Should I still apply this year?

[tmae1126]

I am a recent graduate from a state school with a Bachelors in Health Science. 
I am planning on applying to graduate school for Masters in Health Management/Health Administration. 

I took the GRE 2 weeks ago, and my scores were...abysmal. 
It was 150 in Verbal, 151 in Quant, and a 3.5 in writing. 
I wanted to take it again before I apply to get a higher score. 

Unfortunately, there are no more available GRE tests for the month of November in my area, according to the ETS website. 

I think my experience is good, but my stats are pretty low. I have a 3.4/3.85 cumulative/major GPA. 

My experience includes: 

- 4 month health policy internship 
- 2.5 years in the COPE Health Scholar program 
- 10 months in COPE Health Scholar Leadership Team (Admin Coordinator) 
- Jumpstart AmeriCorps Member 
- English Academic Tutor for over a year 
- CDC Undergraduate Public Health Scholar 
- Health Science Honor Society Member -Eta Sigma Gamma 
- Health Outreach/Data Analysis internship with Michigan Medicine 
- 5 months Research internship with non-profit (focusing on social determinants of health) 
- Currently a AmeriCorps Community Health Fellow 

Some of the school that I am planning on applying to include USC, UMich, UMinn, Boston, WashU, Loma Linda, CSUN, Tulane, Emory, GWU, UCLA (which I might withdraw from now)

I have letter of recs from professors from internships...but I'm worried that my stats would be a barrier for me to get accepted to any school. I wanted to take the GRE again, but since there are no sites available for me to take it before the application deadline, I don't know what to do anymore. I just want to be accepted somewhere.

I would really appreciate any advice. Thank you!

[sc9an]

From what I learned schools might use the statistics (GPA, GRE) as a first-round blind ranking of all the candidates. I am not sure if these numbers would matter again later in the process, but in any case they are unlikely the most important components of your application. Look up graduate application preparation tips, and you would find many reliable sources saying that your SoP and rec letters play an indispensable role in presenting your image and competitiveness. These are your opportunities to highlight your unique strength and could compensate for a weaker statistics. Plus, 3.85 is definitely hard not to impress the committee. (That means no class below A- I guess?)

So I would say you certainly should apply, and the attention should be paid more to 1. how to build a coherent stories and present your strengths in the statement and 2. what portfolio of schools you should apply to mitigate the risk. I am not familiar with your field, but the raw materials you could use in your stories from your past experience seems quite relevant and helpful to me, and the schools you are thinking of seem reasonable as well. Maybe other friends could comment more on that.

In a word, the odds are not bad for a master application in my opinion, so I would not doubt the decision to apply if I were you. A well-formulated strategy in SoP writing and school choice would be the more important issue now.

Edited November 21, 2017 by schenar