Will I get in? GRE: 800Q/590V/5.5A

[mercurial]

Hi, I want to attend a top 10 PhD program in Quantitative Finance or Economics. I just took the GRE and got 800Q/590V/5.5A and I will graduate with about 3.7 GPA honors bachelors degree from a good Canadian school. What are my chances for admission to top programs like Penn, Duke, LSE, Stanford? Also, I was a bit disappointed with the 590V, do you think this will stand out in the admissions? Thanks

[belowthree]

These scores won't present a problem to your application, but these scores won't really help you much either. No scores really would...

[fuzzylogician]

Your scores are good enough to probably get you past any initial cutoff a school might have, but GRE scores alone don't get you admitted to a school. Your other credentials do - your research experience, your SOP, your recommendations, your writing sample. That's what you should be concentrating your efforts on.

[thefrightfulmuse]

Agree with other people. For top schools, test scores are just weed out factors so the admissions committee will actually have time left to eat, go home and see their children, and have a life outside the admissions office. After all is said and done with test scores, their pile of applicants is still going to be 10x larger than the number of students they can admit. If scores are your best trait, you might as well not apply. You've gotta have things that makes you stand out as a person, a researcher, and someone that exudes success. Your statement of purpose and letters of recommendation weigh heavy... more weight than most people think. I think sometimes applicants forget that people, not machines, evaluate applications and the human factor is immensely important.

If your statement of purpose starts off dry and boring like, "Hi my name is Dave Smith and I have a strong interest in condensed matter physics" then tear it up and rewrite it. If you don't have good relationships with the professors that write your letters, then go get to know them better, ask what else you can get involved in, etc.

The admissions committee knows a very compelling fact that most applicants don't give much thought to - and that is, intellect and potential don't mean a damn thing without passion, drive, dedication, focus, humility, and ethics. They'll turn down a 4.0 with high GRE scores and admit someone with a 3.5 and average scores if the latter person shows more promise of those latter attributes. Those are the things that will ultimately determine success and admissions committees know it. Too many intelligent people these days try to wing it, have sloppy attitudes, and end up flunking out. It does a school no good to admit that kind of person. So make sure you are demonstrating the good qualities that the committees really want to see.

[ridgey]

No-one can tell you whether you'll get in.

You're scores and GPA shouldn't be a barrier to getting in. If you get to a point where your SoP and writing sample are *perfect*, then consider redoing the GRE. But the difference the 590 will make is marginal c.f. these aspects, so it isn't a good use of your time while you can still improve on them.

[EightBall]

I have a similar question. I have an overall 3.61 GPA from the University of Connecticut, and a 4.0 in my major field for which I am applying to grad schools; I have had two stories published in magazines, and I have done a teaching internship. (I have not taken the GREs yet, but I am studying for them.)

What are my chances of getting into Brown or Yale for a PhD in English Literature?

Thank you!

[ridgey]

I have a similar question. I have an overall 3.61 GPA from the University of Connecticut, and a 4.0 in my major field for which I am applying to grad schools; I have had two stories published in magazines, and I have done a teaching internship. (I have not taken the GREs yet, but I am studying for them.)

What are my chances of getting into Brown or Yale for a PhD in English Literature?

Thank you!

Your chance at each school begins at 1/number of applicants.

[Stories]

I have a similar question. I have an overall 3.61 GPA from the University of Connecticut, and a 4.0 in my major field for which I am applying to grad schools; I have had two stories published in magazines, and I have done a teaching internship. (I have not taken the GREs yet, but I am studying for them.)

What are my chances of getting into Brown or Yale for a PhD in English Literature?

Thank you!

Yale: http://www.yale.edu/graduateschool/acad ... gelit.html. 3.2% accept.

Everyone that applies to Yale and Brown is going to have similar scores as yours. What makes you a good fit for Yale or Brown is if they have faculty you're interested in working with that feel the same about you.

[ashley_marshal]

I believe Stanford is the toughest to get for Economics. Retake GRE.

Eightball: Brown is tough. Have you taken Subject GRE?

A good admission chance estimator can be found at http://www.missiongre.com

[was1984]

The GRE is not the LSAT or the MCAT. It is a pretty easy test and everyone does well on it. Pay attention to people who are telling you that the GRE will ruin your chances but won't improve them one bit.