GRE Scores and GPA

[Sean3205]

How many people have really great GRE scores and GPA. Has anyone been accepted to Grad school with lower scores or gpa. What do people have?

[LaraAnn85]

Nobody has ever been accepted with low GRE scores and GPA. Ever.

Of course, I joke. It depends how low, and for what programs, and what else you have going for you. People get in with "low" scores all the time, but it's definitely harder to do.

[Sean3205]

Yes I agree that students can be admitted with less than perfect GRE scores and it is a matter of more than just scores and a GPA. But...I when browsing the acceptance results on Grad School Forum Results where they post GRE scores and GPA along with results I notice that almost all accepted students have 3.9 GPA and score in the 80-90 percent range for both V. Q. W.. I'll be honest. I think my application is strong, but I bombed the Q. scoring in the bottom 20%. And my verbal was only in the above 60% so but I have a pretty good GPA at 3.6 nothing outstanding but I'm confident. Nervous too, but thats healthy. I was just curious if there were any other students with less than stellar stats who wanted to share their doubts. Anyone applying to really small schools. I applied to one that gets less than 20 applicants a year and some that get like 150. I'm just trying to kill time and see how everyone else is doing and feeling.

[sammileaht]

Hey Sean,

I've gotten accepted to a top 20 school of my field with a 2.9 GPA and average GRE scores, but I do have EXCELLENT LOR and experience which i think played a huge part. It can be done!

[LaraAnn85]

Hey Sean,

I've gotten accepted to a top 20 school of my field with a 2.9 GPA and average GRE scores, but I do have EXCELLENT LOR and experience which i think played a huge part. It can be done!

I have a 2.9 GPA (though it is due to my first two years being really low during a health problem, my last year was like a 3.9, but overall it is still low), scored just below a 1300 on the GRE, and I haven't been told to totally give up hope yet. Like sammileaht, I have three glowing LORs and really good research experience with well-known people, as well as 2 publications and a good SOP. It's the whole package, you know? If someone else had an equivalent application but a 3.9 overall GPA, of course they have a better shot. But everyone will tell you, it's about your fit with the faculty member and the school and program, it seems very difficult to predict where people will get in simply based on scores. Have you considered retaking the GRE? I am pretty sure that I could have done significantly higher if I took it again, but I didn't have time and was far too stressed out already. But I would recommend trying it again after studying your butt off. Good luck!

[Sean3205]

good to hear that other people have mixed stats as well. Thanks.

[rising_star]

Yes I agree that students can be admitted with less than perfect GRE scores and it is a matter of more than just scores and a GPA. But...I when browsing the acceptance results on Grad School Forum Results where they post GRE scores and GPA along with results I notice that almost all accepted students have 3.9 GPA and score in the 80-90 percent range for both V. Q. W.. I'll be honest. I think my application is strong, but I bombed the Q. scoring in the bottom 20%. And my verbal was only in the above 60% so but I have a pretty good GPA at 3.6 nothing outstanding but I'm confident. Nervous too, but thats healthy. I was just curious if there were any other students with less than stellar stats who wanted to share their doubts. Anyone applying to really small schools. I applied to one that gets less than 20 applicants a year and some that get like 150. I'm just trying to kill time and see how everyone else is doing and feeling.

Have you ever thought that the sampling frame may be way off? As in, people with high GRE/GPA scores are motivated to post those things along with their acceptances where as those with rejections or lesser scores are less likely to flaunt them in public? I don't have a perfect GPA or GRE scores and I changed disciplines between BA and MA. Nevertheless, I got into 4 of 6 MA programs when I applied. Personal statements, curriculum vitae, and letters of recommendation can totally make up for a bad grade or test score.

[NO8DO]

That's a really good point - I knew I had really low GRE scores when I posted asking about others opinions on my whole application package and I just randomly one day did it anyway. I'm sure others wouldn't post abysmal scores for obvious reasons and also I think that only a small-medium percentage of people who get accepted/rejected even post on these boards anyway - that has just been my observation, I could obviously be wrong.

[Minnesotan]

I would mildly disagree with what's posted above, as it seems, after lurking at livejournal and moderating these forums for a couple of seasons, that every type of person needs a little reassurance during this process. You see the usual "Do I have a shot?" posts from people who have absolutely no shot, to people who might have a shot if their LoRs and SoPs are in good order, to the people who should have used said school as a safety. And in many cases, being overqualified seems to get you dumped as quickly as being underqualified.

Long story short, lots of people have a single gaping hole in their applications. You likely won't get into a top 5 program like that, but as you move down into the top 20 or top 50 programs, there is a lot more room for professors to argue for who they like based on fit, interests, non-standard experience, etc. Bad numbers aren't always the kiss of death, but when a department is reviewing 600 apps for 10 spots, you can bet they're going to be chucking some without reviewing the writing sample. =)

[BC08]

I have a 3.75 at Boston College, a wacky GRE (650 V, 480 M, 5.5 AW), and a thesis that I was personally disappointed with (but I did get an A-). I had a great interview at Brown but of course will only be happy if I see some thick envelopes. I am obsessively checking the mail now, and get nauseous when I pull a thin letter out of the mailbox!

[rising_star]

I have a 3.75 at Boston College, a wacky GRE (650 V, 480 M, 5.5 AW), and a thesis that I was personally disappointed with (but I did get an A-). I had a great interview at Brown but of course will only be happy if I see some thick envelopes. I am obsessively checking the mail now, and get nauseous when I pull a thin letter out of the mailbox!

Acceptances can come in thin envelopes too! Mine did a few years ago. Why were you disappointed with your thesis?

[BC08]

I felt it was too vague and didn't get the point across that I was trying to make (I guess this disappointment is common among writers). I'm exploring themes of conflict and society, and this paper was on the dialectic compromise between Catholic and Protestant elements of Boston society from 1845-1860, from the Famine-era revolutionaries to acceptance of the Union war effort. I can't even read it now because I felt like it was unbalanced, but I also wrote it without funding and was the first evening student at BC to write an Honors Thesis, so I was on the departmental backburner for 10 months while working on it.

Brown is my top choice all around, but Duke is the reach as I heard they are only taking 9 this year.

[applicant292513]

This should ease your concerns quite a bit:

I got a 550 V 630 Q and 4.5 AW the second time I took the GRE. (This is especially horrible considering I'm in the humanities!) I have a 3.7 GPA in my MA (this may be irrelevant, but I'll also note that my BA GPA was 2.37--yes I screwed up in my earlier years and raised it quite a bit towards the end).

I got an early acceptance and fellowship offer at what is considered to be a very good school in my field, along with a paid-for trip to their recruitment event.

I also got a paid-for trip to another very good school's visitation days. I don't know their decision yet, but that can't be a bad sign.

I think the GRE is clearly flawed: I first took it about two years ago and have since completed an MA in English. To be honest I did only a little bit of memorizing vocab the night before. The results? My verbal went up 30 points and my writing went down half a point, while quantitative score went up 60 points. I have done NO math whatsoever for years (unless you count calculating tip at restaurants)! Isn't this screwed up?

[kbatulli]

This should ease your concerns quite a bit:

I got a 550 V 630 Q and 4.5 AW the second time I took the GRE. (This is especially horrible considering I'm in the humanities!) I have a 3.7 GPA in my MA (this may be irrelevant, but I'll also note that my BA GPA was 2.37--yes I screwed up in my earlier years and raised it quite a bit towards the end).

I got an early acceptance and fellowship offer at what is considered to be a very good school in my field, along with a paid-for trip to their recruitment event.

I also got a paid-for trip to another very good school's visitation days. I don't know their decision yet, but that can't be a bad sign.

I think the GRE is clearly flawed: I first took it about two years ago and have since completed an MA in English. To be honest I did only a little bit of memorizing vocab the night before. The results? My verbal went up 30 points and my writing went down half a point, while quantitative score went up 60 points. I have done NO math whatsoever for years (unless you count calculating tip at restaurants)! Isn't this screwed up?

Thank for for this!

[dmh26]

I have a 3.7 overall and a 3.97 in history. I applied to history phd programs with 590V, 540Q, and 5.5AWA. So far I got rejected by one school, and received a full fellowship, stipend, and additional summer research grants and paid 4 day trip to another school. Clearly, it depends on a lot of factors. Don't worry!

[applicant292513]

Thank for for this!

My pleasure.

[kissesofthesun]

i have a problem perhaps along these same lines, only not.

i graduated with honors and a 3.97 from a less than stellar undergraduate institution (third tier according to us news and world report)...i received a b-plus and an a from an ivy league school secondary summer school program while in high school.

GRE:

640 V

790 Q

5.0 Writing

GMAT:

720 overall (V 93%ile, Q 81%ile) and 6.0 Writing

i'm curious as to how my ugrad institution will affect my chances of making into a top graduate institution?

[canadiana]

Kissesofthesun, your undergraduate university's rankings probably don't matter much in the grand scheme of things. It's more important that your recommenders are respected scholars in their field. Students from top tier colleges are rejected in favour of lower tier schools in many cases...or at least that's what I've heard.

[missycari]

Kissesofthesun, your undergraduate university's rankings probably don't matter much in the grand scheme of things. It's more important that your recommenders are respected scholars in their field. Students from top tier colleges are rejected in favour of lower tier schools in many cases...or at least that's what I've heard.

That is my understanding also. I think that going to a top tier college is helpful insofar as it means your recommenders will be better known. So, I think there's a correlative relationship (better known professors are more likely to be at the top tier schools), but obviously that isn't always the case. And I certainly don't think going to a lesser known school will hurt you.... the issue is how much influence your professors will have. Good luck!!

[Cornell07]

It is frustrating as heck to know that I got a 630 V 77O Q 5.5 A when I am a historian! Couldn't the V and Q be switched?

[ollie cromwell]

Don't trip.

I scored a 490 on my Quant and still managed to get into a top-ranked geography program. Hell might freeze over for you too!

[rising_star]

That is my understanding also. I think that going to a top tier college is helpful insofar as it means your recommenders will be better known. So, I think there's a correlative relationship (better known professors are more likely to be at the top tier schools), but obviously that isn't always the case. And I certainly don't think going to a lesser known school will hurt you.... the issue is how much influence your professors will have. Good luck!!

Of course it all depends on whether you change disciplines or not! I went to a top-tier undergrad, none of my recs were well-known folks and they were in my undergrad discipline, and I got into several top MA programs straight out of undergrad.

[DUguy333]

As far as your undergraduate institution's reputation and ranking, I've heard otherwise from my advisors. For the sake of argument, imagine that you're from a 2nd tier university with nearly identical crudentials and scores as some one from an ivy league who's applying to the same program. Who do you think they'd choose? I'd imagine Yale would beat Denver University any day...

[rising_star]

As far as your undergraduate institution's reputation and ranking, I've heard otherwise from my advisors. For the sake of argument, imagine that you're from a 2nd tier university with nearly identical crudentials and scores as some one from an ivy league who's applying to the same program. Who do you think they'd choose? I'd imagine Yale would beat Denver University any day...

Two things. First, two people rarely have nearly identical credentials. Second, they probably realize that grade inflation is rampant at Ivy League institutions and take that into consideration.

[nertperson]

I have a friend who found a brilliant way to circumvent her unremarkable GRE scores....she got a Rhodes scholarship

Also, those of you posting weird discrepancies in your V and Q scores, keep in mind that the test is REALLY off-center right now. A 500V and 500Q are wildly different percentiles. I would estimate 500V puts you a bit above the 50th percentile, but 500Q will definitely be way below it. (My scores were 10 points and 22 percentiles apart!) Just a tip from an ex-GRE teacher.