Freaking over the GRE

[Alex30290]

So, I just recently(about a month ago) decided to go to grad school for Higher Education. I'm an Education major, so I had never even given it a thought before, and now it is all coming at me so fast. I take the GRE on the 23rd or June, and considering the excessive amount of tests Education majors have to pass to get certified, I figured it couldn't be that bad.

How wrong I was.

I've taken a few practice tests (mostly the verbal section) and find myself constantly doing horribly. We're talking 50% and below. Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone have words of encouragement? Tips? Tricks? Anything. I've been stressing out pretty throughly for this, and considering the sheer amount of words they suggest you learn (200?) I feel that it wouldn't be a good idea to try and memorize as many as I could in such a small time.

My GPA is better than solid, and my Resume is pretty legit, so I dunno how badly a poor GRE score would affect me. Do you think it's ok to at first choose to not send my score out until I see what it is, then fork over the money to do it?

I dunno, a lot of questions, a lot of confusion. I hope I can get some help.

Alex

[FingersCrossedX]

So, I just recently(about a month ago) decided to go to grad school for Higher Education. I'm an Education major, so I had never even given it a thought before, and now it is all coming at me so fast. I take the GRE on the 23rd or June, and considering the excessive amount of tests Education majors have to pass to get certified, I figured it couldn't be that bad.

How wrong I was.

I've taken a few practice tests (mostly the verbal section) and find myself constantly doing horribly. We're talking 50% and below. Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone have words of encouragement? Tips? Tricks? Anything. I've been stressing out pretty throughly for this, and considering the sheer amount of words they suggest you learn (200?) I feel that it wouldn't be a good idea to try and memorize as many as I could in such a small time.

My GPA is better than solid, and my Resume is pretty legit, so I dunno how badly a poor GRE score would affect me. Do you think it's ok to at first choose to not send my score out until I see what it is, then fork over the money to do it?

I dunno, a lot of questions, a lot of confusion. I hope I can get some help.

Alex

When your scores are sent to your institutions of choice, whether its at the testing center or later, all of your scores for the past 5 years will be reported. I would guess that some schools only take the most current scores into consideration, but some might still look at older scores.

When I was studying for the GRE, I bought a test prep book. The strategies they give really did help. Then I bought a vocab book and memorized as many words as I could. I did it in about a month. I knew enough words to get a score I was really happy with. I needed both the strategies and the route memorization. However, if I took the test today, I'd do terribly on the verbal section as I have forgotten all of the words I memorized.

That being said, it sounds like the rest of your application should be quite strong. If your GRE scores aren't great, go ahead and work on the rest of your app. Make that part very strong by starting on that SOP and reach out to possible recommendation writers. If your GRE is over 1000, you can get in, shoot for 1200 though.

Good Luck on the test!

[Safferz]

I suggest you buy a study guide (Barron's seems to be considered the best here) and cram for the next week and a half. Get familiar with the test format and learn the strategies the book gives you. If you don't do so well, you have plenty of time to re-take the test before application season begins. Good luck!

[flotsam]

There are websites that have actual GRE practice tests that are formatted, timed, and scored just like the real thing. Most of these websites cost $$, depending on how many practice tests you want. I am not sure if the written sections are scored, but the prompts are very similar to the ones you'll get at your sitting.

Of course, you could always wait and take the new GRE. Here is a website with some info on that:

http://www.manhattangre.com/newGRE.cfm?gclid=COq4s_iOlqgCFRphgwod33KhBg

The books with test stategies for the old test are good. Make flashcards of the vocabulary words and start to think about how things are related analogously. Memorizing, at this point, will only stress you out more. Just familiarize yourself with as much as you can so that you won't have to spend so much time trying to decipher the directions on the test. The worst that can happen is that you will want to retake the test.

Take a deep breath and remember that this ridiculous rite of passage will take you one step closer...

[Alex30290]

I appreciate the overwhelming support. I decided to go to my lovely local library and try and get a few books for strategies. I've been drilling root words for the past couple days, and am now focusing on the quantitative section. It's a ridiculous road to go down, and the concept of having to go through this all over sounds atrocious.

So, let's say my GRE goes badly (though I'm gonna try my hardest for that not to be the case). Do you think having over a 3.5 going into my senior year, with two semesters of student teaching, which are almost guaranteed A's, and over three years of Residence Life experience would make me a strong candidate? I know in certain fields the GRE is not weighted as heavily, but I also know that two schools I'm apply for are in the top 10 for their field. Obviously, I wanna aim for the best, but I'd hate for somebody to get picked over me simply so the college can pad their statistics. Thoughts?

Alex

[cunninlynguist]

I appreciate the overwhelming support. I decided to go to my lovely local library and try and get a few books for strategies. I've been drilling root words for the past couple days, and am now focusing on the quantitative section. It's a ridiculous road to go down, and the concept of having to go through this all over sounds atrocious.

So, let's say my GRE goes badly (though I'm gonna try my hardest for that not to be the case). Do you think having over a 3.5 going into my senior year, with two semesters of student teaching, which are almost guaranteed A's, and over three years of Residence Life experience would make me a strong candidate? I know in certain fields the GRE is not weighted as heavily, but I also know that two schools I'm apply for are in the top 10 for their field. Obviously, I wanna aim for the best, but I'd hate for somebody to get picked over me simply so the college can pad their statistics. Thoughts?

Alex

As long as your score passes the threshold for minimum requirements, you should be fine. I'm glad you recognize the value of your GPA and relevant experience - those won't be erased by a less-than-spectacular GRE. I would, however, advise you to prepare a bit more for the verbal section; it's significantly more difficult, and in your field I'd wager it's more pertinent than the quantitative section.

The only scenario I can envision you being passed over in favor of another candidate, due solely to GRE scores, is if you're both extraordinarily similar and it's literally the only element of the application that differs. Otherwise, just continue to prepare as well as you can. It's just a test - once you're done with it, you can concentrate on more important components of your application.

[runonsentence]

As long as your score passes the threshold for minimum requirements, you should be fine. I'm glad you recognize the value of your GPA and relevant experience - those won't be erased by a less-than-spectacular GRE. I would, however, advise you to prepare a bit more for the verbal section; it's significantly more difficult, and in your field I'd wager it's more pertinent than the quantitative section.

The only scenario I can envision you being passed over in favor of another candidate, due solely to GRE scores, is if you're both extraordinarily similar and it's literally the only element of the application that differs. Otherwise, just continue to prepare as well as you can. It's just a test - once you're done with it, you can concentrate on more important components of your application.

This.