November 13th Literature GRE Scores Now Available

[Queequeg]

By phone for $12.

[ahlacruz]

12 dollars for bad news

[thereandbackagain]

I was just coming on here to post that. Considering how I thought the test went, I'm quite happy with my score - 630/79%. I think that 630 was the score I got on the last practice test, so yay. Good luck to everyone. Glad to have that behind me.

[ahlacruz]

I got a 630 too... I guess it's not bad. Seems like 650 is a nice mark to hit though.

[thereandbackagain]

Harvard's average on this test is 650. I figure 630 is respectably in the ballpark. Also, from what I've read, this is probably the last thing that schools look at for admissions, so I wouldn't fret.

I got a 630 too... I guess it's not bad. Seems like 650 is a nice mark to hit though.

Edited December 11, 2010 by thereandbackagain

[ahlacruz]

The website says that score reports will be sent for this test about Dec. 24, but mine have already been sent. Did this happen to other people? I wonder if they are sending them early or if these reports just went out with my general test scores and not my subject test scores.

[thereandbackagain]

No, mine also have the date sent as Dec 11, which is awesome.  I'm just glad it looks like they are going out. I still think that the score reports will be mailed to us around Dec. 24, though.

On 12/11/2010 at 2:01 PM, ahlacruz said:

The website says that score reports will be sent for this test about Dec. 24, but mine have already been sent. Did this happen to other people? I wonder if they are sending them early or if these reports just went out with my general test scores and not my subject test scores.

[anonacademic]

The website says that score reports will be sent for this test about Dec. 24, but mine have already been sent. Did this happen to other people? I wonder if they are sending them early or if these reports just went out with my general test scores and not my subject test scores.

Mine were reported to my schools today, too. This is terrifying, as it means they'll know (or anyway, will know) sooner than I. And it's a double dose of BS - if the reports can be sent out now to schools, then why not to me, who forked over the $400?!?!?

I'm glad I didn't double-report my general scores, though. Got you there, ETS!

[Capo]

Thanks for letting us know they were available, I was going to pull my hair out waiting until Monday! Just got my score of 690 / 93rd percentile. PHEW! Relief, finally.

[shepardn7]

OMG WTF.

So I called and submitted my social and everything and they gave me someone elses's general test scores. So, I spent 12 dollars on someone else's scores!!!! Why does someone else have my social? They confirmed the number. Why don't they confirm your NAME!? Couldn't the woman spell out the letters of your last name or something? I could run this company better. I would like to add that I just got audited for a godawful amount of money by the IRS despite making below poverty wages last year, so losing twelve dollars counts, and also this has already been a terrible few days.

Then I tried my confirmation number and birthday and test date and they have no record of the test.

Then I tried my social security number again and they had no record at all. So for some reason my social worked for someone else's scores, and then didn't work at all.

I can't call for help until Monday, when they're "open."

Maybe not every score has been updated? Since Mon. is the official date? Or maybe they just screwed up my entire file, I don't know. I won't know for two days why there is no record of my scores and why my social unlocked someone else's score report. Just one more reason to hate this awful, worthless company.

Edited December 11, 2010 by sarandipidy

[shepardn7]

Ugh, and then I used my registration number and paid again and found out I did terribly. I hate this.

[anonacademic]

OMG WTF.

So I called and submitted my social and everything and they gave me someone elses's general test scores. So, I spent 12 dollars on someone else's scores!!!! Why does someone else have my social? They confirmed the number. Why don't they confirm your NAME!? Couldn't the woman spell out the letters of your last name or something? I could run this company better. I would like to add that I just got audited for a godawful amount of money by the IRS despite making below poverty wages last year, so losing twelve dollars counts, and also this has already been a terrible few days.

Then I tried my confirmation number and birthday and test date and they have no record of the test.

Then I tried my social security number again and they had no record at all. So for some reason my social worked for someone else's scores, and then didn't work at all.

I can't call for help until Monday, when they're "open."

Maybe not every score has been updated? Since Mon. is the official date? Or maybe they just screwed up my entire file, I don't know. I won't know for two days why there is no record of my scores and why my social unlocked someone else's score report. Just one more reason to hate this awful, worthless company.

That is just disgraceful. They ought to offer you a refund! Not that you really have any desire left to interact with them, but still.

Ugh, and then I used my registration number and paid again and found out I did terribly. I hate this.

Chin up! It'll all be worth it in the end.

[shepardn7]

Chin up! It'll all be worth it in the end.

Thanks. I hope you're right. I keep telling myself that I'm applying to creative programs where it should matter even less than it does for purely academic ones, but I studied for three months and knew so much material and still received a mediocre score. I've never been good at speed reading under pressure for these kinds of tests; I find that I'm so nervous that I have to read a passage two or three times, and just overall had to rush through so much of it and leave more blank than I had on any of my practice tests. It's a real blow to my self-esteem and, also, reminds me just how much time I really wasted preparing for this test that could have been spent working on my manuscript and getting my work out there. But thanks -- if I still get in, I know it will all be okay and forgotten. I know someone at my first choice program accepted without scores because he was ill for the test; they let him take it in April, so they could just add the scores to his file. It's a glimmer of hope, anyway. To the person who was unsure about a 630: Be happy, very happy. You could be sub-600, like me.

[bigdgp]

For those of you with disappointing scores (like mine, which is also a couple of years old now), remember that this is a ridiculous test that schools only continue to require for ranking purposes and that very few of them actually use it as a major factor in admissions decisions. I applaud the elite schools who are leading the charge in acknowledging this futile hoop for us to jump through and create revenue for ETS in the process: Columbia, Penn, Brown (I think), Chicago (as of this year), North Carolina, Duke, etc. More places should (and hopefully will) follow suit. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean much for us and our hundreds of dollars wasted now.

[Medievalmaniac]

Well, I bit the bullet and forked over my $12.00 - score: 640/82%. Not exactly what I hoped for, but a helluva lot better than I imagined it was going to be, and hopefully (if Harvard's average is, indeed, 650) good enough to nab me a slot somewhere I've applied. I'm trying to bear in mind that I did better than 82% of the people who took this test as English majors hoping to get a spot in a masters/doctoral program, and was not testing against the general populace, and that this is therefore a respectable score (that's true, right??!) Just really glad it is OVER and I don't have to take it, ever again!

[anonacademic]

^ Congratulations! That's a great score!

Now I'm starting to feel the itch to call... However, I just realized that one of my applications actually uploads my scores as soon as the school receives them, so my sneaky plan is to check back tomorrow or Tuesday (presumably they'll have reached the school by then) and see if I can't circumnavigate the system by seeing my score on my application.

[fall-11]

Harvard's average on this test is 650. I figure 630 is respectably in the ballpark. Also, from what I've read, this is probably the last thing that schools look at for admissions, so I wouldn't fret.

By the way, how did you find out the average score at Harvard? I looked at the English dept website and FAQs, but couldn't find any information of this sort.

[thereandbackagain]

"GREs: High scores in the Verbal (700) and Subject tests (650, i.e., English and American literature) are positive additions to the application but are by no means the most important aspect of one’s candidacy. (The Quantitative and Analytical scores carry less weight than the Verbal and Subject scores.) Applicants should make timely plans to take these examinations in order to ensure that the scores arrive by the January application deadline. Scores received after mid-January may be too late to be considered." from www.gsas.harvard.edu/programs_of_study/english.php

Sorry, I was wrong, it's not the average. I guess I just had that in my head, but I must have figured that if they are stating 650, some people must have lower scores.

By the way, how did you find out the average score at Harvard? I looked at the English dept website and FAQs, but couldn't find any information of this sort.

[lady_coffee]

We all know of people who scored horribly on this exam who still received offers from top-notch programs. (My stats professor's voice comes to mind -- "Correlation does not affect causation!") And ~gestures above~ there are a number of excellent programs who explicitly reject any validity this test claims to have re: measuring applicants' ability. Seriously -- do not fret. I scored sub-600 last year and yes, it's frustrating, and yes, you feel like it's time and money down the drain, but take heart. In the end, it's just a hoop to jump through, and if you have worked the bejeezus out of your writing sample and SOP, you are in a good position. What I took away from my (unsuccessful) application round last year was, it's all in the writing -- hence why I threw my energy into strengthening the WS and SOP rather than trying to improve my subject test score. I know that others have taken the approach that they want to improve as many aspects of their application as they can -- ultimately you're the only person who can weigh whether or not this is the best strategy for you, and for you first-time test takers, I sincerely hope that this ~is~ the only round you have to go through.

Once again, at the risk of sounding like a broken record: it's all in the writing.

Last note -- congratulations to those of you who did well! That is no small accomplishment, and a good score certainly doesn't hurt!

P.S. I had a wonderful conversation with the director of graduate studies in a dept. that gave me a more personalized rejection ~chuckle~ and his suggestions focused entirely on the writing components. This was a school that required the subject test, and it was never mentioned as a way I could improve my application. This is just one case, but based on the discussions in this forum, his advice seems representative.

Edited December 12, 2010 by lady_coffee

[diehtc0ke]

We all know of people who scored horribly on this exam who still received offers from top-notch programs. (My stats professor's voice comes to mind -- "Correlation does not affect causation!") And ~gestures above~ there are a number of excellent programs who explicitly reject any validity this test claims to have re: measuring applicants' ability. Seriously -- do not fret. I scored sub-600 last year and yes, it's frustrating, and yes, you feel like it's time and money down the drain, but take heart. In the end, it's just a hoop to jump through, and if you have worked the bejeezus out of your writing sample and SOP, you are in a good position. What I took away from my (unsuccessful) application round last year was, it's all in the writing -- hence why I threw my energy into strengthening the WS and SOP rather than trying to improve my subject test score. I know that others have taken the approach that they want to improve as many aspects of their application as they can -- ultimately you're the only person who can weigh whether or not this is the best strategy for you, and for you first-time test takers, I sincerely hope that this ~is~ the only round you have to go through.

Once again, at the risk of sounding like a broken record: it's all in the writing.

Last note -- congratulations to those of you who did well! That is no small accomplishment, and a good score certainly doesn't hurt!

P.S. I had a wonderful conversation with the director of graduate studies in a dept. that gave me a more personalized rejection ~chuckle~ and his suggestions focused entirely on the writing components. This was a school that required the subject test, and it was never mentioned as a way I could improve my application. This is just one case, but based on the discussions in this forum, his advice seems representative.

As a sub-600er now in a top 10 program, this. All of this.

[ahlacruz]

Thanks for sharing that

[bigdgp]

As a sub-600er now in a top 10 program, this. All of this.

May I ask if it is a top 10 program that required the subject test?

[diehtc0ke]

May I ask if it is a top 10 program that required the subject test?

This one did not but I did get into other places that did.

[HappyCat]

Am I the only one whose scores cannot be located? Tried confirmation number, SS#, everything. It's getting to the point where I'm questioning my existence and my own date of birth!

[Tybalt]

I'm determined not to cave and give them 12 dollars. I think the whole thing is absurd. They have the scores. They sent them out to my schools over a week ago. The ONLY reason not to send them to me/put them online is to play on my neuroses and grab more money. I may be neurotic, but I'm also stubborn as hell. ETS doesn't get a cent more of my money than I absolutely HAVE to give them. I am tempted to call one of my schools and ask them if they can peek in my file and let me know, though