May i get admitted into a good college with my poor GRE score?
Certification: Test Prep GRE - Graduate Record Examination
This is probably the most-asked question about the GRE. The idea that a single test can affect your graduate career so much is frustrating and a bit terrifying, and everyone eventually wonders exactly how important this test is for getting into graduate school. Note: The following discussion largely centers on the GRE General Test, not subject-specific GREs.
The answer isn’t as simple as you might think. The importance of the GRE depends on a lot of factors. The first is the school you want to apply for and how important they thing GRE scores are. Then there’s the program you’re applying for and their opinions of the GRE. Sometimes it will even depend on who you want to work with in that program, particularly if you are applying for a PhD. Last, though certainly not least, it also depends on all the other pieces of your application that you submit to the graduate school: your CV, personal statement, letters of recommendation, transcripts, and (if necessary) your portfolio, writing sample, or research proposal.
Your School
Certain schools place a lot of importance on your GRE scores, while others only glance at them. Certain schools don’t even ask, though you usually have the option of telling them if you want. Look at the admissions requirements for graduate studies at the schools you are applying to AND for the program you are applying to at that school. You can usually find statistics on the average GRE scores for students admitted in the last few years by searching the admissions site. When in doubt, email or call someone in graduate admissions and they should be able to help you.
Your Program
Certain programs will place more emphasis on GRE scores than others. Mathematics, Literature, or Creative Writing will certainly pay attention to your GRE scores, since those are the subjects the general test assesses. However, programs like Anthropology, Sociology, or Sculpture might not place as much importance in your scores from the general test, because they aren’t necessarily a direct reflection of your skill in those fields. This doesn’t mean you can ignore the GRE and send any old score – there are still general standards for admittance to the graduate school, which you can find on their admissions website. But it does mean that certain majors and programs might not worry about a lower GRE score. NOTE: Many majors have a subject-specific GRE that they will place far more importance in. You can reasonably assume that a program will not ask you to take a subject-specific GRE unless they place a fair amount of importance in the result.
Your Potential Supervisor(s)
As with most things in life, it’s not always what you know, but who you know that can go a long way. A lot of graduate school (and life in general) is networking. Often, if you have some connection to the person you want to study under (because you’ve met them at a conference or sent an introductory email, etc), you can ask them about the weight your GRE scores will carry in the admissions process. You can also try asking them what you can do in the rest of your application to improve your chances of admission. Depending on who makes the decisions when it comes to graduate admission, any faculty connection you will likely prove extremely valuable.
Your Application
The GRE General Test only measures math, reading comprehension, and vocabulary. Admissions officers know this. Program faculty reviewing your application know this. And because they know this, a low GRE score probably won’t automatically get your application thrown in the rejection pile.
Graduate schools ask for CVs, recommendation letters, personal statements, proposals, writing samples, portfolios, and transcripts in addition to the GRE score, and all of those pieces play a role in determining who gets an offer of acceptance. If your GRE score is lower than the average admitted to that particular program, you can still get in provided that the other components of your application are at or above average for that program. If your proposal, personal statement, transcripts, and recommendations are all phenomenal, then low GRE scores usually won’t matte so much.
Here are some tips to make your application shine even with a low GRE score:
1. Polish your CV to reflect your work experience and any field or lab work you’ve done. Be sure to include any conference papers or posters you’ve done either at any level – even local presentations are still presentations.
2. Ask for recommendations from people you know will give you a good one. Choose professors who know you well and can talk about you as a person as well as a student.
3. Don’t mention your GRE score in your personal statement, and don’t make excuses. Your personal statement should be a reflection of you as a student, not an explanation of why your GRE score is low. Tell the school why they should accept you and why you would make a good addition to their program.
4. Write the best proposal you can. Ask your current professors to look at a draft. Look online for ideas. Be sure to include anything that either your program or graduate admissions specifically says to include. Don’t mention your GRE score – this is about what you’re going to do, how you’re going to do it, and why you’re the best person for the project, not why your GRE scores are low.
5. If the school doesn’t require that you report your GRE score, then don’t report it. If they’re giving you the option to leave it out of your application, then they won’t be upset or offended if you take that option. Be sure you are absolutely clear on whether GRE scores are required, though, so your application isn’t rejected for being incomplete.