My chances of Acceptance

[BrianM]

Hey all,

I've been stressing a hell of a lot about the GREs which I am taking in a day and a half, eeek!

So I've been wondering about my chances of being accepted into grad school.

I'm honestly not expecting more than a 850 or a 900 combined on the GRE...yes I said combined.

So anyways, here is a rundown of my undergrad record:

3.871 Major GPA (Also minored in History)

3.62 Overall GPA

In Psychology I have:

been a teacher's assistant

interned at a hospital

participated in research(1year)

graduated with honors

been inducted into the Psi Chi society.

I obtained this little bit of info from Montclair's website-

Average test scores:

(enrolled Master degree students)

GRE Verbal: 446

GRE Math: 511

GMAT: 479

Now with that stated, if I receive somewhere around a 500 for the verbal and math section(or lower), would the undergrad record be more important?

I know that my record is very strong but what worries me is if someone else has a similar background and we have to be differentiated by the GRE scores.

I also speak fluent Portuguese, Spanish, and elementary Japanese if that counts for anything

And here the schools I am applying to:(All M.A programs)

William Patterson

Montclair

Seton Hall

The Chicago School of Prof. Psych

Kean U.

Thanks!!!!

[socialpsychg]

Looks good to me.

[MissRyan]

Hey all,

I've been stressing a hell of a lot about the GREs which I am taking in a day and a half, eeek!

So I've been wondering about my chances of being accepted into grad school.

I'm honestly not expecting more than a 850 or a 900 combined on the GRE...yes I said combined.

So anyways, here is a rundown of my undergrad record:

3.871 Major GPA (Also minored in History)

3.62 Overall GPA

In Psychology I have:

been a teacher's assistant

interned at a hospital

participated in research(1year)

graduated with honors

been inducted into the Psi Chi society.

I obtained this little bit of info from Montclair's website-

Average test scores:

(enrolled Master degree students)

GRE Verbal: 446

GRE Math: 511

GMAT: 479

Now with that stated, if I receive somewhere around a 500 for the verbal and math section(or lower), would the undergrad record be more important?

I know that my record is very strong but what worries me is if someone else has a similar background and we have to be differentiated by the GRE scores.

I also speak fluent Portuguese, Spanish, and elementary Japanese if that counts for anything

And here the schools I am applying to:(All M.A programs)

William Patterson

Montclair

Seton Hall

The Chicago School of Prof. Psych

Kean U.

Thanks!!!!

If you have great letters of rec and a stellar statement, you should probably be okay...it really all depends on the schools. If they cut off at 1000 combined (for example) they may not look further into your application. However, if they look at your application holistically, they should see past the GRE scores in light of all of your positive attributes (which you have many).

So you don't waste your time, you may want to inquire as to whether the schools you are interested in have cut-off scores.

And don't worry too much about this right now....you should be focusing on the exam. One thing at a time. Good luck on the test!!

[Synchronicity]

Put off the GREs until summer or October..study hard for them for months, you can get 1200+ with the work, take practice tests (or use this one you will be taking as a practice).

a GRE below 1000 will hurt you, especially for PhD programs. I would say get 1200+ on your GRE, a little more research exp., and apply to PhD programs (if that's what youre ultimately aiming for) and some backup MA programs for next year

Edited April 6, 2010 by Synchronicity

[socialpsychg]

Put off the GREs until summer or October..study hard for them for months, you can get 1200+ with the work, take practice tests (or use this one you will be taking as a practice).

a GRE below 1000 will hurt you, especially for PhD programs. I would say get 1200+ on your GRE, a little more research exp., and apply to PhD programs (if that's what youre ultimately aiming for) and some backup MA programs for next year

Agreed - I didn't have any other obligations in the summer, so I studied about 1-2 hours a day for about a month and a half. In the last week before the exam, I studied 8-12+ hrs a day. Your GRE will be looked at alongside your GPA - so I think studying excessively is good.

[BrianM]

Put off the GREs until summer or October..study hard for them for months, you can get 1200+ with the work, take practice tests (or use this one you will be taking as a practice).

a GRE below 1000 will hurt you, especially for PhD programs. I would say get 1200+ on your GRE, a little more research exp., and apply to PhD programs (if that's what youre ultimately aiming for) and some backup MA programs for next year

I can't put it off until then, the programs have a deadline of May 1.

Right now I don't want to enter a PhD program. I hate research so its not something I look forward to.

I'm applying to mostly LPC programs.

BTW- Only William Paterson and Montclair state 500 as the minimum scores for V and Q. No other school states a minimum score.

[BrianM]

Well I just finished with a wonderful 390-V and a 440-Q

I'm sure I did well on the analytic...

So all this studying and nothing helped, just a tiny bit for math but the english section is a joke...

I'll try not to stress too much as my undegrad record is really great and so are my LOR as my writers told me.

[HFSteph]

Well I just finished with a wonderful 390-V and a 440-Q

I'm sure I did well on the analytic...

So all this studying and nothing helped, just a tiny bit for math but the english section is a joke...

I'll try not to stress too much as my undegrad record is really great and so are my LOR as my writers told me.

Hang in there. I got into my top choice school with a 980 GRE combined (I studied did a ton of practice tests. Thank god I scored higher on the real thing than those practice exams). I know I am just not a good standardized test taker - I was the same way with the SATs in high school. Their suggested minimum was 1000, but I was still accepted. I have a great undergraduate GPA, solid letters of recommendation, and a lot of skills the program was looking for. They were one of the schools I selected because they were a good fit for me with my desire to get my MA and go straight into the Human Factors field.

It is possible that you'll get in with those scores. As long as the school looks at your entire application and not have a cut off line. Best of luck.

I agree with you though - the verbal section is a killer.