Should I retake GRE for MPP programs?

[sp108]

I scored a bit under what I expected. 158Q/154V. Should I retake this given my stats (below)?

I am looking at MPP programs for Fall 2016 admit. If you have any suggestions for programs for me, feel free to shout them out. My goal would be to work in economic development for an organization such as the World Bank, UN, etc. leveraging my private sector work experience to the public/ngo sector.

My GPA is 3.47 in finance and accounting and I have 3 years of work experience in the private sector (consulting and auditing), 4 years by the time I admit next year. I will hopefully have 3 good LORs (1 professor, 2 managers). And I will try to formulate a good statement of purpose. I have some community service involvement (tutoring).

 

Also I didn't use the "score select" feature to pick my universities on this exam.  Should I have done this?  Can I send these scores (I guess for a certain fee) to the schools I choose?

 

I used the following GRE material: 

Magoosh (did all the questions)

Manhattan 5lb book (did most of the questions)

2 Manhattan strategy guides (number properties and text completion)

Took 5 manhattan practice tests to really get familiar with the test and 1 powerprep test

Edited August 1, 2015 by sp108

[grad29]

Not too bad. What I suggest is retaking the test a 2nd time, not because your scores are too low, but because it's going to be a lot cheaper. You have to pay $27/school outside of Score Select. You have the option of sending up to 4 schools, so that's $108 in free value. Now your test is basically going to cost $92 instead of $200. Plus, you said you were thought you scored lower than what you're capable, which means you stand a decent chance of improving. So why not give it a second go? That's the same reason I may decide retaking it myself.

 

Now of course you take the risk of scoring lower and wasting a bit of money, but if you dedicate a decent amount of studying time and work on some areas of weakness, I don't think that's very likely. 

 

Also, I don't think it was a bad idea to not use Score Select for this test, but because you didn't, that's even more reason to take it a second time since you give yourself a chance to improve.

Edited August 2, 2015 by westy3789

[sp108]

Thanks Westy! Hope it goes well for you too.  When do you plan on retaking it?

 

I definitely wasn't too sure about the schools I wanted to send my score too and I figured it would be too pre-mature of me to send scores before I make a firm list.  I will definitely be able to do that before my second retake.  

 

I have been looking at available dates and it seems the 3rd-4th week of September is the best time I will be able to take it (which falls on a Saturday).

[grad29]

I myself actually probably will not retake it a 2nd time. The programs I'm applying to a 157V/155Q/5(likely)AW is good. I also think if I take the Psychology Subject GRE test it'll increase my chances for one of the programs I'm applying to. It'll help make up for a little bit lower cumulative GPA by showing them I have knowledge of the subject area, plus, being out of school for about 5 years it'll help my application I feel more than a slightly higher GRE score would. That's a pretty time consuming test to study for, so I don't think retaking the GRE for me makes sense. 

 

Also a good thing is to look at the schools you're sending scores to to see if they have any admission profiles posted, so you can kind of see where you stand in relation to others 

Edited August 2, 2015 by westy3789