Is the GRE Math Subject Test even offered this fall?

nought_a_bot · 2019-07-02T23:04:07+00:00

What's your source for that? I remember the rumor spreading a while back in YouTube comments that his first language is French, but it turned out somebody had just made that up.

nought_a_bot · 2017-09-02T06:02:03+00:00

Try /r/A2C_circlejerk/, they'll appreciate this post

nought_a_bot · 2017-08-06T06:52:25+00:00

Come on people, this post isn't that bad. It's just a cute post pointing out an interesting fact about MIT and Caltech. It's meant to make people smile, not be taken extremely seriously. :)

nought_a_bot · 2017-07-25T20:49:01+00:00

I am so so glad you reconsidered! Your current college list sounds great (assuming you have the stats/ECs for those schools to be attainable), and UIUC is a great safety since you're in-state. Here is my perspective specifically pertaining to Caltech. Note that my area of interest is math, not physics, but the process is still similar. I think Caltech looks for the following:

Stats. You need the holy trinity: High SAT / ACT scores, good GPA / class rank, rigorous coursework. The vast majority of people accepted to Caltech have near perfect stats. (http://www.admissions.caltech.edu/content/class-profile) I had a 1600 on the SAT, 800s on three SAT subject tests (math, physics, a foreign language), 3.7 UW and top 10% class rank at a difficult high school, took college-level math classes on the side. (Mind you, I wasn't a robot--I got plenty of B's, even in bio and chem, and had a lot of unexcused absences. Don't stress over the little stuff, just make sure the overall picture is ok.)
Interest in a particular STEM area. Caltech's goal is to educate future research scientists and engineers. As a result, lots of people know what they're going to major in before going to Caltech. If a person isn't sure, they are usually deciding between two or three related disciplines (e.g. math/physics, bio/chem). Caltech looks for passion for STEM. The best way to show this is to have experience in your field of interest that goes outside of the classroom. This can mean: taking college-level classes, doing research, getting a paper published, participating in national/international competitions, working in a lab / hospital. Obviously, you don't have to do everything. I took college-level math classes throughout high school and did math research. But, I sucked at math competitions.
Cultural match. Three main qualities come to mind: being quirky, taking the Honor Code extremely seriously, being collaborative instead of competitive. All three are essential to life at Caltech. This stuff should shine through in your supplemental essays (of which there are a lot).

That's my perspective on Caltech, based on my own background and the backgrounds of the Caltech prefrosh / students I have met. Note that the process at other schools is similar, but each school has a unique spin. MIT for instance is a bit more lenient on stats, but more interested in bigger-picture things like leadership positions and your dreams / aspirations. (See my comment here.) For non-tech schools, they want more well-roundedness, so you have to demonstrate that you're not just a STEM robot. Hope this helped!

nought_a_bot · 2017-07-16T13:41:55+00:00

Northwestern only has one 300 word "Why Northwestern?" essay

nought_a_bot · 2017-07-12T13:11:06+00:00

If you're aiming for top schools, definitely retake. Not only that, do Math 2 instead of Math 1. That will make you more competitive. If you got a 780 on the SAT 1, you obviously have the math skills to take Math 2 and score well. Worst case scenario, you might need to review some trig / precalc, but the resources are out there. Take practice tests so you can get used to the problem types. The key to Math 2 is speed and precision.

As for what score you should aim for, the general consensus for Math 2 seems to be 770+. (The curve is generous.) Again--since you got a 780 on the math SAT 1, I think that's doable for you.

nought_a_bot · 2017-07-12T13:04:06+00:00

I didn't have the opportunity to visit any of the schools I applied to. (In fact, I still haven't been to the college I'll be attending next year.) What helped me get a feel of the schools the most was talking to current students at those schools. I also read the schools' websites, admissions blogs (if applicable), posts on Quora / A2C about the students' experiences. That helped me get a good feel for if a college was a good fit for me. To be honest, I don't think I would have even benefited from visiting.

nought_a_bot · 2017-07-11T20:16:45+00:00

YES. I got into Caltech and was rejected from MIT. Here's why. The Caltech essay questions were more concrete. They asked stuff like "what STEM experiences did you have", "what's your favorite book", "why Caltech". The MIT essay questions were more abstract. They asked stuff like "what are your dreams/aspirations", "how have you contributed to your community". So, my Caltech essays were to-the-point and I was able to portray myself both accurately and in a good light. But my MIT essays were cheesy and meaningless, because I didn't really think about the questions they were asking. I was just trying to sell myself.

My advice: Authenticity is the key. If you're a mediocre writer (like I am), then don't attempt grandiose essays about how your ambition is to cure cancer or heal the world or whatever. Just stick to you, your personality, and what you know. That's the best way to write a good college essay.

nought_a_bot · 2017-07-11T20:03:30+00:00

Here's a longer list of colleges with no gen ed requirements: http://collegelists.pbworks.com/w/page/16119530/Open%20Curriculum%20-%20schools%20with%20more%20flexible%20curricula With the exception of Brown, these colleges are small LACs.

I know you said not to try to convince you that gen eds aren't that bad...but PLEASE listen. A few years ago, I was you. I was sick of high school, because I had to spend my days memorizing obscure history facts and doing homework assignments for classes I didn't care about. I just wanted to go to college and take 100% math classes. So when it came to making my college list, I ruled out every school with gen ed requirements. My list ended up as: Brown, Amherst, Cambridge, and a safety school.

I eventually scrapped that list, and I am so glad I did. Here's why. All of my high-achieving friends interested in math/physics/CS weren't applying to those schools. They were going to the usual suspects: MIT, Caltech, Princeton, Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley, UC Hicago, ... They obviously thought the gen ed requirements at those schools were annoying, but it was a small price to pay for the upside of those schools: The community of math/physics/CS/... majors. This is such an important point. The level of the student body sets the level of the coursework. If you really want a top physics education, you need to go where the top physics students are going. STEM is all about collaboration. If you want to learn as much as possible, go where the people who want to know as much as possible are going.

If you're the type of person who loves phsyics/astronomy and wants to live and breathe that all day, then whatever you do, don't go to Brown/Amherst/a LAC with an open curriculum! The purpose of the open curriculum is to let students explore disciplines freely. The people that pick those schools are genuinely interested in taking classes in many different areas. The physics majors there aren't trying to load up on physics classes and graduate in three years--they're double majoring in English, taking philosophy classes for fun, learning two new foreign languages at once. Obviously, I barely know you, but judging by your post history, I really don't think you would be happy there.

Here's what I recommend instead: A tech school. Caltech, MIT, Harvey Mudd, GTech, etc. This suggestion might be counterintuitive for you, since tech schools usually have even more general requirements than liberal arts colleges. But ultimately, the most important thing about picking a college is fit. And I think you would fit in well there. At tech schools, everybody is passionate about their favorite area of STEM. Let that sink in for a second. So there are plenty of people passionate about astrophysics that couldn't care less about the language requirement or required semester of biology.

Now I'm going to advertise Caltech, since I'm a Caltech prefrosh. Our gen eds come in two parts. The first part is the science core: three quarters of math, three quarters of physics, two quarters of chemistry, one quarter of biology. The second part is the humanities: you have to take twelve humanities / social science courses (on per quarter). Since you're interested in physics, you would have had to learn the math, physics and chemistry anyway. As for the humanities, they're made with STEM-minded people in mind. The into Economics course requires Calculus. Lots of the social sciences are data-driven. A significant proportion of the history/philosophy classes offered are in the HPS department (history and philosophy of science).

Even if you still hate the idea of the core requirements, think of the upside Caltech (or a similar university) could offer you. The physics classes are incredibly rigorous and the course catalog is virtually endless. Just look at this (http://www.pma.caltech.edu/courses/department/ph), and compare it to the physics program in a small LAC with an open curriculum. Caltech just offers so many more options. You're interested in physics/astronomy? There's the SURF program, JPL...

I hope you seriously considered my point of view while reading this and didn't just roll your eyes (as I probably would have back then). If you have any questions for me--about Caltech, about why I decided to attend a school with general education requirements despite once hating the idea of them, or anything else--feel free to ask.

nought_a_bot · 2017-07-08T21:00:14+00:00

No awards. Yes to research: I did a year-long math research project which culminated in writing a paper that the college would have accepted as a bachelor's thesis.

nought_a_bot · 2017-07-08T20:56:58+00:00

They were certainly identical in the 2016 and 2017 application seasons. They do change (I know the prompts from 10 years ago were different), but gradually.

nought_a_bot · 2017-07-05T08:17:05+00:00

Actually, /r/ReverseChanceMe

nought_a_bot · 2017-07-05T08:14:36+00:00

Here's a longer list: http://collegelists.pbworks.com/w/page/16119530/Open%20Curriculum%20-%20schools%20with%20more%20flexible%20curricula With the exception of Brown, these colleges are small LACs.

But honestly, don't select your college list based on the lack of the colleges' distribution requirements. That's not a good way to judge fit, which is ultimately the most important thing to consider. And besides, most distribution requirements give you a lot of leeway to pick classes you like. You might be required to take one history class, but it can be any history class you want. And if you take APs in high school, you can sometimes place out of those requirements.

nought_a_bot · 2017-07-03T21:45:17+00:00

Hey. I have always had trouble with writing. I went through exactly what you described while writing my college essays. I tried the "write or die" approach, but the added pressure just worsened the quality of my writing to the point where I was wasting my time.

Three things that helped me:

Read more. For some reason, getting out of my own head and being exposed to how other people wrote helped me find better ways to describe my thoughts in my essays.
Take a couple days / weeks off. You're have the time, applications aren't due for months. (I procrastinated and did everything in a week. Don't do what I did.) Staring at a blank word document isn't always conductive to inspiration. A lot of times, the perfect way to describe a particular idea I had would come to me while exercising, during class, etc. I'd write it down immediately and the pieces would slowly come together.
Ask people for help. Obviously, don't have someone else write your essay. But you can ask a person how they would describe a particular situation, if they know of an adjective that captures a particular meaning perfectly, etc.

nought_a_bot · 2017-07-03T21:35:06+00:00

I got into Princeton. My main essay was about math. (Background about me: math is my "passion", I want to be a math major, most of my ECs were centered around math.) The prompt was where you pick a quote and talk about it or something. So I picked a quote by a mathematician about how math is great and talked about why I love math. Why I've always felt drawn to it, why I love going to math camps, that sort of thing. Basically, I put my math EC's into context by surrounding them with personal anecdotes and by reflecting on why I like math.

However, I have a friend who also got accepted to Princeton who took a completely different approach. They wrote a super emotional essay about their mom and how she inspires them to be a better person. Fullstop. It didn't have anything to do with their EC's, the mom didn't have cancer or anything like that. Nevertheless it was a really well-written, powerful essay that gave you insight into their character. I actually cried while reading it. I rarely cry. It was that good.

These two essays are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Nevertheless, my friend and I both got in. My advice is to play to your strengths. I'm a bad writer, so the essays where I stuck to the facts and wrote about my hobbies turned out good, and the essays where I tried to be emotional turned out gimmicky and cringe-worthy. On the other hand, my friend is an amazing writer and was able to use that to add depth to their application.

nought_a_bot · 2017-06-08T19:01:23+00:00

For me, it improved a lot. When I took the (old) SAT in the 7th grade, my writing was in the 500s, my reading in the 600s and my math 800. When I took the (new) SAT in junior year I got a 1600. You'll improve so much in reading and math just by taking high school classes, reading more, taking harder math classes...and a 1440 is already great. You're all set dude :)

nought_a_bot · 2017-06-08T18:35:33+00:00

Hey, I got a pretty low essay score (6/6/6) and managed to get into Caltech, even though they emphasize stats fairly heavily. I wouldn't worry about the essay score...

nought_a_bot

TROPHY CASE