To take the GRE or not? Advice please!

[caffeinegirl]

Hi Everyone,

I've run into a bit of an issue and I really don't know what is best.

I'm planning on applying to MPH program this coming winter, so I was planning on writing the GRE this summer. To get a better idea of what school I wanted to go to, I did some thorough research on each of the programs and found that for most of the schools that I was looking at (like U of BC, U of A etc. ) only suggests you have a GRE to be more competitive and that is not required (some put a clause saying that you need to have a intro level statistics course which I have to make up for the GRE score).

The question is - should I still write the GRE? I've looked over the some practise tests and have found them rather tricky (a lot of the material they cover is completely unrelated to my degree, so I'm rather rusty on the skills). I'm worried that writing it and scoring poorly will hurt my application (considering I have a high GPA) rather than not writing it at all.

Any suggestions?

[emmm]

If you don't need it, why pay for it? I'm in the US, so all the programs I applied to required it. Unless you actually want to apply to a school that requires it, I'd say don't bother. But the basic skills it tests are probably good to have. You'll need that level of math for stats and epidemiology, and you will most likely be doing a lot of reading and writing as well.

[caffeinegirl]

Its not that I don't have the skills, its more I haven't dealt with the material in a good chunk of time. There's also the sheer time commitment for the GRE - months of studying that I have to work in among the rest of my life.

[emmm]

No matter what you choose, the recommended stats class is a good idea. I have a friend doing an epidemiology degree right now, and her program has a fair amount of stats. Also, she has had to use a number of statistical software packages and is now planning to take a basic programming class to help her use them more effectively.

[mutualist007]

Which schools do not require the GRE? I would check their accreditation status and background them maybe.

[jeffster]

Yeah, a lot of programs require the GRE. Is there any chance you might want to apply to such a program, nor or in the future? If so you may as well study it and get it out of the way now, when it can benefit your current app.

[caffeinegirl]

Not many schools in Canada require the GRE in the MPH program if your undergrad is from Canada also (which mine is). Accreditation is a different story in Canada - currently there is only one school that has it and another in the process of applying... the biggest name schools like U of Toronto and U of British Columbia do not have it (nor have indicated they are applying for it).

[mutualist007]

Not many schools in Canada require the GRE in the MPH program if your undergrad is from Canada also (which mine is). Accreditation is a different story in Canada - currently there is only one school that has it and another in the process of applying... the biggest name schools like U of Toronto and U of British Columbia do not have it (nor have indicated they are applying for it).

I would prefer the Canadian system to the one in the US. I sometimes view US accreditation as akin to being part of a paid membership club.

[kdok]

If I were to do it again, I would have spent the time I did studying for the GRE (and the money) on taking a distance ed stats course and getting an amazing grade in it. If you are certain you are only going to apply for Canadian schools, I wouldnt bother. I got great GRE scores (168V 166Q) and did not get into most of the schools I applied to. The feedback I was given was lack of undergrad stats. I got a 98% in graduate biostats last term (too late to submit the grades with my application). If I could do it again, I would have focussed on that.