midnight

Salut, mystique! Bienvenue et bon courage. kcald, I'm sorry to hear about Chapel Hill, but you have an awesome attitude, and I know you'll be fabulous wherever you go! JMarti, any word from Chapel Hill or UVA (though you'd probably update if so)? I'm still waiting for UVA.

Thank you! I'm trying to stay positive, but doubt is creeping in, especially considering that out-of-fielders have heard back. Sigh.

I'm here! I haven't heard anything at all.

hopefulslp88: Have you had either of your interviews yet?

I think you should strongly consider a retake if you can squeeze in time to review and practice. There are some great quick and dirty prep books like The Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE and Barron's Six Practice Tests. I think you'd be in a better place by breaking 160 on the verbal and getting your quant as close to the 50th percentile as you can; a 5.0+ on the AW might help, too. However, some schools don't emphasize GRE scores, and I think you have compelling reasons for your low grades that can be explained in a thoughtful, well-written SOP or supplement. (If you choose to explain your poor performance, you should be brief and careful that it doesn't come across as an excuse but as an explanation. It's better to focus on your strengths, not draw more attention to your weaknesses, but you have an upward trend in grades and are a hard worker, which are both good.) Also, you may want to contact the schools to get their take on your numbers, and it's important for you to establish relationships with some POI's as well. Good luck! ETA: The ETS provides an incredibly helpful breakdown of your GRE test performance that will come in handy if you decide to retake-- https://grediagnostic.ets.org/GREDWeb/gred/signIn.jsp

Yeah, I kind of wonder if some schools have a "first-string" (for lack of a better term) waitlist. It seems possible!

It's really important to look at your GRE score percentiles. 163 on the verbal falls in the 91st percentile; it's not a low score, especially for a program outside of the humanities! Meanwhile, your quant falls in the 68th percentile. Both of your scores are likely fine for most MPA programs, but you can check schools' websites to see if there are recommended ranges or other guidelines (e.g., UChicago's site provides a lot of great info and accepted applicant numbers). You can also check the results board here to get an idea of accepted applicant scores, but that's not an accurate representation per se. MPA programs value experience above all else, so I think it's a good idea for you to focus on your CV and SOP; there's not much need to worry about your GRE scores, although if you feel you can score significantly higher on retake, there's obviously no harm in doing so.

Oh, interesting. I gathered what I could about the program based on information from their website and a bit of communication with the school; I didn't really see any specification either way, but I must've taken in what others here and on the LJ SLP group have said about Boulder's focus. You're incredibly informed about the program, so thank you for sharing what you've learned. I feel like Boulder has some pretty amazing resources for children and adults, e.g., El Grupo de Familias, and surely they know that there is a need for SLPs for all age groups. So who knows? It's just a nerve-wracking process. I hope we're both fortunate enough to get in.

I didn't receive anything from UVA aside from a confirmation email the day I submitted my app. I know they have all my materials, so I'm going to take their "don't panic about incomplete status" memo on the ApplyYourself page to heart.

Oh, that is funny. I will say I'm worried I won't get accepted in part because my SOP focused on working with adults--well, that and the competition is fierce!

I am! The only thing I'm worried about (aside from outright rejection, of course) is that if you're not a first-round UVA acceptee, it seems that they sometimes don't notify you until late March or early April.

I'm not sure if you've seen these MGH numbers (albeit the ASHA EdFind data may need to be taken with a grain of salt!), but I think your stats are fine: Average GRE: Verbal Reasoning: 148-170 Quantitative Reasoning: 145-166 Analytical Writing: 3.0-6.0 Average GPA: 3.63

I think taking initiative shows that you're a serious candidate with a genuine interest; I hope that MGH values applicants who make time to visit, communicate with profs, etc. I know they're very competitive, but if you don't try, you definitely won't get in. Oh, and yes, I'm dying to find out about Boulder, but it's incredibly competitive. Check out the Boulder thread in this subforum--the numbers that someone posted are intense! I'm definitely trying to stay firmly in "realistically optimistic" territory.

147q is in the 31st percentile. sroberts, I don't think that score will necessarily keep you out of programs, especially if you broke 300 and the rest of your app is strong.

miscarthur: Congrats on your GWU and UMD acceptances! Are you an out-of-field applicant?

^Rise of the phoenix indeed!

uromastyx, I wish I could accuse you of hyperbole, but I'm afraid you're not far off from the reality of Grad Cafe. And clearly the answers to those questions are EXCELLENT and YES.

Good luck, sroberts! I know that the Northeastern schools are highly competitive (BU and MGH especially); if for whatever reason you don't get in somewhere this time, have you considered UMass Amherst, UNH, and UMaine? Also do you think you could improve your quant score? I took the GRE twice; my first quant score was 490 (equivalent to 143). While you can see that my current quant score of 150 is nothing to write home about, I was able to make a significant improvement and feel a bit better about it.

I remember reading on UVA's site that they prefer 150 or higher on both sections; even so, their data on EdFind shows quite a range: Average GRE: Verbal Reasoning: 145-160 Quantitative Reasoning: 142-158 Analytical Writing: 3.50-4.50 Average GPA: 3.55 If an applicant's stats are decent to good and don't raise a red flag, I truly think she will be fully considered.

I really think that as long as you meet schools' stated GPA/GRE minima (and it seems like more and more SLP programs do not hesitate to post those), and especially if your stats are close to the "average accepted student" profile, you're absolutely competitive, at least in the sense that you can guarantee the adcom will read your SOP, CV, and LORs and fully consider your app. (That's not to say that people who don't meet those guidelines are automatically out, but I do wonder how competitive schools go about narrowing down the applicants.)

I don't know, it's a little too easy to say, "Well, you should've just scored higher on the GRE." Some programs seemingly (perhaps tacitly) expect 165+ on the verbal, which may not be feasible for someone, even if s/he studies for the test. I suppose you could claim someone with a lower GRE score just didn't try hard enough or by virtue of a lower score just isn't right for a specific program, but I don't doubt that there are people who are highly talented, interesting, and motivated writers, thinkers, and critics (and they probably have sizable vocabularies and read/analyze literature all the time) who may struggle with GRE, be it the timed component, the more obscure vocabulary words (though the new test is easier and more approachable in this regard IMO and IME), or the longer science-based reading comps. I've long been conflicted about the use of the GRE--not that anyone cares or that my opinion matters, ha. I see pros and cons to it. And I'm also speaking as someone who did pretty well on the GRE verbal with minimal studying (and more than well enough for the field I'm hoping to enter), so it's not a matter of sour grapes.

I liked Princeton Review, too, and if you want solid practice for both verbal and quant, I absolutely loved Barron's Six Practice Tests (well, as much as you can love taking GRE practice tests). If you do choose to study vocab by itself, make sure to remember synonyms.

Me too. A lot of things are psychologically on hold for me until I find out if I'm going to school and where. And hey, maybe we'll be at UVA together!

Swagato, I'm a creepy lurker around these parts, but I just had to tell you congrats on your Yale acceptance!

Well, judging from your stats (and everyone else who's been waiting for UNC), I'd say any rejections are simply because they don't have the room, not because you aren't a strong candidate. It must be damn hard to be on that adcom! Anyway, I know that barely softens the blow, but it's true. And remember--we don't even know if all the acceptances have come in, and there's still the possibility of the waitlist.