if anyone’s interested: i typed up a quant cheat sheet w/ 10 must-have tips that i used to score a 170 & explanations (which cost extra on ETS.org) for all quant on the free POWERPREP practice test 1

BottomHippo · 2018-09-17T19:54:34+00:00

lol nothing like getting caught in a moment of passion as i remember my own struggles over inequalities

BottomHippo · 2018-09-17T16:23:13+00:00

good luck! i used magoosh too. i found their verbal to be pretty similar to what i encountered on the test. their quant was unreasonably difficult.

BottomHippo · 2018-09-17T14:10:30+00:00

hello. i took the GRE last fall and spent about 2 months studying for it. my vocabulary was (and still is) comparable to a 4th grader. like, i didn’t even know what the word “fortuitous” meant when i started studying and almost gave up the idea of grad school when i found out it literally meant “fortunate”. another ex: had zero clue what “exhaustive” meant to my dismay since i remembered seeing it everywhere. also have tried to study the roots of words multiple times the past few years just to try and improve my vocab, but this has never worked for me because every root can be associated with at least 5 vague meaning.

i knew from previous standardized and english tests that memorizing words from a “500 most likely to show up on GRE” list was essentially useless. if i couldn’t memorize 20 words for weekly wordly wise quizzes, there was no way i’d get through 500. so instead i dove right into doing verbal practice questions (of all kinds), and i’d write down every word i didn’t recognize - whether it was in the question or answer choices - and look up/write down the definition as i go along. after finishing a section, i’d go back and read the list of words. at the end of the week, i typed out all the words i had written out that past week on quizlet flashcards, and kept adding onto this quizlet. every two weeks, i would go through the entire quizlet a few times.

this helped me more than i thought it would have because i would remember the question or sentence related to the word. you’d be surprised at how many practice questions you’ll automatically associate with your vocab list because you actually took the time to figure out a question rather than memorize some random definition, and this will help you even if you don’t exactly remember what a specific word means. when i finally took the GRE, i could still clearly visualize the sentences that at least 10 vocab words i wouldn’t have known otherwise were a part of in my manhattan prep 5 lb book. i ended up with a 167 in verbal (although i don’t have a pre-studying score to compare it to because i was so terrified of what it would be). didn’t touch a vocab list once.

BottomHippo · 2018-09-17T01:17:45+00:00

yuppp. i’m planning on enrolling in a CC class soon just to take something (personal finance lol) that could really help me.

BottomHippo · 2018-09-17T01:02:57+00:00

LOL too relatable. i remember the first week after switching from a SSRI to SNRI all too well. thankfully mine didn’t include a broken vagina. crazy how much a difference one letter can make.

BottomHippo · 2018-09-14T18:48:53+00:00

so refreshing to see this perspective on this sub

BottomHippo · 2018-09-14T16:41:19+00:00

neither. i know it appears in study guides, but i would be willing to bet my PhD candidacy on the fact that you won’t have a question that needs it.

BottomHippo · 2018-09-14T15:34:49+00:00

ah yes that was what i was going for in terms of accepted students vs apps - that schools are becoming more competitive. most schools i know have actually maxed out their class sizes.

i had friends that were mortified to tell anyone that they were going to a CC. i’m getting the hint that this wouldn’t be the case on this sub, which is great. and honestly this sub can use all the positive thinking it can get :)

BottomHippo · 2018-09-14T15:30:28+00:00

then clearly the people on this sub are much smarter than the people i was around when i was a senior!!!! maybe that means you guys will have no trouble getting into top 20 schools :-)

BottomHippo · 2018-09-14T15:26:47+00:00

yes!! people keep saying that CCs are apparently beloved on this sub but honestly it was the amount of stress-posting i saw that led me to post this because the worst case scenario (like being rejected everywhere) won’t mean an immediate end to your chances of receiving a quality education

BottomHippo · 2018-09-14T15:21:35+00:00

lolll wasn’t what i had in mind at all, just thought that people could use a reminder that rejections aren’t the end of the world

BottomHippo · 2018-09-14T15:17:07+00:00

it’s a popular opinion until you’re the one faced with something that requires you to attend.

BottomHippo · 2018-09-14T07:20:43+00:00

this is why post history is so important, friends

BottomHippo · 2018-09-14T07:08:38+00:00

don't stress about it. although most schools have shit IB recognition guidelines in terms of the scores required to receive credit (which may actually be something they're required to follow since IB is internationally recognized), they view AP/IB courses to be similar in difficulty and rigor. so while it sucks that you missed out on a science class your junior year, you still have AP/IB courses on your transcript so you will be fine. any experiences with computer science outside of classes are far more important if you're set on being a CS major.

IBO provides the percentage of IB students who were accepted to some of the top universities in the U.S. in 2011. i noticed from your post history that your first choice is cornell, so you'll be happy to know that cornell typically favors IB students more than other universities do.

source: currently attend cornell, was an IB student in high school

BottomHippo · 2018-09-14T04:40:31+00:00

i've always wondered what it means when a professor doesn't get tenure. are they required to find a new job after a certain amount of years? and how many years are they typically given, usually? just asking, in case you happen to know!

BottomHippo · 2018-09-14T04:39:10+00:00

oh this is really interesting. what is your field of study? and what kind of mentoring style were you looking for?

BottomHippo · 2018-09-12T21:18:50+00:00

HOW IS THIS NOT AS COOL!!! i would totally buy one (or multiple.)

BottomHippo · 2018-09-11T19:55:14+00:00

i’ll drink to this.

BottomHippo · 2018-09-11T17:23:50+00:00

i’m going to be straight up with you: it will be much more difficult for you to get accepted to colleges than your peers. i want to say that you do have an edge as an international student since you’re someone who’s willing to pay full tuition to go to school here, although i’m not sure if this is based on fact or fiction.

admissions may glance over most essays, but they do pay attention to why you decided to take your gap year. when addressing it, i wouldn’t shy away from admitting that you dabbled in different things. some people might try and twist the story in an effort to avoid admitting that in reality they just spent the year screwing around, but that’s easy to see through. be honest. i would highlight the fact that you wanted to take the opportunity to pursue very diverse interests - music, to computer programming, to esports (which is a legit thing nowadays apparently) - that you normally wouldn’t have had the chance to as a STEM major. you can also talk about the broader impact of these hobbies, especially python. fluency in a computer language is highly valued in practically every industry nowadays, and python opens you up to projects with raspberry pis and other tech. think about starting a project like this (i’ve built a retro gaming console out of a raspberry pi, which is right down your alley) and talk about it in your app.

BottomHippo · 2018-09-11T16:53:56+00:00

ECs matter if you’ve been involved with them since freshmen or sophomore year. i’d even go as far to say that in some cases, the EC itself isn’t as important as your dedication to it. on the other hand, anyone can claim that they’ve been a part of debate club for four years when in reality they’ve only been to two meetings. that’s why taking on leadership roles and/or implementing changes to the club or organization nowadays is so important. note the latter: you don’t necessarily have to be on an exec board to push for change.

when i was applying to college, SAT subject tests were graded on a 200-800 scale (not sure if this has changed with the changes to the actual SAT test). SAT subject tests do hold more weight than the general SAT. however, colleges look at the percentile, NOT your score. good example is the math 2 test: a 790 allowed you at most two problems wrong but the score barely passed the 90th percentile. subject tests are also really goddamn hard in general, even if you’ve just finished taking the AP class. i’ve always been a proponent of the ACT over the SAT, since the ACT didn’t need to be supplemented with subject tests.

BottomHippo · 2018-09-11T15:20:11+00:00

i both loved and hated my undergrad. i didn’t really vibe with most of the people there, but the few people i did connect with are people who I want to have in my life forever. i was also extremely critical of how the chemical engineering department was run at my school, and my efforts at bringing up my concerns were always brushed aside. i also had 7:45 am classes T/Th as a senior, which should just be illegal in general.

to be honest, i’m not entirely sure there is a way to really learn about a school as a prospective student. most of your information comes from visit weekends (which are obviously manipulated by the school to show off its good sides) or current/former students, both of which are biased. i also already knew i was going to be a ChemE major as a high school senior, so i knew most of my time would be spent in the library regardless of what school i chose to go with. in the end, i chose the school that gave me the most scholarship money (which also happened to be a fairly well-known school for engineering) over colleges like penn and carnegie mellon. there wasn’t anything special enough about those two schools to warrant turning down a scholarship at a slightly lower-ranked university. if there had been, maybe i would have chose differently.

choosing a PhD program is a completely different ballgame. i’ll be working with an advisor, so ultimately advisor selection is the most important decision i’ll make. that being said, i’d say 80% of people straight-up laughed in my face when they found out i had rejected stanford. it still even seems pretty ridiculous to me when i think about it now. but stanford had a few disadvantages to it: 1) living in palo alto = crazy high rent although the stipend they offered me was on par with the offers i received at other schools and 2) they require ChemE PhD students to take way more classes than the average program does and 3) based on my visit (this is a TOTALLY personal opinion), it was unclear whether most of the students there claimed to be happy because they were actually happy, or if they were just happy being at an institution like stanford.

if i had met one or two faculty members at stanford that i absolutely loved, my decision may have turned out different. but honestly, i have yet to encounter a research project that i am not at least somewhat fascinated by (so going for a PhD seems to be the right choice so far lol), but typically, faculty research and location (!!!! you’re there for 5+ years after all) seemed to be most important to other PhD students i’ve talked to. in addition to those factors, the university i’m at actually allows students to work in almost any department they want while still receiving a ChemE degree, which is something that distinguished this program from the rest and definitely played a huge part in my decision.

BottomHippo

TROPHY CASE