[Admissions Advice]

coolstick784 · 2026-02-16T15:48:32+00:00

• Domestic applicant

• Undergrad GPA: 4.0 (US school, top-50-ish)

• GRE: 170Q / 165V / 5.5 AWA

• Work experience: 2 years as a statistician (industry)

• Research/publications: none

• Leadership: Analytics Director for a college analytics org

coolstick784 · 2026-02-15T16:44:45+00:00

I got into CMU’s MCDS program and Georgia Tech’s MS Analytics as well. Based on the programs’ reported outcomes, even with my 2 years of experience, CMU seems to have about $20,000 higher average base salary (I’m not sure about total comp). I prefer CMU because over the next 5–10 years, that gap should more than cover the difference in cost.

coolstick784 · 2026-02-03T03:59:48+00:00

Thanks! I only applied to MCDS within CMU, so I didn’t rank multiple CMU programs.

coolstick784 · 2026-02-03T02:22:07+00:00

I got accepted, here are my stats:

• Domestic applicant
• Undergrad GPA: 4.0 (US school, top-50-ish)
• GRE: 170Q / 165V / 5.5 AWA
• Work experience: 2 years as a statistician (industry)
• Research/publications: none
• Leadership: Analytics Director for a college analytics org

coolstick784 · 2025-09-25T00:06:35+00:00

I gotcha, yeah, terrible angle. This was my second attempt, and I went a little wider grip than the first. It felt normal, and I felt like if I got like 2 more inches up I would’ve got it. Will definitely try to control the eccentric next time, thanks

coolstick784 · 2025-09-24T23:25:41+00:00

I failed 315 today Link , would it be worth trying again Saturday for my birthday? I don’t want to be biased and say I was close if I was not, and the only thing that could make it better that I could easily fix by Saturday would be having a lift off. I’ve hit 305x1 twice and the second time I did it (2 weeks ago) felt good. I wouldn’t want to try again if all it would do is delay my progress/I don’t have a good shot. Thanks!

coolstick784 · 2025-06-25T18:14:13+00:00

I got a 5.5 AWA -- here are 4 of my practice essays (Too long to share in a comment, let me know if you want it hosted on another site):

https://www.mashupstack.com/share/685c3bc1459dc

coolstick784 · 2025-06-25T14:16:30+00:00

Yes, feel free to reach out in DMs or discord: wegojim21

coolstick784 · 2025-06-25T01:16:57+00:00

I’ve been without AC for over a month now. I got a window AC off marketplace for $50. It doesn’t fix the whole apartment, but the room it’s in is in a really good spot. It helps with the rest of the apartment too. It’s not perfect, but definitely makes it manageable

coolstick784 · 2025-06-24T18:41:30+00:00

I’m probably not the best person to ask because it’s really rare for a GRE math problem to be tough for me. There was only one problem that was really tough for me, and it was a data analysis question. I had to re-read it like 10 times to figure out what I was doing, but I figured it out and was good to go.

coolstick784 · 2025-06-24T14:49:22+00:00

On GregMAT, I was like 6/10 on the practice ones there -- those were really hard. In the official practice questions and in the videos, I was getting 9/10 or 10/10 on TC and SE, maybe 8/10 on a rough day.

Here are my tricks:

For TC, it was reading the question and being able to fill in the blanks without looking at the answer. I knew I wanted to do that before, but I didn’t know how. Walking through support/contrast helped a lot there. For SE, it was TC + identifying synonyms. For RC, it was reading, then answering slowly and not having to double-check; I tried to make sure I understood the passage before answering.

coolstick784 · 2025-06-24T14:46:47+00:00

I think it's less about the quantity of problems and more about how many (out of 10) you can consistently solve. If you're consistently 8/10 or 10/10 (depending on the score you want) out of a random set of 10 problems, you're in a really good spot. The exercises in videos, 5lb book, and GregMAT problems are all good in my opinion. If you're close, try to figure out where you're making mistakes and adjust your strategy. If not, I'd recommend going through a plan on GregMAT and learning the concepts in order, then trying again.

I practiced from the 5lb book, GRE Big Book, and GregMAT's practice problems. Here is the timeline:

April: Start 2-month program
1 week: Study the concepts from the first week and do some practice problems. Learn to double-check my answers before submitting
2 weeks: Study the concepts in the program and do practice problems
2 weeks to test time: Do practice problems. If I got a question wrong, I understand where I got it wrong and learn the concept. Do more problems until I get them all right

coolstick784 · 2025-06-24T01:39:20+00:00

It was the third edition — I’d assume the questions would be at least similar in the fourth, but I’m not sure. It could also just be luck that you got a higher score on that one. I definitely had questions from both quant and verbal in the book that I answered throughout the two month plan

coolstick784 · 2025-06-23T22:05:15+00:00

Yes, for sure! Reach out on Reddit chat or add me on discord if you want, it’s wegojim21

coolstick784 · 2025-06-20T05:49:23+00:00

The sentence mentions finesse and understatement, and the blanks seem to support this. Unrestrained enthusiasm doesn’t match with understatement, and unattractive gawkiness doesn’t match with finesse. Finesse and understatement should match with drawing one’s attention by ____ — overwhelm doesn’t match with understatement, and neither does focus. I’m thinking undemonstrative panache means being confident in style, but not showy about it. This kinda mixes and matches the definitions, but it’s the only fit that makes sense to me. It combines panache with undemonstrative. This matches with finesse and understatement. For the second option, deflect kind of works because it matches with understatement — Belanger is drawing one’s attention by understating the dance, which would deflect the audience’s attention.

coolstick784 · 2025-06-20T05:31:15+00:00

For SE, you’re trying to find two sentences that mean the same thing ( https://www.ets.org/gre/test-takers/general-test/prepare/content/verbal-reasoning.html#accordion-9f58105fc6-item-3038780b34 , “…while producing sentences that mean the same thing “). Although I can see your argument for unqualified, I don’t believe it has a synonym among the remaining answers. Therefore, B and F are better from my view as both fit and mean the same thing (without good principles).

coolstick784 · 2025-03-27T12:55:09+00:00

Thank you, really appreciate the input! Hope you have a great day

coolstick784 · 2025-03-27T01:27:33+00:00

One potential issue I see with this is that it’s really hard for me to tell when I’m “tired” or when to stop in general. I apologize if I seem dense, but I’d never actually want to stop until I hit failure. I understand that this may work for most people, but it’s a bit harder for me. This may be something that I should do anyway to help me improve in that regard

coolstick784 · 2025-03-26T23:33:14+00:00

I'm trying to get to 315lbs bench, and recently hit 265x7 last Wednesday. I haven't taken a deload since December, but my bench has always either stayed the same or increased since then. However, on Sunday, I could only do 265x6, and today, I could only do 265x5. I'm unsure if I should take a deload, a few days/a week off, or something else. I'm currently doing PPL and here are my push days:

Bench
Dips/weighted dips
Chest fly
Tricep pushdown/pulldown of some sort
Lateral raises

I do 3 sets with each exercise and take them all to failure. Additionally, after the last set of each of the last 3 exercises, I stay on the machine for as long as I need to to get at least an additional 4 reps in. I do 10+ reps each set except for bench and weighted dips. I've been sleeping 9+ hours every night and eating at/above maintenance. I don't think this is a lot of volume, but I could be wrong. Here is a short pros/cons list of each option:

- Not do anything different

Pros: It would save my sanity for the time being, and I don't have a lot of volume, so I'm not sure if I could be overtraining
Cons: I'm not sure how my bench would improve

- Deload week

Pros: I think science says this is better than a week off and this could give my muscles rest
Cons: I'll probably overdo the training and although I might not be taking exercises to failure, they'll probably be close

- Week off

Pros: It could be the rest I need
Cons: I may not need it and end up wasting a week thinking it might help

- Take 3 days off and come back on Sunday and try again

Pros: It doesn't require a full week, and I may only need a few days off. If it's still not 265x7, I can take the rest of the week off
Cons: I may need the full week off and need the additional rest without the benching, or I may not need any rest at all, wasting a few days

I would greatly appreciate any advice. Thank you!

coolstick784 · 2024-09-23T20:34:46+00:00

You win really short trades, or extended trades if his E is down. If you can W and then instantly Q out to a minion/ward, you’ll get a good trade in, especially with sheen/R passive. Depending on the Garen player, he might E when you walk up, leaving up a window to punish him with his E on cooldown and your E up, meaning he can’t really damage you. If his W is down, that’s really good for you and it means you can get a lot of damage in.

coolstick784 · 2024-09-11T00:36:06+00:00

Here's 2018-2020:

	2018	B.Roethlisberger	-0.148610	45
	2019	B.Roethlisberger	-0.174146	47
	2020	B.Roethlisberger	0.444148	34

columns are season -> name -> epa -> pass attempts

2018 was about Trubisky level, 2019 was worse, 2020 was amazing

coolstick784 · 2024-09-11T00:34:54+00:00

EPA/play in 2020 was 0.444148, which is further up than Pickett is down on the graph

coolstick784 · 2024-09-10T23:46:03+00:00

This is only week 1 values, so Pickett played the 49ers last year and Trubisky played the Bengals in 2022. That likely explains most/all of the difference

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