To GRE or not to GRE? (AGAIN!!) ... that is the question!

[MellylaMelle]

Hey there, question:  I signed up to take the GRE a fourth time way back in March when I was feeling blue about being rejected by several of the schools I had applied to for doctoral programs.  (I subsequently was accepted into an Ivy and even given a scholarship, but not precisely for the program I wanted so I have deferred that for a year.)  

I have taken the GRE three times and each time I have ended up with outstanding Verbal scores and shit Quant scores.  The last time I took it I had studied two hours a day for about 8 weeks and ended up getting in the top 3% for Verbal but my Quant score moved up only one point (and was still abysmal).  

So now the weekend of my fourth GRE is upon me.  I have done absolutely nothing to study this time, I'm pretty sure I'm just sick to death of the whole thing.  I kind of want to blow it off even though that is a waste of money.  I have long since paid for it so hey ho.  I was purely doing it in the hopes of getting a higher Quant score, but I'm now thinking maybe I just go out there with my high verbal and low quants.  I don't want to do anything Math-related anyway.  (I already have an MA in TESOL & Applied Linguistics and am hoping to do an Education PhD.) 

If you were me, would you just suck it up and take the GRE a fourth time?  Or would you just say f- it and focus on the programs at this stage?  

Thanks for the advice!! 

[peachypie]

Since you didn't really go into how poorly you did on quants, I can't really speak to that section of your GRE.  At this point you paid for it, just go ahead and take it.  If you have time to go over some of the quant stuff I'd do so but I wouldn't stress about it.  Maybe that is part of the issue?  I'd go in and be relaxed and just take the exam and see how you do.  You obviously have the backup of a program to go into next year regardless.  I would also question whether your GRE score as being the sole source of your application problems.  Was there anything else that you can improve upon also in the last year or was the GRE the only thing holding you back?  Typically a not stellar GRE isn't necessarily going to screw you out of an interview if you aren't strong in the sections that are less pertinent to your anticipated degree.  I am not sure what Education is like, so I won't comment on that. 

So to summarize:  take the exam but don't stress at this point.  Look at the rest of your application and critique if there are any other things you can work on to improve the overall application as well.  Assess your week and strong points and tailor your application to highlight your strengths and provide evidence as to why your weaknesses will not be detrimental to your success in your program.  Best of luck.

[bsharpe269]

I would reschedule since I think you can do this for a fee and study for the quant. There's little point in retaking it now if you haven't put any work into improving the score. Clearly, The last method yo used to study for the quant didn't work so I would try a different method this time. Anyone can do high school math so it is just a matter of finding a study technique that works well for you.