BrianM

I will never come back on these forums again but I want to leave this last note for you. I took the GREs again last Saturday and got 1050-1070! My verbal went up almost a hundred points, and what I did was use Princeton Review's 1044 question book. The verbal sections really help build your instincts for getting better grades. So I would say do that. My math stayed the same but I had a 570 on math and a 490 on verbal, with some fluctuations. F YOU GRES!!!!! DIE!!!!! I AM FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

It is unfair, and the whole process is too. My % rank show down almost 20% because of this stupid adjustment. Good job ETS.

Since it would be your 3rd time retaking it I say go for it. But I completely understand where you are. I studied for months, hours every day, and got a 970 on the old scale....I was so angry! I am retaking it again this Saturday, and whatever score I receive I will stick with. I will not give ETS more money , and I will not study any longer for this test. There have to be professors out there and programs that do not weigh it as much, and hopefully they understand the test is a waste of time and money....but I guess only time will tell. Good luck!

I just took my first new practice test on the ETS software and got 20/40 on math and 21/40 right on verbal. But, it says I got a 153 on verbal and a 143 on math? This doesn't make sense...unless the "easier" questions are worth .25 or so points. Anyone have any insight? This is really disheartening as if I got 150 on math I would be breaking 1000 for the first time on an official ETS practice test

It is really hard to improve your verbal. I had the same score on my verbal 2 weeks ago on the GRE as when I took it 2 years ago. I spent 5 months studying as well. I would say stop studiyng the 1000 words, because I doubt any of them will be, and if they are they might not be a big help. Try using the strategies but even those don't work well when you are taking the actual test. Verbal is pretty much a crapshoot unless you speak like 18th ct writers.

I will resurrect this. I hope there are some more stories...and I agree Mal83, it is quite ridiculous that people complain about a 1300, or a 1200. I got a 970 after studying for 4 months, how about that for bad. And my verbal stayed the same as 2 years ago when i first took it. I take it again in 2 weeks and have 0 faith that I will do well. But hopefully some kinda and intelligent professor will look at my whole package and accept me, as I am more than capable at completing a Ph.D. I already have a masters if that is any indication that I can work at a graduate level.

No offense but that is pretty much a stupid way of thinking. The gre is NOT a test you can study for. Just because YOU did well does not mean other people will do well. I studied since late March and took it last week...got a 970. I study a few weeks for a psych exam and get a 96. Correlation of test in undergrad and the GRE? My ass. The GRE is a mindless test that tests if you can tell which triangles can be solved, and how many unused 17th ct words you know. it is disgusting that the admissions process puts so much weight on this idiotic test. I know they need "something" to weed out applicants. well how about research exp, clinical exp, classwork, etc. And "learned how to cope with the stress" ? Really? You speak really easily. I get really anxious over this stupid test because of the weight so many put on it. Some people can not do well on this dumb test because they just can't. Thousands of people are incredibly intelligent and can not do well on this test, I guess being a poor test taker makes them an idiot? The gre is worthless and should be abolished, but since it is a huge money making monster, it never will.

I just took my gre and got 147 and 146, pretty close to the ETS one. :| When I took a full Kaplan test I got a 1130 total though on the old test...so idk what happened

Do you mean the Kaplan math workbook? I have been using all the Kaplan and Princteon Review books. I hope my scores on the kaplan practice tests and sets are representative of the test tomorrow! I have found them useful so far...

Thanks for that! It is great to hear when certain schools basically shun the gres. I took a practice test from the ETS book last night in my GRE course and I pretty much flunked it so I have been feeling horrible since. It is weird because I took a practice test from kaplan on Sunday and got a score of about 155 on both sections!!! Hopefully some nice professor out there has mercy on my soul and pays attention my credentials rather than to this test. Deisdeis, that's awesome that you emailed a potential advisor asking that! I've been too scared to do that lol! I don't know if you know this, or if it has been mentioned but your letters of rec writers can also mention and reason for a low GRE score. That may help as well.

Yes lol. At least for my field, psych, people get lower verbal than math scores about 80% of the time. I think your high verbal wil def offset your low scores. Do the programs you want to go to have cutt of scores for the gre?

Same here, not fun when the result isn't what you want huh?

Alright on Verbal? Lol, that's the max score!! You did perfect on Verbal, how did you manage that? We are in the same boat w math so don't feel bad lol. Math is terrible on the test, just as is verbal but I am sure for what you want to do math is not imporant what so ever. Unless you want to do research?

Depends on a lot of factors. For example: research exp, letters of rec, fit with potential adviser, etc. Honestly, most people anywhere will tell you that those gre scores will not cut it. But then again lots of schools I am applying to do not have a cut off, so it would be incredibly unfair for them to just look at ONE insignificant aspect of your application and toss you out. I have heard stories of people with a total of a 1000 combined making it to about 3 interviews out of 10 applied schools. And they got in! Then I heard of people with almost perfect scores and great undergrad stats, and don't make it anywhere. So it really is variable and depends on a bunch of factors. I would say, retake it just one more time and see what happens, now that you can select which scores you want to send you can just send whichever is better. Who knows, you might get lucky and get a better score! I'm in the same boat as you, horrible at this stupid test and freaking out! I'm taking it in less than 2 weeks, I took a course and it did not help one bit! Such a waste of money....and it was taught by a cognitive psychologist!!! Also I have been studying for 4 months now, hardcore! Every day, hours and hours. My practice test, although I was frustrated and skipped a few math questions and did not really go back and check them, was almost 200 points higher since I took the GRE in 2010. So I say retake it, you never know:) Best of luck!!!!!

I am in a course, and have about 10 books, and have been studying since late March. I still have trouble, some people are good test takers and others aren't. All the gre does is ruin people's lives. I will not retake it again if I score about a 1000-1100, its incredibly unfair and hopefully some professors know that. Well I won't be applying to "competitive" schools, but I guess in this economy all schools are competitive. Also, I will be applying to about 23 schools so maybe that will help, and I have also emailed the professors I am interested in so hopefully the will truely look at my app. And I hear that fit is more important that a meaningless GRE score. Hopefuly I will land a position with a professor who does not put too much weight into that worthless test.