GRE Scores and GPA

[Cornell07]

630 V, 770 Q, 5.5 A are 90th, 88th, 88th percentiles respectively.

[kissesofthesun]

To canadiana and missycari and rising star thank you for responses. it helps to know that not all is lost, especially when i feel like i took full advantage of my smaller, less known institution =]

to duguy333 i appreciate you sharing what your advisor said.

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?

standardized tests are bunk. look at my post about my gmat scores vs. my gre scores...all reveresed. doesn't make any sense, and i think most schools know that.

i've heard they use the scores to verify grades...just to make sure you didn't get a stellar gpa and like 400Q 400V...then it might be a red flag.

[judea]

u can never be qualified enough

and these are not the only standards

so why not just let it be

[kbatulli]

I want to contribute to all these anti-GRE sentiments! I got into a top ten program in a Humanities discipline with 550, 550, 5.5. If I got in with those Q and V scores, they mean nothing.

[crazylops]

Pardee RAND Public Policy Analysis PhD.

GRE: 730V, 760Q

GPA: Undergraduate 3.62, Graduate: 4.0

[atlas]

Some years ago..when I applied to my first master's degree, I had a 2.59 GPA from my bachelor's degree, a 570 V. (if I remember correctly) and a 300 Q score (or some low number like that). I got into all the schools I applied to (except one). I didn't apply to top schools. I mostly applied to second tear schools...which were decent for my major. I did, however, have a few years of experience in the field I was applying and a recommendation from a highly respected place. At the time the man who wrote me the recommendation wasn't very well known, but now he's headline news fairly often.

Anyway...I got in!! And I finished my master's degree in 1.5 years. I screwed up on the math part of the GRE because I was just tired and actually wanted to quit halfway through it, but the administor talked me out of it. But I'd lost a lot of valuable time by conversing with the administor about it and by the time I got back... time was up and I failed that part. But, like I said...I still got into the program I wanted. But I bombarded them with phone calls. That school knew I wanted desperately to get in. I just don't have the nerve to do that anymore!

[atlas]

Actually to continue from above...now I have two master's degrees with about a 3.5 GPA from both, so I am in much better shape for the PhD programs I am applying to.

I think many people screw up in the first couple years of college...or barely keep their heads above water. I was never on any academic probation in college. For the first couple years I just hadn't picked a major yet and hadn't really found out what interested me. Once I did that my grades shot up. I think most schools understand this...that's why many are more concerned with your last couple of years in college.

[sundaymonday]

I think it depends on who is reading your application and where you're applying. I do believe, however, that the better the school is, the less your chances are of getting in without decent scores. I imagine the further away from the Ivies you get, the more room you have to razzle dazzle people with other pluses, like research/language/publication experience. I work in the department of a top anthropology program, and scores are pretty important here. If you had 500s across the board on the GRE, you probably wouldn't get in - even with an interesting project - because they receive almost 400 applications per year and out of that number there are quite a few people with good projects AND high scores to choose from. Totally stupid, ridiculous, dumb, and unfair, but true. At the same time, there have been people who have squeezed in with less than stellar scores, but only because they took the time to establish a relationship with one of the professors here, and that person really pushed for the applicant.

I have a decent GPA (3.75 overall, 3.84 major) but my first GRE scores were horrible (630Q was OK, but 460V looked like I couldn't speak English!!). I was advised to take it again, I did, and did much better the second time around (730Q, 630V and 5.0AW). I know some people say that taking it twice is the kiss of death, but I don't think that's true at all. I would advise anyone with a bad score who thinks they can do better to retake the test.