tpat

I'm concerned the new GRE may negatively affect my score because it will be longer and have a more difficult quantitative section, which was already going to be the most challenging section for me. Scores from the new test, if taken in August/September, won't be reported until November at the earliest.

I'm new to the community, but I've recently found myself in straight up panic about what to do. My GPA is a 3.4 and I've just come off a rough semester due mostly to a student government campaign. My campus job also happened to be my work with our university's student government. Between work, school and the campaign, I simply stretched myself thin and will likely make a D in an economics course necessary for my major. I will absolutely grade replace this course over the summer (where I am confident in my ability to make a B or even an A), but with the new GRE test format, I'm pretty concerned. I know there was no way to fit in a prep course for the "old" GRE between last fall and this spring. I know I can explain away a bad semester in my applications, but with the new format and delayed score reporting, I'm terrified that my acceptance into grad school could be negatively affected or even potentially be pushed back. With that, my main concerns are: 1) The new GRE will negatively affect my score. 2) Delayed score reporting will either force me to apply late in the cycle or push my grad school plans back a semester. Guidance anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much in advance!

You're not the first person I've heard this from, but none of the schools I intend to apply to haven't even updated their application deadlines for Fall 2012. I would like to at least be able to create an application timeline for my personal use, but without any actual dates, I feel like I'm just shooting in the dark at this point. Does anyone have an idea of when schools normally update their application deadlines for the next admission cycle?

This is my first post on the forum, and I'm hoping that I could get some guidance about where I should set my expectations for graduate school applications. I currently attend a major public university in Texas, majoring in public relations. I am very involved on campus, and currently serve as an officer in student government. My cumulative GPA is a 3.3 and my major GPA is 3.6, but both of these are likely to rise a bit more before I begin sending out applications. I want to get an MPP or MPAff, but I'm afraid of being unrealistic throughout the application process. While I have yet to take the GRE, I am familiar with the format, and I am confident that my verbal score will be much higher than my quantitative score. My first concern is that a disparity showing greater proficiency or aptitude in one area will keep me from being accepted at a top tier program. I am also concerned about my grades keeping me out as well. I'm not at all dissatisfied with them, but I realize they are average. I think that my resume is strong, I just don't know how much importance this has in an application. For the longest time, I thought law school was the way to go, but eventually realized that my heart wasn't in practicing law. Because I was in law school mode for the longest time, I think I've built this perception that you have to live and die by your test score, while everything else is secondary. I am still very new to this process, so any guidance here is welcome as well. I would love to attend LBJ, Georgetown, American, Washington, Minnesota (with HKS, UMich and Wisconsin being dream schools of course), but I just don't know what qualifications I need for my application to these programs to be seriously considered. I have found some great information already in the forum, but if there's a particular topic I've seemed to have overlooked, feel free to point me in the right direction. Thank you all so much for your help!