Abstract
One argument for keeping the physics GRE is that it can help applicants who might otherwise be missed in the admissions process stand out. In this work, we evaluate whether this claim is supported by physics graduate school admissions decisions. We used admissions data from five PhD-granting physics departments over a 2-year period (N=2537) to see how the fraction of applicants admitted varied based on their physics GRE scores. We compared applicants with low GPAs to applicants with higher GPAs, applicants from large undergraduate universities to applicants from smaller undergraduate universities, and applicants from selective undergraduate institutions to applicants from less selective undergraduate institutions. We also performed a mediation and moderation analysis to provide statistical rigor and to better understand the previous relationships. We find that for applicants who might otherwise have been missed (e.g. have a low GPA or attended a small or less selective school) having a high physics GRE score did not seem to increase the applicant's chances of being admitted to the schools. However, having a low physics GRE score seemed to penalize otherwise competitive applicants. Thus, our work suggests that the physics GRE does not, in fact, help applicants who might otherwise be missed stand out.
Highlights
While applying to graduate programs requires many components, perhaps none is as scrutinized as the Graduate Records Exam (GRE), and in physics, the physics GRE
We assume selectivity is a proxy for prestige as prestigious institutions tend to have low acceptance rates and high SAT scores and grade point average (GPA) from incoming students
We grouped applicants based on their GPAs and physics GRE scores
Summary
While applying to graduate programs requires many components, perhaps none is as scrutinized as the Graduate Records Exam (GRE), and in physics, the physics GRE. Research into graduate admissions in physics suggests that the physics GRE is one of the most important components of the applications for determining which applicants will be admitted, based on both student and faculty perspectives [1,2] and analysis of the admissions process [3,4]. At least one in three programs use a cutoff score [2], with 700 being a common choice [6], meaning applicants from groups already underrepresented in physics graduate programs can be further marginalized as they are less likely to achieve these scores. This is in addition to the observation.
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