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Profile Evaluation - Please help!

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:40 am
by hooruru1995
Hi, I am finalizing my list of schools I am applying to.
I would like to hear your opinion and suggestions.
Really, anything would be appreciated.

Undergrad Institution: top 25 in US ranking
Major(s): Math
GPA: 3.86
Type of Student: International Asian

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 166 (91%)
V: 153 (61%)
W: 3.0 (18%) :oops:
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 820 (82%)

TOEFL (R/L/S/W) : 29/29/20/26

Program Applying: Pure math

Research Experience: none
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list every semester, but that's it
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Letter writers are well-known, and letters will be nice.
Things I am worrying about: no research experience and no grad courses taken. I think this will be my weakest point of my application. Nothing I can do about it tho. :(

Applying to Where:
UCLA
OSU
UIC
UIUC
UWM
UUtah
UTA
MSU
UCSB
UCSD
SBU

I really want to make sure that I am getting into a program next fall. So I am going to apply for a couple of safety schools other than the ones in the list.

Am I be a competitive applicant for these schools in the list? It looks like I am the only one in this forum who haven't had any grad courses or research experience.
Should I bother applying for more reach schools? or more safety?

Thank you for your time.

Re: Profile Evaluation - Please help!

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 6:02 am
by kieroda
Research experience doesn’t matter terribly much as far as I can tell, as long as you can find people to write you good letters of rec. Grad classes on the other hand do seem to hold some weight, but I have no idea how much, and it probably varies and depends on the breadth of your undergrad coursework as well.

For what little it’s worth, I think you have a good shot at those schools. It seems like a decent list.

Re: Profile Evaluation - Please help!

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 12:12 pm
by korobeiniki
May I ask why you took the TOEFL while your undergrad is in the US?

I'm in the same situation (international but studied in the US) and I thought we were exempt from taking the TOEFL. If not, then I'm in trouble for sure.

Re: Profile Evaluation - Please help!

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 12:16 pm
by Tianma799
korobeiniki wrote:May I ask why you took the TOEFL while your undergrad is in the US?

I'm in the same situation (international but studied in the US) and I thought we were exempt from taking the TOEFL. If not, then I'm in trouble for sure.
Some schools like Minnesota still require it, but really this is stupid.

Re: Profile Evaluation - Please help!

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 7:10 pm
by hooruru1995
korobeiniki wrote:May I ask why you took the TOEFL while your undergrad is in the US?

I'm in the same situation (international but studied in the US) and I thought we were exempt from taking the TOEFL. If not, then I'm in trouble for sure.
Like Tianma799 says, some schools (Minnesota, Stony Brook) require TOEFL for every foreign student.
Also, rumor has it even if you are from a U.S.college, a foreign applicant with a satisfactory TOEFL score has better chance to get accepted than without it. However, I think you should not worry too much about it. After all, we are applying for math. :D