Asked by Committee to Retake GRE?

[Jack86]

Hey everybody, first post.  I am very curious about the status of my application and was wondering if any users here may have encountered a similiar situation.

 

I applied to my program in early January, and heard nothing back until the beginning of this month.  I received a form e-mail from the grad director (dear applicant...) saying that although the program is willing to consider students with GPAs below 3.0, they need a GRE score to justify my admission to administration.  The e-mail had a positive tone, and taking the GRE was presented as a "solution" to that shortcoming in my application.  I had actually already taken the GRE, and e-mailing the grad director confirmed that it was sent to me to encourage me to retake the GRE and shoot for a higher score.  They want scores by the end of the month so they can reconsider applications.

 

I'm definitely going to retake because I really want to get in, but has this ever happened to anyone else?  Should I be optimistic about getting in?  I suspect a number of other applicants got a form e-mail that was an outright rejection at the same time I did.  They may also be biding their time to see who commits or not after the first round of acceptances...I don't know, it just seemed unusual to be asked to go through such a time-consuming process this late in the game.

Edited March 7, 2014 by Jack86

[peachypie]

If they are going through that amount of effort to justify to anyone about your application then it is definitely worth the attempt to improve. I think it is encouraging in that most people would not get that chance.  I haven't had that situation but my gre was high.  I don't think it is very late considering you applied in early January.  That means they looked at it sometime in the last month likely.  Obviously everyone is on a time crunch with April 15th in the near future so if you can show them something by the start of April they can quickly turn around and make an offer.  Best of luck!

[myoranges]

Definitely retake it! GRE is a funny exam, and you never know how you would do if you studied for just 1-2 weeks, and the results might be a lot higher than you have expected. GOOD LUCK!

[Jack86]

Well, I retook the exam and scored 2 points higher overall....4 points if they are willing to look at the best scores from both tests. (312 to 316)

 

I really hope that was enough to get me a spot in my program!  It's the only place I applied and am dying to get in.  I sent the Grad Director my unofficial scores and he said to expect a decision "soon", but I suspect they will wait for the formality of receiving the official scores.  Sigh, what's two more weeks?