Nervous that I won’t be able to boost my GRE scores much, how can I put myself in the best position possible?

[emilymstar]

Hey I’m sorry this is a frequent post or something, I just really need someone to help ground me. I got a 159V, 144Q and 4.5 AW. I think I’ll be able to raise my V and AW at least a couple points, but realistically I don’t know how much I can boost my Q score. I’ve been studying a lot to take it again in either August (before the semester starts) or in September right after school starts, but I know that it’s not common to raise it more than 2-4 points. 

So my worry is, I know that most programs probably want score in the 50th percentile across the board. I know UMD says this is “recommended” on their website. But I’m scared that the other parts of my application aren’t strong enough to make up for it, and I’m also really frustrated that more programs don’t do interviews! I have a job as a hearing screener in a hospital and another job as a Writing Consultant at my university writing center. I’m also doing research this upcoming semester. My GPA is on the verge of 3.8, in-major GPA is 3.9 I believe? I’ve also taken 4 semesters of ASL but I don’t know how impressive that is for applications. 

I just really want to put myself in the best position possible. My school options at the moment are UT Dallas, University of North Texas, University of Tennessee, and University of Maryland. I’m honestly scared I won’t be able to get into any of them, and I don’t know if that’s just overwhelming anxiety or if I should really be worried. Someone please help me talk about this!  

[HTM18]

Even if you can't raise the Q score but manage to raise the V to above 160 and AW to above a 5 ... you will have a competitive GRE score.

Still... practice and practice... try to get it above 150 if you can.

 

Good luck with your applications! Try to increase your chances and apply to more universities... Your GPA is excellent!

[Southwestspeechie]

I think your GRE score is already good! Most schools rank the verbal and essay above the quant. I have heard that UT Dallas favors in state people so that is a positive for you  It honestly sounds like you have a lot going for you since you are so well rounded. 

[MassSLP2be]

If I remember correctly I was able to bring my Q score up from 137 to 141-where it stayed the last 2 out of 3 total times I took the GRE. It gave me massive anxiety but I ended up being surprised at how little it likely mattered in the end, because I was still accepted. 144 is much better than even 141 (in terms of percentiles) so this is not the end of the road for you! ?

The first time I took the GRE, I spent most of my time on the V and AW sections and very little on Q. The second time around, I focused almost exclusively on Q (with some time on V and AW) and that's what brought my Q score up so much. I figured that since the exam is so reliable, I'd end up with the same V and AW scores if my study tactics for those sections remained the same-and they did, because I only brought those scores up by 1-2 points. 

The THIRD time around, I pushed my exam from the end of September to the first week of October, not realizing that school would be taking over my life at that point and that I'd have very little time to study for the GRE. I ended up taking a huge neuro exam within that same week, and the stress of it all gave me a terrible cold that I had to take with me to my final GRE exam. ?Que sera sera I guess? So that's my only warning about taking the exam while you're back in school-if the semester is already making you very busy, it might affect your studying for the GRE! But you could also combat that by having great time management skills, something I really lacked then.

My experience (and that of my friends) showed me that your Q score is not THE most important thing in your application. We're applying to become SLPs, not mathematicians! So you could potentially do what I did and trust your V/AW study methods in order to focus more on studying for a better Quant score. Utilize your resources-prep books, Magoosh, videos on YouTube (I highly recommend finding ones on middle and high school math problems), Khan Academy, and help from friends. 

Having already taken the exam, you know more than you did the first time about what kinds of problems stump you. Do you need to work on geometry, or algebra? Are you forgetting basic math in the heat of trying to answer a question? Focus on what was tough then to make it easier next time.

You got this! Good luck!

[Slowcheetah]

Do not forget that GRE is not everything. I did TERRIBLE both times that I took the GRE and I was still accepted to 4/8 schools. I would say to make sure you research how important the GRE is to certain schools. Some schools care more about how the student has performed holistically (i.e. Pacific University in Oregon). Other schools weight the GRE heavily and will probably deny you even if your GPA and extracurriculars are awesome. I got a 147 V, 137 Q, and 3.5 Writing on my first attempt. 2nd was worse on the math and writing. Still got into 2 California State universities and 2 private universities. If your GRE is the weakest part of your application then make sure the other aspects shine! Don’t give up  

Edited August 3, 2018 by Slowcheetah
Grammar