking the GRE before he leaves, he needs to make sure he has his recommenders lined up. His LOR are going to matter way more for grad school apps than UG. Also be prepared for how much apps cost.  I think ds applied to 8 grad programs and he said he spent way more than a $1000. I can't remember anymore what he said, but for some reason I am thinking is was more like $1600, but I may be wrong.

Spring semester was consumed with traveling to the different schools open houses and meeting with the depts.  unlike Janet's suggestion, ds had not contacted depts before he applied. I don't know the ins and outs of that decision. I just know that he didn't. His first contact with depts was after his acceptances.

i agree with checking out grad cafe. 

[Gwen in VA]

My kids took the GRE cold with no studying. One thing -- do make sure your student knows about the timing. Writing a 60-minute essay in 30 minutes because you thought the essay was only 1/2 hour long does tend to lower the writing score! (Ask my son how I know this!)

[Hoggirl]

I hope OP comes back and clarifies what her ds’s plans are.  She has certainly received good advice here for academia, but I do think the path may be different if her ds is looking to a terminal (Master’s) degree in foreign policy/national security.

Does he plan to take the Foreign Service exam?  Has he gone through any security clearance screenings? I have a friend who works in this area.  He began with a terminal Master’s degree from an elite school, but deviated from that trajectory when he married someone whose personality did not fit that lifestyle. My understanding through talking with him is that there really are two separate paths.

http://fletcher.tufts.edu/Academic/Degree-Programs

This page talks about various degree programs.  There is a comparison chart at the bottom. 

[plansrme]

Have you been on Grad School Cafe?  Tons of information there, including admissions threads for different programs and lots of information on funding.

[swimmermom3]

On 5/14/2018 at 11:30 AM, Myra said:

Check out if the college grad school that he is interested in requires the GRE.

My son's grad school told him that the GRE is required, but that they just have to check it off that he took it - they didn't even look at the scores at all.  The grad school recommended that he just take it without studying!

 

 

 

One of the three schools he is looking at listed the GRE as "optional," but GRE scores are in part what determines some scholarships.

[JanetC]

During the time that he's building his school list, he should be talking to the departments about what sort of funding is typically available for grad students. (If he has a good scholarship and grant, and his grad school won't be free, maybe don't graduate early if he hasn't outgrown all the opportunities where he is?)

[mumto2]

We just did the GRE general exam with both of mine.  They didn’t study but Dd looked over a current Princeton review and shared her findings.  One practice exam and one of both types of essays in a half hour for prep.  Just got the essay scores and they did great!  ?.  

Btw, it was two essays a half hour for each on the general exam so one hour for the essay portion.

Eta...he will be able to leave the exam center with his scores for the computerized portions which meant that he can always prep a bit more and retake if needed.  

Edited May 25, 2018 by mumto2

[MtnTeaching]

Hi Swimmermom3,

I have not been around the forum for awhile.  It is nice to see a familiar name.  Fun to hear that Sailor Dude is heading to Chile.  Skywalker is home for the summer, then heading to France for a semester.  Our gentlemen have grown so fast.  Best of luck to Sailor Dude on his grad school quest.

MtnTeaching

[swimmermom3]

On 5/14/2018 at 11:22 AM, Hoggirl said:

Idk anything about the GRE, but ds just sat for the GMAT on Friday. He bought a prep book and did a practice test cold to see where he was starting from. He’s a pretty good test-taker and was motivated to be “one and done.” I think he just approached it the same way we did for the ACT/SAT. Just took timed practice tests and went over what he missed. Identified weak areas and focused on those. That sort of thing. I wasn’t involved  

Is your ds wanting to do a more professional or academic route with his graduate studies? I think there are two different paths depending on the answer.  Is he wanting to carry on at his same school for grad school? Sounds like he is. And just continue on? I’m not sure about funding under those circumstances. 

Hi Cynthia,

Sailor Dude did pretty much what your son did for his sitting of the GRE. He wanted a "one and done," but as usual he is sitting on the "border." I don't think he should have any issues with acceptance at his school or its direct competitor. They are both ranked in the top ten in the country for foreign policy. However, it's possible with more review on the math end, he could be in the running for his top choice - I think. Which to me is somewhat terrifying. I think he would be happy at any of the schools.

Right now, his path is more professional as he feels like he is ready to work; however, I can see him down the road quite possibly in academia.

[swimmermom3]

On 5/14/2018 at 11:30 AM, Myra said:

Check out if the college grad school that he is interested in requires the GRE.

My son's grad school told him that the GRE is required, but that they just have to check it off that he took it - they didn't even look at the scores at all.  The grad school recommended that he just take it without studying!

 

 

 

ETA: Please don't quote where his GPA is. Will remove later. Thanks.

If I have read everything correctly, he will need GRE scores for all three schools. Strong scores will help as his GPA falls slightly short. His first year he averaged 3.25. This year he earned a 3.5 the first semester and a 3.8 (Dean's list) the second semester. So that shows that he is getting the hang of college and isn't struggling with 300+ level classes, right?

Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I cannot imagine this child doing what he loves, in a place that he loves, without all the help we received on this board. 

[swimmermom3]

On 5/14/2018 at 6:43 PM, Caia said:

My daughter took it without really studying. She was very busy during the time she needed to take it to meet an early admittance deadline. So she decided to take them and would retake at a later date if she needed to. I believe she spent a few hours studying/looking over the format of the test on a couple of weekends prior to the test date. She ended up scoring very well and didn’t need to retake it. It helped get her a grad school scholarship for being in the top 2 by their ranking system.

Her undergrad gpa was very high, but she is not normally a great timed test taker. She mentioned that she could have used more time on the essay.  

The school she wanted to attend had minimum gre scores listed on their school website. They also had stats showing what the average gpa’s and gre scores were of previous admitted classes. She compared what she received to those listed and decided she was happy with her chances. Maybe the school(s) he is interested in have something like that on their webpages?

With some digging, I did find numbers. Not all of them are for the current year, so I am keeping in mind that they could be more competitive.

American University: V=160, Q=153 (current school)

School B: V=158, Q=154 (scores are a bit older)

School C : V=162, Q=158 (Top 5 schools average: V=159-163, Q=154-158)

Please do not quote the following: Ds: V=162, Q=154

Ds thinks with more review, he can increase the math. I don't really know enough about GRE scores to know if that would be worth merit aid and increased likelihood of admissions.

 

[Hoggirl]

Are those ranges 25th-75th percentiles?

[swimmermom3]

1 hour ago, Hoggirl said:

Are those ranges 25th-75th percentiles?

 

Argh! Good question. Just saw that they were the "average" score for those accepted to the programs. So I think this would mean he should put some significant effort into that last sitting for the GRE?  He said that he didn't see anything that was new on the exam, outside of vocabulary. He's a little word about the writing portion. He was one of the bunch of high schoolers on the board here that took the ACT with its new writing portion. I think it was a flop for most of the students. Hopefully, the statement of purpose will have more sway.

[mumto2]

Fwiw,  my dc's both said the quantitative section had roughly the same scope as th e ACT had which surprised them.  They are both doing maths............

[swimmermom3]

1 hour ago, mumto2 said:

Fwiw,  my dc's both said the quantitative section had roughly the same scope as th e ACT had which surprised them.  They are both doing maths............

Thank you! That confirms how my son felt. He figures substantial math review should help bring up that score.

[obsidian]

Quant is weird and it's more tricky word problems than actual content. It was all Algebra I and Geometry + some data analysis / graph reading type stuff. Definitely no trig and no Algebra II that I noticed. Did he use the free practice tests offered by ETS? Those were accurate within 2pts of each section for me.

[swimmermom3]

3 minutes ago, obsidian said:

Quant is weird and it's more tricky word problems than actual content. It was all Algebra I and Geometry + some data analysis / graph reading type stuff. Definitely no trig and no Algebra II that I noticed. Did he use the free practice tests offered by ETS? Those were accurate within 2pts of each section for me.

He did use the free practice tests and I went ahead and bought ETS's practice books. His one practice test matched his actual test score almost perfectly.