Low Quant score (630), great GPA, where to apply?

[eurekagold]

I am a biology undergraduate student. I want to get my PhD in genetics and genomics. I am taking the GRE this weekend, but I just cannot seem to get my quantitative to a reasonable score. I am not sure if I am just not using the right study material or if my math anxiety (and possible dyscalculia) is coming into play overly much. I know a good portion of it is simply wading through the wording of the quantitative problems, as the math questions are rarely like what I have experienced in actual math classes. Furthermore, the time limit puts me into instant panic mode no matter what I do, and I end up making many stupid mistakes.

STATS

- By the time I apply, I will have about 1 1/2 years of research to my name. If all goes well (and I get a job when I am hoping to), I will have at least 6 months of experience working as a lab tech.

- I currently have a 4.0 with only a few classes left to take.

- Practice test (Power Prep) GRE scores: 620 (88th percentile) V, 630 (59th percentile...ouch) Q

- Pertinent classes (sciences/math) I have/will have: Genetics, general chem, organic chem, biochem, calculus, physics, general biology, molecular and cellular biology, evolution, ecology, developmental biology, biodiversity, advanced investigations in biology (a general upper level course designed to introduce students to various aspects of research, etc.).

- I have always been an excellent essayist, so I am not very concerned about the AW section.

Is there any chance of getting into a decent school with a good research facilities/funding and a reasonable graduate job outcome? What about funding? I utterly fail at finding average and minimum GRE scores for universities unless they list it in their admissions section of their website, and very few schools have responded to my emails.

I am extremely despondent at the moment due to my quantitative scores. I do know that many of the schools I was wanting require at least the 75 percentile, which is in the 730+ range for quantitative. Obviously my chances of that are nil unless I can find a way to vastly improve my score. Any advice that anyone can give would be most appreciated. :/

[aref.civilengineer]

i think u should work harder on your math .there are many kind on books about math for gre exam like nova

work on that books and take the gre exam again for higher score on Q section

good luck

[m.giugno]

Study hard, raise your Q to around 700 at least and your chances will definetely improve!

[neuropsych76]

I am a biology undergraduate student. I want to get my PhD in genetics and genomics. I am taking the GRE this weekend, but I just cannot seem to get my quantitative to a reasonable score. I am not sure if I am just not using the right study material or if my math anxiety (and possible dyscalculia) is coming into play overly much. I know a good portion of it is simply wading through the wording of the quantitative problems, as the math questions are rarely like what I have experienced in actual math classes. Furthermore, the time limit puts me into instant panic mode no matter what I do, and I end up making many stupid mistakes.

STATS

- By the time I apply, I will have about 1 1/2 years of research to my name. If all goes well (and I get a job when I am hoping to), I will have at least 6 months of experience working as a lab tech.

- I currently have a 4.0 with only a few classes left to take.

- Practice test (Power Prep) GRE scores: 620 (88th percentile) V, 630 (59th percentile...ouch) Q

- Pertinent classes (sciences/math) I have/will have: Genetics, general chem, organic chem, biochem, calculus, physics, general biology, molecular and cellular biology, evolution, ecology, developmental biology, biodiversity, advanced investigations in biology (a general upper level course designed to introduce students to various aspects of research, etc.).

- I have always been an excellent essayist, so I am not very concerned about the AW section.

Is there any chance of getting into a decent school with a good research facilities/funding and a reasonable graduate job outcome? What about funding? I utterly fail at finding average and minimum GRE scores for universities unless they list it in their admissions section of their website, and very few schools have responded to my emails.

I am extremely despondent at the moment due to my quantitative scores. I do know that many of the schools I was wanting require at least the 75 percentile, which is in the 730+ range for quantitative. Obviously my chances of that are nil unless I can find a way to vastly improve my score. Any advice that anyone can give would be most appreciated. :/

I think you are being too hard on yourself. You can still get into top schools with an average quant score if the rest of your application is outstanding.

Yes, it will help your chances to have a higher score. But it is short sighted to say you have no chance getting into any top school with a 630 Q

[sacklunch]

Agreed with the last poster. Your scores are higher than most. I seriously doubt it will hurt you at all, as well as doubt it will help you much to get a 700.

Edited May 13, 2011 by jdmhotness

[eurekagold]

Agreed with the last poster. Your scores are higher than most. I seriously doubt it will hurt you at all, as well as doubt it will help you much to get a 700.

Well, I know that the cutoff minimum for many of the schools I am looking at (Berkley, University of Chicago, etc.) is higher than what I have. Berkley is a 709 minimum, and U of C is 75 percentile (which is way above what I have).

I have been studying for 2 1/2 months, focusing ONLY on the quantitative portion, as I knew my qualitative was already above what I needed. I understand the material I have been studying, but the questions just throw me for a loop. I seem to keep missing out on the shortcuts for each problem type. I have never been exceptional with math. Give me a formula, and I can plug in the numbers from data, but the GRE questions just keep stumping me.

What I really need more than the standard math review type of books is how to tackle the actual GRE question formats. I can study the math reviews until I am blue in the face, but unless I can apply the concepts to the GRE questions themselves, it will do me no good. Are there any good resources out there for that? I have the book put out by ETS, and I have Power Prep. I also got the full access to MyGRETutor which did definitely help me out quite a bit (between all three I went up from being in the 500s to being in the 600s). However, it is apparently still not enough.

[spctle342]

Well, I know that the cutoff minimum for many of the schools I am looking at (Berkley, University of Chicago, etc.) is higher than what I have. Berkley is a 709 minimum, and U of C is 75 percentile (which is way above what I have).

I have been studying for 2 1/2 months, focusing ONLY on the quantitative portion, as I knew my qualitative was already above what I needed. I understand the material I have been studying, but the questions just throw me for a loop. I seem to keep missing out on the shortcuts for each problem type. I have never been exceptional with math. Give me a formula, and I can plug in the numbers from data, but the GRE questions just keep stumping me.

What I really need more than the standard math review type of books is how to tackle the actual GRE question formats. I can study the math reviews until I am blue in the face, but unless I can apply the concepts to the GRE questions themselves, it will do me no good. Are there any good resources out there for that? I have the book put out by ETS, and I have Power Prep. I also got the full access to MyGRETutor which did definitely help me out quite a bit (between all three I went up from being in the 500s to being in the 600s). However, it is apparently still not enough.

You sound just like me! I began going through Nova's GRE prep (specifically quant, since I'm relatively confident in my verbal/writing abilities), and I found it was better to abandon the GRE prep and first review the basics: arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. For instance, I couldn't even remember the procedures for things like factoring, dividing fractions, etc. Sure, it's helpful to understand the format and types of problems you'll encounter on the GRE, but that's useless if you don't have a good grasp of the basics. Good luck!

[eurekagold]

You sound just like me! I began going through Nova's GRE prep (specifically quant, since I'm relatively confident in my verbal/writing abilities), and I found it was better to abandon the GRE prep and first review the basics: arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. For instance, I couldn't even remember the procedures for things like factoring, dividing fractions, etc. Sure, it's helpful to understand the format and types of problems you'll encounter on the GRE, but that's useless if you don't have a good grasp of the basics. Good luck!

I have studied the basics and the concepts themselves, but I have trouble figuring out exactly where to apply them when the GRE questions are so convoluted.