Can High GRE compensate for low GPA?

[ketty]

Hey guys,

I'm a senior in undergrad with an econ/polsci major. My cumulative GPA is an unimpressive 3.5 - definitely far below the median for most grad schools.

Should I bother even applying to polisci grad school? (I'm interested in IR and theory).

Can a strong GRE (1500+) compensate for my low GPA?

Assuming a 3.5 GPA + 1500 GRE, what schools should I be looking at?

Edited June 1, 2011 by ketty

[expatbayern]

Not all 3.5s are created equal.

What's your major GPA? What's the trend? What type/rank of undergrad?

A former advisor who has sat on admit committees at a top 10 told me he wanted to see one semester where the applicant had taken multiple upper-level courses in poli sci and cognate disciplines and gotten all As. He didn't care about the rest of the transcript because that semester showed the applicant could hack it.

But others who read your application will have different rules of thumb (maybe some like consistent performance, maybe some like to see improvement over time, etc.). As in nearly all circumstances, the best advice is to make the rest of your application (statement and letters) as strong as possible, apply widely, and see what happens.

[catchermiscount]

The 3.5 means that your admission is more likely to be the product of a quirkster on the adcom. I would have killed for a 3.5 (long story), and I got into precisely one doctoral program after applying to schools ranked from 4 to 40. When I asked an adcom member as to why the heck I got in (I did not deserve to), she said it's because the only thing she looks at is the quantitative score on the GRE. Such simplistic admissions strategies are rare.

If you finished strong, or if you performed well in your major classes, or if your grades are in part a product of taking rigorous classes over in the econ department, then you can make it work. You just have to sell intelligently. In particular, your statement must be more convincing than others. You have to make the adcom member believe that the bumps in the road have led to a reasonable approach to social science that has led you to consider interesting research questions. If you can do that, then the 3.5 looks a lot more like an interesting, rigorous undergraduate experience and a lot less like too-many-beers-at-the-ol'-fraternity-house-the-night-before-exams.

[RWBG]

GRE 1500+ is by no means an impressive score, in many cases, it is merely the minimum requirement, if you have 1550/60+, that should help you more, but given the decreasing marginal effect of GRE score increase, this should be able to compensate low GPA.

However, 3.5 GPA varies in many ways in relation to different interpretation and calculation, so it really depends on the details.

The MOST important things is still your research interest and fit, work on that

I'm really curious about what department has 1500+ as a minimum. Harvard has an average GRE quant score of 759; their average GRE score is almost certainly below a 1500.

[kaykaykay]

I'm really curious about what department has 1500+ as a minimum. Harvard has an average GRE quant score of 759; their average GRE score is almost certainly below a 1500.

well that is with theorists, which means that there may be people who got a better verbal than math GRE. It is true there are a lot of good GREs(maybe 1400+) but the admission does not only depend on that, it is really impossible to say anything based on only this information. 1500 GRE is good if you can really make it.

[Fell4Ever]

In discussion with one of my Professors as well as a bit of internet wandering, I think GPA isn't super important interms of getting admitted, but is rather used for ordering potential candidates. What I mean is, they will look at a 3.5GPA student in comparison to maybe a 3.4-3.5GPA range and say 'which of these applicants is really good based on LoR, Personal Statement, and so on'.

If you are really afraid that your GPA will bring you down (and a 3.5 is very respectable), just bang out a very good Personal Statement and take your LoR teachers out to dinner to beggggggg for awesome letters ;;

-Ganbatte

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Can a strong GRE (1500+) compensate for my low GPA?

Sure...A strong GPA can compensate for a lower GPA. So can being a good fit for the department. But it depends on the school you're applying to and who happens to be sitting on the admissions committee that year. In my experience, the GRE tends to be the first bar, then everything else in the packet gets considered and given a score by each member of the committee. The process fluctuates a decent amount from program to program. If you're interested, there's a thread titled "Admission Committee Notes" that gives folks a pretty good feel for how the process works (at one program).