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Are the GRE scores of PhD applicants who already possess a graduate degree (e.g., MA, MS, etc.) less important?


uchenyy

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It depends on what kind of school and what kind of GRE scores, unsurprisingly. 

Will a top 10 school accept a 150/150 GRE score when you have a 4.0 MA GPA? No, they'll think your MA grades are inflated and your MA program is not adequately preparing you for a top grad program. 

Will a top 35 be lenient about the same kind of situation? Maybe, but it probably depends on how good a case your letter writers make for you being a capable candidate despite low scores. And your writing sample better be solid and be both well written and exhibit a good knowledge of quantitative methodology. 

FYI things like conference attendence (most are super easy to get into), high MA grades (everyone gets A's in grad schools), and good quant grades (again, everyone gets A's in grad school) aren't all that important. Most people admitted in top 10 PhD programs have never taken a grad course (let alone a quant one) and has never been to a conference, these aren't big interests of admissions committees. 

Edited by BunniesInSpace
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20 hours ago, BunniesInSpace said:

FYI things like conference attendence (most are super easy to get into), high MA grades (everyone gets A's in grad schools), and good quant grades (again, everyone gets A's in grad school) aren't all that important. Most people admitted in top 10 PhD programs have never taken a grad course (let alone a quant one) and has never been to a conference, these aren't big interests of admissions committees. 

What does matter, then? Only GRE scores and fit with the program? It seems like you're suggesting that conference attendance, grades, and quant experience aren't significant at all.

If the GRE score is a good indicator of performance in graduate school (e.g., in a quant methods course) and one has proven that she can succeed in a graduate program, then why does it still matter? I'm not arguing with you; I'm just trying to understand the logic.

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I'm convinced that the most important things are really good letters and a really good research statement that fits well with the program. But those things only matter once you hit some arbitrary  threshold on GRE and GPA. Things like conference attendence, quant courses, etc. can help you get a good grasp on what political science is, thereby allowing you to write a better research statement. But them alone won't put you over the top: Stanford or Harvard isn't going to throw anyone to the top of the list because just because one went to MPSA and is doing well at a master's program. 

 

7 hours ago, uchenyy said:

If the GRE score is a good indicator of performance in graduate school (e.g., in a quant methods course) and one has proven that she can succeed in a graduate program, then why does it still matter? I'm not arguing with you; I'm just trying to understand the logic.

Again, I'm going to qualify that what I'm saying is primarily about tippy top programs, but my main point is that all grad programs are not created equal: some (especially serious quant schools like NYU or Stanford) are a lot harder than others. If you're succeeding in Duke's or Columbia's or NYU's MA program and have taken classes alongside other PhD students and done just as well as them, then yeah ok, they'll probably deemphasize your GRE score if everything else in your application looks fine. But if you're succeeding at a program at a non-top school, top schools could look at it and think that the disparity between your GRE scores and your success in an MA program just indicates that your MA program is too easy. 

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