A2011

As a social science major who has looked into this, I would not assume your Q score does not matter unless you are 100% sure that the school does not care. If you are trying to get into a competitive program, you might be surprised at some of the median GRE scores for that section. I dramatically improved my quant score from my first practice test. It takes A LOT of work. If you can manager to get a tutor and/or a Kaplan course (I think the online version is a better value) I would recommend it. Make not to take your second test until you consistently get the scores you want on computer adaptive practice tests (ETS has some free ones with PowerPrep software) and Kaplan offers one free one even if you do not buy anything.

I would not just do practice tests. To go from a 450 to a 600 you want to spend the first 1/2 to 2/3's of the time you have on learning the material. I recommend ordering (rush delivery) Kaplan's 500 GRE flashcards. If you drive a lot, I would supplement it with GRE Vocab CD's - http://www.amazon.com/GRE-Vocabulary-AudioLearn/dp/1592620086/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1290313792&sr=8-4 - Amazon says it takes a couple of months to ship it, so buy a used one on there. The woman who reads the words butchers the pronunciations of some of them, but since its a written test it will not matter. I would probably do the online version of Kaplan's course and/or get a tutor if you are not too strapped for funds. There is just no getting around being comfortable with the vast majority of the 500 words on those Kaplan flashcards. As far as reading comprehension, if the Kaplan strategies for reading comprehension do not work for you (they did not for me), I recommend www.kingofreading.com. Learn first, then hit it hard with the practice. tests. As far as the quantiative section, it depends what your current score is vs. what score will get you into your target schools. My advice - do not take any section for granted. If verbal is the tough section devote most of your time to it, but do not ignore anything. I recommend studying an average of four hours a day if possible, or at least two hours a day, until you start getting closer to the scores you want on practice tests. A final word about practice tests. The only practice tests that, I think, are worth anything are the actual Computer Adaptive Tests (CAT's) because that is what it is like on test day. Make sure you do your two essays first, like on the real test because you have to get yourself used to the draining experience of doing that and THEN doing the Verbal and Quant sections.

There are some schools that do not require the GRE. So far, the best one I know of that does not require it is Texas A&M's IR program so long as one's GPA is above a 3.0.

My GRE scores were 760 Quant, 730 Verbal, and a 5 on the Analytical Writing. While this may appear sufficient, my dream schools for PS/IR are Yale, MIT, G-town. My grades were superb ever since returning to school two years ago, but I am worried about the effect of my lackluster academic performance in 1998-1999 in my first two years of college before I left school for a career in medical sales. Here is my academic record. 1998/1999- 2.8 at a top 40 university 1999/2000 at a Tier 2 university (went there because they specialized in a program I wanted to pursue) 2006-2008 - Returned part time to a Tier 3 school in 2006 taking a course or two per quarter where I received all 4.0's except for one computer science class while receiving all 4.0's at a nearby community college. 2009-2010 - returned full-time to the original top 40 University that I attended twelve years ago. Where, so far, I have a 3.95 GPA for the past year. In addition, I will not apply to grad school until I have achieved basic fluency in Mandarin (I plan to specialize in Chinese foreign policy) and will have spent one or two years working in China. I have not yet decided if I am pursuing a masters or PhD. My letters of recommendation, I believe, will be solid, as one of my professors even had me write a letter of rec for one of her TA's. I also believe I can count on writing a solid admissions essay. The problem is, most of the practice essays I submitted to various GRE scoring services came back with a 6.0 for my AW essays, so I feel that I could have done better on that portion, yet I was 90 points above my target score for the other sections combined. I will have to spend a solid month doing nothing but studying to be able to replicate my past scores and achieve a 6.0. Considering my dream schools, will one extra point on the AW make a difference?