Program Director is fighting FOR me. "Retake GRE if you want in this Fall"

[sevyn731]

My goal is to get into a Master of Landscape Architecture [MLA] program and then pursue a Masters in Urban Design [MUD].

Most MUD programs require I hold a professional degree in Architecture, Landscape Arch, or Urban Planning in order to apply/enroll, UNC Charlotte is the exception to that trend.

Since I've been rejected by one school, and haven't heard back from any of the other MLA programs I've applied to, UNC Charlotte is looking pretty good as a plan B. It's only a year long, I'd be In-state, learning something I love, I'd have time to retake the GRE if I got in, and I'd get to go to China next summer. All positives if I end up re applying to MLA programs for Fall '13.

At the beginning of the fall '12 app season, I got an email from the program director stating how he was excited to see that I was applying and we have been corresponding via email ever since.I got an email from him today telling me that my GRE writing score is too low, and my math score could be a better. Because of this I will be put on the wait list unless I retake the test and submit a portfolio with more work samples in it(no problem on the second part).

He's willing to extend the deadline beyond May 1st and make a case for admission for me.

As awesome as this is, one does not simply retake the GRE. I'm afraid taking it within the next month won't give me enough time to study in order to get a good score. Not to mention after spending close to $1000 this app season, I honestly don't have $160 laying around to register.

Hate to sound like I'm complaining, but the situation seem to be a bit of a gamble given the short prep time I'd have for a retake. It also seems I haven't completely given up on the remaining schools I've applied to.

Any advice?

[wine in coffee cups]

You're going to need to retake the GRE no matter what:

• You built up a relationship so strong with UNC Charlotte that they are willing to do every cartwheel they can think of to get you started this fall while meeting the university's minimum GRE requirements. It may seem arbitrary, but clearly a hard line has been drawn and it matters to somebody there that you cross it.
  
• You did not have such a great connection with the other schools (I assume?) and didn't have anybody inside to advocate for you. It's not unreasonable to suspect that they might have GRE cutoffs too, even that the reason you might not be hearing good things from them is because you aren't hitting their score marks. If you're going to do this over again and do it right, you'll need to retake the GREs.
  

Having just a month to study isn't ideal, but seems like you may as well sign up to take it soon. Practice doing the timed essay prompts every other day -- the upside of each piece having a 30 minute limit is they also won't take up much of your evening leisure time. Do sample math sections in a prep book on the nights you don't do the essays. It's doable without taking over your life and I think will be well worth it.

[see_bella]

I agree with wine in coffee cups. If they're willing to bend over backwards to help you, I think its worth a shot on your end. All the best! I'll be praying and rooting for you!

[urbanaut]

If this is what you want to do, make it happen. Sounds like you have the ideal conditions to succeed (and not many people can say they have such a good relationship with a prospective school), so take the GRE as that last hurdle you need to surpass that's keeping you from the program and career of your dreams.

[Spore]

I have heard this happening before to a student.

Did he tell you what minimum scores are necessary for matriculation? Maybe you are not off by that much.

Good luck

[sevyn731]

I've decided that I am going to do the retake late next month.

The director wishes me the best of luck and is excited to see the results (his words).

Given how stressful and mentally/emotionally taxing this app season has been, my gut is telling me not to pass up on a opportunity like this.

Hopefully I can pull this off in the next month.

Wish me luck!!!

I have heard this happening before to a student.

Did he tell you what minimum scores are necessary for matriculation? Maybe you are not off by that much.

Good luck

And yes, my writing score is two points away from the set minimum.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Soon as my finals are over next week I'm knuckling down.

[IRToni]

What do you mean by two points away? percentiles or 2 whole points (as in 2 to 4).

I did pretty good on the writing portion. There's some tips and stuff I could share with you if you're interested. Also, if you need someone to proofread/score your essays, I'd be happy to help. GRE writing really is annoying, but it can be mastered, if you practice. It would such if something as trivial as GRE writing score kept you from getting in, so just try your best and let me know if I can help.

[sevyn731]

What do you mean by two points away? percentiles or 2 whole points (as in 2 to 4).

I did pretty good on the writing portion. There's some tips and stuff I could share with you if you're interested. Also, if you need someone to proofread/score your essays, I'd be happy to help. GRE writing really is annoying, but it can be mastered, if you practice. It would such if something as trivial as GRE writing score kept you from getting in, so just try your best and let me know if I can help.

Literally 2 points.

And I'd appreciate any help.

I'm about to stock up on as many resources as I can.

Any suggestions on study recourses for the math portion?

[IRToni]

Math resources? TBH, I didn't have to study a great deal for that. I used the online thing (official GRE guide for revised test) to refresh my memory and then just did a couple of practice exams. Since I'm a math major, I didn't have huge problems with that. I heard that Kaplan is supposed to be good for math, otherwise just go through a huge stack of practice tests.

For the writing portion: Look at sample essays that had good scores. Try to write as many essays on the topics that are online (the entire pool of topics can be found online) as possible. Write with a clearly visible structure, DO NOT try to use as many words, or as many big words as possible. Make an argument.

For the issue topic: Take a qualified stance, provide examples, follow your logic. Take a couple of minutes at the end to reread it.

For the argument topic: As a rule, every sentence of the argument contains at least on fallacy or misconception. Try to find a way for you to remember all of them (and also connect them).

Use clear language, good sentence patterns that are not too convoluted. Try to identify major weaknesses and then work on them

Hope that helps. You can also PM me or take a look around the GRE section of this forum.

[mallorn]

I found that the Nova reviewer helped me a lot in the Math part, but since I took the old GRE, I don't know if it would translate well to the new one. As for writing, I suggest reading lots of sample essays given in reviewers- usually they include excellent, average, and poor essay examples with explanations of why they were seen that way. They can help you see how to organize your writing better and maybe a basic style you can work with. For writing, it would be best if you could borrow reviewers off somebody (I don't know if reviewers are available in libraries)- old ones should be good. Some examples are also available on the net with a bit of digging. .

For both and also as said above, practice, practice, practice is the key! Maybe take a practice exam first (quant) so you can find out what concepts you're weak in, and then focus your reviewing on those, but also skimming through other topics if you have the time. Good luck with your retake!

[Spore]

Make sure to time yourself when you are taking practice exams!

That was something I did not do that I regretted when I blew through the final five questions on the math side.

I also suggest making a rigid study schedule and sticking to it since you are dealing with a very limited amount of time: 1 month.

Every day put in 2 hours on one of the sections.

I know this seems daunting, but your scores were almost there for goodness sakes! The task at hand is not unreasonable to accomplish.

Good luck