Hi everyone. I wanted to follow up on my post and some of the reactions, and also some of the other interactions I've seen on this community
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Based on what I'm reading for programs in my field, scores below 1300 would only exclude me from a few schools -- most do not prioritize GRE scores as much as they prioritize being published, or having fantastic references.
Of course, there are lots of other fields that may be more demanding or have different attitudes about the tests.
*sigh* I've always believed that a holistic application process is the best process. I did my undergrad at MIT, and they don't have cut-offs for any criteria -- they look at you as a complete person. Even if you're a diamond in the rough, you can still get in. I hope that these fears of GRE scores excluding people from graduate programs are unfounded. But, that may be over-optimism/idealism. God knows I've been guilty.
I never said it was brag-worthy. I believe those are your words.
And I'm not posting about this solely on the basis of this experience. I've noticed a few other people who post scores or express concern that they won't be able to raise their score on a retest receive, if not criticism, certainly a lack of support. And I've read those people expressing frustration.
Okay, I see your point, but I have to disagree to an extent. Obviously we can't all be the best at everything. But this is a grad school community. Full of people who are really stressed out about grad school. It may not be a contest, but we all want a high score, and every score posted that's better than ours is a whisper in the ear that we're not doing as well.
Really, my complaint is this: the community is called applyingtograd, not GRE_wank. Frankly, a random person's GRE score, with no additional information, is off topic as far as I'm concerned.
And I did really well in high school and on my SAT, and I remember feeling shitty that I couldn't celebrate my high scores without seeming like a killjoy. But honestly? Why can't the post say "I did well, yay!" or "I got my target score, yay!" instead of OMG LOLZORZ I DIDINT TRI AT ALL AND BEET U BY 150 POINTS
and the "should I retest?" question are wanks too, because if anyone on this community knew if your score was high enough, they could be cleaning up playing the lottery. Call your program and ask if they have a minimum.
Well, my original post seemed to have made some people sad, or aroused hostility in others. This in turn made me feel bad. I wanted to address this dynamic openly in full view of the community, because I've observed it happen with other community members. I hoped to present my perspective, and hear the reasoned perspective of others.
And at least in some cases, I think that's happened. Both sporkgoddess and geekpunkgrrl have helped me to understand the dynamic a bit better, and I've revised my opinions accordingly.
These kinds of things are a sensitive topic all around. We're all putting ourselves up to be "evaluated" so to speak and it can be a bit tough on the ego. I know you meant well though, and your score was awesome you should be happy <33333
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Based on what I'm reading for programs in my field, scores below 1300 would only exclude me from a few schools -- most do not prioritize GRE scores as much as they prioritize being published, or having fantastic references.
Of course, there are lots of other fields that may be more demanding or have different attitudes about the tests.
*sigh* I've always believed that a holistic application process is the best process. I did my undergrad at MIT, and they don't have cut-offs for any criteria -- they look at you as a complete person. Even if you're a diamond in the rough, you can still get in. I hope that these fears of GRE scores excluding people from graduate programs are unfounded. But, that may be over-optimism/idealism. God knows I've been guilty.
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And I'm not posting about this solely on the basis of this experience. I've noticed a few other people who post scores or express concern that they won't be able to raise their score on a retest receive, if not criticism, certainly a lack of support. And I've read those people expressing frustration.
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Really, my complaint is this: the community is called applyingtograd, not GRE_wank. Frankly, a random person's GRE score, with no additional information, is off topic as far as I'm concerned.
And I did really well in high school and on my SAT, and I remember feeling shitty that I couldn't celebrate my high scores without seeming like a killjoy. But honestly? Why can't the post say "I did well, yay!" or "I got my target score, yay!" instead of OMG LOLZORZ I DIDINT TRI AT ALL AND BEET U BY 150 POINTS
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And at least in some cases, I think that's happened. Both sporkgoddess and geekpunkgrrl have helped me to understand the dynamic a bit better, and I've revised my opinions accordingly.
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