Need Some GRE Lit Advice (any past test takers?)

[sarabethke]

I took it Saturday as well! I was RELIEVED at all the Middle English  And there were like ten questions for several reading passages. I also found it helpful to do the ones I knew first and come back to spend time on the passages. There was one shortish poem I didn't understand at all, but after working through the ten questions a couple times it eventually clicked! The good thing about that though is that even though it's time consuming, it's comprehension rather than identity. You can stare at an unfamiliar passage as long as you want and never figure out who wrote it. 

In the last 5 minutes, after I knew I couldn't answer any more questions, I counted up all the ones I skipped so I could figure out my best possible score (although there's no way I got all the ones right that I answered). But it makes me feel better knowing that even with the amount of questions I skipped (54) it doesn't screw me.

So happy to have that out of my life. 6 weeks for test results? I'd be happy to hear past takers tell me the results come sooner than that...

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

I took it Saturday as well! I was RELIEVED at all the Middle English  And there were like ten questions for several reading passages. I also found it helpful to do the ones I knew first and come back to spend time on the passages. There was one shortish poem I didn't understand at all, but after working through the ten questions a couple times it eventually clicked! The good thing about that though is that even though it's time consuming, it's comprehension rather than identity. You can stare at an unfamiliar passage as long as you want and never figure out who wrote it. 

In the last 5 minutes, after I knew I couldn't answer any more questions, I counted up all the ones I skipped so I could figure out my best possible score (although there's no way I got all the ones right that I answered). But it makes me feel better knowing that even with the amount of questions I skipped (54) it doesn't screw me.

So happy to have that out of my life. 6 weeks for test results? I'd be happy to hear past takers tell me the results come sooner than that...

6 weeks? If I'm taking it October 24, does that mean I won't know my score until around Mid-December?

-_-

[Tinieblas.]

6 weeks? If I'm taking it October 24, does that mean I won't know my score until around Mid-December?

-_-

I took the subject test in April and the scores were online exactly a month after I took it.  I guess it could take up to six weeks, though.  

[haltheincandescent]

6 weeks? If I'm taking it October 24, does that mean I won't know my score until around Mid-December?

I took the subject test in April and the scores were online exactly a month after I took it.  I guess it could take up to six weeks, though.  

Yeah--the ETS site lists the date scores will be available online: almost exactly a month after the test date (Oct 19th for the September test, and Nov 23rd for the October date). The six weeks seems to be the time it takes to send out reports to your schools.

[1Q84]

Can confirm: last year I took it October 25 and got the scores back November 23  Oh what a nerve-wracking 29 days that was...

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

I took the subject test in April and the scores were online exactly a month after I took it.  I guess it could take up to six weeks, though.  

Yeah--the ETS site lists the date scores will be available online: almost exactly a month after the test date (Oct 19th for the September test, and Nov 23rd for the October date). The six weeks seems to be the time it takes to send out reports to your schools.

Can confirm: last year I took it October 25 and got the scores back November 23  Oh what a nerve-wracking 29 days that was...

Oh thank god. 

[biyutefulphlower]

I wish I was as confident as everyone else who took the test! My experience was more like 1Q84s - I walked out of the exam a bit shocked.  Sort of felt like I was assaulted by words, haha.  I took a three hour nap afterwards and was sort of person-soup for the rest of the day.  To be fair, my background in English is a little abnormal, for example, I've never taken a general course on 'American Literature', so a lot of the writers I studied were brand new to me.

But, on the plus(?) side, the one school that required me to take the exam has now flipped the script and no longer requires it.  I guess I can chalk this up to being a 'character building experience'.  Sounds better than waste of study time, lol.

[Dr. Old Bill]

 

But, on the plus(?) side, the one school that required me to take the exam has now flipped the script and no longer requires it.  I guess I can chalk this up to being a 'character building experience'.  Sounds better than waste of study time, lol.

Which program, if you don't mind me asking? There has been a gradual decline in the number of programs that require the GRE subject test, and it's always good to know when another one drops off the list...

[haltheincandescent]

I wish I was as confident as everyone else who took the test! My experience was more like 1Q84s - I walked out of the exam a bit shocked.  Sort of felt like I was assaulted by words, haha.  I took a three hour nap afterwards and was sort of person-soup for the rest of the day.  To be fair, my background in English is a little abnormal, for example, I've never taken a general course on 'American Literature', so a lot of the writers I studied were brand new to me.

But, on the plus(?) side, the one school that required me to take the exam has now flipped the script and no longer requires it.  I guess I can chalk this up to being a 'character building experience'.  Sounds better than waste of study time, lol.

When I saw a new post in this thread I was hoping that it was someone announcing that scores had come in early! Still no, but, we're so close! 

But yeah, I'd definitely say it's "character building" or at least familiarity building--I had put off reading Pope, Dryden, Johnson etc. for so darn long, but ended up almost having to address that really obvious gap, if only superficially, while trying to study for this (and I even ended up finding out that my groundless resistance to reading them was totally silly; they're great.) So hey, now you at least somewhat know those American writers, right?

Edited October 13, 2015 by haltheincandescent

[doubledogd]

Scores are up!

[Waco-Waco]

Phew. Well I really hope everyone got the scores they want/need/deserve. 

[heavenly_lunatic]

Scores are up and mine rattled me awake this morning.

For past test takers who've gotten mediocre scores on the GRE Lit (my general scores are good): how do you approach your score in your application? Do you discuss it? Gloss over it and pretend it doesn't exist?

[Waco-Waco]

I wouldn't want you to post your score here if you feel uncomfortable with that, but I'm wondering what kind of score bracket people are thinking of when they say mediocre (also because I'm wondering whether mine is 'mediocre' or not)? The only real basis I'm going off is the Austin app guidelines, which essentially say they want to see the 60th percentile in Subject Test scores - and even that, I'm sure, is just a rough mark. Then again Harvard says 650 in the Subject Test (which I think is like 80th percentile) but that seems crazy to me (but then it is Harvard). 

[silenus_thescribe]

For past test takers who've gotten mediocre scores on the GRE Lit (my general scores are good): how do you approach your score in your application? Do you discuss it? Gloss over it and pretend it doesn't exist?

Unless your score is something like 7, I think it's not worth your time to address your Subject Score. A really low score could evince an unfamiliarity with the canon, which would be necessary to address to some extent, but if your score is just "meh", it's not worth the opportunity cost on your statements of purpose. While GREs are not unimportant, I know of no places where they're a primary factor in the decision calculus. You want to spend as much space on your SOP detailing your unique scholarly ideas and projects; focusing on explaining one test score could read as pedantic. Your SOP should be all about why you're great; only talk about weak spots on your application if you're highlighting ways in which you're overcoming those weak spots (e.g. compensating for weak language training by enrolling at a community college course, etc). 

If anyone else has had a different experience, however, I'm interested to hear it. I myself got into a top school of mine with an average Subject score, so that in part explains my answer above. 

Edited October 19, 2015 by silenus_thescribe

[1Q84]

Scores are up and mine rattled me awake this morning.

For past test takers who've gotten mediocre scores on the GRE Lit (my general scores are good): how do you approach your score in your application? Do you discuss it? Gloss over it and pretend it doesn't exist?

I got a mediocre score and didn't address it at all. I don't think the subject test ever really makes a difference, like silenus said, until it's really high or really low (ie. it catches the eye.)

but if your score is just "meh", it's not worth the opportunity cost on your statements of purpose.

Right on. The SOP is such a crucial part of your app and has the most limited word count so unless you have an F on your transcript you need to talk about, always focus on displaying your readiness for and interests in intellectual work. 

To those wondering about the effect of GRE scores: this question is a perennial one and I firmly believe that there's really no good answer other than "it depends on the school." It also depends on the committee that year and as well as whoever may be chairing it. There's so many moving pieces that it would be foolish to take any one isolated anecdote from TGC and extrapolate it to your own app strategy. 

If you're really concerned about it, try finding out how the GRE scores are perceived by that school in particular, then if you have a chance to talk to the grad chair and committee chair, see how they feel about them. I was able to do both for the schools I got into and found that scores are not a huge deal to them but that it would put me out of the running for entrance fellowships (which they did for the school I wound up at, and it really blows.) 

There will be plenty of people who tell you that they got into top 10 schools with subpar GRE scores. There will also be the same number of folks who say that faculty specifically singled out GRE scores as a reason for concern in their unsuccessful application. I think if you take the various opinions about standardized testing from any of the threads on this forum (ranging from raging boycotts to acceptance of a necessary evil) and apply that spectrum to all the adcomms across the country, you'll see how your middling score can be interpreted in any number of ways by any number of people. 

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

Interesting aside: I had a student ask me random questions about who-wrote-what after class yesterday, and it was a nice little refresher.

If anything, all this studying has allowed me to answer some random literature trivia in my every day life...!

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

Well.

That was...something.

[biyutefulphlower]

Which program, if you don't mind me asking? There has been a gradual decline in the number of programs that require the GRE subject test, and it's always good to know when another one drops off the list...

Well, it was the CUNY Graduate Center.  However, I checked their website again just to be sure and they've edited the information once again.  It now says, "We do require the GRE Subject Test in English but we do not put much weight on it."  I hope they're being honest with the score I got, haha. 

 

Well.

That was...something.

I'm glad you made it out in one piece!

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

On 10/28/2015 at 6:08 PM, biyutefulphlower said:

I'm glad you made it out in one piece!

Thanks!

In relation to your post, I've had both program directors for schools that ask for the test score (WUSTL and Denver) say that while they expect students to perform well on the test, the whole application matters - a strong writing sample and SOP can help a lot more than a high test score and mediocre or uninspired writing elements. So, while they do expect good results, it is still only one piece of a bigger picture, per se. 

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

Scores are up.

:/

[brontësaurus]

6 hours ago, BooksCoffeeBeards said:

Scores are up.

:/

Hugs! Like you said, it's just one part of the application. 

I'm feeling okay about my score, considering that I thought I completely bombed it and was depressed for, like, a week afterward. I got 77th percentile, 630 scaled score. Can anyone tell me if this is just middling, or if it will be considered a black mark on my application? I'm pretty nervous about it...

[Ramus]

31 minutes ago, brontësaurus said:

I got 77th percentile, 630 scaled score. Can anyone tell me if this is just middling, or if it will be considered a black mark on my application? I'm pretty nervous about it...

It's fine. "A black mark" would be closer to, say, the 25th percentile. Even then, some schools wouldn't care. 

Edited November 23, 2015 by Ramus

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

14 minutes ago, Ramus said:

It's fine. "A black mark" would be closer to, say, the 25th percentile. Even then, some schools wouldn't care. 

Yeah, that's what I'm hoping. I ended up with a 530, which is the 41st percentile, and around where it was when I took it 8 years ago.

Oof.

[doubledogd]

I think 530 is quite good, actually! I have a friend who was accepted to two top-30-ish schools with a score in the 400s.

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

1 hour ago, doubledogderrida said:

I think 530 is quite good, actually! I have a friend who was accepted to two top-30-ish schools with a score in the 400s.

That is good to hear, since I have two schools in that area, at least...