Re-take GRE's for PhD?

Graduate School
1

<p>Ok…a little bit about myself…</p>

<p>I recieved my BS in geology from the University of Pittsburgh in '04, magna cum laude (3.54 QPA), GRE scores not excellent but I believe they are 650 (M, 60th), 530 (V, 70th), 5.0 (AW…I think…either that or 4.5)…</p>

<p>I’m currently attending UNC-CH for my MS degree and am looking at PhD programs for Fall 2006. The schools I’m currently applying to are:</p>

<p>1) U of Minnesota (ranked 15th in nation, my prospective advisor only accepting one PhD student next year)</p>

<p>2) U of Wisconsin (ranked 3rd in nation, unsure how many prospective advisor is seeking next year but he encouraged me to apply)</p>

<p>3) U of Montana (safety school, contacted prospective advisor and is alum of UNC-CH)</p>

<p>Ones that I’m seriously considering are:</p>

<p>1) WUSTL (good school, still waiting for reply from prospective advisor)</p>

<p>2) Kansas (same as WUSTL)</p>

<p>3) Syracuse (not sure about this one…but was encourage to apply by a professor in my current department)</p>

<p>4) U of Illinois (again, not sure, but encouraged to apply)</p>

<p>5) Texas -Austin (want to apply, haven’t contacted prospective advisors as of yet…will this week)</p>

<p>What I’m worrying about is my GRE situation, do you think my MS degree will pretty much null and void my average GRE scores? I’m basically going off of Wisconsin’s geology department average admit. statistics (3.6 GPA, GRE: 71st M, 73rd V, 67th AW) which I fall slightly below on math…however, my math grades are good (Calc 1&2 = A, Calc 3 = A-, Diff Eq = B+) which can off-set my low math score???</p>

<p>Anybody able to give me any advice? I personally don’t think it’s worth spending the 150 bucks on another exam but would like any input people may have for me.</p>

<p>I can also explain my GRE scores, I had scheduled my exam for December 2003 and had a nasty car accident where a deer went through my windshield and I suffered a major eye trauma. When I took the computerized exam I had one normal sized pupil and one extremely dialated eye, which isn’t good for staring at computers I must say!</p>

<p>Oh yeah I should also say that I’m almost finished with my NSF Graduate Fellowship Research Program Application and many are saying I have a strong application with very well-written essays/research proposal. I won’t find out the outcome until the end of March, after most accpet. letters are sent off…</p>

<p>Well thanks in advance for the help!</p>

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<p>I get a question. Do you guys normally contact with perspective advisors before submitting the applications? Thanks!</p>

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<p>What do you mean that you believe your scores are such-and-such? Are you saying that you don’t know your own GRE scores, and if not, why not?</p>

4

<p>Yes, it is normal to contact prospective advisors for grad school in the sciences. Esp. for a PhD degree.</p>

<p>I said I think on the AW score, I took it nearly 2 years ago and I thought it was a 5.0, but my friend got a 4.5 and said she was in the 67th. I really thought I was in the 67th, so it may be a 4.5. I need to check with the woman in the office to be absolutely sure. But I am absolutely sure on the math and verbal.</p>

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<p>For PhD programs in science/engineering, the three most important factors are grades, letters of rec, research experience. GREs are a distant fourth. That said, I’m surprised your GREs are that low given
the fact that you graduated with honors. You have a decent excuse… but the reality is, it’s still just an excuse. Show that you are serious, and take them again. Yeah, $150 sucks… but you better get used to being poor if you’re going to a PhD candidate!!</p>

<p>Regarding contacting prospective advisors… it is definitely not required, and most candidates don’t do it… but it can definitely help a candidate who is on the line if a particular faculty member wants you.</p>

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<p>harv and berk…</p>

<p>Thanks for your input. I have the undergraduate grades (UNC doesn’t have graduate GPA’s), I have good letters of rec. (including a particular glowing one from a Professor Emeritus that is well-know in his specialty), I’ve been doing my best to get varied research under my belt (nothing published yet, but going to be co-author on one paper with the Prof. Emeritus and will publish my thesis when the time comes…I am also scientific reader/editor for a book to be published mainstream), and trying to get as much field experience as I can (i.e. field assistant and taking Salt Tectonic course through ExxonMobil). </p>

<p>The only negative in my mind are the GRE’s I explained the physical problem I had while taking them but I also have a long history of being a horrible standardized test taker (I know…excuses, excuses…it’s learning to take the test, etc.). So, I think I can do better, but not sure how much better…</p>

<p>Oh, I’m sure used to being poor don’t get me wrong there…just like to keep my debt to a minimum…</p>

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<p>Probably not what you’re looking for, but: you can get a low-income fee waiver for the GRE. There are forms to fill out for that and of course brush-up studying for the exam, so it would take time BUT you can avoid the cost. No idea as to whether re-taking it would be worth the effort. Before deciding to re-take, though, take a practice exam on your own and see if your new score is significantly better than the old one. If it isn’t, then that issue resolves itself. Luck with that.</p>

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<p>I don’t think I’m eligible for the fee waiver. Just checked gre.org and it says you must be a college senior or unenrolled student applying for financial aid. I am neither of these, being in graduate school already and not needing financial aid (grad students in my field get tuition remission for TA’s and RA’s).</p>

<p>Please tell me if I missed something…</p>

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<p>No, that actually sounds about right for the fee waiver. However, it may be that the intent of the college senior/unenrolled graduate requirement is merely that they do not want to extend free testing to very young students who would just be using this as an opportunity to practice the test before taking it for real in their senior year (undergrad sophomores, etc.), and that claiming unenrolled student status by not telling them about your current grad degree would not be a big deal. Setting up the fee waiver may not be worth the trouble, though. I suspect that the time you would have to put into re-studying for the GRE will be a much greater factor than the fee itself.</p>

<p>Departments here at Madison vary widely in the weight they place on GRE scores; some don’t require it at all, some only want to see that the student is above a minimum threshold (top 50%, for example), some don’t require it for admissions but use it as a basis for distributing department scholarships and assistantships, and others really really really do care about even minor differences in scores. </p>

<p>Your best option would be to contact them and find out. If you are nervous about discussing your application with the faculty who will be reviewing it, you could approach the graduate advisor instead:
Jane Fox-Anderson, <a href=“mailto:jefoxand@geology.wisc.edu”>jefoxand@geology.wisc.edu</a>, (608) 262-9265. They should be very up-front about how much they weight GREs.</p>

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<p>One last thought: you might not do any better the second time around even if you were emerging from a head to head with a deer the first time your took the test. (This same realization only dawned on me last week after I took my first practice test in preparation for my own retake–which I have now cancelled. Apparently, I get the same scores puking my brains out that I do sitting at my desk with a cup of coffee…) I would take a practice test or two and see. If you can’t improve your score by much it would probably look better to leave it as it is. You don’t even have to explain yourself. Just let them assume that you are much more clever now that you’ve got some graduate work under your belt and aren’t interested in test taking. Improving your score by 20 points here or there just looks lame after two years of graduate work.</p>

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the best way to explain that your scores were not telling of your abilities is to retake the test.</p>