Low GRE, what do I do?

[slp2be811]

Hi all! So I took the GRE about two weeks ago and scored a 146 Verbal, 154 Quantitative and a 5 on the A.W. I am satisfied with my Quant and A.W. scores, however, I know my Verbal score is terrible. I am retaking it on August 6th in hopes to improve my Verbal and at least maintain my other two scores, but what if I am unable to do so? Will I be competitive enough when applying to grad schools to receive an acceptance? I am currently working with a 3.83 GPA and have completed more than the 25 required observation hours at several different places.

Any information anyone has that can help would be greatly appreciated, I'm terrified that I will go through the application process and receive all rejections. :/

[WesttoEast18]

1 hour ago, slp2be811 said:

Hi all! So I took the GRE about two weeks ago and scored a 146 Verbal, 154 Quantitative and a 5 on the A.W. I am satisfied with my Quant and A.W. scores, however, I know my Verbal score is terrible. I am retaking it on August 6th in hopes to improve my Verbal and at least maintain my other two scores, but what if I am unable to do so? Will I be competitive enough when applying to grad schools to receive an acceptance? I am currently working with a 3.83 GPA and have completed more than the 25 required observation hours at several different places.

Any information anyone has that can help would be greatly appreciated, I'm terrified that I will go through the application process and receive all rejections. ?

I think it's a good move to retake the GRE and attempt to improve your verbal.  I would definitely study the vocab and reading comprehension, which will improve your scores for that part of the exam.  While most schools do look at many aspects of a candidates application, I haven't seen very many students accepted with a GRE verbal score lower than 148 (and that's usually the bare minimum).  

[soontobeslp2018]

2 hours ago, slp2be811 said:

Hi all! So I took the GRE about two weeks ago and scored a 146 Verbal, 154 Quantitative and a 5 on the A.W. I am satisfied with my Quant and A.W. scores, however, I know my Verbal score is terrible. I am retaking it on August 6th in hopes to improve my Verbal and at least maintain my other two scores, but what if I am unable to do so? Will I be competitive enough when applying to grad schools to receive an acceptance? I am currently working with a 3.83 GPA and have completed more than the 25 required observation hours at several different places.

Any information anyone has that can help would be greatly appreciated, I'm terrified that I will go through the application process and receive all rejections. ?

My GRE scores were 145 V 144 Q and 3 AW. I was accepted to my top choice which is the second best school in my state. Raising a verbal score is more difficult than math because there’s not a whole lot you can do in terms of studying because it’s not really realistic to learn and memorize all these new words that may or may not be on the test. I think retaking the GRE is a good option for you if you have the time and the money. Just make sure you send the test scores from both tests to all the schools that you apply to so that way they can see the highest scores between the two tests.

also remember that GRE scores are not everything. When you see the averages for certain schools make sure to remember that there were people who scored below that and still got in. Spend time focusing the aspects of your application that you have more control over like your personal statement. Good luck!