chance for admission?

[cooljerri]

I have got the following score in GRE. I would like to apply for MS in Computer science in University of washington ( Tacoma and Bothell) .Do I have any chance of getting admitted? Please post the minimum cut-off for UW..

Verbal -147

Quants-159

AWA- 3.0

[uromastyx]

57.84% chance.

 

Ok, seriously, your Verbal is abysmal and your Quant is quite low. (Your AW is also extremely low.)

I don't mean to be harsh here, but it's best you know. You will want to study hard and retake.

Good luck.

[spacezeppelin]

That was very harsh for someone who doesn’t mean to be harsh...

 

I'm not going to say that you shouldn’t work to improve your scores. That part is totally true. How much did you prepare? If you took the test cold or didn’t spend enough time studying you may be able to improve them by quite a lot. I did very poorly on my first practice tests and they shot up by the actual test (by a WHOLE lot). The quant portion is going to be critical for computer science. If you did well in your major I assume you should be able to get a better score with more preparation.

 

As far as your chances go, none of us can tell you that. The GRE is not the most important factor, but it is a factor. I would encourage you to shrug off your old scores (and probably that last comment as well) and focus on putting together the best application that you can. Apply to a range of schools and see what happens. You really should retake the test though, IMO.

[uromastyx]

That was very harsh for someone who doesn’t mean to be harsh...

V=32nd percentile, Q=77th (for CS!) percentile, and AW=11th percentile.

Harsh is an empty bank account and a stack of rejections letters.

[Usmivka]

V=32nd percentile, Q=77th (for CS!) percentile, and AW=11th percentile.

Harsh is an empty bank account and a stack of rejections letters.

But you are still going out of your way to make people feel bad. You've been unnecessarily dismissive of others without taking the time to consider their situations, and respond with mostly negative posts of only a few words (and in incredible numbers considering your post count and how recently you joined the forum). For example in this case, UW Tacoma and Bothell have lower admissions criteria than the main UW campus, and don't have GRE cutoffs. As someone with experience in the UW system, I think those are acceptable scores if other aspects of the application are strong--the whole point of those campuses is to provide opportunities to non-traditional students, who often have lower GRE scores.  Finally, those percentile ranks are based on a fairly out of date score concordance table, and don't necessarily reflect conditions when cooljerri took the test. Yes cooljerri needs to work to improve those scores. But they are not an automatic rejection, which is what the OPer actually asked about.

 

Also, I appreciate that you didn't like me calling you out in , but digging up  to downvote seems uncalled for (although I did predict it in thread 1 : /). I think this this forum can and should be a collegial.

[uromastyx]

But you are still going out of your way to make people feel bad. You've been unnecessarily dismissive of others without taking the time to consider their situations, and respond with mostly negative posts of only a few words (and in incredible numbers considering your post count and how recently you joined the forum). For example in this case, UW Tacoma and Bothell have lower admissions criteria than the main UW campus, and don't have GRE cutoffs. As someone with experience in the UW system, I think those are acceptable scores if other aspects of the application are strong--the whole point of those campuses is to provide opportunities to non-traditional students, who often have lower GRE scores.  Finally, those percentile ranks are based on a fairly out of date score concordance table, and don't necessarily reflect conditions when cooljerri took the test. Yes cooljerri needs to work to improve those scores. But they are not an automatic rejection, which is what the OPer actually asked about.

 

Also, I appreciate that you didn't like me calling you out in , but digging up  to downvote seems uncalled for (although I did predict it in thread 1 : /). I think this this forum can and should be a collegial.

Yikes, you have issues. Still. And perhaps you should read more than two posts. If you're gonna stalk me then do it properly.

And anyone that listens to this nonsense about not needing good GRE scores is at a huge disadvantage and I feel sorry for them.

I do agree about collegiality. Things like your creepy links might not fall under this category. It's almost like you're still going out of your way to make me feel bad (I feel like I've read this somewhere).

For everyone that doesn't appreciate the truth about graduate school applications there is someone that does. You attacking me certainly isn't going to change that.

Edited February 17, 2013 by uromastyx

[Captain Crunch]

 

And anyone that listens to this nonsense about not needing good GRE scores is at a huge disadvantage and I feel sorry for them.

 

To whoever reads the above: don't despair. I was accepted (with funding, tuition remission etc) to UNC Chapel Hill last year with a 30 something percent in the quantitative portion of the GRE. And in the sciences to boot. 

 

A second hand anecdote: I spoke with a professor at University of Alabama who told me about an applicant who had dismal scores. After some deliberation, they admitted him anyway, and he turned out to be a rock star researcher and one of the best students the department had produced in recent years. So, after that experience, do you think that department takes the GRE too seriously?

 

Yes, GRE is important. Yes, it can disqualify you from admission at some schools (but rarely or if ever qualify you). But in the end, other factors far out weigh it. Finding a POI in your prospective department, communicating well, and having experience (at least in my experience) count for so much more than your GRE score. Just score as well as you can, and if your score is low, aim to make a score that won't inhibit them from denying you.

[uromastyx]

The exception proves the rule. To advise people on the GRE based on a few that got by (who no doubt have a strong overall application) is not a helpful approach. Your story may not be uncommon, but it's also not common.

Last year I was rejected from all program I applied to. I contacted two. They told me I had a strong application and needed to retake the GRE. When I inquired further about other possibilities to strengthen my application they both reiterated "RETAKE THE GRE."

The particular program and particular adcomm will always make a difference. But I truly do not understand rolling the dice on this. It makes no sense. No sound advisor would look at a 30th percentile score and say, "no worries, don't retake." If you all wish to stay in academia then it will be your duty to position your students to do as well as possible, that includes submitting strong GRE scores. Surely people should be aware of the possibility to be successful with holes in one's application. But for the massive amount of people that apply ill prepared, glimmers of hope don't help to position them. Honest advice to improve is what they need. I repeat: anyone who fails to heed this warning is at a huge disadvantage.

For the record, Captain Crunch, congrats on acceptance. Since you're listing UNC I assume it was (close to) your top choice. Congrats!!

[Captain Crunch]

I mostly agree with you uromastyx. Personally, I studied really hard and dramatically improved my Q score. My point, which I believe is generally true, is that GRE scores are often used as a bar in admissions criteria; you simply need to get over the threshold. While I am sure there is a lot of variation between different programs (for instance,the Q bar for an engineering student is going to be MUCH higher than that of a history student), the principle is the same. I would strongly advise people to retake the GRE who have not cleared that threshold, but simply trying to kill the test for no reason is a waste of time. When the faculty are discussing potential applicants, they are looking for potential future colleagues, not standardized test whizzes. I repeat: do well enough on the GRE, but then move on to the other, FAR more important aspects of your application, like actually fostering a relationship with your potential future advisor. This is not false hope, this is sound advise. 

 

Of course, this doesn't take into account fellowships, and other admission feathers, but I am simply talking about getting admitted and getting funded. In the case of the original poster, I think my advice is more helpful, and well rounded, than simply telling him to improve OR ELSE.