Is there a correlation between GRE and doing well in slp grad school?

[Speechstudent]

Some programs (like Northeastern) come right out and say that GRE scores tell them who will do well in their program.

 

I have done very well in my undergrad slp courses, but I do not do well on GRE. Not terrible, just not great (145, 147, 4.5). 

 

So my question is....should I base my final decision on selecting a program where students score similarly to me...or doesn't it matter? What are your thoughts?

[Saila09]

Regardless of what ETS would like us to believe, my understanding is that the predictive value of GRE scores is minimal at best. That's part of the reason they revised the scoring scale, if I recall correctly. 

 

You should apply to schools that seem like a good fit for you. GRE scores are only part of the picture. You can look at EdFind and see the ranges of previously admitted students... If a school has cut offs, then I wouldn't bother. Maybe apply to a mix of schools? It's a tough process. 

[geographyrocks]

Regardless of what ETS would like us to believe, my understanding is that the predictive value of GRE scores is minimal at best. That's part of the reason they revised the scoring scale, if I recall correctly. 

 

You should apply to schools that seem like a good fit for you. GRE scores are only part of the picture. You can look at EdFind and see the ranges of previously admitted students... If a school has cut offs, then I wouldn't bother. Maybe apply to a mix of schools? It's a tough process. 

A thousand times this.  I've read countless articles that say there is little to no correlation.  A test cannot predict who will do well in a graduate program because it's not just about learning or how much you can learn.  You have to apply the knowledge.  You have to be patient with research.  You definitely have to have drive and perseverance.  Those are all things that the GRE can't test or predict. 

[sayjo]

Some programs (like Northeastern) come right out and say that GRE scores tell them who will do well in their program.

 

I have done very well in my undergrad slp courses, but I do not do well on GRE. Not terrible, just not great (145, 147, 4.5). 

 

So my question is....should I base my final decision on selecting a program where students score similarly to me...or doesn't it matter? What are your thoughts?

 

I don't think it matters, but I personally wouldn't want to go to a school that places too much emphasis on the GRE.  I understand that a lot of schools need to use the GRE as a cut-off point; however, to have a school come out and say that GRE scores predict who will do well in their program, well, that disturbs me a little...

[SLPamy]

My profs told us that there was really no correlation between high GRE scores and doing well in grad school. They actually said that there apparently is a correlation between a very high verbal GRE score and failing in your career, haha. 

 

I would only look at a school's cut-off GRE score when deciding whether or not to apply to a program. Nobody should apply to a program if they do not meet the requirements. Beyond that, I wouldn't even think about GRE scores. If you are accepted into a program, it is because the admissions committee believes you will succeed in that program. There are so many more important factors to base your final decision off of!

[JNP92]

This is an interesting topic because I am nervous my GRE scores will affect me getting into the schools I hope to get into.  I have a 3.6 GPA but no so good GRE scores so I'm hoping with my good LORs and lots of experience it will overrule my average GRE scores

[Persis]

From my understanding one of my undergrad prof's mentioned that there is no research that states that GRE is predictive of how well you will do in Grad School. The GRE is really how well you take the GRE.    Some people believe it is and some believe it isn't.  So i will assume that the schools that require the GRE believe that it is predictive and the schools that do not require it believe that it is not a predictor.  However, The schools that require the GRE seems to be more than the schools that do not require it.

[earresponsible]

This is what they say... "SAT scores are an indicator of undergraduate success & GRE scores are an indicator of graduate school success."

 

My SAT scores (by sections) were average or below average. I did very well in undergrad. My GRE scores (by section, too) were above average and below average. I do not believe these numbers will indicate my success/failure in graduate school.

 

If you did well in undergrad and have a passion for the field then you can and will succeed. 

[psyprof]

I am a professor at a liberal arts college and have a Ph.D.  I've kept an eye on the SLP 2014 admissions (and speech results) thread to keep an eye on notifications (my daughter is applying this year).  I saw this thread begin and I feel compelled to address it. 

Some graduate committee's think a GRE score is equivalent to an IQ test - they think that smarter students do better on the test and will more likely succeed in their program.  Other committees are so inundated with applications that they they use the GRE as a way to handle the tide - with a cutoff score, the number of applications is reduced.  ETS argues that the GRE predicts success in the first year of graduate school (success being defined as passing first year courses).

I have had many many students go to graduate school.  Some of my students had such low GRE scores that we looked for graduate schools in psych (masters programs) that did not require GRE scores.  One student in particular had low 140's for both V & Q.  She was admitted to St. John's (NYC) where she had a 3.75 gpa last semester and her professors love her.  I had another student with very low scores who was admitted to a joint Ph.D./JD program  and she is currentlly doing her post-doc.  She succeeded beyond expectations.  I've known students who took a year off to study for their GRE, had perfect scores, and dropped out of graduate school because they did not know how to persevere.  I have not read any compelling research that shows that GRE scores predict grad school success (as defined by program completion), at least in the social sciences.

One of the most important qualities for grad school success is perseverence.  It is digging deep inside and moving forward when you want to give up.  It is studying and studying and studying with determination.  Grad school success is about stubborness (I will not give up), confidence (I can do this!), and hard work.  Many people hit a wall in grad school (at least those who are going for their Ph.D.'s).  Grad school success is climbing over the wall, not panicking because the wall is there and not giving up because the wall is too high.

Regardless of my views of the GRE (I think it is way for ETS to make scads of money), it is a hoop that you have to jump through for most schools.  Given that reality, study for it.  If you don't make it in because of your GRE scores, get some books and work the problems.  Do cross-word puzzles.  Read.  You CAN improve your scores, and you can improve them dramatically.  Take practice tests.  You can do it.  I know you can.

Best of luck to all of you.

[aucinema]

I think the GRE may be one of the biggest scams in higher education, personally. I don't think that it has been shown to be predictive of anything other than how well you will do on the GRE. Predicting graduate school success based on factors such as one's knowledge of obscure vocabulary is asinine at best. I hope that the GRE will be phased out of graduate admissions someday, but it's a cash cow and I doubt it's going anywhere anytime soon. As psyprof said, it's a hoop that one must jump through to go to graduate school. That said, you should probably choose schools with GRE scores close to yours, not because you couldn't be successful elsewhere, but because you have a better chance of getting into those institutions.

[Arcanelady27]

Thank you psyprof for your insight. I've been saying that for a while. I have even expressed that the GRE isn't a reflection of my capabilities to two graduate school deputies for schools I've sent my application.

[mheroux92]

I feel like the GRE, while it is a "standard" to measure us against one another, is useless. I do not need to know how to do pre-calculus in order to be an excellent clinician later down the road.

[Papaya91]

I think the GRE is about as good of an estimator of graduate success as the SAT and ACT are of undergraduate success. (They're not. They just changed the SAT, even, because they themselves recognized it was almost useless.) The way people study so much for those tests, just to forget it all as soon as they get a good score - I think standardized tests are an estimator of how well you can cram, at least for the math portion.

I think GPA can be a good indicator of how you'll fare, at least on paper. My high school and undergrad GPAs were 0.09 apart, and I expect my grad school GPA will be close to that. But no number is going to tell you (or the adcoms) how well you're likely to do. You can have a high GPA and learn nothing, or a relatively low GPA but learn a lot. If you're willing to put in enough effort to learn everything well, you'll succeed in grad school.

[branderz3]

The GRE is so ridiculous. I hate it with a passion. 

[Arcanelady27]

The GRE is so ridiculous. I hate it with a passion.

Me too. I really think it determines absolutely nothing.