GPA and GRE -- offset?

[scienceisbeauty]

Ok, I have a crap CGPA - It's a 3.61. I want a program that has an average undergraduate GPA of 3.79.

The average GRE scores of the program are 590 verbal and 695 math. For a 1285 total. Now for me, I'm taking my GRE AUG 30.


If I were to get a wicked GRE score -- say 1400+ or 1500+ would I still have a shot do you think? Or better yet, what do you think I should get for a GRE score to still have a shot at this school?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[myelin]

Sometimes it can, sometimes not. Schools also look at relevant reserach experience as well as LORs. If your GRE score ends up falling below their cut-off and you still want to apply, you should contact the professor that you're interested in working with to explain the situation. Many schools state something like "although we require the GRE, we consider other factors such as previous research experience, letters of recommendation, papers published, etc."

Good luck on the GRE. I'm re-taking it again on Aug. 21. We should probably get off SDN and study, eh?

 

[scienceisbeauty]

yes, yes, yes we should. *SIGH* --scared--

 

[shock-me-sane]

If it makes you feel any better I got into my dream school with a way crappier CGPA (3.35) and a 1330 on the GRE. Their averages range from a GPA of 3.6-3.7 and ~1300 on the GRE.

Yes, n=1 here but, numbers don't always trump all.

Good luck!

and your gpa is FAR from anything near crappy!

 

[JockNerd]

Ok, I have a crap CGPA - It's a 3.61. I want a program that has an average undergraduate GPA of 3.79.

On a 4.0 scale? That's not a crap GPA. It's fine. Completely within standard ranges. You'll pass every school's cutoff and then other things (research experience, fit, etc.) will matter more.

 

[BorntoRun]

On a 4.0 scale? That's not a crap GPA. It's fine. Completely within standard ranges. You'll pass every school's cutoff and then other things (research experience, fit, etc.) will matter more.

What JN said. (That line is becoming quite popular, isn't it? )

 

[scienceisbeauty]

On a 4.0 scale? That's not a crap GPA. It's fine. Completely within standard ranges. You'll pass every school's cutoff and then other things (research experience, fit, etc.) will matter more.

But the average for the school I want is a 3.79...and then my 3.61 doesn't compare. I didn't think.
It's reassuring to hear that it might not be as crap as I thought...

 

[JockNerd]

But the average for the school I want is a 3.79...and then my 3.61 doesn't compare. I didn't think.
It's reassuring to hear that it might not be as crap as I thought...

Means without standard deviations are (say it with me) uninterpretable.

The range isn't going to be 3.78 to 3.80. "Doesn't compare"? You're .18 away from the mean. It's not low. And it's the mean of admitted students, anyway, not a cutoff.

 

[BorntoRun]

A 3.61 shouldn't tank you anywhere if the rest of your application is really solid. That's especially if the 3.61 comes from a really reputable school, but even with a middle-of-the-road reputation for your undergrad, you'll beat any cut-off (usually 3.0 or 3.5 at the very highest). I wouldn't stress about it - once you're past the cut-offs, GREs and LORs are WAY more important than a 0.15 point fluctuation in GPA.

 

[scienceisbeauty]

I feel *SO* reassured now ...thanks guys.
Yeah I come from a Canadian uni - from a top notch university , one of the 3 "sister schools" in Canada

I have pretty solid research experience, and will be gaining some more before I apply

 

[EquestriAnn]

Good lord, 3.61 is nowhere near "crap." I can't figure out if people who say things like that are fishing for compliments or simply lacking common sense. That's like saying the average weight for my height is 120, and since I'm 121 I must be overweight. FYI, if you are given an average, it means that some of the numbers are lower and some are higher. I'm sure they have admitted many a folk with below a 3.5 (gasp!), as well as some with a stellar 4.0. If you bomb the GRE, however, you may have something to worry about. But your GPA of 0.18 lower than the average they accepted last year should not be a kiss of death.

 

[scienceisbeauty]

Most of the us schools I applied to had a grade conversion chart on the application or somewhere on the grad dept web site (schools varied as to how easy this was to find). Some schools wanted the conversions done in different ways.

I'd maybe email the grad studies dept. if you aren't sure about the conversion, and the psych dept if you aren't sure about the cutoff. I was on the cusp for cumulative gpa for a few schools; some said to apply anyway, some said not to bother.

That's from another thread, but see, since I'm from Canada, our GPA system works differently. Notice too how JN said that some schools told him not to apply because he was on the 'cusp of the cummulative gpa for a few schools'. So I figured that having a 3.61 GPA and the school's average being what it was, I ought not to bother to apply, and that's why I thought my GPA was crap.

 

[JockNerd]

That's from another thread, but see, since I'm from Canada, our GPA system works differently. Notice too how JN said that some schools told him not to apply because he was on the 'cusp of the cummulative gpa for a few schools'. So I figured that having a 3.61 GPA and the school's average being what it was, I ought not to bother to apply, and that's why I thought my GPA was crap.

Some of the Canadian schools have a gpa cutoff at 3.5. My cumulative was 3.35, I think, at app time.

 

[scienceisbeauty]

Some of the Canadian schools have a gpa cutoff at 3.5. My cumulative was 3.35, I think, at app time.

Was it 3.35 to the converted American GPA or was it 3.35 of the Canadian GPA?
Eh. I just don't know what my GPA would be Americanized. I guess the application forms would tell me how to convert...

 

[scienceisbeauty]

Do you think they take the original GPA into consideration when it's coverted?