Any chance of getting in? Low GRE/GPA

[Ohhoneybear]

Hi all! 

I am applying for the Fall of 2017 to: 

West Chester University of Pennsylvania

East Carolina State University (North Carolina)

University of North Carolina Greensboro

California State Fullerton 

Clarion University (Pittsburgh)

My stats:

Undergrad received May 2016, degree in human services 

cumulative GPA of 3.0 

GRE: 

Verbal 132

Quant 136

Currently taking three pre-SLP classes: Articulation and fluency, Communication disorders and phonetics. Expected to receive at least an A- in each of them. 

Activities and others:

Worked part time all through college

volunteered at the American cancer society for 6 months

In the process of currently shadowing/volunteering a speech language pathologist 

I would like all honesty, do you think I can get into any of these schools? Are there chances? 

Edited November 9, 2016 by Ohhoneybear

[imunster]

Current postbacc student @ CSU Fullerton and the graduate advisor says they admit people mostly 3.7 and up. They do not require GRE or interviews so they strictly look at GPA. I would say you have a slim chance getting in there. Also I'm pretty sure they require more pre-reqs taken than you have currently. They have a list of pre reqs and I believe you need at least 8 (or 6?) of them completed/in progress when you apply. 

[FloridaSpeechie]

If I were you I would study for the GRE and take it again. I think some schools may accept that GPA, but they would want good GRE scores too! It's good you are shadowing now though, that will look good on your resume. 

[Kslptobe]

I had almost the same exact scores for gre and GPA. I applied to Fullerton and did not get accepted. I graduated and raised my GPA and I am about to retake the GRE.  Overall I applied to 3 schools last year and did not get accepted. I say wait a year and then reapply. 

[Auuudriana]

Probably not West Chester.  I went there for undergrad and got accepted off of the waitlist for grad school, but decided not to attend their program.  My cumulative GPA was 3.82 and CommDis was 3.73.  I got a 151 Q, 155 V, and 3.5 AW on the GRE.  I also volunteered at a cancer center for over a year.

[jmk]

Realistically I would finish a post-bacc, and retake the GRE. I think minimums are pretty much 145 V and 140 Q (for less competitive programs). 

[Crimson Wife]

I'd save your money and not bother applying unless you can raise your verbal score by 20 points and your quant score by 10 points before apps are due. With a low GPA, you're going to need decent test scores to offset it.

[ccran]

I had a low GPA as well - all of the schools I talked to when I applied said I needed a high GRE to counter this. I'd contact the schools you are interested and see if you can get a ballpark GRE number you need to offset your GPA. So I agree with the other posters, you need to retake the GRE and study, very hard. 

[Brae90]

I would wait to apply. I applied 3 years ago to five different school and did not get accepted. I had a 3.2 GPA and a 284 on the GRE Q: 143 V-141 AW: 3.5
I have just recently within the last year started studying for the GRE again and have had much better results after taking it a few times. I applied for the spring 2017 admissions. I am hoping to get in now that I have brought up my GRE a good bit. I would not waste the money to apply though without at least getting a 290 on the GRE since you have a 3.0 GPA. I honestly wish someone would have told me that 3 years ago, because I wasted a lot of money trying to get in to schools I did not meet their requirements. 

[wcslp]

14 hours ago, Brae90 said:

I would wait to apply. I applied 3 years ago to five different school and did not get accepted. I had a 3.2 GPA and a 284 on the GRE Q: 143 V-141 AW: 3.5
I have just recently within the last year started studying for the GRE again and have had much better results after taking it a few times. I applied for the spring 2017 admissions. I am hoping to get in now that I have brought up my GRE a good bit. I would not waste the money to apply though without at least getting a 290 on the GRE since you have a 3.0 GPA. I honestly wish someone would have told me that 3 years ago, because I wasted a lot of money trying to get in to schools I did not meet their requirements. 

Thank you for this post. Lately, I've been seeing a lot of prospective students (not solely on here) ask if they have a chance of getting accepted with what are objectively quite low scores, and then a slew of people telling them to follow their dreams, and that they know someone who knows someone who got in with xx score. I can't stress enough that it is SO IMPORTANT to be realistic during the application process. I do not want to crush anyone's dreams, but I think it's important that younger students are realistic about the path they're taking. I've seen so many fresh out of college graduates applying to 10-15 programs and willing to take out over six figures in loans for an SLP degree while they barely have a 3.0 GPA. Alternatively, I've known colleagues who are in their fourth, fifth years of applying, and now that they're moving on, they've realized they've wasted so many years and an obscene amount of money on applications when they had a very unrealistic chance of getting in.

My intent is not to be harsh with you, OP, but I absolutely, definitely would not apply this year. The MINIMUM cut off for average GRE scores is often 150. The minimum commonly cited GPA is a 3.5 (and this is considered on the low end). CSUF is a very, very competitive program. Even if you managed to bring your GRE scores up by 25 points, I'd still say you have an extremely unrealistic chance of getting into their program. They commonly turn away students with 3.8+ GPAs. 

You asked for complete honesty in your post, and my honest opinion is that it is highly unlikely you will get into any of those programs. I know you can't change your GPA. Consider a post bacc, if possible. Or you will need to score well on the GREs (not just 150s, in the mid-high 160s) to offset your GPA. You don't have very relevant experiences at this time either; you are still in the process of securing shadowing opportunities. In addition, you likely won't have your grades from your prereqs finalized in time to submit. Applications typically run 100-200$, and it is a very stressful process. You have a slim chance in the field, but it will be an uphill battle for you. You will need to ace the GREs, consider relocating to more remote states, and possibly complete a post bacc. I wish you the best, truly, but please understand that if you can't get into SLP, there are dozens of other helping professions out there that may suit your needs better and that you can get started on right away. 

[CBG321]

I agree with what everyone else is saying wait until your GRE score is much higher.  Take the money you would have spent on the applications and put it towards an extremely effective study course!

Fullerton is a no go I know how their application process works and your stats are not a match for who they accept.  They tell their own students to aim for 4.0s.  Also the majority  of their own students have hands on speech therapy experience already under their belt.  Anyone getting in below a 3.8 is not going to be someone they don't have a relationship with.  

Here is the only constructive comment I can add.  Really think about why you want to do this.  Some people apply bc the career sounds good but don't really know what the job entails.  Why are you passionate about this kind of therapy over any other?  

After you've decided if this is your field.  You have to understand the committees go through hundreds of applications what about yours would make them say yes over someone else with much higher stats, first hand experience and an ability to express what exactly they are so passionate about.

If you can raise your scores and are able to do some things to make your app stand out apply!  Good luck