Tiers of schools and numbers

[bicks]

Hi folks
I've found the information here really helpful so far.  Wondering if anyone has any generalizations or rules-of thumb on what my application-obsessed mind has been pondering:  the relationship between GRE, GPA, and rank of school.

Obviously, admissions decisions are made on more than just the numbers.  But that doesn't mean the numbers don't

Comments

[shaydlip]

Generally speaking, GRE and GPA only keep you out, they don't get you in. If your scores are high enough, then they'll take the time to look at your other materials- SOP, LORs, etc.

And ranking graduate departments by the rank of university according to undergraduate rankings is not the best way to go.

[flamingjune07]

iawtc.

[ravenword]

Matching of research interests definitely overshadows the numbers.

When I applied to my program, they actually showed a slide with the statistics of this year's applicants (GPA and GRE) on it, I guess because they wanted to impress us with the caliber of the applicant pool and the overall goodness of the program. But, my classmate who was made really nervous by that because he had almost the lowest scores still got accepted. I know in science, at least, there are candidates with mediocre GRE/GPA at top programs because those people have awesome research backgrounds and were well on their way to becoming experts in a topic before they applied. Meanwhile, lots of people right out of undergrad with great numbers will be rejected if they show no sign of being prepared for doing research.

If your school has a cutoff for GPA or GRE, you need to meet it. Otherwise, anything goes.

[chaostheory635]

YES!!! And research experience is pretty much the most important element of your application overall.
For programs in my field, 3.5 is pretty OK, and above a 1400 means no one will reject you based on your scores. I also know people who have gotten into great programs with less-than awesome GREs, or sub-3 GPAs. YMMV :)

[rusleeping]

If your combined verbal/quantitative is >=1200, then choose a range of programs based on who is there and the research they are doing. Weight your selection to include more "top" programs.

If your combined verbal/quantitative is <=1200, then choose a range of programs based on who is there and the research they are doing. Weight your selection to include more "safety" programs.

Admissions decisions are made on a wide range of factors that will vary from department to department. There's no magic formula.

[brittdreams]

Like ravenword said, it's really all about research match. You could have a 1500 and a 3.9 and not get in if your research interests don't match with any of the faculty. I got into high ranked programs without having a 1400 GRE or a 3.5 GPA. Why? I was a great match with faculty at those programs.

[ladylucretia]

Somewhere the APA has a chart of average GPA and GRE for candidates in Ph.D. programs...average GRE is like 1175, average GPA was like 3.6, so I think as long as you are around those your app won't get thrown out at many schools.