Don't wanna retake the GRE

[Ilikekitties]

I'm having a mini breakdown because I haven't gotten into any grad programs and one of my professors suggested that if I don't get in anywhere, I should retake the GRE. I don't wanna retake the GRE! I think it's a dumb test that doesn't measure anything useful for me.

Could my low GRE scores be preventing me from getting acceptances, or are there other variables at work that would likely hold more weight, like fit? Could GRE scores alone prevent me from gaining admittance somewhere?

Edited February 23, 2016 by Peanut

[rising_star]

They could be. How low are your GRE scores? The easiest way to find out would be by asking places where you were rejected for feedback on your application. 

[fencergirl]

Depends how bad your scores are, but in a nutshell, yes GRE scores alone could be holding you back. (Full disclosure this is my first application cycle and I am in History not Anthro).

Many schools do have GRE score cutoffs even if they do not make these public. It is an easy way to whittle down a large field of applicants. I've also heard that if they really like an applicant but their GRE scores don't make the cut a department might have a select number of "waivers" they can use to admit this person, but they are limited in number and thus departments will be reluctant to use them unless they are totally sold an an applicant. 

Beyond that minimum I don't think the GREs are THAT important in the process at most schools, but if your scores are low enough that you aren't making the first cut, that's not good. Are your scores near the average range for schools you applied to? 

Of course we really need more information to judge the situation fully. For example, we  don't know what your GPA is, or more subjective things like your SOP or letters of recommendation. Any of those could be problematic. If you really think all of those are solid except the GRE, and the fit at your schools is good, then I would bite the bullet and retake the GRE for next year. After the application season is done you can also ask POIs diplomatically what you could do to improve your application and in particular if your GRE scores were a problem. 

Also you said you haven't been accepted to any programs yet but that's not the same as being rejected from them so I hope things turn out better than you are expecting!

[Ilikekitties]

139Q 150V 4.5W,

3.79 GPA

 

And that's a really good idea!

Edited February 23, 2016 by Peanut

[Slagatha]

From this thread:

On 1/25/2016 at 10:17 AM, karennakamura said:

Some programs have no cut-offs, others are more variable.  Some places use it to do the first "cull" of files, others ignore it completely. Some use it to determine fellowships and other merit fellowships, others ignore it. It's hard to make a blanket statement.

Something I've noticed though is that graduate schools are increasingly telling us NOT to rely on GREs because of the correlation between GRE and economic status of the applicant. So more and more, we've been deprecating its use. 

 

idk though, from what I've read some places do say 'it doesn't matter but we look for applicants in the 90th percentile' so it seems really variable!

EDIT: The ETS major averages might give you an idea of where you sit.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Slagatha

[Ilikekitties]

Yeah? I am first-gen/low-income...

[Ilikekitties]

At least my W is higher than average for my field....I could not care less about Q

Edited February 24, 2016 by Peanut

[mini monkey]

This is a hard question to answer since ultimately it depends on the university you are applying to. I would check their websites and see if they mention anything about having a recommended GRE score or a GRE cut-off in general. 

[Ilikekitties]

^Most didn't mention it or said no minimum GRE.

[Bschaefer]

Where did you apply @Peanut? since you are sociocultural - they look more at the Verbal than quant. as oppose to Bioanth where quant is weighted a little more. I do know that schools have a 300 combined V+Q min. but it varies 

[Ilikekitties]

I applied to the following programs, @Bschaefer:

Columbia, anthropology PhD

Cornell, anthropology PhD

UC Davis, anthropology PhD

Maryland, anthropology PhD

McGill, anthropology MA

The New School for Social Research, anthropology MA

Notre Dame, anthropology PhD (rejected)

UC Santa Barbara, anthropology PhD (rejected)

UC Santa Cruz, anthropology PhD

Toronto, anthropology PhD

UI Urbana-Champaign, anthropology PhD (rejected)

Edited February 24, 2016 by Peanut

[Bschaefer]

That's not bad, a lot of schools, but nonetheless you're a little more than 27% of rejection, but still have the 8 to hear back from. You could also ask the Graduate Director for more information about why you were not a successful applicant. 

[Ilikekitties]

As a current undergrad, I probably should have applied to more MA programs. :/

I also applied to Washington-Seattle, but I retracted my app because they only accept sociocultural kids for odd years. They were my best fit, too, for human-environment stuff. I really wanted to work with this prof: https://depts.washington.edu/anthweb/users/rgovind

Not that I can't apply to UW-Seattle in the fall, but if I DID get in somewhere this round, I'd be stuck.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Peanut

[Bschaefer]

Mhm, well you always have the option to defer (in some cases per Uni) or not attend - study more for the GRE and get more practice/praxis in the field and apply next year. there is no shame nor disadvantage to doing so. Taking a year off and working in the relative area of your interest would be more practical in some ways. I would ask your advisor too, but doing nothing is better than doing the wrong thing as my undergrad advisor told me. 

You could also complete a masters at another Uni and matriculate to the PhD there too. 

 

You at least have options so don't think that a few rejections mean rejections across the board. 

[Ilikekitties]

If I get in somewhere, then I'll have an option

[knp]

Hey! I was curious, so I did some digging and I think you're right that there's very little out there about the average GRE scores for anthropology graduate programs. But I found this website with a couple of the universities you're talking about, where I'd argue that you could approximate the range you're talking by looking at history or English scores. Did you already get the GRE fee waiver? If you didn't, you should, because that would reduce the cost the next time! And how much did you study for the test the first time? If you could improve both your V and Q by ~5 points, I think you'd be much less likely to run into any department GRE cutoffs. 150V is just below the national average for test-takers who intend to go to graduate school in the social sciences, most of whom aren't aiming at programs as this competitive, so your score is low. Mid-150s would be much closer. (I'd also recommend spending a little time working on your Q because I think you could pick up 5 points quickly that way—it's usually easier to gain 5 points in each section than 10 in only one, so making even a small improvement there would help you hit the 300-point-combined GRE cutoff @Bschaefer mentioned.) So if you didn't study much, I'd bet you can improve that much in 40-50 hours of studying; if you already studied a huge amount, though, I'm more inclined to agree with you that it's not worth all that more investment of time and money.

As an erstwhile GRE tutor who isn't working with any GRE prep clients or teaching any such classes right now because it really is a dumb, dull test, I have to agree with you on that part. But like @fencergirl said, many universities, especially state universities, will have had the legislature or the campus set a minimum GRE score (often GPA, too, although that obviously doesn't apply to you) below which they can't admit applicants or have to use one of very few "waivers" to admit somebody with a lower score, making your pool even more competitive. Your W and GPA are totally great, so I believe you can do it!

At the same time, I hope all this GRE stuff turns out to be totally irrelevant. You have a ton of programs left to go, so don't count yourself out just yet! So many people wait and despair of getting in and then it turns out that some of their universities were just really slow this year, and they did get in! 

[Ilikekitties]

I would also approximate my scores with sociology, and they're a bit lower than history and English. I did get the fee waiver. I studied a little bit for the verbal in the years leading up to the test and I didn't study for the quant or writing.

I also have research experience in three countries and I "fit" with the some of the profs at the programs I applied to. I have a "niche" interest in anthro, too. I sent emails to the programs that I was rejected to in order to get feedback, so maybe that will give me some useful insight.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Peanut

[ChrisTOEFert]

I too have a meh GRE score (152 Verbal, 148 Quant, 4.5 Written) and it really depends on the school in which you are applying.  I only applied to one US school (UCSC) and apparently my test scores were quite low compared to the other applicants (according to my POI), but I got in anyways due to other circumstances such as apparently better than average marks and strong LORs.  You have to remember that schools look at a collection of things, it even says on the UCSC site that they are looking for a certain score on the test, high grades, a good fit/strong purpose statement, and strong LORs.  However, they say right after that that one of those things alone is not enough to admit you, nor is one weak section compared to strong everything else going to hurt you (yet I'd hazard that middle to weak LORs would DEFINITELY hurt you...but they can't say that).  

If you hear back from the schools about why your application was weak (usually they don't, as in most of the responses they say they will not field questions about the failure of your app...they just don't have that much time and are probably sick of butthurt snowflakes keyboard yelling at them....just take a quick look at the Results page for the type of pompous self worth a lot of students have), aim to improve it for next application cycle.  That is what I did when I first got rejected.  Also, maybe aim for a Master's degree instead of a full out PhD right out of the gate?  I am confused by the US system...why are Master's degrees so rare, and why is a PhD a thing people aim for right out of undergrad?  I feel the commitment jump and workload would be like going from strolling up a moderate incline to suddenly scaling K2 with an oxen strapped to your back.  

[GradSchoolTruther]

On February 23, 2016 at 6:39 PM, Peanut said:

I'm having a mini breakdown because I haven't gotten into any grad programs and one of my professors suggested that if I don't get in anywhere, I should retake the GRE. I don't wanna retake the GRE! I think it's a dumb test that doesn't measure anything useful for me.

Could my low GRE scores be preventing me from getting acceptances, or are there other variables at work that would likely hold more weight, like fit? Could GRE scores alone prevent me from gaining admittance somewhere?

Just because you think the GRE is dumb doesn't make it so. It's not a perfect test, and is not a predictor of future performance. However, there are only so many graduate school spots open and it serves a purpose to sort people out of the pile.

[Ilikekitties]

It does "sort people," but I don't believe that what the gre selects for is super relevant for grad work and independent research. If a grad program were to weed me out based on scores alone and not based on my fit or research experience,  then what's the point? Whether or not I can do algebra or know the definitions of words that anthropologists don't use is not a good indicator of my abilities in ethnography or theme/concept analysis.

[GradSchoolTruther]

The point is there are many applications and many candidates may also be "good fits" or are able to conduct independent research. What makes your file stand out from the others who have what you have and did better on the GRE? That's a question admissions committees would ask.

[Ilikekitties]

I would place LOC's, outside funding, previously-awarded grants, writing samples, coursework, research experience, diversity, etc. above the GRE in importance. Sure, if an applicant had the exact same interests and profile as me but had higher GRE scores, that person might get the offer, but anthropology is so broad (but specialized at the same time) that I doubt that this kind of situation would happen much.

[striped]

I am also there with you Peanut & ChrisTOEFert. I scored 158v (79 percentile), 145q (21 percentile yikes), and 4.5w. I was upset I didn't score higher in verbal bc I was really relying on that to show committees that I could truly excel in one area even though I can't perform more than a basic level in quant. I am looking to retake the GRE to raise my verbal score by 5 points and my quant score by at least 5 points (hopefully 7-10 though). I am upset that many schools I am looking at do not list a cutoff. It's very unhelpful for those trying to put together a competitive application. I've seen some state schools (like SDSU) publish a minimum GRE score for their MA program, but I was not looking to apply to MA programs frankly just because there are so few out there. This narrows down staff I can see myself working with /etc. So people coming out of undergrad (or even people who've taken time off after undergrad) have little choice but to apply for PhD programs. 

also Peanut I know you mentioned being first gen/low income, but what do you think qualified you for the prestigious schools you applied to? is your research topic really align with the faculty at those schools? I too am first gen/low income and didn't even bother considering those schools (columbia, cornell, UCSB) bc I figured they would be auto rejects for someone with my scores. I'm not trying to be weird or anything I just want to know what you thought made you competitive so other people might consider applying to programs they otherwise wouldn't have considered before. 

[Ilikekitties]

Striped, I picked the programs that had faculty with similar interests. I also attend a school that sends a fairly high percentage of anthro students to PhD programs.

Edited February 26, 2016 by Peanut

[Ilikekitties]

I could retake it, but honestly I don't think that I'd do much better.

On practice GRE tests, I got like 145Q and 155V, so at most I'd increase by about 5 points each just from random test-taking variables. This would put me at the 300 mark, but I honestly don't know if that would make huge impact on my application. Just a guess, I don't actually know what's going on in their heads...perhaps the fact that I literally can't/won't math. With the 6th percentile math, part of it is that I refuse to study for it and the other is that I'm literally the worst person at it.

The last time I did any math was in high school, and I barely got by because I worked my crazy butt off.

 

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Edited February 26, 2016 by Peanut