Importance of GRE
A few months ago, I had the unique opportunity to talk to several directors of the graduate admissions department from various universities. I asked, what according to them, was the most important factor for admissions to any graduate school in the U.S. A few of them stated “the GRE score.”
The reasons they quoted were the following:
The GRE provides a common tool for admissions officers to compare hundreds of applicants irrespective of their work experience, undergraduate GPA, undergraduate school, and program.
For example, two applicants applied to Harvard – one had an undergraduate degree with a 3.5 GPA from MIT, and the other was a meager candidate from a low-ranked school with a GPA of 2.3. The MIT guy is the preferred applicant for Harvard, but wait a minute. The GRE score of the later applicant is 96-percentile…wow…now suddenly, the admissions committee is confused; in fact, they want to interview this other person.
This is how a good GRE score can change the game plan.
Specifically, the admission officers mentioned that GRE is a good predictor of success for a student in the first year of graduate school. Of course, after that, your domain and field-specific knowledge comes in and plays a vital role in your later success.
More encouraging was the fact that more than 60% of admissions committee members look at the GRE score when giving out scholarships and other financial aid forms.
There is an extremely encouraging and morale-boosting fact for all those applicants out there who do not have a great GPA, work experience, or for those who lack good undergraduate degrees from good schools. All hope is not lost – in fact, all of you out there still have a great chance to make it to your dream university by first working hard towards getting a good GRE score. You still have another chance given you did not do well before.
Beyond doubt, it is clear that your GRE score will play a key role in getting admissions and competing for scholarships. The higher your GRE score, the better off you will be as a prospective student in admissions officers’ eyes.