Not sure if I should apply...

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IhiManu

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Sorry for the many other posts like this, but i could not find one that was semi-recently posted.

GPA: 3.46
Pre-req GPA: 3.3
GRE V:151 Q:154 W: 3 (i know, it sucks)
Shadowed: 200 hours (outpatient, hospital and college sports first aid clinic)
Worked as a PT tech: 151 Hours

I know schools are competitive and my choice for schools right now woudl be limited. I just dont know how competitive the spots are currently. Thanks for any help or advice. And sorry again if this is annoying to anyone.
 
People with a lot worse on this forum have gotten in places. Are you going to get into the Dukes of the country? Almost certainly not. But there are plenty of programs out there for people like you and me. My grades aren't much higher and my GRE is only a bit higher than yours and I'm not too worried to be honest. With a solid, well rounded application (LOR's, extracurriculars...etc) you will get some opportunities. Just apply smart. Don't apply to only 4 programs where you know you would be a weakish applicant at based on their averages. Go to PTCAS, do your research and find programs that fit. There will be plenty. Only issue you have might be the 3 on writing because there are a lot of places requiring higher than that as a minimum.

Check out the sticky thread on GPA/GRE/Acceptances at the top of this forum. Tons of info there. Don't let yourself get down about how scary some of the numbers on there are. Who is more likely to go online and post about their grades and stuff, someone who has a 3.85 and 160s on the GRE or someone who has a 3.25 and 150s on the GRE? This forum is a very small sample size so take everything with a grain of salt, but there are plenty of low GPA applicants who were brave enough to share their success stories from start to finish, not knowing if they would even get in anywhere. And they do. The horror stories you read about the people who have, like, 3.9 GPA/2,000 hours and other stuff that looks good on paper but still do not get in anywhere? I'm convinced there is more to those stories. Whether they only applied to a few top programs or have some crazy red flags about themselves as individuals which bites them in the ass that they don't even realize I'm not sure but there has to be something.

Apply smart. Don't freak out. Run your race, don't worry about everyone else.
 
You should probably retake the GRE and get that writing score to a 4....that would be probably the easiest step you could take to make your application better
 
You might want to get your GRE writing up.

Your stats are certainly good enough to get in somewhere. Probably not at your top choices, and you will likely need to apply to a good number of schools and travel a bit, but you can certainly get in somewhere I would think. Just be smart and apply to a good variety of schools with lower average scores, and work on everything you can improve such as letters of reccommendations
 
Thanks for the help. I am studying to re-take the GRE. I will be focusing more on the AWA portion to hopefully boost that.
 
Sorry to be bringing this thread to the top again, but i have a quick question.

Since i need to improve my AWA score, could anyone suggest ways to do that? I noticed on mygretutor.com they have a paid service to grade essays. How relative are thier graders to GRE graders and such. Thank you in advance for the help.
 
If you have the time, I would start with looking over the essay prompts and getting familiar with them. There is a master list of them out there that the testing service has provided if I remember correctly. Here's the link to the pool:

http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing

That way, if you happen to see it on the actual exam, you already know what you are going to write instead of having to use some time to brainstorm and to go over the prompt several times. The other advantage is that you can see a trend of what kinds of passages there are to have to write about, so you can form a general pool of knowledge in your head to use for any material. For example, if you are a history buff, World War II topics are VERY useful for multiple topics.

One tip for the persuasive essay portion that I learned (the types of passages you read and then have to refute the passage's assertion) is to treat it like an argument in person. Be assertive, be polite about it too.
 
I found the one I actually had when I took the GRE in 2012
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The following appeared in a letter from a homeowner to a friend.

"Of the two leading real estate firms in our town—Adams Realty and Fitch Realty—Adams Realty is clearly superior. Adams has 40 real estate agents; in contrast, Fitch has 25, many of whom work only part-time. Moreover, Adams' revenue last year was twice as high as that of Fitch and included home sales that averaged $168,000, compared to Fitch's $144,000. Homes listed with Adams sell faster as well: ten years ago I listed my home with Fitch, and it took more than four months to sell; last year, when I sold another home, I listed it with Adams, and it took only one month. Thus, if you want to sell your home quickly and at a good price, you should use Adams Realty."

Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.
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I have to run to volunteer, but if you want, I will be back later to go over points that I made for this one
 
I got a 5.5 and a 5 on the AWA when I took the GRE. Liste, don't overthink it. You need to make a persuasive argument backed up by facts from the prompt. Don't forget proper paper form (beginning, 2-3 paragraphs, conclusion as well as topic sentences that tell what the paragraph will be about). I prepared by going over essay formats. Making outlines on paper, and also utilizing GRE vocabulary.
 
Thanks for you suggestions! I have began reading over the prompts. I find i do not have a lot of outside source that i know well enough to be able to cite. Maybe that is why i did so poorly. I will trudge on and do what i can to prepare. I have signed up for the test again and have given myself two months to do my improvements.
 
Sorry for the many other posts like this, but i could not find one that was semi-recently posted.

GPA: 3.46
Pre-req GPA: 3.3
GRE V:151 Q:154 W: 3 (i know, it sucks)
Shadowed: 200 hours (outpatient, hospital and college sports first aid clinic)
Worked as a PT tech: 151 Hours

I know schools are competitive and my choice for schools right now woudl be limited. I just dont know how competitive the spots are currently. Thanks for any help or advice. And sorry again if this is annoying to anyone.
My GRE scores were less than stellar as well (158V 145Q 3W) and I got into 2 of the 3 schools that I applied to this cycle.
 
Sorry, I forgot about this and I have like 10 minutes before I get off work with free time, so here's a couple of points I made for the passage mentioned above:

The following appeared in a letter from a homeowner to a friend.

"Of the two leading real estate firms in our town—Adams Realty and Fitch Realty—Adams Realty is clearly superior. Adams has 40 real estate agents; in contrast, Fitch has 25, many of whom work only part-time. Moreover, Adams' revenue last year was twice as high as that of Fitch and included home sales that averaged $168,000, compared to Fitch's $144,000. Homes listed with Adams sell faster as well: ten years ago I listed my home with Fitch, and it took more than four months to sell; last year, when I sold another home, I listed it with Adams, and it took only one month. Thus, if you want to sell your home quickly and at a good price, you should use Adams Realty."

Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.


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First a good tip is to always disagree with the passage if given the chance. If you want to agree, all the information is easily available in the passage already provided so it's not the best way to go.

So let's disagree and find some way to argue all of his points. You don't need solid evidence of your own, you just need a way to make the reader think twice while reading the author's passage and to cast doubt on his assertions.

- Adams is considered superior with 40 agents, yet the competitor Fitch only has 25 and works part time. Consider how efficient and good Fitch must be relative to Adams to only put in a fraction of the effort and still be one of the top real estate firms.

-Last year's revenue is a small sample size, cannot draw accurate conclusions from one year alone.

-Higher prices and faster sales depend entirely on how healthy the housing market is at the moment and where the house is located. The passage does not say whether or nor Adams and Fitch sold in the same area of town, or if Adams sold in a better part of town, etc. In addition, the author tried to sell his home TEN YEARS ago compared to using the other firm just the previous year. Very unfair way to compare.
 
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