| Senior admissions consultant Heather
MacNeill cautions applicants to be careful when using
graduate program directories to assess their chances of
gaining admission to various graduate schools.
The problem with most of these guides
and directories, Heather says, is that they rely too
much on numerical data to describe graduate programs.
That can give applicants the misleading impression that
they're all but guaranteed admission to a particular
school if their undergrad GPAs, GRE scores, etc. match
those of previous admits.
"I would caution you to rely too much on
statistics when making decisions regarding graduate
study," Heather says. "Keep in mind that averages are
just that – averages. Many students admitted to a
program have numbers falling above or below that
average.
"Also keep in mind that your GPA and
test scores are just part of the application," says
Heather. Although these are important data, chances are
slim that any school will make an admissions decision
based on them alone.
"Your letters of recommendation and your
essays are the true way to differentiate yourself from
the rest of the applicant pool," says Heather. "That's
to your advantage, since these are the elements of your
application over which you have the most control."
– Senior Consultant Heather MacNeill
gained extensive graduate admissions experience during
her former service as Assistant Director of Graduate
Admission at Pacific University. She also worked in
graduate admissions for the Oregon Graduate Institute at
the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).
What Picture of You Will Admissions
Committees Get from Your Application? That question
can be harder to answer than you might think – and a
wrong answer might make the difference between getting
into your target schools and being dinged. Our
consultants can help you avoid making that mistake. Call
us at 703.242.5885 or
email
us to learn more about our graduate school admissions
consulting services.
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