Math Section GRE for Masters Speech Pathology

[BlueEyes]

Hey Everyone,

I am just posting because I am planning on taking the GRE soon but I am very worried about the math section. Honestly, I can't seem to get my score about the 20th percentile although my verbal is in the high 60s. I have a G.P.A. of 3.80, lots of lab and independent study experience as well as working with people with Aphasia and Reading Disorders. Math has always been extremely difficult for me and I don't know what else to do. Has anyone else found themselves in this dilemma. How much do you think the math section counts in terms of the application process? Thank you and good luck to everyone.

[TalkItOut_9]

I'm actually on the opposite boat. I'm great at math, pretty low on verbal. (By the way, have you tried a course? I just took the GRE and took a Kaplan course and my scores for both verbal and math went up about 6-7 points--which is nearly 20%tile points!)

I emailed a bunch of schools ahead of time to see how they take this discrepancy into consideration and they told me not to worry. If there are strong aspects of my application that clearly outshine my one weakness, it is okay. They look at your application as a whole. So if your academic and extracurriculars are strong, I wouldn't fret too much!

There are also several smaller schools out there that don't require the GRE for admission if you want to apply to them for back up or safety. An example would be Governer's State University in Illinois/Indiana. Check those out if you're super nervous!

[BlueEyes]

Wow, that's interesting. Thanks so much for the advice! I haven't taken a course but I think I'm going to see a tutor a few times. Then I will just take the test and not worry about it anymore! I will check out Governer's State University in Illinois/Indiana. I didn't know that there were any schools that don't require the GRE. Although, I currently go to an undergrad college that doesn't require the SATs!

[Zinny]

I did terrible on the Math part of the GRE, they must have given me points just for sitting down.  I scored in the 9% (yep you read that right).  Most of my schools required the GRE be taken but didn't have a minimum score requirement.  Over all I got a 297 on the GRE. 

[GandalfTheGrey]

$0.02 from a math GRE tutor:

I'll second what was said above about not sweating one area of weakness when your application has many other strengths, and the advantages to taking a class/getting a tutor. When you do review, try to go the extra step of understanding WHY things work the way they do rather than just memorizing formulas for the test. The reason I'm suggesting that is that in grad school for SLP, you will need to take several math-based classes, such as statistics, research methods, acoustic phonetics, etc. Try to take advantage of your GRE prep as an opportunity for math review that will also leave you more prepared for these courses in grad school so you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time you encounter a course that uses math. That said, professors understand that math is difficult for many students and are usually willing to work with you to help you understand the material, but viewing GRE prep as an activity that will make grad school easier might make studying more palatable.

I also have a hypothesis (based on experience, not quite EBP) that many people who struggle with math struggle because they were poorly taught, not because they are "bad at math". So find a friend who is good at math but needs help with the verbal section and teach each other!

[eerichh]

Advice for math: practice practice practice. When I started, my score was in the 27th percentile. After 4 months of practice, I ended up in the 77th percentile.

Practice as much as you can and don't give up!!!

[Tuck]

I second eerichh on practice, practice, practice. Use the PowerPrep that ETS provides, get a book (or several) and work through it, etc.  I used Khan Academy to touch up a few basic skills that I haven't employed in a decade - it was fun!

 

Also look into whether your university offers any resources, if you are currently enrolled somewhere. I took a free course on the math section through mine.

 

The big challenge for me on the math was timing/pacing. You really have to work through the problems quickly. I would work on that more, if I were re-taking.

[rcacemek]

When I went to an info session at BU, they said that the writing portion of the test is the grade they most strongly consider. For the other two sections, they just want you over the 50th percentile. (For what it's worth, I scored above the 95th percentile for writing/verbal and around the 50th percentile for quantitative, and got wait listed.)   But, I think Emerson ranks those accepted by GPA and verbal/quantitative scores for scholarship awards, so apparently it's more important to them. Practice as much as you can (I barely studied at all, which was a mistake), but I don't think a low math score will totally sink you if you're strong elsewhere! 

[kwring]

The GRE is one of the most frustrating things about grad school applications. I'd like to consider myself pretty good at math, and I still found it to be insanely difficult. But the previous advice to just practice, practice, practice is probably the best. Take your time to go through it thoroughly, but try not to get burnt out. If you know anyone who's particularly good at h.s. math (i.e. algebra, pre-algebra) I found them to be very beneficial. My sister teaches middle school math and she was always really good at coming up with the right answer and being able to explain it, which the book isn't always clear, so that doesn't help you learn.

 

Reading the post above, I will add that a lot of schools I applied to really like you to have a combined 300 score, so around 150 for Math and Verbal. Also, many people I've talked to say that schools don't like to see big gaps between your math and verbal, e.g. 140 Q 160 V. (But honestly, unless your sitting in on the Admission committee meetings, who really knows what they're thinking?)

 

If you still find yourself in a range lower than you would like, I would also suggest schools that don't take GRE scores. I know Central Michigan doesn't look at them. Governors State (in Illinois) may not take them, but coming from Indiana and knowing the schools around here, I had been advised that employers are hesitant to hire people who attended GSU for their Masters. So I would be careful about that.

 

If you're still in undergrad, or you are still close to some of your professors, ask them about "safety" schools....ones that accept those with lower GPAs or lower GRE, but don't be afraid to apply to some reach schools. You can always explain any discrepancies with your application in your Statement of Purpose/Personal Statement.

 

Good luck! I'm sure you'll be great!

Edited March 13, 2013 by kwring

[midnight]

Advice for math: practice practice practice. When I started, my score was in the 27th percentile. After 4 months of practice, I ended up in the 77th percentile.

Practice as much as you can and don't give up!!!

 

Wow, that's awesome.

 

I wish I could've forced myself to study more, especially since I haven't taken a formal math class in 12 years (yikes)!

 

My Q score dramatically improved between my first and second attempt, but it's still low. My husband took a GRE practice test after a glass of wine and without any studying at all and scored higher than I did.

 

Aside from things like Powerprep, Khan Academy, and Manhattan Prep, I highly recommend Barron's Six Practice Tests--very much the kind of questions you'll see on test day for both Q and V.

[clydeyo12]

I would highly recommend the latest Princeton Review GRE prep book. Five years ago I took the GREs (with virtually no prep) and scored around the 50th percentile for both sections. After studying the PR book pretty hard, I took the test again last year and got 71st percentile on the math and 91st percentile on the verbal. I know this thread is about the math section, but the verbal section of PR book was especially helpful. It had me studying vocab words I've literally never seen before in my life and SO many of them were on the test. Obviously, the words left my memory within the next couple of days after the test but my scores remain!

[midnight]

I like the PR book, too, clydeyo!

 

And I think everyone who's applying to SLP programs should take the GRE very seriously, especially if a school lists cutoffs or score preferences. Admissions are so competitive now, and while the GRE is only one component of an application, it's a frighteningly easy way to weed out people.

[clydeyo12]

I agree. For someone like me in particular (had a sub-3.0 undergrad GPA.....ICK!), I needed all the help I could get and now I'm getting into some grad schools. That isn't to say the GREs are the only reason, but good GRE scores sure don't hurt.

[kingspeech]

The PR book especially helped me with strategies on the writing section. I pulled my writing up from a 2.5 (took it straight out of college, didn't think I had to study) to a 5. Looking through the results postings, I think schools in this field may weigh the writing more heavily than people think.

[eerichh]

Wow, that's awesome.

I wish I could've forced myself to study more, especially since I haven't taken a formal math class in 12 years (yikes)!

My Q score dramatically improved between my first and second attempt, but it's still low. My husband took a GRE practice test after a glass of wine and without any studying at all and scored higher than I did.

Aside from things like Powerprep, Khan Academy, and Manhattan Prep, I highly recommend Barron's Six Practice Tests--very much the kind of questions you'll see on test day for both Q and V.

[eerichh]

Believe me it's Mind over matter. It's a question of how bad do you want it. My first degree was in languages, my second degree was in computer engineering. What I needed to do to transfer my mind set into engineering was just a matter of attitude.

My point is, if you don't think you can do it, you won't be able to do it. If you start believing in yourself, you will be amazed at what you can overcome.

[midnight]

Believe me it's Mind over matter. It's a question of how bad do you want it. My first degree was in languages, my second degree was in computer engineering. What I needed to do to transfer my mind set into engineering was just a matter of attitude.

My point is, if you don't think you can do it, you won't be able to do it. If you start believing in yourself, you will be amazed at what you can overcome.

 

Yeah, my laziness and being woefully out of practice are what failed me the most, so I likely could've achieved more with a better attitude and more focus.

 

I'm relieved that I've already gotten into one school. I don't think my Q score will necessarily affect my chances at the school I'm waiting for, but I maintain that it's best not to let the GRE be a detriment in any way. It's nerve-wracking knowing that it's the weakest part of my app, even though I exceed the school's aggregate minimum.

[tacomatalks]

Each school that I have applied to has told me that the math score does count, and they want you in the 30th percentile at least. Needless to say, I have yet to achieve that with my math scores, (after having taken the GRE 3 times and with the help of a math tutor). I did very well on the verbal and writing, have a 3.4 gpa and 7 years of experience in speech-language therapy as both an assistant to an SLP and as a conditionally certified SLP for a rural school district. Not sure what it takes to get accepted, as I have not been able to find that one school who will take someone with low math scores.  I plan to take the MAT soon - I think I will do much better trying that at this rate.