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I'm thinking of applying to the University of Toronto for its Masters in Economics program. I wrote the GRE in October but due to a technicality that is probably my fault, it won't be scored.
The website says that the GRE is 'highly recommended' for students with a Bachelors degree from Canadian universities (I am in this category, taking Math/Econ) but not required. My letters of recommendation should be good and my marks are comfortably above their minimum requirements.
I'm not sure how competitive their process is and how much weight it places on the GRE. Do I have a good shot of getting in without writing the GRE again, or should I shell out the extra $200 and bite the bullet?
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University of Toronto is the top university in Canada, I wouldn't really bank on getting in and would apply to more than one school.
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I'm going to apply to other universities, but UofT would be my top choice and I'd like to get in.
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go for it man. if UofT is where you want to go, try your best and if you make it GJ. If not, then it wasn't meant to be. $200 bucks might seem alot now, but it's nothing compared the toe debt you are going to owe for post secondary anyways
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Yeah, I totally understand, bud. Do you have any work experience in economics? MBA is typically a professional degree and admissions pays more attention to work experience and letters of recommendation. Whereas a Ph.D is academia focused and tend to pay more attention to GRE/transcripts.
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You should take the GRE again.
It's not that bad.
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On November 24 2011 09:55 Northern_iight wrote: go for it man. if UofT is where you want to go, try your best and if you make it GJ. If not, then it wasn't meant to be. $200 bucks might seem alot now, but it's nothing compared the toe debt you are going to owe for post secondary anyways
Hah, thanks! I hoped that I was done with the whole GRE thing a month ago but I guess things don't always end up the way that you plan. It's the effort that I'll have to put in during exam period (late December) to properly prepare for the thing and make sure that it's done in time.
On November 24 2011 09:55 kammeyer wrote: Yeah, I totally understand, bud. Do you have any work experience in economics? MBA is typically a professional degree and admissions pays more attention to work experience and letters of recommendation. Whereas a Ph.D is academia focused and tend to pay more attention to GRE/transcripts.
I'm going for a Masters in Economics, not an MBA or a Ph.D but almost in the middle. I have some work experience in economics and one of my letters of recommendation will be from the supervisor of a research project.
On November 24 2011 10:01 c0ldfusion wrote: You should take the GRE again.
It's not that bad.
It's not that it was difficult, more that I'd have to write it during exam time (late December) to make sure that the universities get it in time. That's decidedly not optimal.
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If your school recommends taking the GRE, I would take it. It can only help your chances, and if you're serious about wanting to get in, it can only make you look better against all the other applicants.
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Ah, I hear ya.
I lucked out with my program and got accepted to study directly into my Ph.D program, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for more school. I think it's time to get into the work force a bit for awhile. I would take the GRE again like others had suggested. It's not likely you'll get accepted into a research based program without the GRE.
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Thanks everyone, the consensus seems to be to just write the GRE to put my best foot forward. I think that I'll do the same so that if I don't get in, I'll never wonder if writing the damn thing would've been the tipping point.
I'd love to hear from anyone else who has experience applying to UofT without the GRE. I know a lot of people who have applied to the same program and gotten in without the GRE (and a weaker package) and most people at my university who are applying to UofT aren't planning on writing it either, so it clearly isn't 100% required to get in.
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I have an ex-girlfriend who applied to University of Toronto without the GRE, she did not get in. Her grades were not that exceptional though.
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United States889 Posts
I got into Toronto Psych for Ph.D with a GRE of only 1260 (which is pretty medicore) but I had strong grades and strong letters of rec. Not sure about economics/math but it can be done
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I'm actually from the U of T, and am also applying to a Masters program here. Is your economics program a thesis based or a course based program? My advice for a math based program is that if you do decide to write the GRE, make sure you get perfect for the quant section. Good Luck though, and let me know how your application process goes!
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On November 24 2011 10:42 kammeyer wrote: I have an ex-girlfriend who applied to University of Toronto without the GRE, she did not get in. Her grades were not that exceptional though.
I notice that your location is from the States - did she graduate from a Canadian university?
On November 24 2011 12:14 Arrian wrote: I got into Toronto Psych for Ph.D with a GRE of only 1260 (which is pretty medicore) but I had strong grades and strong letters of rec. Not sure about economics/math but it can be done
Congrats! What was/has been your experience studying there?
On November 24 2011 13:50 Monoxide wrote: I'm actually from the U of T, and am also applying to a Masters program here. Is your economics program a thesis based or a course based program? My advice for a math based program is that if you do decide to write the GRE, make sure you get perfect for the quant section. Good Luck though, and let me know how your application process goes!
Masters of Economics at the UofT is considered to be course based. What program are you applying to and are you writing the GRE?
I know about needing to do well on the quant section. Perfect is tough though, the questions are designed to trick you so it's difficult to get zero wrong. That said, I think I did well on the first time through so hopefully I can perform well the second time around as well.
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There's a thesis based and course based MA in Economics for UofT.
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Yeah, she graduated from University of Toronto for her undergraduate program.
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I seriously doubt they actually need GRE. Most of the other departments do not require it.
BTW OP, which university did you graduate from.
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On November 25 2011 02:06 goldrush wrote:Show nested quote +On November 24 2011 13:50 Monoxide wrote: I'm actually from the U of T, and am also applying to a Masters program here. Is your economics program a thesis based or a course based program? My advice for a math based program is that if you do decide to write the GRE, make sure you get perfect for the quant section. Good Luck though, and let me know how your application process goes! Masters of Economics at the UofT is considered to be course based. What program are you applying to and are you writing the GRE? I know about needing to do well on the quant section. Perfect is tough though, the questions are designed to trick you so it's difficult to get zero wrong. That said, I think I did well on the first time through so hopefully I can perform well the second time around as well.
I'm applying to 3 programs at the U of T. MStats, MMF(math finance), and MFE(financial economics). I took the GRE, but did not score very well so I will probably not include the score in my application. I think i scored 780Q 450V. I would have gotten perfect on the Q, but I missed some of the data set when doing one of the data questions, so naturally I got it wrong. I've been talking to some of my professors, and they saving having excellent recommendation letters and a good statement is pretty important to the application process. Those are just some of the things I've come across so far; wish you best of luck in your applying.
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On November 25 2011 08:33 The_LiNk wrote: There's a thesis based and course based MA in Economics for UofT.
According to this, both of the streams are course work only with no thesis component.
On November 25 2011 11:43 Monoxide wrote:Show nested quote +On November 25 2011 02:06 goldrush wrote:On November 24 2011 13:50 Monoxide wrote: I'm actually from the U of T, and am also applying to a Masters program here. Is your economics program a thesis based or a course based program? My advice for a math based program is that if you do decide to write the GRE, make sure you get perfect for the quant section. Good Luck though, and let me know how your application process goes! Masters of Economics at the UofT is considered to be course based. What program are you applying to and are you writing the GRE? I know about needing to do well on the quant section. Perfect is tough though, the questions are designed to trick you so it's difficult to get zero wrong. That said, I think I did well on the first time through so hopefully I can perform well the second time around as well. I'm applying to 3 programs at the U of T. MStats, MMF(math finance), and MFE(financial economics). I took the GRE, but did not score very well so I will probably not include the score in my application. I think i scored 780Q 450V. I would have gotten perfect on the Q, but I missed some of the data set when doing one of the data questions, so naturally I got it wrong. I've been talking to some of my professors, and they saving having excellent recommendation letters and a good statement is pretty important to the application process. Those are just some of the things I've come across so far; wish you best of luck in your applying.
Good luck to you too! Which programs require a statement? From everything that I've read, the MA program doesn't require a statement (according to here), which admittedly felt a bit weird.
I'm thinking of applying to the MStats program as well because I think that Statistics knowledge in general will be highly in demand in a data-driven world. Plus, I get the feeling that anything that requires Economics as a degree will also accept a Statistics degree so it's more flexible. I thought about the MMF and the MFE programs but the banking thing doesn't really interest me.
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