Retaking the GRE

[Mocha001]

Hi, I am sure some of you retook the GRE.

When you took it the second time, how was your experience?

I have fear that I may score lower than the first time.

I scored really high on the quantitative (780) and my husband thinks that I should not retake it because

I might score lower than 780. But, my verbal was only 450 and I want to raise it as much as possible.

Did you actually do better than the first time?

Psychologically, you have less pressure than the first time?

Please share your experiences

[eklavya]

I might score lower than 780. But, my verbal was only 450 and I want to raise it as much as possible.

ditto scores here! well, almost

think and decide, if verbal is really that important for your proposed field of study. if not, why spend the hard earned $$? you don't have to worry about your application not reaching the hands of your prospective professors because you have >1200, which means it will definitely be passed on to the dept from the main (university) grad admission office.

i didn't retake it because i am a science guy, and my research/internship/publications BY FAR put the low verbal into shame. if you have relatively high experience in your field of word and have strong LoRs, i don't think you really need to retake it.... especially if you are a science person as well.

[laurend]

I did not retake the test, but a friend of mine did. She did mostly for her AW score and essentially did not study at all for the other sections and increased both her scores by at 50 points. Study some for the verbal and retake it if you want, just don't freak yourself out about messing up your Q section. Worst case it goes down a little, but I am sure it will still be fine! Just be calm and you are bound to do better just with less nerves. That is my experience at least.

[neuropsych76]

My girlfriend was in a similar situation as you. (almost identical scores, wanted to raise her Verbal) She ended up raising her verbal 50 points but her math went down 50. Fortunately, a lot of programs she is applying too just take the highest score. If this is the case for you, I think it takes off a lot of the pressure.

When I retook the GRE I thought I bombed the quantitative section but I actually improved a lot. I think people generally do better the second time (even though I was sure I did worse on the Q) so I wouldn't worry about that if you have kept up your studying. I felt I was slightly more relaxed going into it because I knew what to expect.

Good luck!!

[laurend]

Also just to add, the information I have been given suggests that having over a certain score isn't always the only hurdle. Some top tier schools look for percentages on both sections as well. I am sure if a professor vouches for you that may not be the case, but you definitely don't want to be tossed based on a 450 V.

[Mocha001]

I wish I could be a science major, but I am a communication major. So my verbal score can be important. I am not really sure because a lot of schools requires no minimum or

over 1000 on the combined score. Still, 450 on the verbal is pretty low and I try to improve to at least 550.

[TheDude]

I was way more relaxed because I couldn't do worse when all my schools take the highest of the 2 scores. I also scored much higher (I can't remember how many points overall and 4.5 to 5.5 in the AW). The quant section was vastly different than the first time. The questions, at least for me, were getting more and more complex. I was thinking I must have been doing really good, but in the end I received a 650 in that section.

I don't think you can plan on raising you verbal score all that much if you retake in a couple weeks. I hit the barron's big list, or whatever it is, and saw a few of those words, but it is kind of a wash.

Anyways, I hope all works out this year because I burned my GRE prep books. I'm in the Northeast and we needed something to get the wood stove going. It seemed fitting.

[Mocha001]

Also the reason why I want to retake and score as high as possible is that a new GRE will start in August. I have heard that it will be a lot harder than current one.

I need the GRE score for my Ph.D anyways, so I decided to take it right now and get done with it. Since the score will be valid up to 5 years, so when I apply for PhD, I do not have to

retake it.

[TheDude]

If you aren't applying this round of applications why don't you just really focus on studying vocab for like 4 months? You have a high Quant score so I can assume that material won't leave your head like it has left mine.

[jfsaunders]

I found that knowing what to expect test day, along with having completed the test once, lessened my anxiety and did result in a score improvement (110 pts overall).

[SarahSocPsy]

I got 680 on the quantitative section and 520 on verbal and retook it & got the same quantitative score (DAMN!) and a 650 on verbal. Studying vocabulary is very important. I must have learned about 300-400 new words. Also, practice with difficult reading comprehension passages, as you will likely see one if your doing well on the test.

[DrFaustus666]

Also the reason why I want to retake and score as high as possible is that a new GRE will start in August. I have heard that it will be a lot harder than current one.

I need the GRE score for my Ph.D anyways, so I decided to take it right now and get done with it. Since the score will be valid up to 5 years, so when I apply for PhD, I do not have to

retake it.

The verbal section of the new GRE will focus more on reading comprehension and less on pure vocabulary (no antonyms, no analogies). Whereas the quantitative section will be considerably more difficult, involving "fill-in-the-blank" questions as well as multiple choice.

Since you have a strong quantitative score already and your verbal is what's worrying you, it might work to your advantage to wait for the new GRE.

[Mocha001]

Thank you so much. That was what I have been concerned. Since I do not really need to retake the GRE for my MA, but I need a better score for my PhD.

I do not want to study for the GRE while I am in the MA program. I prefer to concentrate on my classes and thesis. Right now I have more time and

my GRE memory is fresh. Once the new test comes out in August, I am not sure if I can improve the score significantly compared to now.

The good thins is that the new test does not have antonyms and analogy. Those are tough sections.

[DrFaustus666]

Thank you so much. That was what I have been concerned. Since I do not really need to retake the GRE for my MA, but I need a better score for my PhD.

I do not want to study for the GRE while I am in the MA program. I prefer to concentrate on my classes and thesis. Right now I have more time and

my GRE memory is fresh. Once the new test comes out in August, I am not sure if I can improve the score significantly compared to now.

The good thins is that the new test does not have antonyms and analogy. Those are tough sections.

The ananogies, and especially the antonyms, are by far the most difficult in my opinion: at the highest levels of the verbal section of the current GRE computerized adaptive test, some of the analogies not only deal completely in very obscure words, but even refer to secondary meanings of those already-unfamiliar words.

The reading fill-in-the-blank and read-a-passage questions are not very difficult by comparison. In fact, I personally think the biggest difficulty is time budgeting. If for example you use more than about 30 seconds for the analogies/antonyms, you won't have enough time to devote to those long passages.

Whatever you decide, good luck!