GradStudies

[markostankovich]

Hi,

I'd like to ask you a question regarding grad studies in the US. I attended one of your Wednesday afternoon sessions about a month ago. You gave us a lot to think about and a lot of work to do exploring different options on the internet. Having seen various universities' web sites I am a lot better acquainted with what they offer. Now I need to know what to do next. These are my data:

I'm a fourth-year student of English at the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade. I'd like to continue my studies in the field of political science. My GPA at the moment is 8.5. I could probably muster enough money to pay the tuition for the first year myself, although I don't know if that's such a good idea( maybe I could get some financial aid). Also, I want to enroll in the fall of 2008.

What do you suggest I should do(and in what order-I have already explored many web sites)? And what kind of universities should I aim for?

[elz]

Well first of all, you should realize how your GPA is viewed.  First of all, the evaluation of your grades is probably going to be a bit different that what you think.  To the uninitiated, student results in Serbia can appear to be dismal when compared with students in the USA that hold stellar 4.0's.  However, the grades are evaluated in terms of how difficult the program of study is.  Thus, as you begin to deepen your self assessment, you need to look around you and determine if you are in the top 5 or 10% of your class in terms of grades.  This more or less can help you begin to understand where your grades fall on the spectrum of graduate school applicants.  Now from this point onward, you want to head fast and furiously toward every 10.00 that you can get.  

The next step is to begin to prepare for the GRE.  You will be assessed by any poli-sci department in terms of your linguistic foundation.  They will look for that as means of bringing really strong diversity to the department.  You need to really show them a very strong verbal and written component from the GRE.  You need to begin to "workout" every day on this.

What other languages do you speak?  I would also recommend that you take a very in depth look at the University of Oklahoma where they have a strong graduate program that is more or less the history department and the poli-sci department combined.  It is a great program.  

You can also consider Brandeis.  They have a wonderful program on coexistance and conflict resolution.  

During this time you should be doing the following:

1)  Self assessment, including starting a journal to trace your intellectual development and personal growth

2)  GRE preparation steps

3)  In depth research of at least 20 programs

You time target should be that you have GRE scores in hand by September/October 2007.  Also a list of 10-20 programs with bios of the professors and program overviews.  The reason for this is because we want you ready to initiate contact with the departments by September/October.  It is helpful if you have GRE scores to present to your correspondents in the department - this way they can tell you if you need to retake the exam.  Also if you have the stellar scores that we are hoping for, it will get their attention when you write.  

One mistake that can be here is that students want to have this contact with the department before they do anything.  In other other words, there is a tendency to expect the department to encourage and say..oh yes, please apply and then go take the GRE, and so on.  However, I think having GRE scores and in depth knowledge of the department program creates the kind of energy around your correspondence that makes the department sit up and take notice.  Otherwise you can come off as just another shopper, samo  gledam, hvala....but when you have already taken steps on your own...well it is the equivalent of "flashing your cash ".  You are committed, prepared, and ready.

I  hope this helps.  It sounds like you are very focused and working quite hard.  Already you seem to be on your toward becoming a good graduate school candidate.  You could also be ready for Kokallis when it rolls around next year.  The real key is to get yourself in position, so that you are ready to roll with whatever offers come your way.

[markostankovich]

Ok, that does help a lot. So, the key thing is the GRE. Where and when can I take it next year? How do I prepare for it? Are there any courses available in Belgrade? What books should I use? Mind you, I have a lot of friends interested in the very same things.

[elz]

Well Marko, we have the preparationm courses for GRE here at the Center.  Now about the GRE....the first problem is that the exam is going to change and the new exam is scheduled to roll out October 2007.  The  only problem that you need to foresee is that implementing an entirely new exam around the world is pretty complex undertaking.  Thus, I would not set my sites on an all new exam for October 2007.  For example, when the new TOEFL iBT was introduced, the change was gradual.  If I recall correctly, the new exam was first tested in the United States, then for one year or so, it was introduced in two countries, France and Germany I believe.  Then it was introduced into other countries on a set time schedule.  

However, the exam is not going to change drastically.  The analogies will go off the exam and the antonyms section will also vanish. There will be more reading passages instead.  Thus, the new exam will still draw hard on vocabulary but it will be more in context.  As far as the Math goes, there will be less geometry, but more reasoning and word problems.  There will still be sentence completions and the essays.  

We are recommending that students be prepared to take either exam if they are testing sometime on or after October 2007.  Of course as time marches on, we will have a better picture of the exam.  The good news is that we will most likely be a testing center for GRE, just as we are authorized to administer the TOEFL iBT.  

So first of all, you need to seriously determine about university deadlines for admission.  Your GRE preparation should have you tested with scores reported prior to application dates.  Also be very careful if you are looking for a financial aid package because often those requirements need to be met prior to the admission deadlines for sending in your application.  

It is important to bear in mind that each school has its own system of admissions.  The earlier you begin the research, the better organized you will be.  One thing that often puzzles students here is the need to comply to the deadlines and regulations.  These systems are often quite complex and it is not a good idea to attempt to bend these regulations and deadlines in order to customize the entire admissions system to meet the needs of one student  ;-) Although I have seen some people quite determined to do so, ha ha.

Another important thing that we recommend is to begin to create a sort of intellectual journal about yourself and your academic experiences.  This will come in very hand when you  begin to contact professors or write your personal statement.  

As we say during the graduate advising, the personal statement can be a strong factor in determining who gets the money, so you want to begin to think about this matter in depth.  We also offer personal statement seminars to assist with this or we have books that can be used in the Center for reference.  

The important thing for now is that you begin to develop a strategy.  Also start to research various departments and decide which schools have departments that seem to be working on areas that are of interest to you.

I hope that this helps somewhat.  If you are interested in GRE courses, we will be starting a new course after the holidays and you can call our office (334 5227) and ask to be put on the waitlist.  When we start the courses, we can call you to let you know that we are starting new courses and you can decide if you wish to sign up or wait for another round. Because of your background in English Language, it might be good for you to take the GRE course as soon as you can, then you can continue to build on that foundation by reading a great deal.  One of the most important factors in the course is that it changes the way you read and think.  It teaches you some other skills so that each time you read a work of literature or an academic journal, you approach the text in the same way that you approach a GRE text.  In other words, almost everything that you read in English becomes a GRE practice exercise.  

I hope this helps.  

Happy Holidays,

Elz

[markostankovich]

Ok, here's the deal:

I dropped in the other day and spoke to one of your employees at the office and she showed me (and my friend) what the GRE looks like, we saw some examples, found out that it would be changed in the fall, how to apply for it and also for TOEFL, etc. Milica (that's my friend) and I are interested in taking the GRE in the fall (September, October at the latest). We would like to know whether we will be able to take the test in Belgrade. If not, maybe the right option would be to go to Zagreb? And another thing, can we count on the test being set up in September or October? We want to take the TOEFL in June, and use the upcoming months for further Internet research so we could have a clear picture of universities by May, when we think is the right time to enroll on your GRE preparation course.

What do you think of all this? We feel that, given this speed, we could be ready to start communicating with the universities we have chosen by the end of October. I guess we will not have to wait long for the test results. Not more than a couple of weeks, anyway. Please do point out if we are mistaken in any respect, that would mean the world to us right now!!!

[elz]

Ok, here's the deal:

I dropped in the other day and spoke to one of your employees at the office and she showed me (and my friend) what the GRE looks like, we saw some examples, found out that it would be changed in the fall, how to apply for it and also for TOEFL, etc. Milica (that's my friend) and I are interested in taking the GRE in the fall (September, October at the latest). We would like to know whether we will be able to take the test in Belgrade. If not, maybe the right option would be to go to Zagreb? And another thing, can we count on the test being set up in September or October? We want to take the TOEFL in June, and use the upcoming months for further Internet research so we could have a clear picture of universities by May, when we think is the right time to enroll on your GRE preparation course.

What do you think of all this? We feel that, given this speed, we could be ready to start communicating with the universities we have chosen by the end of October. I guess we will not have to wait long for the test results. Not more than a couple of weeks, anyway. Please do point out if we are mistaken in any respect, that would mean the world to us right now!!!

Dear Marko,

First about the GRE changes. A new GRE exam will be introduced in the Fall. Let me provide you with some background on what the introduction of a new exam looks like. Generally this is done in increments. For example, the first new style exams are introduced in the USA and often Canada. Then there will be a couple of international sites where the exam is administered. (I think it was France and Germany with the iBT). So these changes are generally gradual and certainly nothing to plan strategy around, rather this is something to keep an eye on.

In general, the test preparation courses are more rigorous than the research process. In other words, you should begin the test preparation process as soon as possible. Also you cannot always count on the formation of a test prep group during the months of June, July, and August. I think that you would find that Serbian students who are studying in the USA give a great deal more priority to the GRE early on. The students that we met during the winter holidays have already begun to create a foundation for their GRE studies. GRE is the hardest of all the exams in the admissions process. For example, after test prep seminars in iBT, SAT, and GMAT the majority of international students are ready to go out and take the exams...however, with the GRE, after the preparation seminar, students are ready to do a couple more months of self preparation. The exam is truly a challenge for international students and for social sciences students need to have a really strong performance in the "verbal areas". (Depending on where students apply...one of our students that was accepted into Yale,had very impressive math scores as well as verbal) For the "others" (math, engineering, science folk) a respectable showing is important.

As far as setting priorities, most graduate school time lines recommend that the GRE exam be prepared for and taken prior to starting the final year of undergraduate studies. Bear in mind that these are timelines for students already studying in the USA. This is first on the "summer before final year" timeline. Second on the list is to begin to plan key parts of the personal statement, and last on the summer before list, is to decide on programs.

I think that part of the reason that students here try to work "backwards" or in reverse is because of going to an unknown place. However, the exams are the hardest part...a good score will not get you in, but a dismal score can certainly keep you out. And it can really separate you from the money.

Now the TOEFL in June...actually the sooner that the TOEFL is taken and removed the list of things to do, the better. If you can do well on the TOEFL and your English indicates that you most likely could, I would say take the TOEFL as soon as possible and get it off of your back. One less thing to worry about and after you get the scores, you can mention it to any program heads during your correspondence. For example, "I have an iBT score of 115" pretty much states that you can handle a teaching assistantship.

TOEFL is such a tiny piece of the picture for grad school.

I hope this helps you with your priorities.

Best,

Elz

Now the GRE is basically undergoing the same type of changes that the SAT underwent. The analogies are going on and the antonym section will be removed. These same sections were removed from the SAT, but the sentence completions remain and students are still struggling with the vocabulary.