GRE score stuck

[Thenextphase]

I am a rising senior looking to apply to top Biomedical PHD programs in the fall.  I am a chemical engineering major with a 4.3 GPA.  I was recently recognized as a Goldwater Scholar, have great letters of recommendation and am also 1st author on a paper.  The weakness of my application is my GRE score.  I have not taken the actual test yet (scheduled for Tuesday) but ALL of my practice tests put my verbal at 159-161 and my Quant at 158-160.  I read a lot that these scores are weighted the least during the application process, but will scores like these keep me out of the top Biomedical Engineering programs?  

 

Also, if I do not score well on Tuesday, I am thinking about getting a private Quant tutor.  I have studied countless hundreds of hours and can't seem to get my scores to budge.  Does anyone have experience with private one-on-one tutoring?  This is so frustrating given that I excel in the higher-level math classes.  

 

Help/thoughts welcomed.  

Edited June 7, 2015 by Thenextphase

[shinigamiasuka]

How did you go about studying/practising for quant? Manhattan (I hear it's good, no personal experience though)? Since your real exam is really close, here's hoping you'll do better there. I don't know about private tutoring, but for me personally, Magoosh helped a lot.

[Thenextphase]

I have strictly used Kaplan test prep materials.  

[eeee1923]

I liked the Manhattan System - it's very comprehensive. 

 

For now I'll say get plenty of sleep on Monday and don't stress too much. See what score you get on the exam first before freaking out. Then you can ask about the next steps in your plan of attack.

[GREMasterEMPOWERRichC]

Hi Thenextphase,

 

How did you score on Test Day?

 

GRE Masters aren't born, they're made,

Rich

[Thenextphase]

V-160

Q-160

 

No surprises here.  :-(

 

On the look out for a tutor who can look at my practice tests and design a study plan tailored to my weaknesses.  I would like to raise my quant by 3-5 points.  

[random_grad]

before you fork out moneys to tutors, consider using preps other than Kaplan (McGraw-Hill, Magoosh...). it has been reiterated I don't know how many times on this forum that Kaplan math prep is inadequate.

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

before you fork out moneys to tutors, consider using preps other than Kaplan (McGraw-Hill, Magoosh...). it has been reiterated I don't know how many times on this forum that Kaplan math prep is inadequate.

I'd have to agree with the Kaplan math here - it gleans over a wide breadth of possible problems, but does not offer any help with memorizing some of the more complex logic the problems often present during the test. I mostly studied to make sure I did not waste too much time during those sections without completely bombing every question.

 

I ended up with a 160 Verbal / 150 Quantitative using Kaplan prep (and, with applying to Lit PhD programs, I'm not excited about my score, but definitely not upset - just glad it's over to be honest).

Edited June 14, 2015 by BooksCoffeeBeards

[random_grad]

just glad it's over to be honest).

 

that's a healthy attitude it seems GRE is mostly just a formality

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

that's a healthy attitude it seems GRE is mostly just a formality

 

I feel like so much more matters with the application that unless the program really stresses getting a certain score (or higher) on the GRE, you don't need to worry about getting 160+ on both.

 

Hell, I know that a 150 in Quantitative isn't super awesome, but many PhD Lit programs aren't looking for high quantitative scores, ya know?

[GREMasterEMPOWERRichC]

Hi Thenextphase,

 

Before you invest too much money into tutoring (which can get quite pricey over time), I suggest that you work through our free Materials at www.empowergre.com. I think you'll find that the Quant section becomes easier when you learn to "see" it in a different way (and use Quant tactics a bit more than the often more-difficult "math approach").

 

GRE Masters aren't born, they're made,

Rich

[Thenextphase]

I purchased the Magoosh materials.  I wish I would have found this group at the beginning of my studying and not the end.  I will also go check out www.empowergre.com.

 

Thanks!