Physics Graduate Record Exam does not help applicants “stand out”

One argument for keeping the physics Graduate Record Exam (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 Ph.D.-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 (i.e., applicants with mid to high GPAs). Thus, our work suggests that the physics GRE does not, in fact, help applicants who might otherwise be missed stand out.

Figure 1

Visual representation of Eqs. (1) to (3). The top graphic shows Eq. (1) while the bottom graphic shows Eqs. (2) and (3).

Figure 2

Visual representation of Eqs. (5) to (7) showing serial mediation with two mediators.

Figure 3

Fraction of applicants admitted by undergraduate GPA and physics GRE score. The number of students in each bin is also shown. “Any” corresponds to the corresponding row or column totals. The bin label corresponds to the upper bound of values in the bin exclusive with the exception of the 4.0 GPA bin which includes 4.0. Values are colored based on whether they are above, below, or equal to the overall admissions rate. Admissions rates within 10% of the overall rate are colored the same as the overall rate. The above and below average colors are based on being above or below the midpoint between the max or min admission fraction and the overall average. These are based on raw numbers and not a statistical test.

Figure 4

A condensed version of Fig. 3 showing the fraction of applicants admitted by undergraduate GPA and physics GRE score.

Figure 5

Fraction of applicants admitted by undergraduate GPA and physics GRE score and split by large or small undergraduate university.

Figure 6

Fraction of applicants admitted by undergraduate GPA and physics GRE score and split by selective or nonselective undergraduate university.

Figure 7

Fraction of applicants admitted by undergraduate GPA and physics GRE score and split by the applicant’s gender.

Figure 8

Fraction of applicants admitted by undergraduate GPA and physics GRE score and split by the applicant’s race.

Figure 9

Visual representation of the bootstrapped coefficients in Eqs. (1) to (3). We do find evidence of the physics GRE score mediating the relationship between GPA and admission status.

Figure 10

Visual representation of the bootstrapped coefficients in Eqs. (5) to (7). We do find evidence of the physics GRE score mediating selectivity and admissions status but do not find evidence of GPA mediating selectivity and admissions status. We do not find evidence of a serial mediating relationship. Statistically significant coefficients are in bold.

Figure 11

Visual representation of the bootstrapped coefficients in Eqs. (5) to (7). We do find evidence of the physics GRE score mediating institution size and admission status but do not find evidence of GPA mediating institution size and admissions status. We do not find evidence of a serial mediating relationship. Statistically significant coefficients are in bold.

Figure 12

Visual representation of the bootstrapped coefficients in Eqs. (5) to (7). We do find evidence of the physics GRE score mediating gender and admission status but do not find evidence of GPA mediating gender and admission status. We do not find evidence of a serial mediating relationship. Statistically significant coefficients are in bold.

Figure 13

Visual representation of the bootstrapped coefficients in Eqs. (5) to (7). We do find evidence of GPA mediating race and admission status and a serial mediation effect but do not find evidence of the physics GRE mediating race and admission status. Statistically significant coefficients are in bold.

Figure 14

A revised version of Fig. 4 showing the fraction of applicants admitted by undergraduate GPA and physics GRE score when the cutoff score for a high physics GRE score is 670. Here, the number of applicants who could benefit from a high physics GRE score is approximately equal to the number of applicants who could be penalized by a low physics GRE score.

Figure 15

A revised version of Fig. 4 showing the fraction of applicants admitted by undergraduate GPA and physics GRE score when the cutoff score for a high undergraduate GPA is 3.4.

Figure 16

A revised version of Fig. 4 showing the fraction of applicants admitted by undergraduate GPA and physics GRE score when the cutoff score for a high undergraduate GPA is 3.6. Here, the number of applicants who could benefit from a high physics GRE score is approximately equal to the number of applicants who could be penalized by a low physics GRE score.

Figure 17

Distribution of physics GRE scores and undergraduate GPAs by the size of the undergraduate physics program and institutional selectivity for each applicant.

Figure 18

Distribution of physics GRE scores and undergraduate GPAs by gender and whether the applicant identified as a member of a racial or ethnic group currently underrepresented in physics.