midnight

I would've practiced more--a lot more, including AW (which I didn't prep for at all).

child of 2, I completely agree with you. I hate the AW portion of the GRE, and I was an English major! Many schools understand the arbitrary and formulaic nature of the AW and don't really take it into consideration. Unfortunately I've learned here that some schools do take it seriously and hinge funding and other important offers upon a formula that includes a high AW score.

Miskina, since you can't do anything about your GRE scores at this point, focus on making your SOP as strong as possible. Along with solid LORs, it will serve you well. Also your verbal score is very good, especially for an international applicant. I think your work experience will be a great asset as well. Bon courage!

Check out the schools' sites. Some schools are very open and honest about their GRE expectations--many top schools expect STEM applicants to have high verbal along with quant. Also make sure your SOP is extremely strong to offset a lower verbal score.

smartypants, my advice for the GRE is PRACTICE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. I really like PR's book Cracking the GRE for review and test tips along with Barron's book Six Practice Tests and ETS's Powerprep software for practice. And yes, you should stop being lazy and procrastinating so you can boost your GPA as much as possible. Establish relationships with professors and perform well while you still can so you will have good LORs. California's public SLP programs are extremely competitive; you may want to look at private schools and schools outside of the state as well.

agregory, not to be annoying, but what were your stats/experience? I'm applying to Boulder.

I think most schools are mostly or exclusively interested in your highest scores, and any improvement is good. Many people bomb the GRE on their first attempt for many reasons (didn't have time to study, didn't realize it's not straightforward, etc.); it's simply not an intuitive test. I submitted the scores from both of my tests even though my quant was absolutely abysmal the first go-round. Why? Because my AW dropped between the first and second test, and I wanted to include the 5.0 from my first attempt. I truly think they judge you based on the higher scores. There's not really much incentive for them not to do so, especially since other people may have done poorly as well but didn't report it; there's no way for them to know, and that's understood.

Well, first of all, congratulations on your phenomenal scores. As for AW, many schools don't care about them at all unless they raise a red flag (perhaps 3.0 or below); however, some schools do take them into consideration for funding and other reasons. See if there are any guidelines on the schools' sites or email for any advice. All that said, your SOP, writing sample, research interests, and overall fit are far more important than the GRE. Personally I wouldn't bother with a retake. It angers me that someone like you even needs to consider it!

I'm not inherently terrible at math, but my algebra and geometry knowledge was ridiculously rusty going in to the GRE (I'm an older student who hasn't studied algebra or geometry since 1995, my freshman year of high school!). My advice: Go to the bookstore and leaf through Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE. Some of the process of elimination tricks will help you on the math. You definitely want to refamiliarize yourself not only with math concepts but with test-taking shortcuts and tricks as well. Do the ETS practice tests on Powerprep and in their book. Barron's book called Six Practice Tests is also an accurate representation of GRE quant and verbal; I've heard other Barron's practice test materials are sorely lacking so avoid those. My test last month included a significant amount of questions (possibly six or more?) about mean/mode/median/range, standard deviation, and basic probability--all easy enough concepts that you can quickly review. Do some practice graph/chart questions, too. There are usually five or so questions based on those as well. If you have any sort of math aptitude or recent in-class math experience, I think the GRE quant isn't bad at all. Two months of focused studying and review is plenty of time to do well enough. My score ended up improved but still mediocre since I literally haven't taken any kind of math course in 11 years, and I didn't properly study due to procrastination and other issues, which I will fully admit was stupid. My main advice is spend a few days conquering concepts and tricks and then practice, practice, practice. Good luck!

Go to the bookstore and leaf through Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE. Some of the process of elimination tricks may help you on the math. My test last month included a significant amount of questions (possibly six or more?) about mean/mode/median/range, standard deviation, and basic probability--all easy enough concepts that you can quickly review. Do some practice graph/chart questions, too.

I doubt it's common as that's definitely not supposed to happen. There's no way it was an experimental section?

Can you find out if the schools you're considering even place much emphasis on AW scores? Many schools don't, especially since applicants have SOPs, writing samples, grades, and LORs to prove their writing and analytical abilities. And I can commiserate with you. My AW score dropped from a 5.0 to a 4.0--frustrating to say the least, though I knew that my issue essay was weak while I was writing it!

I think it's possible, but it would obviously have to be an incredibly tightly budgeted, no-frills time. Rent will definitely eat up at least half of your income.

You're welcome! I didn't know about it until someone else here posted it. Strange that ETS even offers it and then kind of makes it a secret. The diagnostic analysis also shows how long you spent on a particular question, which can be incredibly helpful when it comes to time management during a retake. If I were doing a retake, I'd have to focus on reading comprehension. I scored 164 but missed only one non-RC question on the verbal. Yikes!

https://grediagnostic.ets.org/GREDWeb/gred/signIn.jsp It's awesome and really gives you insight on where you need to improve.

Klynne, soon after all of your scores are available on the ETS site, you'll be able to check out a diagnostic breakdown of your test performance. That will help you focus on your weaknesses when studying.

Don't worry about it and let it go. You're only human, and it sounds like a very small mistake. I assure you that you will not be rejected from grad school due to a minor spelling error in your SOP. People have been known to submit the wrong SOP altogether and still get in! This process asks a lot from applicants in a short, stressful period of time; stuff happens.

I believe you're correct--as long as you're consistent, it's likely fine. However, I'd probably use preferred American spellings for American schools and preferred Canadian spellings for Canadian schools.

What are your verbal and AW GRE scores?

One strong professional LOR is good, but I think the others should come from academia. Briefly explain to your letter writers how you've personally and professionally changed and grown since graduating. You can attach your SOP and CV as they detail your evolution from micro to social work and elucidate your new goals. (I did this as an out-of-field applicant applying for speech language pathology programs; all of my LORs are coming from my former English professors.) It's most important that your letter writers can attest to your skills and strengths as a student. Hard work and enthusiasm are valued in any discipline.

You should be fine unless a school's site indicates otherwise. At one of the schools I'm applying to, the recommendation requests aren't even sent out until the app is submitted.

Rice spells it out for you: http://ceve.rice.edu/graduate/ Official GRE General Test Scores: Must be taken within last five years. Please request official GRE scores to be sent to Rice University using Institution Code 6609 and Dept. Code 1102 for Civil Engineering or 1103 for Environmental Engineering. For GRE tests taken prior to August 1, 2011 the department requirement is a combined score of at least 1100 with at least 450 on the verbal section. GRE tests taken on or after August 1, 2011 must have a combined score of 301 with at least 150 on the verbal section. -- I don't know about the other schools, but if your verbal is low, you really need to make sure your SOP is excellent and free of errors and your LORs are strong. Have you taken the TOEFL?

Yeah, Utah State's online program is reputable. Really, as long as a school is accredited, you should be good to go. My main concern would be the difficulty of getting into California schools due to their hypercompetitiveness. It may be a good idea to apply to a few non-CA schools if at all possible.

No, I'm not sending them now. I was going to wait until the recs were submitted (my last deadline isn't until February 1), but I do like the idea of sending thank yous after I hear from the schools so I can share any good news.

I don't think the PBT is even an option where I live. For practice, if you use the Powerprep software, you'll be set for the CBT. And the new GRE is adaptive by section, i.e., the second section's difficulty is determined by how well you do on the first section (also note that the experimental section can make it difficult to figure out how well you're doing and which section is which, so just keep calm and do your best throughout the test).