GRE 154 Quant (60th) 151 Verbal (49th) Geology Major

[Crazy454]

I took the GRE on a whim on christmas break to see what I could pull off.  305 combined GRE 154 Quant (60th) 151 Verbal (49th) Writing was 4.0 (49th)

 

I have been in contact with a bunch of schools and I will be attending some conferences to meet with a few of the professors.  A lot of websites list 300 as the minimum.  I am wondering if retaking it with  more preperation would be wise? Maybe focusing on the science and research would make more sense?  Should I ask the professors I am meeting up with if 300 is acceptable?  Or should I just ask them in an email.  I know I can get a higher score, but I also know that being as knowledgable about the science as I can is what will get me through grad school. 

 

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Thanks

[Queen of Kale]

I would look at programs you are interested in here:  http://graduate-school.phds.org/find/programs/earth-science

and then convert the average quant GRE score with the concordance table from here:  http://www.ets.org/gre/institutions/scores/interpret

 

I'm not saying that these are absolute minimums, we all have heard about people with unusual combinations of GRE/essay/grades/coursework/research/etc who got into a dream school - but this way you can approximate the scores which schools you are interested in might expect.  That said, I don't see why one has to trade studying for the GRE for research experience.  I don't think it's an either/or.  I think you'll be competing against candidates with both and you need to do what you can on both fronts.  Of course, there's only so much time in the day, but if you look at what schools expect and decide to retake the GRE I would still try to pursue as much research as possible (and maintain your grades and work on your essay, etc.) Just do what you can to keep all the balls in the air without making yourself crazy.

 

Good luck!

[Crazy454]

Congrats on UT,  After looking my quant is high enough for a lot of the programs I am interested in.  Do you think contacting POI's at some stage and asking them about the score is wise or foolish? 

 

I know you can make time to study for both of them.  I spend all of my free time trying to better my understanding of geology. 

[Crazy454]

Got into 4th best program in the country for my major; however, there is only about 40 programs in U.S. I scored 690 and 4/6 written. I guessed for 80% of the test because I assumed the program I applied to  would let it slide. I currently have above 3.7 GPA for the M.A program. However, I will be going for a PHD in less than a year so I will have to retake the GRE and actually study this time (probably with an expensive tutor). I am aiming for at least 1000, conversion from old test. 

 

Sorry I know this is off topic but does anyone recommend a good GRE tutor program that can help me? I need to study for about 2 months...Sherwood? Not expensive

 

Magoosh is 99$ and it seems like they have the best lessons, and a good range of problems.  All the problems have video and text solutions. 

[Queen of Kale]

 After looking my quant is high enough for a lot of the programs I am interested in.  Do you think contacting POI's at some stage and asking them about the score is wise or foolish? 

Well, if you've already applied I wouldn't bring it up.  But if you are still mulling over applications or haven't reached out to POI yet then sure, I might fold it into a general inquiry about the program.  Something like, "yadda yadda yadda, after thoroughly researching your program online it looks like my gre score of blahblah might be on the cusp of your departmental average for admitted students.  Studying at Place U is a real dream of mine but I want to ensure my application materials are up to snuff so as to improve my  odds of acceptance.  Would you recommend concentrating my efforts on retaking the GRE or is there perhaps another area of my application which should be my primary focus?"

 

It's not great but I'm operating at 50% coffee.  My gist is, fold it into what ever your dialog is, I wouldn't make it it's own big thing.  No emails with subject lines which are all "Retake GRE ?!?"  I mean, clearly you seem like a smart and reasonable human being who wouldn't make that mistake, but I'm throwing it out there for whoever is reading.  

 

One other thing:  your scores look fine for grad admittance and I hope it didn't sound earlier like I was recommending a retake.  I just (a) wanted to get those links out there and tied to one another because they were a great tool for me in deciding if I wanted to retake.  ( also consider what GRE scores might be needed for fellowship applications.  You no longer need the GRE to apply for the NSF GRFP but it's something to consider now and when you're in grad school for university and outside funding for which the competition can be fierce.  Again, not saying your current scores aren't high enough, but I'm just trying to round out my reply with as much information as I took into consideration when deciding if I were to retake the GRE.

[Crazy454]

Don't worry your help is much appreciated!  The links were great.  It is people like you, who make sites like this one work.  I will have plenty of time (1 yr), so I imagine for funding's sake a retake might be wise.   I think the bolded line is what will help me relax  while taking it the next time.  That alone will improve my score. 

 

Well, if you've already applied I wouldn't bring it up.  But if you are still mulling over applications or haven't reached out to POI yet then sure, I might fold it into a general inquiry about the program.  Something like, "yadda yadda yadda, after thoroughly researching your program online it looks like my gre score of blahblah might be on the cusp of your departmental average for admitted students.  Studying at Place U is a real dream of mine but I want to ensure my application materials are up to snuff so as to improve my  odds of acceptance.  Would you recommend concentrating my efforts on retaking the GRE or is there perhaps another area of my application which should be my primary focus?"

 

It's not great but I'm operating at 50% coffee.  My gist is, fold it into what ever your dialog is, I wouldn't make it it's own big thing.  No emails with subject lines which are all "Retake GRE ?!?"  I mean, clearly you seem like a smart and reasonable human being who wouldn't make that mistake, but I'm throwing it out there for whoever is reading.  

 

One other thing:  your scores look fine for grad admittance and I hope it didn't sound earlier like I was recommending a retake.  I just (a) wanted to get those links out there and tied to one another because they were a great tool for me in deciding if I wanted to retake.  ( also consider what GRE scores might be needed for fellowship applications.  You no longer need the GRE to apply for the NSF GRFP but it's something to consider now and when you're in grad school for university and outside funding for which the competition can be fierce.  Again, not saying your current scores aren't high enough, but I'm just trying to round out my reply with as much information as I took into consideration when deciding if I were to retake the GRE.

Edited January 27, 2013 by Crazy454

[uromastyx]

A mininum score will refer to the entrance requirements of the graduate school. You will want substantially higher scores. BUT if you took it on a whim those scores should be a positive sign. Study hard to bring up those scores. Good luck.

[Crazy454]

A mininum score will refer to the entrance requirements of the graduate school. You will want substantially higher scores. BUT if you took it on a whim those scores should be a positive sign. Study hard to bring up those scores. Good luck.

It was the first standardized test I have taken in 13 years. I am glad I took it early and have time to come up with a good study plan.

[RafAkd]

Well, I decided to apply for a MS last October due to a couple of reasons regarding my country's future and my not very appreciated job. So I just had 1 month for studying and I obtained V156 Q158. I am not applying to top programs so I hope at least one of them accept me. My GPA is low too but I hope that my research experience really help me out.

 

So if you plan a three months study schedule should be enough for getting above 160 in Q.

[midnight]

Crazy, I recommend these books all the time, but I really love The Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE for strategy/test tricks and Barron's Six Practice Tests for straightforward practice that's on par with the actual GRE.

 

Also make sure to check out the GRE diagnostic assessment; it allows you to see the types of questions you missed and their level of difficulty, how long you took per question, etc. It's immensely helpful:

 

https://grediagnostic.ets.org/GREDWeb/gred/signIn.jsp