iowaguy

Has anyone seen any stats on how a cumulative (Q + V) GRE score stacks up? I'm thinking similar to how on the GMAT a cumulative percentile is given, in addition to the individual percentiles for verbal & quant... I'm wondering if grad schools add up the V + Q and consider the total (like an ACT or GMAT), or whether they consider each individually?

That formula is in the official GRE study guide, so it could certainly show up on your test, especially on your 2nd "harder" section (assuming you do well on the 1st section). Usually though, quadratic equations on the GRE can be factored... In the 2 ETS Powerprep practice tests there aren't any quadratics that need factored, for example...

You should be fine with that timeline. I got my GRE scores exactly 2 weeks after my test. Just select your schools on the test day so the scores will be sent there ASAP.

You likely would have better success putting your efforts into trying to bring up your 143 Q score rather than your 143 V score. Verbal takes a lot longer to improve (months - mostly vocab) whereas the quantitative score can be dramatically improved in just a few weeks by learning/reviewing some math concepts, formulas, etc. But, as you're going into communications, maybe you need a bigger verbal for that. I improved 150 points (on the old scale) by mastering 5000 flash card words. But you probably don't have time for that. Still, you can learn the most common GRE words (Manhattan 500 essential words, etc) in a couple of weeks before your test if you study them every day. Also practicing some on-screen reading comprehension should help your score... Have you taken both Powerprep computer practice tests? (Or maybe your GRE is paper-based since you're not in the states?)

Hi y'all, I'm trying to figure out my finances if I were to attend Duke. I'm considering buying a house in Durham a couple miles from campus & renting out the extra rooms. If I had a decent 3 bedroom, 2 bath house, and rented 2 bedrooms, how much do you think I could rent each room for? Let's assume just an average house, maybe in the $120,000 range, in a decent-but-not-great neighborhood 2-4 miles from campus... As a side note, how feasible do you think it would be to find graduate students as roomies? Ideally would like to rent to someone in study mode vs. party mode... Thanks, IowaGuy

For Ph.D. programs it is paramount.

The better the school, the more they matter, IMHO... i.e. if applying to XYZ state school, probably not a huge deal; OTOH if applying to top schools, could be a big deal if you have a score that's not in line with the rest of your (hopefully) strong application...

I scored 169Q on the 2nd Powerprep test and 168Q on the actual GRE test. The real exam, IMHO, is only harder because it is such a pressured environment. It's easier to score high at home sitting at your computer all relaxed drinking your cup of coffee, perhaps taking longer breaks, not doing the entire 4 hour test including writing at one sitting, not having to wake up early & drive to the test center in traffic, not having the person sitting next to you in the test center distracting you with their typing/perfume/movements, etc) than it is at an unfamiliar test center with all the unfamiliar variables involved... The nice part about the Powerprep tests is that they look & feel like the real GRE test does. I noticed practically no difference between the Powerprep & the real thing in how they appeared on the screen, which is very nice & which is a big benefit to the Powerprep tests. If you scored a 166Q on the practice, you'll do just fine on the real deal. Your test-taking abilities under pressure (and the luck of the draw as to which "hard" questions you get) will likely determine exactly where you end up scoring between 162 and 170...

I personally wouldn't mention "family issues". I would just ignore it. It is what it is, if you mention it & try to explain it away it might just draw more attention to it & raise a red flag IMHO... You say you have good marks and a nice project so just focus on your strengths...

Thanks for the advice guys! I followed your advice & emailed thank-you's and received some great feedback from one prof... If nothing else, it reinforces my name & that I'm polite and want to get into their program...

In general, the whole GRE thing is a $$$ racket, IMHO... But some schools do take GRE scores very seriously, if nothing else, just to see how we all play the game and how bad we really want to get into a top school...

You could still re-take, I know it's a PITA, but the rest of your profile is so strong that I wouldn't let a low GRE be the one blemish on your application package. Especially for your dream schools which are uber-competitive, a higher GRE would help a lot...

ETS Powerprep II 2nd computer practice test was very accurate for me. Took it 1 week before the real deal, practice test score 168V/169Q, actual test score 168V/168Q. I think verbal can vary quite a bit depending on the vocab of the particular test that you happen to take, on my actual test I was lucky to know all the "hard" words except for a couple...

Well, one plus could be that there will be fewer peers down the road with Ph.D.'s (less competition?). But for those of us currently applying it also means more people competing to get into fewer spots!

Verbal is MUCH tougher to "master/beat" than the quant section. I am in my 30's, have a M.S., have been reading the Wall-Street Journal, Economist, and New York Times regularly for the last decade, am a fast reader, and have a very large vocabulary. I have always done well on standardized tests. In preparation for the GRE, I digested nearly 5,000 words worth of vocab (both Manhattan flash card sets, Kaplan flash cards, Barron flash cards, Grad Flash vocab cards, some other flash card book that I can't remember off the top of my head, Verbal Advantage advanced vocab CD's, 3 picture vocab books, and a computer-based vocab drill program. I had all of those words down pat from studying those materials for the last several months. I also took several practice tests to get me in test-taking mode. When I took the "real" GRE on test day, I felt like I did really well and wasn't rushed, I was able to review all the answers I was unsure about. I got a 168 Verbal. I share this story with you to show that, even for an educated native speaker who excels in English, has always done well on standardized tests, and worked his butt off preparing for the test, it is difficult to get a perfect score... Best of luck in your preparation, Iowa Guy

Some programs have cutoffs, under that percentile your application goes in the trash. 80th percentile cutoff is common at higher-level schools, from what I'm told by a professor buddy of mine...

You can always retake it, and the school won't even know your first score if you don't send it to them. That fact alone helped me calm down & do well on my GRE test...

Bearcat1 - for a long-distance trip ($$$), what do you think the positives are for visiting campus prior to acceptance? Do you think you can significantly increase your odds of being accepted vs. just talking to those same professors on the phone? I am considering visiting a couple of my "reach" schools to try to up my odds of acceptance and am curious on your logic for visiting...

Sometimes "plugging in" is faster. But it is nice to be able to come up with the formulas from scratch, on some problems that is the only way to get the solution in a reasonable amount of time. And some problems are fill-in-the-blank, which doesn't lend itself (obviously) to "plugging in". So, what I do, is a quick glance to see whether plugging in or generating a formula is the best and then proceed accordingly...

What's the standard protocol following a phone interview? I talked with a POI for over an hour Friday, and thanked him at the end of our conversation. Do most folks also send an email/card/etc as a thank-you? I don't want to look too servile, but at the same time want to fit in with the overall etiquette... Thanks, IG

I did 3,000 words worth of vocab between various flash card sets & computer word exercises. Raised my verbal 10 percentile points above my last GRE test several years ago. IMHO, studying verbal takes much longer to improve your score than the math section... Also "did well on the first take" depends on your definition of "did well". My goal was 95%+ for both verbal and quant so I busted my butt accordingly... I didn't want poor GRE scores to be any reason to hold back my chances of admission. This is a lifetime investment in education, the quality of school you get into will have an impact on the next several decades of your career... IG

Shouldn't make a difference, just say what you'll be doing in the meantime to make you an even stronger candidate for admission (taking classes to shore up your weaknesses, working in the field on a research project for Professor X, traveling to Europe to get some perspective on your thesis topic, etc). They just don't want to hear that you're going to spend the next 8 months as a beach bum

Well, if you REALLY want to improve your score, you could always practice on the official published pool of questions: http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing You could actually practice writing a practice essay for each topic (or at least an outline). I took the GRE yesterday, and both of my AW topics were from their published list...

Hi all, there was a discussion on here a few weeks ago about whether GRE takes a photo of the test takers, someone had said not for U.S. testing centers... I took the test today in Omaha and they took my digital photo (no big deal) before the test. Just wanted to throw this out there to help clear up any confusion... When I took the GRE several years ago they didn't take my photo; maybe their policy changed or maybe it varies depending on the test center? I actually like to see this in place as it reduces any chance of cheating... Iowa Guy

In some PhD programs, at least in the sciences, you can't get admitted without a professor "sponsoring" you. Several schools I'm applying to are set up this way...