Taking GRE now, reporting scores for Fall 2012?

[fenderpete]

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what my options are for reporting scores to schools for Fall 2012 entry if I take the GRE in April 2011?

I know that you can report your scores to 4 schools immediately after the test, but I'm worried that taking it in April and sending them right away is kind of early for the Fall 2012 admission cycle and I neither want schools to lose my scores, nor lose out on the 4 reports included in the GRE cost.

Is there any way to get them sent later, or not use the 4 reports at the time, and use them later?

Thanks guys!

[coffeekid]

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what my options are for reporting scores to schools for Fall 2012 entry if I take the GRE in April 2011?

I know that you can report your scores to 4 schools immediately after the test, but I'm worried that taking it in April and sending them right away is kind of early for the Fall 2012 admission cycle and I neither want schools to lose my scores, nor lose out on the 4 reports included in the GRE cost.

Is there any way to get them sent later, or not use the 4 reports at the time, and use them later?

Thanks guys!

On the whole, that will probably be too early to send your scores in. The deciding factor, though, will be the particular places you're applying to. I applied to a few places that would not save any materials for people who had not already completed an online application, which for you would not be even available to complete for a while.

It sounds to me that if you are going to take them early, you will likely have to fork up the fee for sending them separately at a later date. Yet another way the ETS robs us blind.

Edited March 14, 2011 by coffeekid

[newms]

You could always just put the schools on the score report and then check later on, if the schools have them and you could let them know you're applying for Fall 2012. Some schools may lose the report, or mix it up with Fall 2011 applicants, so you would be best advised to contact the department grad secretary to make sure they keep your report for Fall 2012. Of course the first half of April will be pretty busy for schools, so you could probably contact them shortly after that. If they don't keep it, you just have to send it again, but I'm guessing at least a couple of the schools you send it to would be able to keep it. If you're worried that it's too early to send the score reports (and it probably is since this cycle isn't finished yet) then you could wait a few months, say until July, to do the test. Remember that the GRE format changes in August.

Edited March 14, 2011 by newms

[fenderpete]

I don't want to cut it too fine and leave it until July, I'm also sick of working on it and can only handle another 4 weeks lol. I'll try sending them to prospective schools and email them early May to ask if they can keep them for Fall 2012. Thanks for the advice guys, but unfortunately it sounds like ETS may be set up to get even more of my money

[Ameletus]

If you are planning on taking a subject test later on (I don't know what field you're in), you can send all your scores at once when you take the subject test.

[navier]

I don't want to cut it too fine and leave it until July, I'm also sick of working on it and can only handle another 4 weeks lol. I'll try sending them to prospective schools and email them early May to ask if they can keep them for Fall 2012. Thanks for the advice guys, but unfortunately it sounds like ETS may be set up to get even more of my money

Why do you think July is cutting it too fine? I'm planning to take it in August, in which my scores won't be available until November. The deadline for most grad schools for Fall 2012 is December at the earliest. I'm confused as to why you think July is too late. Depending on your strengths/weaknesses, the new GRE may benefit you as well (I know it will for me as an engineering student).

[fenderpete]

Why do you think July is cutting it too fine? I'm planning to take it in August, in which my scores won't be available until November. The deadline for most grad schools for Fall 2012 is December at the earliest. I'm confused as to why you think July is too late. Depending on your strengths/weaknesses, the new GRE may benefit you as well (I know it will for me as an engineering student).

Because I don't want to take the new test, which will be completely be unproven, and I've heard a lot of test centers aren't testing with the old test in June/July. This way if anything goes wrong, I could retake before they change to the new test.

I'm pretty sure it won't benefit me, as I'm weaker on quants and already had a good verbal/AWA score. With a calculator on screen, problems will probably be more complex and that's not good as I'm a 'silly mistakes' person. I also know my targets with the old scores, nobody has any idea what schools will be looking for with the new scores.

Also my job necessitates a lot of overseas travel, and I could well be leaving for Tunisia/Egypt/DRC before July.

Edited March 17, 2011 by fenderpete

[navier]

Because I don't want to take the new test, which will be completely be unproven, and I've heard a lot of test centers aren't testing with the old test in June/July. This way if anything goes wrong, I could retake before they change to the new test.

I'm pretty sure it won't benefit me, as I'm weaker on quants and already had a good verbal/AWA score. With a calculator on screen, problems will probably be more complex and that's not good as I'm a 'silly mistakes' person. I also know my targets with the old scores, nobody has any idea what schools will be looking for with the new scores.

Also my job necessitates a lot of overseas travel, and I could well be leaving for Tunisia/Egypt/DRC before July.

Okay, this makes sense then. I thought you simply meant that scores won't make it on time if you test in July. As for the new GRE, I'm awful at verbal and quant is easy (even easier now that they provide a calculator), so taking the new one will benefit me. I understand you're the opposite so waiting wouldn't be a good idea. As for the new scores, the reports translate the new scaled score to the old scale, which I think is meant for adcoms to understand scores better until the new GRE has been implemented for a period of time. They're also taking a long time to grade the first series of tests, so something tells me they're going to scale it somehow. By this I mean I think they're going to scale it relative to a bunch of scores taken over the two month period (using statistical analysis). I'm not sure of this though; I may be completely wrong. (If so, it may be beneficial to the early test takers)

[fenderpete]

Well good luck for July when you take it I know the new one will be different, but if there's any aspect of vocab testing, I've found the Barron's high frequency list really good. It's bumped me up from a 690V to a 730V in my most recent test.

[Tdearr]

Okay, this makes sense then. I thought you simply meant that scores won't make it on time if you test in July. As for the new GRE, I'm awful at verbal and quant is easy (even easier now that they provide a calculator), so taking the new one will benefit me. I understand you're the opposite so waiting wouldn't be a good idea. As for the new scores, the reports translate the new scaled score to the old scale, which I think is meant for adcoms to understand scores better until the new GRE has been implemented for a period of time. They're also taking a long time to grade the first series of tests, so something tells me they're going to scale it somehow. By this I mean I think they're going to scale it relative to a bunch of scores taken over the two month period (using statistical analysis). I'm not sure of this though; I may be completely wrong. (If so, it may be beneficial to the early test takers)

Hi Navier and Fenderpete,

I just wanted to jump in and mention a few things about the new GRE. We at Manhattan GRE have looked at the new exam extensively; we were even invited to a conference on the new exam that was held by ETS. After all of this research, we have a good handle on what is changing. The math on the new GRE is going to be significantly more difficult. Currently, roughly 6% of all people who take the GRE score a perfect 800 on quant; this scoring pattern makes it difficult for admissions committees to accurately judge candidates. As a result, the GRE is making a conscious effort to increase the difficulty level of the math portion of the exam. In addition, the inclusion of a calculator can allow the writers to develop more difficult questions. We are cautioning students not to see the calculator as an advantage, but rather as something that might slow you down.

I would suggest that you look at some of the information online about the changes to the test. We have written up a wealth of information outlining the specific changes that are being incorporated into the new exam at this page: http://www.manhattangre.com/newGRE.cfm . There are a number of other resources elsewhere online that include similar information. It is important to hear about the new test before making any decisions so that you are armed with the best information that you can possibly have.

I hope you found this helpful. If you have any questions about the new GRE please let me know and I'll be happy to answer them!

Best Regards,

Taylor Dearr

[navier]

Hi Navier and Fenderpete,

I just wanted to jump in and mention a few things about the new GRE. We at Manhattan GRE have looked at the new exam extensively; we were even invited to a conference on the new exam that was held by ETS. After all of this research, we have a good handle on what is changing. The math on the new GRE is going to be significantly more difficult. Currently, roughly 6% of all people who take the GRE score a perfect 800 on quant; this scoring pattern makes it difficult for admissions committees to accurately judge candidates. As a result, the GRE is making a conscious effort to increase the difficulty level of the math portion of the exam. In addition, the inclusion of a calculator can allow the writers to develop more difficult questions. We are cautioning students not to see the calculator as an advantage, but rather as something that might slow you down.

I would suggest that you look at some of the information online about the changes to the test. We have written up a wealth of information outlining the specific changes that are being incorporated into the new exam at this page: http://www.manhattangre.com/newGRE.cfm . There are a number of other resources elsewhere online that include similar information. It is important to hear about the new test before making any decisions so that you are armed with the best information that you can possibly have.

I hope you found this helpful. If you have any questions about the new GRE please let me know and I'll be happy to answer them!

Best Regards,

Taylor Dearr

Hi Taylor,

Thanks for the response. As an engineer, I'm not too worried about the math/quant section of the GRE. I took the ETS practice revised exam and my score was 750-800 they said. My main issue with the old quant was the memorization of formulae: this is not something you need as a grad student. With a calculator, I can pretty much reason through any problem. Although it may be more difficult, I've had enough math courses where I feel completely ready to take any standardized math test. My main issue is the verbal. My communication skills do not lack, but my knowledge of obscure words (that nobody actually uses in everyday life) does lack. As an engineer, this really isn't a huge deal for getting into a Ph.D program. How would you say the new verbal section is? I know there is context, but what else can you say about it? Thanks in advance!

[Tdearr]

Hi Taylor,

Thanks for the response. As an engineer, I'm not too worried about the math/quant section of the GRE. I took the ETS practice revised exam and my score was 750-800 they said. My main issue with the old quant was the memorization of formulae: this is not something you need as a grad student. With a calculator, I can pretty much reason through any problem. Although it may be more difficult, I've had enough math courses where I feel completely ready to take any standardized math test. My main issue is the verbal. My communication skills do not lack, but my knowledge of obscure words (that nobody actually uses in everyday life) does lack. As an engineer, this really isn't a huge deal for getting into a Ph.D program. How would you say the new verbal section is? I know there is context, but what else can you say about it? Thanks in advance!

Hi Navier,

The verbal section is undergoing the most drastic change of any section of the new test, so that makes the verbal to be the hardest to analyze at this time. What we do know is that they are doing away with the antonyms and analogies so that, as you mentioned, words can be dealt with in context. However, there will still be a heavy emphasis on vocabulary. One new question type known as "sentence equivalence" will present students with a sentence that includes one blank. Students will then be tasked with selecting two words from a list of choices that could both fill the blank in such a way as to make the sentence keep the same meaning with either word inserted. This question type will require knowledge of a wide array of vocabulary words.

Another change to the verbal type is a reworking of the old sentence completion questions to a new format known as "text completion." Text completion will function in the same way as the old test's sentence completion, but these questions may include up to three blanks. Unlike old sentence completion questions in which answers were selected in set pairs, the new text completion problems ask you to select a word for each blank independently. No partial credit will be given for these questions, which will increase the difficulty level of these questions on the new test.

Reading comprehension will undergo some small changes but nothing that will change the difficulty level significantly.

I hope that is helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Regards,

Taylor

[Neuronista]

Hi Taylor,

So, in general, do you think that if someone needs to retake the GRE (like me), would better do it before or after the test format changes?

I took the test only once. I messed up the verbal section badly (490), while I got 610 on the quantitative section. I think I can do much better in quant if I practice more because my main obstacle was time (I was pretty slow and I didn't have the time to answer all questions). So If I practice more, I think I'll be able to think faster and do the questions faster.

I'm not sure whether I can do better on the verbal section because I'm really bad at memorizing lists of vocabulary words

I got a 5.0 an the analytical writing section, though.

I'm applying for a PhD in biomedical sciences, so I guess they focus more on the quant score. But I still do need to improve my overall score, including both verbal and quant.

[fenderpete]

PhD Pharmacist, I can't really answer whether the new or old test would be better for you, but I can tell you that the test is very learnable and you should definitely be able to pull your score up with some practice.

The test is all about catching you out, making you rush and pressuring you into making the wrong decision. This is something you can combat by learning the mechanics of how the quantitative questions work, how to solve them and also the shortcuts of when you shouldn't waste time solving them.

For example, say the question was a quantitative comparison and the question was:

Column A: (23)(25)(17)(32)

Column B: (24)(34)(16)(44)

You don't need to work that out, and it would waste a LOT of your time trying to do so. You can glance at the numbers, see that Column B is bigger for every one except for the 16, and know it's going to be Column B. These are the kinds of things you only really learn to do confidently when you've seen enough questions that you can be sure they aren't tricking you.

I'd really recommend investing the time to practice, as the test is really learnable and if you have the time it would really help your apps - especially when your program sounds quant heavy.