again PGRE...

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betelgeuse1
Posts: 116
Joined: Sat May 09, 2009 10:14 am

again PGRE...

Post by betelgeuse1 » Sat May 09, 2009 10:55 am

Hi there
Well, I am an international student, and I mean it. I have a master in france, some grad-courses in germany and very very good undergraduate scores from a practically unknown university in eastern europe. I also worked in research but mostly in fields not related to what I really want : HEP-TH-Cosmo. Still, I know more about this field than many people that are working in it... (QCD, my first love... although a left her for string theory...)There is almost no possibility to do this at a good level in my country so I applied for some univ. in the USA. My score was not so good (little above 700) but I was accepted into a graduate program at a technical university. I got some good grades here (essentially A's some with + some with -) but I decided to take the PGRE again and to change school. I really want to have my PhD in the USA. Well, I guess I like the educational system here more than any other. Professors generally make the material seam so simple and clear, completely opposite to what I saw in other places where profs try very hard to make things as uncomprehensible as possible. My question (finally getting at it :D ) : what are the chances to improve my PGRE score (let's say with 200 pts)? ETS says this is unusual but for the first test I learned only 40 days or so and now I'll have 5 months. How bad will it be to have 2 scores in the report (let's say a 720 and a 920)? Are the top 20 univ. going to avoid me because of that? I'll have two recoms from USA and one from france. I can take other recoms and strong ones too but related to research in all sort of other fields except HEP-TH. I have no chance to do any new research for the next year, at least not in HEP-TH... :( :? and of course I'm mocked by my family and friends back home for my "passion" for HEP-TH, when I could have done so many other things for $$$ :|
By the way, an unpleasant question: are there really different cut-off scores for domestic and international students?! Am I naive by asking this question?! :?:

Mataka
Posts: 160
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:05 am

Re: again PGRE...

Post by Mataka » Sat May 09, 2009 1:19 pm

There is no official cut-off, but international are usually expect to do better than Americans. On the other hand this is mostly true for Chinese and Indian students, which does not seem to be your case.

It is of course possible to improve your PGRE, look at the profiles you will see that quite a few people improved their PGRE. 5 months to study the PGRE is way too much, I think, but if you feel that much time can make a difference then go ahead.

I strongly recommend you to do research, even if it's not in HEP-TH. You should try to do research in theory, even if it's not high energy physics, and if it's still not possible than do research in experiment (try high energy experiment if you can). And look at the profiles of the site, you will see that what you need to get in HEP-TH in top US schools is a good PGRE and good research experience...

betelgeuse1
Posts: 116
Joined: Sat May 09, 2009 10:14 am

Re: again PGRE...

Post by betelgeuse1 » Sat May 09, 2009 2:01 pm

Thanks for the reply. Ok, I feel horrible about my last PGRE :oops: How long does it usually take to prepare for the PGRE?

Mataka
Posts: 160
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:05 am

Re: again PGRE...

Post by Mataka » Sat May 09, 2009 2:49 pm

I took 2 months, and I thought it was enough but this is really up to you. Start to study, take a first practice exam and see how well you do, this should help you how long you will need.

betelgeuse1
Posts: 116
Joined: Sat May 09, 2009 10:14 am

Re: again PGRE...

Post by betelgeuse1 » Sat May 09, 2009 3:11 pm

Like me at my first try, only that I got 720... :oops:

matonski
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 5:03 pm

Re: again PGRE...

Post by matonski » Sat May 09, 2009 3:32 pm

I took a couple months also. It felt like enough.



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