GRE Medians

[USN07]

Does anyone have the GRE medians for schools offering a MPP or MA in IR degrees?

[Pichichi]

Many schools list the averages on their admissions page. Worth taking a look around to get a good idea of what score you need/where you stand. 

[Connie @ TheArtofApplying]

On 11/23/2016 at 10:54 PM, USN07 said:

Does anyone have the GRE medians for schools offering a MPP or MA in IR degrees?

Any information about GRE medians should be taken with a grain of salt, so here are the closest thing to class profiles (which may or may not contain GRE median info) for the dozen or so schools that people here commonly apply to:

• Berkeley Goldman: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/programs/masters-of-public-policy-mpp/applying-for-the-mpp/admissions-statistics
• Chicago Harris: http://harris.uchicago.edu/admissions-and-aid/faq
• Columbia SIPA: https://sipa.columbia.edu/admissions/preparing-to-apply/miampa-class-profile
• Duke Sanford: https://sanford.duke.edu/admissions/mpp
• Georgetown McCourt: https://mccourt.georgetown.edu/degree-programs/incoming-student-profiles
• Harvard Kennedy: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/degrees/admissions/overview/class-profiles
• Johns Hopkins SAIS: https://www.sais-jhu.edu/content/admissions#fall-2016-incoming-student-profiles
• Michigan Ford: http://fordschool.umich.edu/mpp-mpa/admissions/faqs
• NYU Wagner: http://wagner.nyu.edu/files/admissions/NYU_Wagner_Fast_Facts_2015-2016_.pdf
• Stanford IPS: https://ips.stanford.edu/admissions/frequently-asked-questions
• USC Price: http://priceschool.usc.edu/programs/masters/mpp/admission/faq/
• University of Texas LBJ: https://gradschool.utexas.edu/admissions/where-to-begin/admissions-and-enrollment-statistics
• Washington Evans: http://evans.uw.edu/about/mpa-class-profiles

Whatever the median scores or ranges are, remember not to obsess over them. It can be satisfying to find out that you’re right around the average or comfortably above it. If you’re significantly below, just know that you need to either study hard and re-take the test or pump up other parts of your experience. Take some quant classes online or at a community college if you need. Address the problem, and move on to the rest of your application. 

That being said, I think the GRE, like other standardized testing tools, are fading, not growing, in importance in the admissions process. With a field like public policy, what schools tend to value about potential students is our experience and our various talents. That’s why work experience is so strongly correlated with better admissions outcomes and higher funding. Just remember: we are so much more than the sum of our GRE scores. =)