Writing about GRE scores in Cover Letter

[jlee306]

Hello,

I went and talked to the director of the program I want to get into the most because I was worried about my GRE scores. I was able to prove to her that my GRE scores do not reflect me as a student and that I am quite intelligent. She told me that she was excited to get my application and told me to write about my GRE scores in the Cover Letter (the cover letter for that school is to just state that you are interested in their program). My question is: What all do I need to say about my GRE scores? I have taken it twice...so do I need to say how many hours I have studied and prepared for the test (100s by the way)? Do I need to mention things that may be going on in my life that could have affected my scores (my dad is on hospice)? What all should I say? Thank y'all soooooooo much!

[glasses]

Hello,

I went and talked to the director of the program I want to get into the most because I was worried about my GRE scores. I was able to prove to her that my GRE scores do not reflect me as a student and that I am quite intelligent. She told me that she was excited to get my application and told me to write about my GRE scores in the Cover Letter (the cover letter for that school is to just state that you are interested in their program). My question is: What all do I need to say about my GRE scores? I have taken it twice...so do I need to say how many hours I have studied and prepared for the test (100s by the way)? Do I need to mention things that may be going on in my life that could have affected my scores (my dad is on hospice)? What all should I say? Thank y'all soooooooo much!

Hmm. Maybe you should just say in your cover letter whatever you said to the program director to get her to agree that your GRE scores do not reflect who you are as a student?

[JustChill]

I would advise against mentioning how long and hard you studied for the exam if your scores were really low, because that could backfire and make them think that you're just incapable of absorbing information or that you lack proper study habits. If someone says that they studied for hundreds of hour for an exam but still performed poorly, that makes me think that the person may have other problems besides for the usual personal life distractions. You also might want to consult some of your professors who know you well.

[jlee306]

I would advise against mentioning how long and hard you studied for the exam if your scores were really low, because that could backfire and make them think that you're just incapable of absorbing information or that you lack proper study habits. If someone says that they studied for hundreds of hour for an exam but still performed poorly, that makes me think that the person may have other problems besides for the usual personal life distractions. You also might want to consult some of your professors who know you well.

My reasoning behind talking about the amount of hrs I spent studying is because the director advised me of doing so. I just don't know how to word that and tie it in without it sounding like there is no flow.

[jlee306]

Hmm. Maybe you should just say in your cover letter whatever you said to the program director to get her to agree that your GRE scores do not reflect who you are as a student?

Well, my big problem with the GRE was my verbal score, which is weird b/c English is my first language and in high school and undergrad, English was my best subject. The director pointed out that I am very articulate and was using advanced vocab and using it correctly...stating that she could tell that my verbal score didn't reflect me. There is really no way to say that in my cover letter without sounding cocky and without dropping her name (which would be very bad etiquette in this case). Also, we talked about how in high school, I didn't ever take regular English, but rather A.P. English and passed all my A.P. tests and got college credits for them. The director said that that shows I am very intelligent with vocab itself. I am just not sure I should be talking about high school English classes in my grad school cover letter. The way the director was able to realize that my scores don't reflect me was by talking to me face-to-face.

[KieBelle]

Well, my big problem with the GRE was my verbal score, which is weird b/c English is my first language and in high school and undergrad, English was my best subject. The director pointed out that I am very articulate and was using advanced vocab and using it correctly...stating that she could tell that my verbal score didn't reflect me. There is really no way to say that in my cover letter without sounding cocky and without dropping her name (which would be very bad etiquette in this case). Also, we talked about how in high school, I didn't ever take regular English, but rather A.P. English and passed all my A.P. tests and got college credits for them. The director said that that shows I am very intelligent with vocab itself. I am just not sure I should be talking about high school English classes in my grad school cover letter. The way the director was able to realize that my scores don't reflect me was by talking to me face-to-face.

Your writing ability and vocab knowledge should come through in your cover letter without you having to point it out. And I wouldn't hesitate to name drop--if you've spoken to the director of the program, why wouldn't you mention that? That's the main reason why many people (including myself) contact professors at prospective universities ahead of time-- so that we can say in our essays that Professor X thinks our ideas are fantastic. I would advise keeping your mention of your GRE score very brief. State that you don't believe your GRE verbal score accurately reflects your abilities and that after speaking with you, the director of the program agrees. I agree with rockchalk about not mentioning the hours you spent studying, despite the director telling you to do so. I just don't see how you can say that without digging your hole even deeper, so to speak.

[LateAntique]

Well, my big problem with the GRE was my verbal score, which is weird b/c English is my first language and in high school and undergrad, English was my best subject. The director pointed out that I am very articulate and was using advanced vocab and using it correctly...stating that she could tell that my verbal score didn't reflect me. There is really no way to say that in my cover letter without sounding cocky and without dropping her name (which would be very bad etiquette in this case). Also, we talked about how in high school, I didn't ever take regular English, but rather A.P. English and passed all my A.P. tests and got college credits for them. The director said that that shows I am very intelligent with vocab itself. I am just not sure I should be talking about high school English classes in my grad school cover letter. The way the director was able to realize that my scores don't reflect me was by talking to me face-to-face.

This is a good case of show-and-not-tell. Your letter should come across as articulate without sounding pompous. If you write it well, it will be pretty obvious that your verbal score is not indicative of your overall ability with the English language. A.P. classes aside, if you really are bad at writing and then say "I'm great with English! I swear it!", you're going to come across as not so intelligent. Are you turning in a writing sample? If so, that could strengthen your case. Also, I'm not sure how to spin "I spent 100s of hours studying for the test and bombed it" into a positive thing. The director told you that you should mention that specifically?

[jlee306]

This is a good case of show-and-not-tell. Your letter should come across as articulate without sounding pompous. If you write it well, it will be pretty obvious that your verbal score is not indicative of your overall ability with the English language. A.P. classes aside, if you really are bad at writing and then say "I'm great with English! I swear it!", you're going to come across as not so intelligent. Are you turning in a writing sample? If so, that could strengthen your case. Also, I'm not sure how to spin "I spent 100s of hours studying for the test and bombed it" into a positive thing. The director told you that you should mention that specifically?

No, I am not turning in a writing sample b/c they do not ask for one and they specifically state that they do not want anything less or anything more than what is required for the application. And yes, the director told me I should mention the hrs specifically...but I just don't know how to do that. The reasoning she gave as to why I should put the hrs in the letter made very good sense at the time, I just don't exactly remember why it made sense at the time. We covered a lot of stuff that day and it is all kinda a blur now. She really relieved my worries though.

[jlee306]

I believe the reason the director wanted me to talk about the amount of hrs I put into studying is so it looks like I actually dedicated myself to studying and didn't just show up at the testing center with no studying and then just give up after two attempts. I think she wanted me to demonstrate that I put a lot of effort into the GRE and actually tried.

[LateAntique]

I believe the reason the director wanted me to talk about the amount of hrs I put into studying is so it looks like I actually dedicated myself to studying and didn't just show up at the testing center with no studying and then just give up after two attempts. I think she wanted me to demonstrate that I put a lot of effort into the GRE and actually tried.

I guess I'm just confused as to how that doesn't come across as "No matter how much I study, I fail."

[jlee306]

I guess I'm just confused as to how that doesn't come across as "No matter how much I study, I fail."

Oh, I hear ya and the others who have said this. My concern is that the director will know when she reads my cover letter that I didn't follow her direction if I leave it out and I don't want that to look bad. She will remember me b/c this is a relatively small school and program. The point of this is because the rest of my application is totally opposite...making awesome grades and all. The GRE just seems to be my weak point and she wanted me to point out that I really tried my hardest, despite all that is going on in my life that could have prevented me from studying at all.