Back Doors Into Great Universities And Programs Thread

[Gibonius]

Originally Posted by EMY

High math GRE scores is almost a prerequisite for engineering schools. The top 50 or so schools seem to have a GRE math score of at least 750.

Yeah, engineering and comp sci are a different world with regard to the testing requirements. Makes sense for more mathematically demanding disciplines. Physics may be somewhat more demanding as well, I don't know. Chemistry and bio aren't so bad in terms of GREs. Most chemistry programs don't even require the subject test, only the top ones really.

Apparently a perfect score on the Comp Sci subject GRE is only like an 90th percentile. Pretty crazy.

 

[Don Carlos]

Originally Posted by oman

Arrogant Bastard and jefe: quick question from a college kid - when you guys graduated from university, did you find that those other bright young minds had knowledge and experience that set them apart from you, or was it just the fact that their GPAs were better? what i'm asking is, do you guys think working hard in school adds intrinsic value to your personality, or is it only instrumentally valuable insofar as a high GPA looks good on the resume and helps you get the job?
It's been my experience that working hard and having a goal are highly correlated. You can certainly work hard to get great grades just for the sake of doing that, and then fail when you expect everything to fall into place merely on account of your academics. But either way, you're going to want great grades to help you get a good job -- ideally in a field you're excited about. Upon graduation, assume that everyone in your class is on relatively equal footing except for what they did in college. This includes grades, it includes connections they did or did not make, and it includes extracurricular experience they gained. It also includes summer internships. But the point is, some folks will have busted their butts in college and will be in a better position, relative to their peers, because of that effort. Now, hopefully that effort was in service of a plan. If I had to stack-rank the odds of success of all graduates in a given class: 1) The kids who have a plan -and- made the effort will be in the best position to succeed. 2) The kids who made the effort but aren't quite sure of their plan will still have grades/achievements to fall back on. They can afford to hedge for awhile until they figure out a plan. They're still in a decent position upon graduation, but their position erodes very quickly. You'll see a lot of degree-collectors in this segment. Most of them will end up in business or law school as an escape hatch, and they can get in fairly easily if their undergrad grades were stellar. But they still need to figure out a plan ASAP. 3) The kids who have a plan but made no effort are in a bad spot, because if they couldn't be bothered to make the effort now, when will they? They say success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. If these kids only have the 1%, that's not good enough. 4) The kids who have no plan and made no effort have the hardest road ahead of them. It's not impossible. There is still room to turn **** around. But these folks had better wake up quickly to the realities of their position. The sooner the better.

 

[oman]

very well said.