GRE Importance - American, Denver, Pitt

[thompsonek88]

Hi everyone!

I am getting ready to take the GRE and am pretty nervous about my test-taking abilities. I did well on the last standardized test I took (5 years ago now..yikes!) but applying to graduate school for fall 2012 admission was sort of a last minute decision, so I haven't had much time to study/practice. Anyway, I'm applying to American's SIS, Denver's Josef Korbel, and Pitt's GSPIA and I am worried that my scores will hinder my chances of acceptance to these schools.

When I talked with an admissions counselor from GSPIA, she emphasized the fact that, for Pitt, the GRE is an equal factor - it is no more or less important than any other application requirement (GPA, resume, etc).

I'm wondering if the same is true for American and/or Denver. Does anyone know the weight of the GRE at these schools?

And more generally, if anyone has any study tips, those are welcome as well!

[Learn619]

Hi there,

The GRE's are only one of the many important factors going into the admissions decision, however (in my opinion) they really are quite important. The GRE scores can be an important factor in showing that person-A, from a lesser known school, can "analyze and compute" on a quality level, on par with Person-B from a well known University.

In direct relation to Denver, I know that they used to have "guaranteed scholarship" money for incoming students who had a certain GRE score, paired with a certain GPA level. This was as recently as a few months ago posted on their webpage, however I just went on their page a few days ago and could not locate it. They may have stopped doing this, or perhaps I just missed it. It is certainly something you could contact them about and ask,

If you want a shot at decent funding from 'American', you'll need a high quality GRE score.

You should head over to the "government affairs" section of this forum. That is where all of the American/GSPIA/Korbel type questions are talked about on a regular basis!

Best of luck!

[thompsonek88]

Thanks for your help!