NEED HONEST OPINION about ONLY applying to schools that do NOT require GRE

[pmaq]

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Would it be a bad idea to only apply to schools that do not require the GRE ?

I narrowed those searches down to the schools (not requiring the GRE) I would like to attend

I had planned on taking my GRE next month , but only two schools I want to go to require the GRE and I think I'll survive if I go there . My stats aren't that great , CUM GPA is 3.34 , I have over 1,000 observation hours and I was an athlete and involved in clubs and honor societies (not sure if that helps)

Schools I want to apply to:

DO NOT REQUIRE GRE : Western University of Health Sciences , Pacific University , Saint Francis University , D'Youville , and Nazareth College

DO REQUIRE GRE : University of Miami , New York Medical College

PLEASE PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR HONEST INPUT

 

[scrawnyguy]

Have you taken a practice GRE to see about where you're at?

 

[pmaq]

Have you taken a practice GRE to see about where you're at?

I haven't . I've done review and practice questions , those seemed fairly easy , but I was thinking since 5/7 schools I want to apply to don't require the GRE if its even worth all that money and time to take it for 2 schools.

 

[DPThopeful1859]

I think having the GRE scores as a back up just in case you decide to apply to other schools that accept it would be a good idea. I mean, PT school is super competitive and I can only imagine the amount of students who would apply to a school that doesn't require the GRE because it means not having to take that test nor spend the money....just my thought.

 

[NJ DPT HOPEFUL]

Would it be a bad idea to only apply to schools that do not require the GRE ?

I narrowed those searches down to the schools (not requiring the GRE) I would like to attend

I had planned on taking my GRE next month , but only two schools I want to go to require the GRE and I think I'll survive if I go there . My stats aren't that great , CUM GPA is 3.34 , I have over 1,000 observation hours and I was an athlete and involved in clubs and honor societies (not sure if that helps)

Schools I want to apply to:

DO NOT REQUIRE GRE : Western University of Health Sciences , Pacific University , Saint Francis University , D'Youville , and Nazareth College

DO REQUIRE GRE : University of Miami , New York Medical College

PLEASE PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR HONEST INPUT

I think you're too early in the game to be looking to take short cuts. Your gpa isn't poor, but isn't strong. You should be looking to do well on the gre to strengthen the application and maybe look into more schools who do require it, because as mentioned before. With your gpa and no gre, it will be harder to compete with higher GPAs

 

[scrawnyguy]

I agree with the above poster. GRE and GPA seem to be the primary factors for pretty much every school. Without the GRE you really have to have a superb GPA to stand out. Your GPA isn't necessarily bad, but honestly it's not great either. A solid GRE could really help your chances. That's why I was asking about the practice GRE. I believe there's a free one on the ETS site. It can give you a good idea of where you stand.

 

[pmaq]

I think you're too early in the game to be looking to take short cuts. Your gpa isn't poor, but isn't strong. You should be looking to do well on the gre to strengthen the application and maybe look into more schools who do require it, because as mentioned before. With your gpa and no gre, it will be harder to compete with higher GPAs

Thanks for the input ! I'll look into to taking the GRE then , I just figured if a majority of the schools I wanted to go to didn't require it I was debating whether taking it was worth it since only 2 schools I was interested in required it you know ?

 

[pmaq]

I agree with the above poster. GRE and GPA seem to be the primary factors for pretty much every school. Without the GRE you really have to have a superb GPA to stand out. Your GPA isn't necessarily bad, but honestly it's not great either. A solid GRE could really help your chances. That's why I was asking about the practice GRE. I believe there's a free one on the ETS site. It can give you a good idea of where you stand.

Thank you ! I've done plenty of practice questions and felt confident but haven't taken the actual practice test , so I'll give that a whirl . If I am terrible , would you still recommend taking the GRE ?

 

[beyoutiful_sunshine]

I think you should definitely take your GRE. I understand your reasoning because that's 5 out of 7 schools that you can apply for that don't require the GRE, but considering that your GPA is below average, I would take the test now. In the instance that you don't get into any of those 5 schools, having the GRE opens the door to more schools that you can apply to, whereas if you don't take it and you don't get into these schools then your options are limited.

In the end, I feel like it all comes down to how confident you are that you have a solid shot at those 5 schools. If you feel like you're not a strong enough applicant, don't risk it, take the GRE.

 

[pmaq]

I think you should definitely take your GRE. I understand your reasoning because that's 5 out of 7 schools that you can apply for that don't require the GRE, but considering that your GPA is below average, I would take the test now. In the instance that you don't get into any of those 5 schools, having the GRE opens the door to more schools that you can apply to, whereas if you don't take it and you don't get into these schools then your options are limited.

In the end, I feel like it all comes down to how confident you are that you have a solid shot at those 5 schools. If you feel like you're not a strong enough applicant, don't risk it, take the GRE.

Thank you,

I mean I'm not sure what those schools really look for in applicants. I have a good amount of observation hours and used to work as a rehab aide , I have good letters of rec and lots of extracurricular and involvement / leadership roles in clubs throughout college . I'm just not sure how far that would get me you know ?