Developmental Psychology: 156Q/157V.....3AWA Do I have to re-take?

[MichaelMonroe]

I am not an international student, English is my first language. My quant and verbal scores are significantly higher than any of my practice tests predicted and I have reason to believe that retaking the GRE will result in a lower Q/V score. However, I know for a fact that if I were to retake it I would get at least a 4 on the AWA. I am a very good writer usually, I just panicked under the pressure of the test and only spent ~15 minutes on each prompt. I feel really stupid for that now. Since PIs will be reading my personal statement/Statement of Purpose, and in some cases a writing sample of my work, do I need to re-take the GRE to get the higher AWA score? I really and truly am dreading the thought of taking the test again, I'm usually a horrible test taker and the Q/V scores were a huge shock regarding how well I performed. My undergrad GPA is 3.33, major GPA 3.4 if that matters much. 

[ResilientDreams]

11 hours ago, JaniceMontgomery said:

I am not an international student, English is my first language. My quant and verbal scores are significantly higher than any of my practice tests predicted and I have reason to believe that retaking the GRE will result in a lower Q/V score. However, I know for a fact that if I were to retake it I would get at least a 4 on the AWA. I am a very good writer usually, I just panicked under the pressure of the test and only spent ~15 minutes on each prompt. I feel really stupid for that now. Since PIs will be reading my personal statement/Statement of Purpose, and in some cases a writing sample of my work, do I need to re-take the GRE to get the higher AWA score? I really and truly am dreading the thought of taking the test again, I'm usually a horrible test taker and the Q/V scores were a huge shock regarding how well I performed. My undergrad GPA is 3.33, major GPA 3.4 if that matters much. 

Hmmmm. I'm applying for developmental psychology too and I actually would advise taking it again in this case. 3 is...low. 

[PNWqueen]

On 8/19/2018 at 1:43 AM, JaniceMontgomery said:

I am not an international student, English is my first language. My quant and verbal scores are significantly higher than any of my practice tests predicted and I have reason to believe that retaking the GRE will result in a lower Q/V score. However, I know for a fact that if I were to retake it I would get at least a 4 on the AWA. I am a very good writer usually, I just panicked under the pressure of the test and only spent ~15 minutes on each prompt. I feel really stupid for that now. Since PIs will be reading my personal statement/Statement of Purpose, and in some cases a writing sample of my work, do I need to re-take the GRE to get the higher AWA score? I really and truly am dreading the thought of taking the test again, I'm usually a horrible test taker and the Q/V scores were a huge shock regarding how well I performed. My undergrad GPA is 3.33, major GPA 3.4 if that matters much. 

I am a current Developmental Psychology student and I would advise you to take it again. But, don't underestimate yourself, I had the same thing happen to me. My math score was 5 points lower on the practice I took so when my score increased I thought it was a fluke. When I retook it without much time for studying my score increased again. That said, I would definitely advise you to use either Magoosh or the ETS study books to help improve your Q/V scores as well as your writing score. Get the most of a retake. Also don't forget that the percentile ranks are what matters more than the raw scores.