Nov GRE subjects are out by phone!

[pinkrobot]

Just FYI--if anyone's keen on feeding the hungry beast that is ETS, scores are available over the phone now. Good luck to all!

[indalomena]

gah... desperate to know, totally bitter about the amount of $$$ I have dumped on ETS. Think I'll wait it out -- don't want to beat down my self-confidence so close to Northwestern's deadline!! Good luck those of you brave/rich enough to pick up the phone!!

[xfgdfrmgpo332]

I gave in to ETS.....780! Spending my weekends for the last two years reading endlessly has paid off in something haha.

[poeteer]

That's an amazing score. Must feel good!

[Mr Grimwig]

Well I bombed it. 580, 62nd percentile. I never could get above the 70th percentile on practice tests, so I shouldn't be surprised. Plus I ran out of time and had about fifty questions left blank. Very defeating because I spent four months studying for it (read all the Nortons, made tons of flash cards, used Princeton guide).

Also defeating because my GRE scores are the only flaw on an otherwise glowing application.

So it looks like I'll have a slim chance of an American Ph.D. acceptance this cycle. Thank goodness the UK programs I'm applying to do not care about my Achilles' Heel, the GRE.

Congratulations to everyone who got good scores!

[Grunty DaGnome]

Many US programs don't care or don't require the GRE subject test, either, Columbia and Duke, for example. I think there are several threads on these boards discussing other schools that don't care.

[xfgdfrmgpo332]

That's an amazing score. Must feel good!

Thanks . We'll see how everything turns out. I seem to be in the opposite situation of a lot of ppl on this board...I have great GREs but my SOP is barely coherent and I'm not crazy about my writing sample.

[poeteer]

I wouldn't say 580 is bombing it. It feels like it (I got a similar score when I took it, so trust me, I know it feels as if you've failed yourself), after studying so hard and practicing so much, but it's still an okay score. It's not great, maybe it's not even a "good score," but it shouldn't really shut you out of any American program, let alone all of them! Especially the ones that don't even require the test! It's all about your fit, your sample, your SOP. It's a hurdle, and I'd say you've crossed it; most programs will see it and move onto your materials. Chin up!

[Mr Grimwig]

Thanks poeteer! I guess "bombing" is a little strong. It's just I applied to a number of tip-top programs (Harvard, Yale, UVa, Princeton) after being encouraged by my professors that I "definitely had it in me." So I fear a 580 is bombing it for the Ivies. My GRE scores have always been my weakness, but I didn't think it was that big of a deal....until I came onto these boards and heard tell of places like Harvard and Yale throwing out applications immediately if a GRE score is under their 97the percentile or whatever. I hope that's urban legend, but I tend to believe it... Had I known then what I know now, I would not have applied to these top places.

I am very confident and pleased with everything else in my application except the GRE. Hopefully that one weakness at least won't keep me out of the mid-range programs I have applied to. And, as aforementioned, the UK programs I'm going for won't even see them. ("GRE? What the bloody hell is a GRE?")

[vordhosbntwin]

hm, i called and my scores still aren't available :-/....

[rainy_day]

Many US programs don't care or don't require the GRE subject test, either, Columbia and Duke, for example. I think there are several threads on these boards discussing other schools that don't care.

I honestly believe the GRE Lit is the least important part of anyone's application, by far.