GRE retake question

[j1321]

Hi,

I recently look my GRE and received a 310: 157 V and 153 Q, AWA I am estimating between a 4 -5. I am planning on applying to clinical psychology programs in two years. 

I am unsure whether or not it is worth it to take the GRE again considering I seem to be at the cutoff, although at the low end for most clinical programs. I have 3 years of undergrad research experience and served as research coordinator my last year.  I have two current publications, one of which I have first authorship on, poster presentations, and potentially another first authorship manuscript. I also have one year experience post bac as an RA with an IVY league clinical lab and recently accepted another 2 year clinical neuropsych RA position that could lead to publications in my areas of interest. I also have a very strong extra curriculars and volunteer experience. My undergrad GPA was a 3.44 and major GPA of 3.9. 

I was wondering if I should focus more on publications and clinical involvement with my current position or is my GRE not competitive enough. I am open to hearing any input you have for me. Thank you. 

[PsycUndergrad]

I think it’s worth retaking since your GPA is on the lower side. It doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment since you aren’t applying for awhile- you should be able to raise your score by studying lightly over the next year or two. It sounds like you have some great experience, and you should prioritize pubs for sure, but raising your GRE will only help you. Good luck  

[j1321]

Thanks for your advice! I was hoping to avoid studying for them again, but the more I have read through this forum the more it looks like I am going to have to.

[ResilientDreams]

29 minutes ago, jake1321 said:

Thanks for your advice! I was hoping to avoid studying for them again, but the more I have read through this forum the more it looks like I am going to have to.

I think with your score it's a personal choice. If you think you can increase it, take it again. But if you think you've maxed out on what you can do, don't. Your overall GPA is a bit on the lowish side, but your major GPA is great, so I think that balances it out.

[j1321]

4 minutes ago, ResilientDreams said:

I think with your score it's a personal choice. If you think you can increase it, take it again. But if you think you've maxed out on what you can do, don't. Your overall GPA is a bit on the lowish side, but your major GPA is great, so I think that balances it out.

Thank you. I am on the fence, I have taken the GRE 3 times and each time I have improved. This time my quant dropped 3 points and verbal increased 7. I guess you can say my GPA follows the cliche "live by semester to semester college athlete" and then my last 2.5 years kick it into gear. 

I have been following your advice to others and realize how subject the whole process can be. Are they top 30+ school scores...no. I was hoping they might pass the initial screening at other schools because I will have a strong SOP, LORs and CV.....WHAT A TOUGH DECISION!!!!

[PsycUndergrad]

2 hours ago, jake1321 said:

Thanks for your advice! I was hoping to avoid studying for them again, but the more I have read through this forum the more it looks like I am going to have to.

It’s definitely a hard decision! Luckily you have lots of time to consider your situation and decide if you think retaking is worth it. 

[Yuan4208]

If you have time you should try again.

Your overall GPA is balanced by your major GPA and your writing is good. Your verbal and quant are likely below average for top programs though. GRE is not the most important factor in admissions but you don't want to be kept out of the gate because of it either.

[ResilientDreams]

On 9/1/2018 at 11:05 AM, jake1321 said:

Thank you. I am on the fence, I have taken the GRE 3 times and each time I have improved. This time my quant dropped 3 points and verbal increased 7. I guess you can say my GPA follows the cliche "live by semester to semester college athlete" and then my last 2.5 years kick it into gear. 

I have been following your advice to others and realize how subject the whole process can be. Are they top 30+ school scores...no. I was hoping they might pass the initial screening at other schools because I will have a strong SOP, LORs and CV.....WHAT A TOUGH DECISION!!!!

 

2 hours ago, Yuan4208 said:

If you have time you should try again.

Your overall GPA is balanced by your major GPA and your writing is good. Your verbal and quant are likely below average for top programs though. GRE is not the most important factor in admissions but you don't want to be kept out of the gate because of it either.

I believe another way to get into the gate with psych is with research fit. If you email a POI and they're really interested in you, that can get you through the first round in spite of mediocre test scores. I have had friends who applied to grad school and that was the case for them. I feel like the people on here (maybe just by nature of the type of people who use GradCafe), are a little too invested in the GRE. And who knows, for other disciplines maybe the score is incredibly important. But in psych all you need is to pass a certain threshold, which I believe you have crossed. It matters more how good of a fit you are for your advisor and for the program. In my personal opinion, you could either devote extra time to writing your personal statement, procuring recs, etc, or you could use the time to study extra for the GRE, and both would achieve the same end. That's just my two cents.

[PsychApplicantFall2019]

On 9/1/2018 at 11:05 AM, jake1321 said:

Thank you. I am on the fence, I have taken the GRE 3 times and each time I have improved. This time my quant dropped 3 points and verbal increased 7. I guess you can say my GPA follows the cliche "live by semester to semester college athlete" and then my last 2.5 years kick it into gear. 

I have been following your advice to others and realize how subject the whole process can be. Are they top 30+ school scores...no. I was hoping they might pass the initial screening at other schools because I will have a strong SOP, LORs and CV.....WHAT A TOUGH DECISION!!!!

I'm a bit late to the game, but I wanted to throw in a piece of advice. Your application is stellar in so many other ways that if you were to increase your GRE score, then I really think that you would have a decent shot at getting into a top program. If that is something that you would like to do, I would recommend giving the GRE another go. 

[j1321]

Thanks for the advice, I am giving it another go! 

[j1321]

On 9/23/2018 at 11:35 AM, sendmeadvice said:

I'm a bit late to the game, but I wanted to throw in a piece of advice. Your application is stellar in so many other ways that if you were to increase your GRE score, then I really think that you would have a decent shot at getting into a top program. If that is something that you would like to do, I would recommend giving the GRE another go. 

Ended up giving it another go. Went up 10 points and landed a 320. Thanks for the recommendation to take it again!

 

Edited December 30, 2018 by jake1321

[Sepal]

Hey! I talked about that with a professor and several PhDs before. Because the professor and I have very close research interest and we had a great time working together. I was about to retake the GRE (V153, Q160) before December. She assured me that it was enough and we can concentrate on pubs. I cannot exclude the possibility that they may have lower standards for international students and non-clinical programs. But I do suggest you to approach potential supervisors. To communicate your interests in their labs (maybe you have already worked in their labs! Talk to the most relevant person! ) and see how they feel about your background and your decision to be take another 2 years RA position. Another factor you need to consider is how the school select applicants, whether the committee has more say or the supervisor. If it's the former, then you need to raise your GRE scores or maybe have strong reasons to persuade them why your undergrad GPA/GRE was not so good in your PS/SOP. (suggestion from Stanford Psy PhD.)

Btw, do you mind me asking why you want to apply in two years instead of this cycle or earlier, considering all the excellent experiences and pubs you had? 

Good luck!

[ResilientDreams]

25 minutes ago, Sepal said:

Hey! I talked about that with a professor and several PhDs before. Because the professor and I have very close research interest and we had a great time working together. I was about to retake the GRE (V153, Q160) before December. She assured me that it was enough and we can concentrate on pubs. I cannot exclude the possibility that they may have lower standards for international students and non-clinical programs. But I do suggest you to approach potential supervisors. To communicate your interests in their labs (maybe you have already worked in their labs! Talk to the most relevant person! ) and see how they feel about your background and your decision to be take another 2 years RA position. Another factor you need to consider is how the school select applicants, whether the committee has more say or the supervisor. If it's the former, then you need to raise your GRE scores or maybe have strong reasons to persuade them why your undergrad GPA/GRE was not so good in your PS/SOP. (suggestion from Stanford Psy PhD.)

Btw, do you mind me asking why you want to apply in two years instead of this cycle or earlier, considering all the excellent experiences and pubs you had? 

Good luck!

The OP ended up retaking the GRE and improving their score. 

[j1321]

8 hours ago, Sepal said:

Hey! I talked about that with a professor and several PhDs before. Because the professor and I have very close research interest and we had a great time working together. I was about to retake the GRE (V153, Q160) before December. She assured me that it was enough and we can concentrate on pubs. I cannot exclude the possibility that they may have lower standards for international students and non-clinical programs. But I do suggest you to approach potential supervisors. To communicate your interests in their labs (maybe you have already worked in their labs! Talk to the most relevant person! ) and see how they feel about your background and your decision to be take another 2 years RA position. Another factor you need to consider is how the school select applicants, whether the committee has more say or the supervisor. If it's the former, then you need to raise your GRE scores or maybe have strong reasons to persuade them why your undergrad GPA/GRE was not so good in your PS/SOP. (suggestion from Stanford Psy PhD.)

Btw, do you mind me asking why you want to apply in two years instead of this cycle or earlier, considering all the excellent experiences and pubs you had? 

Good luck!

I should clarify when I am applying. I am applying next fall of 2019. To make a long story short, I am currently in a RA position that requests I work in the lab for two years. This lab is providing me with an exceptional experience of working with diverse populations and expanding my knowledge of R to work on the data project. Ideally, I would like to present the best package I can to the programs I am interested in. I ended up retaking the GRE today and got a 320 (162V, 158q). I had the time so I figured I would give it one final shot. 

Edited December 31, 2018 by jake1321