Chance / Retake GRE?

[tgcaccount]

Hi everyone!

Forgive me for asking this question (like everyone else), but I am in a dilemma as to whether to retake my GRE.

 

My current circumstance is that I'm currently an undergraduate student at Harvard who wants to go into the Graduate School for Education (most likely in research / policy area).

 

GRE Score:

 

Verbal: 155

Quantitative: 161

AW: 4

 

I feel that my scores are on the low side along with my GPA being around 3.0 (due to taking a hard major, but I plan on pushing it up by the time I apply) and I am uncertain whether I should retake it (so that I can compensate for my low GPA).

 

I hope to apply to graduate schools such as Harvard, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, and USC, and would like to get a general idea on my chances. I have done research in education (with a Last Page published on curriculum development), along with research experience in various other things (along with business internship / job experience).

 

Any input is appreciated.

[ginagirl]

If you have the time to commit to studying and feel you could improve, I would say go for it. If you think you did a lot of prepping already and don't know how much better you can do, just work on making sure the rest of your application is as strong as possible. I know people say sometimes GRE scores aren't that important but it personally made me feel better to take it a second time and know I did the best I could.

[tgcaccount]

If you have the time to commit to studying and feel you could improve, I would say go for it. If you think you did a lot of prepping already and don't know how much better you can do, just work on making sure the rest of your application is as strong as possible. I know people say sometimes GRE scores aren't that important but it personally made me feel better to take it a second time and know I did the best I could.

Thanks for the response. I only prepared for a few days for the exam since I've been busy, and just thinking whether it's worth trying again (I know I can do a lot better in general. Time and the cost for the exam is the only issue).

[bsharpe269]

I would retake. Your scores definitely aren't bad... they are mediocre. Since you are applying to top schools though then you should have top scores to be competitive.

[scottdickson86]

Any input is appreciated.

 

 

I think you should just check the minimum required GRE scores for each of the program that you're trying to get into. If your scores are above the minimum (especially for your top two choices), then you're good; you don't need to retake it.

 

To be honest, I don't think GRE scores have that much impact in our overall application package. If a department or supervisor is not impressed by our GPA and research experience (or lack thereof for that matter), I don't think a perfect GRE score is going to make a difference. I believe that people responsible for reviewing our applications don't spend more than two minutes analyzing the correlation between our actual GRE scores and our fit in the program. I think grades, SOPs, research experiences, and past recognitions matter more. I guess what I'm saying is that strong GRE scores aren't going to make up for the weaker parts of our profile.

 

My Q score is actually one point below what's required by my program but GRE was never brought up in email exchanges and Skype interview with POI. I hope this helps ease your mind on the matter. 

[bsharpe269]

I wanted to add that if you do decide to retake, then I highly recommend magoosh. It is $100 but I got it last week and have been using it in combination with http://gre.tyrannosaurusprep.com/ to memorize vocab and I already notice a huge change in the number of questions that I am getting right.

 

The GRE is not at all a measure of intelligence, it is only a measure of how good you are at the GRE. It is pretty easy to get in the heads of the creators and know what they are looking for but it just takes some practice. Either way, good luck!

[tgcaccount]

I think you should just check the minimum required GRE scores for each of the program that you're trying to get into. If your scores are above the minimum (especially for your top two choices), then you're good; you don't need to retake it.

 

To be honest, I don't think GRE scores have that much impact in our overall application package. If a department or supervisor is not impressed by our GPA and research experience (or lack thereof for that matter), I don't think a perfect GRE score is going to make a difference. I believe that people responsible for reviewing our applications don't spend more than two minutes analyzing the correlation between our actual GRE scores and our fit in the program. I think grades, SOPs, research experiences, and past recognitions matter more. I guess what I'm saying is that strong GRE scores aren't going to make up for the weaker parts of our profile.

 

My Q score is actually one point below what's required by my program but GRE was never brought up in email exchanges and Skype interview with POI. I hope this helps ease your mind on the matter. 

The part is that I'm not sure what the minimum is. I know that my Verbal is 1 point lower than the average Verbal in NYU, but my Quantitative is 8 points above the average (so I'm assuming that I'm above the minimum).

 

Thanks for your input, I'll definitely keep this in mind

[tgcaccount]

I wanted to add that if you do decide to retake, then I highly recommend magoosh. It is $100 but I got it last week and have been using it in combination with http://gre.tyrannosaurusprep.com/ to memorize vocab and I already notice a huge change in the number of questions that I am getting right.

 

The GRE is not at all a measure of intelligence, it is only a measure of how good you are at the GRE. It is pretty easy to get in the heads of the creators and know what they are looking for but it just takes some practice. Either way, good luck!

Thanks bsharpe

I will definitely consider retaking, and definitely consider buying magoosh if I decide to retake. The only issue with my score is that I didn't put my 100% in it due to study time restraint, and feel that if I retake it again, the same thing may happen.

 

Thanks once again for your input, and good luck on your retake!

[geographyrocks]

Thanks bsharpe

I will definitely consider retaking, and definitely consider buying magoosh if I decide to retake. The only issue with my score is that I didn't put my 100% in it due to study time restraint, and feel that if I retake it again, the same thing may happen.

 

Thanks once again for your input, and good luck on your retake!

Don't take it again unless you know you can get a better score.  If you need to study more, but you don't have the time, you're basically just out another $200 and you have a score that shows no improvement. 

 

***WARNING: the following advice should be taken as hearsay and not as any official knowledge***

 

I have heard that admission committees frown when students take the GRE several times but don't improve.  Again, I don't know how true that is, but it is worth considering as well. 

 

***End Warning***

 

Anywho, are you set on these prestigious schools because they are simply deemed prestigious or because there are people or departments that you actually want to work with? 

[scottdickson86]

The part is that I'm not sure what the minimum is. I know that my Verbal is 1 point lower than the average Verbal in NYU, but my Quantitative is 8 points above the average (so I'm assuming that I'm above the minimum).

 

Thanks for your input, I'll definitely keep this in mind

 

Haha. You're welcome and good luck! If your scores are somewhere around the average then that would probably mean that they're above the "minimum". The fact that the programs do not detail the required minimum GRE scores means to me that they're really not that big of a deal. But if you feel like you could do way better (lack of study time? I studied a night before up until an hour before my GRE exam haha) then go for it! 

[tgcaccount]

Don't take it again unless you know you can get a better score.  If you need to study more, but you don't have the time, you're basically just out another $200 and you have a score that shows no improvement. 

 

***WARNING: the following advice should be taken as hearsay and not as any official knowledge***

 

I have heard that admission committees frown when students take the GRE several times but don't improve.  Again, I don't know how true that is, but it is worth considering as well. 

 

***End Warning***

 

Anywho, are you set on these prestigious schools because they are simply deemed prestigious or because there are people or departments that you actually want to work with? 

A mixture of reasons. Partially is dependent on where I work (and I am certain that I will either be in Boston, NY, or LA for work). The reason why I'm set to go to Graduate School for Education specifically is due to 1. My passion in education reform and 2. having Gates Millennium Scholarship to pay for my grad school. These schools all have wonderful professors strong in their fields, but I want to study in the field to create new innovations and changes to how we approach the disparity in education levels in large public school districts (like LAUSD and NYCDOE). I was raised from one of these school districts, and I plan to come back and fix all of the issues that I've seen during my years in the system.

 

I really do appreciate the warning. I tend to heed these little tips and warnings (even if others claim it not 100%) since it is something to consider. I will see how my schedule ends up in the long run, and make decisions then.

[awells27]

Any school that is honest will tell you the percentile scores they are looking for.  Most top programs want to see above 90th percentile in either math or verbal, depending on your degree choice.  They will also prefer to see the writing portion at 90 percentile or above.  Look at Magoosh's avg GRE scores for admits in top universities and this becomes obvious.  http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/gre-scores-for-top-universities/   If time constraints prevent someone from scoring well on GRE, then one must rethink what they are doing.  The whole point to the app process is to make time to get into a good school.  I would not think twice about retaking the test.  Some people prep for months.