From: jovanovic-nick@cs.yale.edu (Nick Jovanovic)
Newsgroups: soc.college.grad
Subject: Re: GRE
Date: 27 Jan 1993 15:19:03 -0500
Organization: Yale University Computer Science Dept., New Haven, CT 06520-2158
NNTP-Posting-Host: frog.zoo2.cs.yale.edu

In article <1993Jan27.133138.1@gallua.gallaudet.edu> cads_remingt@gallua.gallaudet.edu (Elizabeth Remington) writes:
>
>So it's sounding to me like low scores mean that u are immediately weeded out 
>before your other credentials are given a chance.  That doesn't seem fair.  The 
>GRE for me (and many others I would guess) is simply a test of how fast or slow 
>I work.  I work slowly, don't get a lot of problems finished, and so my score 
>is low.
>
>My percentiles were  verbal: 34%   and  math:  53%
>
>My GPA for my 1st BS in liberal arts was:  3.9 (translates to 4 Bs)
>My GPA for my 2nd BS in computer science:  3.7 (translates to 2 Bs in Calc I&
>  II, "A"(s) in all the computer classes).
>And As in all the grad classes I have taken - 5 classes
>
>DOES my GRE score mean i will not succeed in graduate school?  I doubt it.  It 
>seems crazy to disqualify people soley on a test score.  Why isn't past school 
>history a better indicator of grad school success?  
>
>This puzzles me.

Past performance in degree programs and work experiences are certainly good
indicators also, and they are used to evaluate candidates.  However, 

1) Schools and grades are not easily compared; an 'A' at school X does not
   necessarily mean what an 'A' means at school Y.  Tests like the GRE give
   schools a way to do a nationwide (worldwide) comparison of candidates 
   based on a uniform grading scale.

2) Candidates are not usually admitted because they show evidence that they
   could succeed in grad school; such evidence is usually necessary, however
   it is not sufficient.  Most schools and programs have many more qualified
   applicants than spots to fill, hence, large numbers of very qualified
   applicants are denied admission at all levels of higher education.  [BTW,
   one exception I know to this is in Kansas state colleges & universities:
   any graduate of a Kansas high school is automatically admitted to college
   at a Kansas state school upon application.  However, the colleges don't
   have to graduate all of those that they admit, of course.  Also, this rule
   does not extend to graduate schools; I know of no such policies anywhere
   in the U.S. for graduate school admissions in any field.]

3) Schools are organized into a hierarchy of scholarly worth (not necessarily
   correctly, but it is the reality).  A  GPA of 3.6 from Caltech or MIT
   would much more likely balance low GRE scores than would a 4.0 from the 
   DeVry Institute of Technology.  

4) Cutoffs are used by schools that have more than adequate applicant pools
   to choose from.  Why would a department fill its limited number of spots
   with people offering low GRE scores and high grades if the spots could all
   be filled with applicants having high grades AND high GRE scores?  

   Now, I think some state schools have some legislatively installed
   entrance standards for GPA or GRE scores.  These I would consider of
   questionable merit.  I wonder if they make exceptions when not enough
   of these "qualified" applicants apply to fill the available slots, though.
   

Good luck,

-Nick