Retaking the GRE on Thursday. Some advice needed?

[youngcharlie101]

Hey, all.

 

I'm applying to some PhD programs in anthropology for Fall 2015. I spent the last 6 months of my life studying for the GRE, but for some reason, I cannot defeat this exam.

 

VERBAL: 153

QUANTITATIVE: 144 (Seriously.) 

WRITING: 5.0

 

I'm retaking the exam this Thursday, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I have studied, I've read every Manhattan Prep book, took a class, got private tutoring, and even completed every Magoosh question. However, I'm not a test-taker. My anxiety disorder prevents me from doing well on exams, and I have come to accept that. I've tried getting accommodations, but ETS is...well, you get the idea.

 

My GRE scores suck. That much is clear, but what I need to know is how I can still stand out as a strong candidate. I have a Master's degree from Columbia, research experience, and two professors of mine promised to write me strong letters.

 

But how can I prevent myself from getting filtered out on account of my sad, sad GRE scores?

[ashiepoo72]

Have you looked at the ETS math guides? Those might help. You can pull them right off the website.

As for verbal, focus on vocab and learning the tricks of the test. Take a TON of practice tests. Seriously, that's what raised my score the most. I studied a bit for reading comp using Manhattan prep, but the practice tests made me comfortable with the test and, most importantly, taught me how to pick up on where the test tried to trick me.

For anthro, does the quantitative matter that much?

[ashiepoo72]

Also, try focusing on the parts of the application you can improve, like the writing sample and SOP. Polish these until you can't polish any more.

Best of luck!

[Applemiu]

Get there early! I managed to be late twice.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Applemiu

[youngcharlie101]

Have you looked at the ETS math guides? Those might help. You can pull them right off the website.

As for verbal, focus on vocab and learning the tricks of the test. Take a TON of practice tests. Seriously, that's what raised my score the most. I studied a bit for reading comp using Manhattan prep, but the practice tests made me comfortable with the test and, most importantly, taught me how to pick up on where the test tried to trick me.

For anthro, does the quantitative matter that much?

 

I spoke to several of the departments. They don't care much about math, but for the verbal section, many admitted students tend to have high scores.

[grad_wannabe]

I'd focus on bringing up the verbal. Do you use Magoosh's vocab app? It's really easy (and I think free to boot). You can study vocab any time you have a spare moment.

Edited November 3, 2014 by grad_wannabe

[Applemiu]

I'd focus on bringing up the verbal. Do you use Magoosh's vocab app? It's really easy (and I think free to boot). You can study vocab any time you have a spare moment.

 

I found it really good too. You could study two or three decks of "cards" every day from now to Thursday. The key to the verbal part is to know a lot of words.

[youngcharlie101]

I'd focus on bringing up the verbal. Do you use Magoosh's vocab app? It's really easy (and I think free to boot). You can study vocab any time you have a spare moment.

 

Yeah, it's pretty cool. I use it on my iPhone. I guess I just gotta step up the vocab.  

[youngcharlie101]

I found it really good too. You could study two or three decks of "cards" every day from now to Thursday. The key to the verbal part is to know a lot of words.

 

Definitely. I find that when I know more words, I'm able to solve the questions more readily. Ugh, this exam should stand for the "Graduate Ruination Experience." 

[dicapino]

Hey, all.

I'm applying to some PhD programs in anthropology for Fall 2015. I spent the last 6 months of my life studying for the GRE, but for some reason, I cannot defeat this exam.

VERBAL: 153

QUANTITATIVE: 144 (Seriously.)

WRITING: 5.0

I'm retaking the exam this Thursday, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I have studied, I've read every Manhattan Prep book, took a class, got private tutoring, and even completed every Magoosh question. However, I'm not a test-taker. My anxiety disorder prevents me from doing well on exams, and I have come to accept that. I've tried getting accommodations, but ETS is...well, you get the idea.

My GRE scores suck. That much is clear, but what I need to know is how I can still stand out as a strong candidate. I have a Master's degree from Columbia, research experience, and two professors of mine promised to write me strong letters.

But how can I prevent myself from getting filtered out on account of my sad, sad GRE scores?

Did you study the recently published ets book -verbal and quantitative practice questions it may be helpful. you can get the Kindle version on amazon

[Gvh]

Did you study the recently published ets book -verbal and quantitative practice questions it may be helpful. you can get the Kindle version on amazon

 

This. I found the questions from these practice books to be exactly on par of what was on the test.  The explanations they give to answers I found to be a little convoluted (sometimes I found simpler ways of explaining it) but the having the questions alone was worth it.