Just back from taking the GRE....

[wannaphdnHistory]

I would be surprised with anything less than a 5 on the AW section. I got a 610V and a 660Q. I was shooting for a 650V score. So, I am disappointed. On all the practice tests, I was getting 650 and above on the Verbal, so I do not know what happened. Is it realistic to think I can improve my Verbal score by 40 points if I retake the test? Or, would that be a waste of time?

[bbq555]

did it tell you which one was the experimental section?

[wannaphdnHistory]

yes, it was a math part

[synthla]

I'd think that as long as you're above 600, it won't really hurt your application. I had a verbal experimental last year, thankfully - I ended up doing well on the math side of things, but if I'd been confronted with another math section, I may have walked out.

[wannaphdnHistory]

the good news is they told me it was experimental. So, the ones that looked to complicated, I just marked an answer and moved right along

[JackieW]

They told you it was experimental?! Has the test changed from last year, then?

[wannaphdnHistory]

I don't think they tell everyone. I think it may just be the luck of the draw. Not sure. I could say more, but I do not want to break the confidentiality agreement.

[bbq555]

what happens if i just totally skip the experimental section since apparently they tell you now?

[expressionista]

I took my GRE on July 18, and I got a verbal experimental section. It told me the section was experimental, which was a pleasant surprise to me. Before it started, I was thinking I might just collapse or something if I ended up with another math section since I had just finished one. Anyway, since the section said it was experimental, I did fly through it (I just wanted to get to my scores), but every now and then I would get paranoid that maybe I had read something wrong and that it wasn't experimental.

[Dubya]

When I took the GRE about a year ago I was told that which section was experimental as well...and I skipped it...didn't even bother to guess.

[socialcomm]

I'd think that as long as you're above 600, it won't really hurt your application. I had a verbal experimental last year, thankfully - I ended up doing well on the math side of things, but if I'd been confronted with another math section, I may have walked out.

This is how I felt last year. I finished a math section, and BAM, other math section. It did NOT indicate which was experimental. Not the way I wanted to end the test.