crispykrispy

Thanks guys for your honesty. I don't need anything sugar coated and I prefer honest answers. As far as the GRE goes, I'm going to take some practice GREs (focusing almost entirely on the verbal portion) for about a week or so. If I score higher on the practice GRE (just the verbal) than I did on the actual GRE, then I will retake the GRE in November (after studying more). If not, then I'm going to focus more on my applications and worry less about the GRE. Regardless, I will apply for the Fall semester of 2010 and at the very least see which schools accept me (Masters or PhD). Of course, I want to get into a PhD program without having to get a Masters first, but I do realize that research experience is almost crucial for most of the doctoral programs. That's why I've been thinking of taking another year off, in addition to my current year off for a total of 2 after undergrad, so that I can get more research experience. That should also give me some time to take extra courses and time to work on improving my verbal score. FML

Natofone, thank you for your honest and quick reply. I've been doing a lot more reading on this forum and it looks like the general consensus (unsurprisingly) is that a score in the 400s is not desirable. I honestly don't know if taking the test with only 3 weeks of additional preparation will help all that much. I think my problem when taking the test was that I took too long to answer reading comprehension questions so I didn't even finish the section, the vocab on the test was completely different from those that I studied, and most likely I missed the first few questions. I'm going to take some practice tests (just the verbal) to see if I improve any over the course of a week or so. At that point, I will decide whether or not to retake the GRE. Another question I have: -Would it be more prudent for me to hold off another year (already taking this current year off) rather than working on Masters if ultimately my goal is to get a Ph.D? That would also (hopefully) allow more time for me to stack up on experiences, which I am currently lacking.

BTW, given my lackluster GPA of 3.3, pitiful GRE verbal score of 440, and non-existent experience in research.. -what is the likelihood that I will be even accepted into Ph.D programs? -what is the likelihood of receiving any scholarships/grants (read: free money)? Of course, I'm not looking to get into any Ivy League or top-tier schools, but I am aiming for those mid to upper-range schools. I haven't decided (or even researched) on which schools they might be, though.

Let me start off by saying that I have read over many threads already that seemed relevant to my question, but felt that I still would prefer to receive direct answers from those who are in similar situations as I am or from those who have more knowledge/experience than I do. I have taken the GRE once this past Friday and have received unofficial scores of 440V and 720Q. I was told by a couple of professors that many people receive similar GRE scores as their SAT scores. Now, I received a score that was much better than a mere 1160 on the SAT. I'm just confused as to how it was possible for me to get 650V on the SAT without studying all that much the second time around (1st time, I got 560V), but received this lousy 440V on the GRE with much more prep. As many of you know, most grad school application deadline for the 2010 Fall semester is around December or so. I'm just wondering if it would be prudent for me to study for the GRE again so that I may retake it early November. I was hoping to have received around 1300 at the very least and start working on my applications from now until they're due. Now, I'm just not sure if it's worth it for me to retake the test this late into the year, especially since I'm risking a lower or same GRE score and losing time away from applications/SOP. As far as my AW score, I would assume it to be at least 4.5, hopefully 5+, but I also thought I was going to receive a higher verbal score... A little more information about me: undergrad GPA: 3.3, graduated in 2009 major/minor: psych/chem research exp: none (but plan to do research this coming spring semester) related work exp: none (previous jobs not related to psych) goal: Ph.D gre preparation: completed PR's "Cracking the GRE 2010" and Kaplan's "GRE Verbal Workbook" + "GRE Math Workbook" (approx 400 new words memorized, 2 of which showed up on my GRE) With that being said, do you guys think I should retake the GRE again with more preparation in early November? That leaves about 3 weeks for me to study while doing the applications/SOP. Or, should I just suck it up and go on with my original plan of working on the applications/SOP and not risk getting a lower score on the 2nd GRE? Also, is it possible for me to still be accepted into Ph.D programs? Or, should I work on getting a Masters first and then focus on getting a Ph.D? Any and all relevant and informative posts will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.