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Although I haven't applied yet, I perfectly understand how you feel. The GRE can make our efforts seem useless, especially when you don't see your scores go up as much as you want. This may seem like a cliche, but I believe you should try to maintain a positive attitude towards the test. It is certainly easier said than done, but losing motivation won't help you at all. I took the GRE last year and my math score was dismal, so I decided to postpone my applications for this year's fall. This weekend I felt really demotivated after taking a practice test and scoring very poorly in math. I recomposed myself in the last couple of days and will keep doing my best to improve my score until it's time to retake the test. There's a bit of randomness involved on the GRE which can be quite frustrating. You should consider that you were offered admissions, although not funded ones. This is a valuable accomplishment, since there are hundreds of people every year who don't even get to be offered an admission at all. Graduate school is a once in a lifetime experience and the best thing we can do is to put all our efforts to achieve our goals. If this is really your dream, give it another chance and go for it with all you've got.

Took my third practice test today. Updating my progress: Started: March 2013 Goal scores: V165 Q160 Practice test scores: 1st - V153 Q151; 2nd - V158 Q151; 3rd - V162 Q148 Previous GRE scores: V160 Q145 GRE test date: TBD Materials: Manhattan Strategy Guides & Magoosh's Premium Package I've hit a plateau and don't know what to do now. Any advice from those of you who raised your quant scores significantly?

Here's a graph with the average GRE scores from top political science programs (data from 2010, using the old scale): http://i.imgur.com/frZpf27.png A friend of mine was admitted into UCLA with a 155 score on quant (700 in the old scale). Although the GRE is only but a part of your application, it doesn't seem that difficult to have a chance in a top program after all.

That's a hard question. I don't know how much you studied for the practice test you took, but I'd say it's not a bad starting point. It all depends on how easily you can learn the concepts tested and how fast you can adapt to the test's time constraints. If you really want to ace the GRE, make sure you get the scores you want on three consecutive practice tests. Also, I highly recommend the Manhattan Strategy guides for the quant section. They are simply the best out there. The Princeton Review, on the other hand, is pretty solid for the verbal section.

Thanks for the support. It can be really frustrating when you hit a plateau and realize that you're still very far from your goal score. I haven't gone through all the guides yet. Actually, I've been trying not to follow a very "linear" study routine. I do this in order to avoid forgetting the concepts I've learned so far. One thing I noticed when reviewing my quant scores is that I made a few careless mistakes which cost me two or three questions. I did everything right, but marked the wrong answer because I didn't pay enough attention to what the question was asking. If I can avoid these mistakes consistently, I'm sure I can improve my score by 4 or 5 points.

So I took my second practice test today, this time from Manhattan prep. Unfortunately, no good news: V:158 Q:151. Even though I slowed down my studying routine quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, I've been finding it difficult to stay motivated for this test. It simply seems useless to insist on raising my quant score. Anyway, I've reviewed my performance and realized I have trouble with coordinate geometry and word problems. I'll keep on studying and focusing on my weaknesses, but I must say I've been lowering my expectations around getting into a top program.

Great! Thanks for sharing this.

Perhaps we could summarize our progress by reporting our practice test scores as well as some additional info. Here's mine: Started: March 2013 Goal scores: V165 Q160 Practice test scores: 1st - V153 Q151 Previous GRE scores: V160 Q145 GRE test date: mid June Materials: Manhattan Strategy Guides & Magoosh's Premium Package I think learning how to handle time constraints is the most challenging task of the GRE. I've been trying to give myself a 45 second-1 minute time limit to spend on a question just for thinking and trying to solve it, especially on the quant section. If I exceed this limit and still haven't figured how to solve the problem, I'll choose an answer, mark the question and move on. If I have time to go back to the questions I've marked, that's fine, otherwise, so be it. This article on time management is worth a read: http://www.manhattanprep.com/gre/blog/index.php/2013/04/11/my-timing-is-killing-me/

I took my first practice test a couple of weeks ago (Magoosh's) and believe I have made some progress on math (151). I heard Magoosh's quant is a little harder than the GRE math, so my estimated score is around the 151-156 range. On the other hand, my verbal score was somewhat disappointing (153) compared to my first real score (160). Again, my estimated score would be around the 153-158 range, according to Magoosh. What about you? Have you already taken a practice test? I like the idea of a topic for tracking progress.

My first quant score was terrible, so I decided to retake the test within the next couple of months. I'm aiming for a 160 on quant (my first score was 145), so I think your goal is pretty reasonable compared to mine. As for diagnostic tests, I'd recommend Manhattan's six practice tests, which you can get access to after buying one of their strategy guides.

Check out this topic:

If your only goal is to improve your quant score, then I believe you should stick with the Manhattan 5lb. I heard Kaplan's math is dumbed down compared to the real GRE. Barron's GRE guide has some good math, if you want to supplement your materials.

I signed up for their premium package a few weeks ago. I've been watching the videos and practicing under timed conditions (which I find to be quite useful). The math videos are good, although the Manhattan strategy guides have a better approach, in my opinion. All of the exercises come with a video explanation for you to watch after you answer a question. The verbal videos are not really helpful and you don't get flashcards to memorize words. All in all, I don't think their package is essential for the GRE, but I do think it's worth the price if you want some extra drills (there are more than 500 questions for math and verbal each) and four practice tests. The videos are nice and may help you feel more engaged to study, but again, I wouldn't say they are vital for you to suceed on the test.

I started using the Manhattan prep books a couple of weeks ago, and I must say they are probably the best I've used so far, especially for math. The books have a didactic approach that leads you from the simplest questions to the hardest ones in a very nice pacing. I'd probably suggest you to buy another book to supplement the verbal part. I think the Princeton Review is the way to go.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm happy to know that big improvements are possible. When I first took the GRE, I hadn't slept well the night before and I also got really nervous when I saw the extra math section at the end. I think stress played a big role in my first math score.