Saturday, August 22, 2015

Self-Evaluation: Summarizing the Past Few Years

Now, it's time to summarize all of the work you have done in the last few years. Putting it all together will allow you to evaluate and compare your profile with other students who are studying at the universities or programs you are interested in. Also, there are quite a few people online on various forums and websites who can help you figure out your choices if given a basic understanding of where you stand. None of this is an exact science, and there is no clear formula or combination that applies or ensures your admission, so do not think that getting good or not so good evaluations of your profile are an accurate representation of what's to come. With that in mind, let's look over everything that's needed.

Breaking it Down


There are many things that should be looked at, described in no specific order.

Standardized test scores such as the GRE and TOEFL are the first things you should put together. There serve primarily as elimination criteria and not selection criteria, so while very high scores may not do much more than getting you in the door, mediocre scores will certainly work against you. The range of mediocre to high varies by program which we'll look at later.

University GPA or aggregate is the second thing you should consider. Whichever university you may be in, your absolute undergraduate GPA and more importantly rank in your department can be big positives in your application. If you did not do so well, then aim to get very high scores in the GRE and TOEFL, as this lessens the impact of low GPAs.

The letters of recommendation from your professors or your bosses can make or break things on their own. Suffice to say, these should be accurate representation of you and your relevant work. You will need at least two positive LoRs so make your decisions about whom to ask wisely. Most universities require that at least one of the LoRs is from an academic adviser or professor, so try to keep in touch with one or more of your undergraduate professors once you are working in the industry.

If you have engaged in research work in the past, it will be a huge plus to your application. Published papers are the primary evidence of having pursued a productive research project and these provide a significant boost to your application. If your project did not result in a publication, fret not. Try to get a LoR from your research adviser, clearly mentioning the work you did, and what the end result was. Also, try to have included mentions of the impact of your research in the LoRs.

In continuation, you may have worked on various academic or hobby projects that led to some usable product at the end of it. These, if relevant, should be included in your application as it indicates that you may have practical experience in the domain. Hobby projects in particular demonstrate that you are willing to go beyond the course requirements to pursue your interests. This is very important if you are applying outside of your undergraduate major or if you feel that your university did not offer as many opportunities as you would have liked in the domain of interest.

An alternative to the above is to describe relevant work experience, or parts of your work responsibilities that ascribe to you having the necessary qualities to do well in a graduate program. These included both technical and non-technical attributes. Obviously, work experience in the relevant domain will help your application the most.

Lastly, we come to the extras that while by themselves are not big aids to your application, they help embellish your application by painting a picture of a person who has interests outside of the classroom and lab. Here again, relevant technical experience such as blogging about your technical interests, publishing in magazines, running or participating in a local technical user group, competing provide small bonuses. Non-technical experiences such as organizational work, leadership roles in the university, volunteering in social organisations, and other things can also be of help.

Putting it together


By now, you should have a long list of things. Let's organize them in order of importance for your application:

  1. Research work and it's evidence come first. These should be described in detail in your application.
  2. Letters of Recommendation describing your research contributions and providing information about your class performance (ranks and not marks).
  3. Relevant work experience or relevant parts of your job come a close third.
  4. University GPA
  5. Academic or hobby projects should have samples or documentation to support what you say you have done are very important.
  6. Standardized test scores come nearly last. Yes, last. You only need to clear the minimums required by a program. Beyond that, it does little to strengthen your case.
  7. The embellishments while not taking much space should be included wherever possible in your application.

Conclusion


You should have a nice list of experiences jotted down. These will help you figure out universities to apply to as well as what to put in the different parts of your application. This will vary depending on your own experiences so far. There is no one size fits all approach. 

Thursday, January 29, 2015

The GRE Experience - 330/340

Part 1 - My Experience


While a 330 isn't the highest that many of you will be able to get, it certainly is enough for almost all universities and departments. The maximum that should be reasonably aimed for or worked towards is 334, which is just over the 95th percentile, and can certainly get your application through the door when it comes to the top 5 USA institutions. Beyond that, it becomes a case of diminishing returns with regards to preparation time.

My own journey started with extensive searches searching the net for everything that I could find. The first stop was the official GRE website, which listed the official ETS GRE books as the one-stop resource that everybody should look at. Specially, if they do not have the time for anything else. I must say, that after going through it, I agree with that entirely. You simply have to go through this once.

Other than that, I signed up for Magoosh's online GRE prep guide. The main thing that you get from them is their question set and the four practise tests that come with it. I spent just over one month, about 1-2 hours a day, going over their questions sets and practising with a variety of combinations to work on my weaknesses. The flexibility to focus on specific types of questions, the difficulty levels, the customization for sessions, all makes for an excellent GRE training experience.

For ESL learners, the verbal is usually the stumbling block in the way to a perfect score. My approach was to use the Magoosh vocabulary apps to practise and get through a definite number of words every day ~30 or so. To learn in context - which is what you'll need for the test and what is generally an easier approach to learning new words - I made lists of words that I didn't recognize as and when I came across them while doing Magoosh questions (and this happened a lot). After each Magoosh session and over the next few days, I went over the newly compiled word lists. This approach, for me, was much more effective than doing either themed word lists or memorizing a random bunch of words from the Magoosh apps.

(Of course, having a good grasp of English due to regular reading habits makes things much easier)

The Quant section is the easy part. Anyone doing engineering already knows everything that the quant section asks. Nonetheless, if you want to be safe and revise concepts which is always a good idea, I would recommend using the ETS book as a starting point, and exploring further into specific topics as and when you need to. Complement this with Magoosh's practise sets as I did, and you'll be on your way to an excellent score!

Finally, the last thing that you need to do is develop stamina for the full 4 hour test. The only way to get yourself ready to handle it is by doing full length practise tests in exam like conditions. The ETS guide gives you three full length tests, and Magoosh provides four. Doing them spaced throughout your prep cycle will get you ready for the marathon.

Part 2 - Takeaways


My learnings from the experience, broken down into easily digestible points:

Do a mock test as a calibration

Start your prep by going over the test format, and then doing one full test to get a basic idea of where you stand and how far you need to go. If you need to gain just 10 points, one month of prep should suffice. If you need to gain upto 20 points, then plan for three months.

Study AWA from ETS

Study the AWA samples focussing on the highest scoring ones. Look at the structure, patterns, flow, cogency, and vocabulary. Assimilate and apply in your practise test sessions. There is no need to refer to any external resource, not even Magoosh.

Do targeted practise frequently

Once you know your weaknesses, tune the practise sessions to target the specific question type that is troubling you. Focus on developing question solving techniques, and not the particular question. Watch the Magoosh videos for guidance. Question solving techniques is possibly the only area where the Magoosh videos actually help.

Do full tests regularly

Note the different word used - regularly, not frequently. Space out your practise tests over your prep duration, keeping three days or longer gaps between tests. Do not do a full test one day before the actual GRE. It's better to just rest at this point.




TL:DR I strongly recommend getting started with Magoosh GRE.