Erratic GRE scores

[Rural_America]

So, I'm taking the GRE on Thursday. For the past 4 days I have taken an online CAT practice test. My results for each test have been completely different. For example on one test I scored in the 84% for both Verbal and Quantitative. However on a subsequent practice test I scored in the 18% for Verbal 60% Quantitative. On another I scored 70% Verbal, 60% Quantitative. On another I scored a 60% Verbal and 78% Quantitative.

Obviously these scores are so drastically different that my confidence has just been crushed. I take these practice tests at the same time, under the same conditions, and take them all very seriously. So frankly, I have no idea what to expect come Thursday afternoon when I take the GRE for real. Perhaps I'll score in the 84 percentile and be super elated, or I'll score well below the 33% and be crushed.

Just out of curiosity ... of those who took the practice tests did you notice a huge disparity between subsequent tests? When you finally took the GRE for real, was your score comparable to that of your practice scores?

[HisRoyalHighness]

Stop taking the practice tests if they're freaking you out. You've taken enough - taking more isn't going to make a bit of difference.

My scores didn't change that much from the practice tests to the actual. My verbal went up 55 points and my quantitative stayed the same.

[fuzzylogician]

My scores were close to the ones I received on the CATs - my quant was about the average I got on the tests and the verbal was the highest of the scores I got. The AWA blew me away (didn't make a scintilla of difference in the end, though).

Now might be a good time to stop studying, it's stressing you out and that can't be good for your score. Trust that you've studied enough and will do well, expect the best. If it doesn't work out, *then* regroup and decide what to do. But don't plan on failing!! Take the day off and do something relaxing. Good luck on Thursday!

[Rural_America]

Thanks for the advice. I'll try to take it easy today and go in tomorrow with confidence knowing that I'm well prepared!

[nandelle]

Are these the practice tests from the GRE Powerprep software or some other practice CAT test (Kaplan, PR, etc)?

I ask because when I was studying for the GREs, the scores that I would up getting were nearly identical to the scores I got taking the Powerprep tests. For some weird reason, I scored about 100 pts lower on the Princeton Review and Kaplan practice tests than on the real GRE. So FWIW I'd say that the practice tests that come with your registration are the greatest indicator of how you'll actually do on the GRE.

Stop freaking...if youmust study study what will help you the most in the short term - memorizing vocab words, or looking over the types of math problems you have the most issue with (geometry, algebra, data measurement, etc) rather than just taking practice tests. And BEST OF LUCK tomorrow~!

[Rural_America]

So my real GRE scores ended up being pretty much at the high end of all the practice tests I took.

720 Quant

530 Verbal