C&C

Looks like we're in the same boat! I'm taking mine Aug 21st, and I came across the Manhattan prep too. I still use Magoosh, but I'm turning more towards my books this time instead of the computer. I'm also terrified that I'll get the same score or....do worse! "The horror! The horror!" Best of luck to you!

Ohhhhh yes! I actually haven't made it over to the Boulevard yet, but since it's 24hours (if I'm not mistaken) I have it on my bucket list to go in late at night this upcoming semester. I have yet to have a bad diner experience in Worcester. They're all great. I told my boyfriend about your review of the Armsby Abbey as we had been debating going there, and it's definitely made the list now. We're very excited to go and try it out.

I had initially been thinking fish and cats, but I'm now leaning towards rats...as odd as some may find that. Found this two days ago: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/26648269 Still wishing I could go and get those two sweeties, but I'm in no position to at the moment. As an animal lover, it kills me.

When I got my AW score back on Monday, I found myself in the same boat. After some very helpful responses from members here, what convinced me to take the exam again was this webpage I came across: http://www.insidetheadcom.com/applications/should-you-retake-the-gre-or-gmat/. I can't get the link to work at the moment (maybe the adcoms found the site and shut it down! haha), but thankfully I saved the most important part of the page for my own reference. (See below) Should You Retake the GRE? "I often ask candidates with weak test scores if they are true representatives of the candidate’s ability and they invariably say no. When the test was more than three or four months earlier than the conversation, I expect a candidate will have retaken it, scheduled a retest, or have a great reason why that is not feasible. Candidly, most of the time people do not answer this question well. It is unsatisfying when a candidate had several months to continue preparing for the GMAT or GRE and failed to put the effort into it, especially when they say the first test scores do not accurately represent their ability." That quote removed my doubts, because I want to show schools just how MUCH I want to pursue an advanced degree in my field. If nothing else, they should respect your perseverance and dedication. Hope this helps!

Did you see an improvement in your scores? What did you do differently? My biggest difference is that I'm giving myself a lot more study time. Hopefully studying daily for a month will do it for me. Thanks in advance for your help!

There are tons of free tools out there (I keep stumbling across more and more thanks to these forums), but if you want to spend money, I recommend Magoosh. I attended a 2 weekend class at a local university, and I now have a year's worth of free access to the Magoosh site from them. It has hundreds of questions for each section and it gives you a projected score, as well as your average time, explanations for every question, and general review topics. Overall, I really like the site as it gives me a good bit of feedback for my work, and it was pretty accurate in predicting my actual GRE score.

My wonderful mother bought me a set of GRE flashcards for Christmas last year that I love. It contains several hundred vocabulary words and strategies for the verbal, and some for the quant section as well. Flipping through the cards helped me refresh many words I know, but don't always use. Good for getting connotation and denotation down as they give you sentence examples too. Many review books also have vocab lists in them. My Princeton Review book has hundreds of words, so if I'm not using the flash cards I'm using those lists. I find that reviewing vocab is great right before bed and/or whenever you have a little down time. Mastering words is fun so I try to make it the "enjoyable" part of my GRE prep! To answer your final question: I've always been told that the best way to improve your vocabulary is to read good writing, and I believe it's true. Read the NY Times, scholarly articles, or books in your discipline. Whenever you don't know a word, stop and look it up. I pride myself on a strong vocabulary, but I never miss an opportunity to add another word to my repertoire. I recommend a smart phone dictionary app to have open while you read to make the process faster...or an old-school dictionary.

Thank you for the informational and encouraging post! I've never been a good standardized test taker, so your story gives me a bit of hope.

I'll be starting my final semester at Clark in August. I transferred in after my freshmen year at Clemson University. I looked for the polar opposite of my first school, and Clark was it! The people at Clark are amazing! My professors are so knowledgeable, approachable, friendly, and willing to help whenever they can. (In the history department at least.) As I've begun applying to graduate programs and learning more about my professors at Clark, I'm becoming quite impressed with my school. The don't call Clark a "little ivy" for nothing! Clark has a very friendly and accepting atmosphere. Everyone on campus is a little quirky, and everyone is proud to be a Clarkie. Worcester was the first true city I ever lived in. Coming from small towns in the rural South, I was TERRIFIED of Worcester because it had an iffy reputation. However, campus police has upped the safety every year I've been there, they're friendly, and you see them all the time around campus. Honestly, you'll most likely only encounter trouble if you're not being smart. Don't walk around alone at night, be with friends, etc and you'll be fine. The food in Worcester is pretty great too. Annie's Clark Brunch, (located RIGHT on campus) has the best breakfast food I've ever had in my life! After going a few times, Annie and her daughter Meagan knew my order, and I joked with the waiters (fellow Clarkies). Worcester has amazing diners, and a pretty decent food selection for not being a huge city. Transferring to Clark was the biggest jump I've taken in my young life, and I'm so happy that I did it! I truly believe that my education there has set me up for success in the future. Worcester grows on you and Clark is a great school.

I actually just completed the registration as you posted that. Nice timing! So long $185. Aug. 23 is my day of reckoning. Now it's time to hit those wretched prep books and sites again. I guess this time I'll relax with the verbal a bit and throw myself into the other two sections more.

Just found something that might help those who are in the same situation as myself! http://www.insidetheadcom.com/applications/should-you-retake-the-gre-or-gmat/ Did you do well on the GRE or GMAT? I often ask candidates with weak test scores if they are true representatives of the candidate’s ability and they invariably say no. When the test was more than three or four months earlier than the conversation, I expect a candidate will have retaken it, scheduled a retest, or have a great reason why that is not feasible. Candidly, most of the time people do not answer this question well. It is unsatisfying when a candidate had several months to continue preparing for the GMAT or GRE and failed to put the effort into it, especially when they say the first test scores do not accurately represent their ability. Based on this, and everyone's wonderful advice so far, it looks like I'll be retaking the GRE again as soon as I get back from a week of volunteering. At least that way I'll show that I put up a good fight. The only thing that worries me is that I know I won't have time to retake it once the semester starts so I need to nail it this time. Hope this link helps!

Arcanen, the reason why I was debating retaking it is because my other scores are AT my best school's average. The only segment significantly lacking was the essay, but their averages were still below a 5. (Not that they've updated since 2011 though. Some new stats would be much appreciated.) Unfortunately, most of the schools I'm looking at didn't even have average scores posted on their sites so it looks like I'll need to email to find those. I also take great pride in my GPA since I'm a first varsity all-conference student athlete, and I had an awful first year as a animal science major before transferring to a liberal arts school and finding my niche in Southern US History. It's not like I just go to classes, and then don't get a 4.0. (My school is also on a 4.3 scale which is incredibly annoying.) I workout 20hours+ a week and compete, and then I'm still a leader in my history classes. My GPA is also above the average score for my top schools so I'm not sweating it. That being said, I appreciate your bluntness and honesty! Those are two traits I cultivate myself (not necessarily intentionally), and I appreciate it when other people "tell it like it is" like myself. So THANK YOU for your post! You've definitely given me a good bit to think about.

I'm submitting as much of my thesis as they'll take! I certainly hope you're right!

Thank you for you help! I definitely don't want to be in the "questionable" pile. Looks like I might want to go for it again and really focus on the essay prep.

I'm a current history major with a 3.73 GPA. I've taken plenty of 400 level classes. I've worked as an undergraduate "TA." I've been inducted to Phi Alpha Theta. I'm writing an honors thesis. I took the GRE a few weeks ago, and as I left the test center I was feeling pretty good about my 163V and 147Q. (I'm beyond pitiful at math.) However, yesterday I finally received my AW score of 4.0, and I was devastated. I had a meltdown. I KNOW I'm a good writer, and not having a 4.5+ on those essays kills me. What it comes down to is...Should I retake the GRE in the hopes of getting a better score on the essay? I'm not that worried about the quantitative section since I'm hoping to enter either a MA or MA/PhD program for US History (specializing in the South), but I don't want my top schools to write me off just because of my essay score. (No pun intended.) My top choices are UVA and UNC-CH, and my essay is below their average by ~.5 (They haven't updated their scores since 2011 though). I have a true passion for what I do, and I have good faith in my academic record. I'm worried that if I retake the exam I either won't improve or I'll do worse and waste the $185. I've read through the forum and it appears that people are saying that your academic record typically outshines a lackluster GRE. Does anyone have experience with this? Thanks in advance for any advice!