midnight Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 I like to pretend I got every question right anyway so that I at least had that when everyone rejected me. look, assholes, I may not be good enough for you, but if you put a piece of nondescript bullshit writing in front of me I can absolutely answer any vague question you'd have about it with unerring precision! Love this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Hopefully you remembered correctly and got 169 on the verbal! If so, that's an awesome score; I'm positive it'll place you in the top 1%. Thanks for the kind words! I also know that you don't need to have answered every question correctly to get a perfect score (170). Wait, what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfat Posted November 17, 2012 Author Share Posted November 17, 2012 FYI, I just found this on UVA's site: "Most students admitted for graduate work in English have at least two GRE scores in the ninetieth percentile or higher." Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Espressos Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 (edited) FYI, I just found this on UVA's site: "Most students admitted for graduate work in English have at least two GRE scores in the ninetieth percentile or higher." Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. I know, right? Departments seem to downplay the importance of GRE scores, but when they release the average figures, they're almost always uniformly stratospheric. Edited November 17, 2012 by Two Espressos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thestage Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 I know, right? Departments seem to downplay the importance of GRE scores, but when they release the average figures, they're almost always uniformly stratospheric. it could just mean that there is a high correlation between what adcoms see as top notch writing samples, and high GRE scores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
practical cat Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 it could just mean that there is a high correlation between what adcoms see as top notch writing samples, and high GRE scores. I think there are probably a fair amount of crap writing samples in the top 1% too. (Different skill sets, conditions, and attitudes involved.) But there're enough applicants in the top 10% to allow for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thestage Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 I think there are probably a fair amount of crap writing samples in the top 1% too. Don't I know it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Espressos Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 it could just mean that there is a high correlation between what adcoms see as top notch writing samples, and high GRE scores. Yes, it's probably the case that the most well-qualified applicants usually do well on the GRE. That seems quite plausible to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waparys Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 Yes, it's probably the case that the most well-qualified applicants usually do well on the GRE. That seems quite plausible to me. I can't tell if you're kidding or not, but I have to disagree. There's a reason so many departments don't ask for that test--and that's because the correlation is LOW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Espressos Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 I can't tell if you're kidding or not, but I have to disagree. There's a reason so many departments don't ask for that test--and that's because the correlation is LOW. It was sincere actually. I was referring to the General Exam, which most every English Ph.D. program I know of requires. I agree that the Subject Test in Literature is just a useless trivia test--hence why I didn't even take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waparys Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 It was sincere actually. I was referring to the General Exam, which most every English Ph.D. program I know of requires. I agree that the Subject Test in Literature is just a useless trivia test--hence why I didn't even take it. Ahh, my bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jademarie37 Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 I'm freaking out about the same thing. My scores are a bit lower than yours but I have a 3.8 GPA, strong letters of recommendation, and working to write a kick- ass writing sample. Obviously I'm not a bone head. I can't seem to do "well" on standardized tests though (my SAT was also average) but I excel in school. I just don't want to have all my hard work thrown out the window because of a dumb test that is pointless to me. ktwho 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfat Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 I just want to grumble about the fact that I just spent $125 for my additional score reports yesterday. This brings the total to $625 that ETS has strangled out of me in the past year (general test twice, subject test, score reports), not including the roughly $450 for study books, notecards, and the Princeton Review class I took last year. That's over $1000 on a test that is universally acknowledged as meaningless in predicting success in graduate school. Awesome. ProfLorax, Two Espressos, GuateAmfeminist and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Q84 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I just want to grumble about the fact that I just spent $125 for my additional score reports yesterday. This brings the total to $625 that ETS has strangled out of me in the past year (general test twice, subject test, score reports), not including the roughly $450 for study books, notecards, and the Princeton Review class I took last year. That's over $1000 on a test that is universally acknowledged as meaningless in predicting success in graduate school. Awesome. Yes, but some schools use it as a (or the) deciding factor when they must choose between two equal candidates for funding, obviously a moot point if you're applying to schools that fully fund all their students, but $1000 in the face of possibly tens of thousands of dollars of funding seems really not so bad... Oh my god. Have I become an ETS apologist? waparys, Two Espressos and GuateAmfeminist 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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