I have applied to PT school with a low GRE score and was wanting to know if anyone has been accepted with a lower score. I observed for a PT who performed poorly on the GRE but went to to be very successful. Please post your story.
Students accepted to PT school with low GRE
- Thread starter cowboy345
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OMG I wrote this long post and I pressed the wrong button and it was gone.
Anyway, I scored a combined total of 870 or something on the old GRE. I literally took the old version the last day that you could (July 31st or something) before they switched over. The reason I took the old one was because some of the schools I was applying to required the old one. But then later on I decided not to apply to those schools but had no time to take the new one because I really wanted to send my apps out as early as I could. I applied to 6 schools, rejected by 3, waitlisted at Pacific and Regis, and accepted to Touro Nevada. It took me 3 months to write my personal statement because I wanted it to be flawless so I think that helped. My GPA is mediocre (like 3.3ish) and I had close people write letter of recommendation such as my boss who I have worked for for 9 years. BUT looking back, if you do have time to retake the GRE, don't chance it. RETAKE IT! You still have time till the next cycle!!!!
Anyway, I scored a combined total of 870 or something on the old GRE. I literally took the old version the last day that you could (July 31st or something) before they switched over. The reason I took the old one was because some of the schools I was applying to required the old one. But then later on I decided not to apply to those schools but had no time to take the new one because I really wanted to send my apps out as early as I could. I applied to 6 schools, rejected by 3, waitlisted at Pacific and Regis, and accepted to Touro Nevada. It took me 3 months to write my personal statement because I wanted it to be flawless so I think that helped. My GPA is mediocre (like 3.3ish) and I had close people write letter of recommendation such as my boss who I have worked for for 9 years. BUT looking back, if you do have time to retake the GRE, don't chance it. RETAKE IT! You still have time till the next cycle!!!!
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Hey so I took the GRE twice. First time I got a 840 combined (320V 520Q) this was with the old scoring. The second time I took it was with the new scoring I got a 140V and 155Q and 3.0 AW. This is the equivalent to the old scoring as 320V 710Q. I was very discouraged because I thought I was not going to be accepted this year because of my low GRE scores. This was not the case at all. I am currently trying to decide whether I want to attend Columbia, Upstate Medical University or Stony Brook. The best advice I can give is hang in there. There are a lot of schools out there that look past poor GRE scores. Gook luck!
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OMG your GPA is high! i think youll be fine! Where did you apply?
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I too, scored a modest 920 total on the old GRE (taken 3 years ago). I was also discouraged but have just recently accepted a seat at Columbia. For the OP, it all depends on where your strengths and weaknesses are and what the school is looking for. Not all PT schools base their decisions solely on numbers while some others do. In other words, yes, you still have a good chance.
Oklahoma univ
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I think having a good GRE score is more important than having a high GPA. The GRE evens the playing field, different universities will have different grading schemes, curriculum difficulty, competition, etc. I would study up and retake the GRE if you have a low score.
just my .02
just my .02
I agree to an extent but think it is a crapshoot in determining how good of a therapist you will be. Also how can you compare success over a long period better than gpa. Not to mention, I bombed the GMAT and got a 3.45 in a MBA graduate program from a accredited business school. I just find the gre or any other standardized test to be a poor measure of how well you will do in a program and more of a weed out tool.
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I definitely agree with that idea in general, a standardized test can't measure your potential alone. What the GRE can do is let the admissions committee know that you have developed your intellect to the point where you have the capacity to complete a graduate level program successfully. A GPA may or may not do this. It depends on what courses you took, how many are relevant to what you want to study in graduate school, your course load, difficulty of the courses, etc etc.
My GPA was not stellar (by the average GPA of matriculating DPT students), but I think my undergraduate education and experience as a whole was outstanding. 90% of my major was going to medical school, pharmacy school, graduate school, or some type of technical graduate program. Yet, A's were given out to 10-15% of the students, B's to 30-35%, etc. The courses were designed to be rigorous enough so that there was indeed this type of distribution. I've talked to a lot of people from various majors at the university I went to and at others and know this is not the case for every program. (competition, teaching style, and grading)
Yet, I didn't study too much for the GRE and my scores exceeded the averages of all the schools I applied to, and not just by a few percentile or points... and I was accepted to 3 of my top 4 schools.
My situation probably skews my opinion, but I really do think the GRE is critical in showing how ready your brain is for graduate school. Depending on how classes are taught and how you study, you may just be cramming and memorizing rather than letting the material develop the way you think. This is what the GRE attempts to measure.
My GPA was not stellar (by the average GPA of matriculating DPT students), but I think my undergraduate education and experience as a whole was outstanding. 90% of my major was going to medical school, pharmacy school, graduate school, or some type of technical graduate program. Yet, A's were given out to 10-15% of the students, B's to 30-35%, etc. The courses were designed to be rigorous enough so that there was indeed this type of distribution. I've talked to a lot of people from various majors at the university I went to and at others and know this is not the case for every program. (competition, teaching style, and grading)
Yet, I didn't study too much for the GRE and my scores exceeded the averages of all the schools I applied to, and not just by a few percentile or points... and I was accepted to 3 of my top 4 schools.
My situation probably skews my opinion, but I really do think the GRE is critical in showing how ready your brain is for graduate school. Depending on how classes are taught and how you study, you may just be cramming and memorizing rather than letting the material develop the way you think. This is what the GRE attempts to measure.
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GRE's and other standardized testing is a measure of learning ability. Since everyone learns at a different pace, there is a high level of subjectivity when interpreting the numbers. GPA mainly measures your effort. Effort also has a high level of subjectivity due to rigor, program difficulty, course load, etc. There is a correlation of undergraduate GPA and graduate performance. However, neither GPA or standard test scores correlate with performance after graduation. This information was given to me by my industrial psychology professor who studies performance in the workplace.
But, we all know that there has to be cut-offs somewhere. There are limited resources to every program. I would highly recommend looking at every school you want to apply and determine what their cut-offs are. It's all about best fit. If you believe that your GRE scores are not competitive, than I too, recommend focusing some time on achieving higher GRE scores.
BTW, I am 1 quarter away from completing my MBA. Are you by any chance planning to establish a clinic after some years of experience?
But, we all know that there has to be cut-offs somewhere. There are limited resources to every program. I would highly recommend looking at every school you want to apply and determine what their cut-offs are. It's all about best fit. If you believe that your GRE scores are not competitive, than I too, recommend focusing some time on achieving higher GRE scores.
BTW, I am 1 quarter away from completing my MBA. Are you by any chance planning to establish a clinic after some years of experience?
Eventually, I would like to start my own practice. I have a finance degree and an MBA with emphasis in accounting . I spent 8 grueling months in public accounting slaving away at a desk thinking that I wanted to be a CPA. I believe that PT will be a better alternative.
I know that I will be able to get into some school with my GRE scores. I just hate the idea of having to retake the test and the potential move out of state. ughhhhhh
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it sucks but you gotta do what you gotta do. i mean i live on a tiny little ISLAND and i have to move to the mainland! shipping my car and all my belongings $$$$! but you gotta make moves if you want a different life.
