Do I have any chances for going to graduate school?

[Erica0403]

Hi, I graduated from college last year. My majors are economics and health science. My overall GPA is 2.8. I do not know if I have any chances to go to graduates school. I took a GRE test in Sep this year but I only got 299 in verbal and quantitative parts, and 3 in analytical writing. People around me most get at least a 3.0 GPA for applying for graduate school in the United States. Yes, I was an international student and moved back to my home country after I graduated. I have some friends who have the same GPA as me, but they decided to apply for graduate school in the U.K. or Australia. However, I still want to go to a graduate school in the U.S. I remember that I went to the career center and asked my advisor about how I can go to graduate school. She said I could go, but I needed to get a 320 GRE test score and tried to be a research assistant for a professor to prove that I can do research. I also heard about some master's professional studies programs. My advisor and professor suggested that I should not go there, but some of my friends think that it is a chance to go to the top 30 universities in the U.S. I feel that going to some professional studies programs can save time because it is usually short. My family thinks that my age is not competitive enough in the labor market. Yes, I am from a population-dense country, most companies or institutions have age requirements for the employee. I do not know if I should retake GRE. Now, I am a research assistant in a researching center, but some people also tell me that being a research assistant is not enough, and I should think about if I can publish a paper with my professor. That sounds too hard for me. It gives me a strike on my confidence. 

[nęm0]

Research experiene matters more than GPA, I would work for 1 more year before applying! GOOD LUCK

[SuzytheExplorer]

If I were you, I'd continue to work for at least a year and gain more research experience. And it'd be great if there's some publications.

We cannot change the past, but GPA can't dictate everything. I'm not sure about the GRE though.

7/8 schools that I plan to apply this year eliminate the GRE requirement. (optional and "please don't send us the score") 

[kudrinskaya]

On 11/30/2020 at 11:51 AM, SuzytheExplorer said:

7/8 schools that I plan to apply this year eliminate the GRE requirement. (optional and "please don't send us the score") 

This year many universities have been dropping the requirement due to COVID-related testing difficulties. Some of those schools may continue this optional/not required position going forward, but I suspect most programs will bring it back. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

With regards to the original post/question - universities tend to take a 'holistic approach' to evaluating candidates, so each part of your application matters, not just one score or another. That being said, if both your GPA and GRE aren't strong, those are two things the rest of your application should make up for. Which means that perhaps you should consider publishing something. Yes, it may be hard. I don't mean to be discouraging, but being a strong candidate does take work, sustained work, one way or another. There aren't really shortcuts.

[Erica0403]

Thank you for you guys replying me!