<p>I’m taking the GRE in a few weeks and applying for library science programs this fall. My question is how much weight is put on the quant section by admissions officers for library science applicants? I have no illusions that I’m going to score well on the quant section, though I expect to score well on the verbal section. I’m curious to know if the quant section is nearly irrelevant or if it can truly break an admissions decision. Any experiences that would support the possibility of entrance into an MLIS program despite low math ability?</p>
<p>It depends on the school and the program requirements/emphasis. Some care more than others.</p>
<p>My MLIS program (2008 graduate) required all students to take graduate statistics as well as some basic database programming (SQL) so wanted some math competency. </p>
<p>BTW, both stats and programming are very useful, esp if you want academic librarianship, work in a highly digital environment (and who doesn’t these days) or plan to move into management in the future.</p>
<p>Some schools accept the MAT as well as the GRE, so that could be an option for you. The MAT is all analogies (frog is to lily pad as bird is to…), so that might work if you’re good at those. Buy a prep book and study the vocabulary though, because they whip out a lot of obscure words (just like the verbal of the GRE) and it’s easy to miss questions where you understood the relationship but still got it wrong because you didn’t know all of the words being used. </p>
<p>If that’s not an option and you’re still worried, I’d call the admissions office of the school(s) you’re interested in and ask them how they weight things. I think a lot of prospective students are afraid to ask questions because they think the school is going to make a note and flag their file or something crazy like that, but the admissions office is not your enemy. In most cases you’d be surprised how forthcoming they are about their evaluation criteria. If you really are worried that you will be a weak candidate on paper, tell them your concerns. Ask to meet with (or at least speak with on the phone) an admissions counselor and let them know that you really want to go there. You’d be surprised how far that can get you. You’ll stand a much better chance as a known quantity than just a name on an application. </p>
<p>Everything WayOutWestMom said about programming, stats, etc. is dead on. A bit of web design wouldn’t hurt either, and definitely take a class on searching electronic databases (nothing makes an intern or practicum student look worse than not knowing how to search for information). The most important thing is experience though. It doesn’t have to be a job - volunteering works fine - but you’ve got to find a way to get some library experience on your resume beyond the usual internship/practicum if you don’t have some already. Long gone are the days of newly-minted library grads getting jobs without experience.</p>