Retaking GRE please help

[columbia09]

I took the GRE for the first time last October and did horrible, 145 V and 145 Q. I really didn't take a full serious practice test but I did but the PR book and did a bunch of practice questions from the book. During the test, I found myself guessing on a great majority of the questions. Every time I read a verbal or quantitative question I had no idea how to solve it or what they were asking me. The verbal passages are just so blah and the vocab is horrendous. Since the other parts of my application were strong, I decided to take a chance and apply to 8 graduate schools. I got into two of them but I wasn't offered funding, due to my GRE scores. My GRE scores kept out of a lot of schools I applied to and I'm just sick by that fact. My advisor at one of my schools flew me down for the week and before he dropped me off at the airport he said to strongly reconsider retaking the test for financial support for Fall 2016. Taking his advice, I scheduled the test for Sept 28th and took a practice test today, from ETS, with very similar results, V 143 and Q 145. I feel so stupid because I graduated with honors and two majors from a top state school and this test is weighing me down. Any advice ? I've never had a good history with standardized tests, I did just as bad on the SAT. Also do the ETS tests offer explanations for the right answers ?    

[GREMasterEMPOWERRichC]

Hi columbia09,

It sounds like you didn't take your studies very seriously, so given that (and all of the other information that you've provided), your GRE score results are not surprising. That having been said, you could likely improve your scores in a short period of time if you had the proper resources and if you were committed to studying.

Did the Advisor mention a specific score that would qualify you for financial support?

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

Rich

[drownsoda]

I quite frankly think it's utter bullshit that funding opportunities are based on GRE scores over GPAs and work examples, but we're not going to get into that today.

I'm like you— I hate standardized tests. I am also literally the worst mathematician on the face of the earth (hence why I'm a humanities major). I took multiple practice tests, had a Princeton Review study book, and studied vocabulary voraciously, and I still managed to just do just decently on the test. I think I ended up with a 159 or 160 in verbal which was good I think, but I did embarrassingly bad on the quantitative section—brace yourself— 140! I did well on the analytical writing though with a 5.0. I see you're a geology major, so I'm assuming quantitative is an important section since you're going into sciences. I know that in most humanities, your quantitative scores are typically given little weight in your admission decision, so I wonder how much a geology program would weigh your verbal scores?

I was applying for master's programs, and I know my middling scores definitely kept me out of a couple of programs, but I ended up getting into my dream program anyway. Also like you though, I didn't get funded (which would've been partial anyway, since they don't have fully-funded M.A.s), but was fortunate enough to get a paid assistantship to help offset the fact that I suck at standardized tests. 

I can't offer you any help in terms of how to study for the quantitative section— maybe get a math tutor or have a friend help you study? I attempted to study for the quantitative section but eventually just blew it off to focus on getting the verbal right, because that was the most important in my case. I will say this for verbal: if you have a smartphone, download the Magoosh vocabulary app (it's free), and use it everyday. They drill you on many words that you will see on the test, and the app works like flashcards, so it's easy to use and really helps you memorize. It has virtual "decks" of flashcards that are organized into sections, and it will continue to drill you on the words you're struggling with until you get them down. I did this intensively for a week before I took my test, and there's no doubt in my mind that I ended up getting a decent verbal score because of it.

Like I said, get that app to study for the verbal section, because it WILL help. I also think that panic and fear can cripple you on a test like this, so I did my best to just breathe and take it one thing at a time. I know in the moment can tend to be thinking a million miles an hour about how this test affects the rest of your life and can make you or break you or whatever, but at the end of the day, it's just a stupid test. When you're taking the test, focus on what's in front of you, and think carefully about what you're reading— the test tries to trick you, and I spotted it on numerous occasions. The GRE does not necessarily reflect your intelligence, but more your knowledge of how to play the game. The Princeton Review guides explicitly say this, and they're absolutely correct.

When I took mine, I remember bringing some tea and a granola bar which I had on my break, and I think having that in my system helped me focus. I remember literally getting to the point of not even caring what my answers were on the quant. section, because I knew there was no way in hell I'd get it right, so I focused all my energy into the sections that I knew I had the upper hand in. I'm not sure if that's exactly a smart approach, but I ended up getting where I wanted to be at the end of the day.

Good luck! I've been there.

Edited August 24, 2015 by drownsoda

[TakeruK]

It's a little strange to hear that funding is based on GRE scores! But perhaps this is field dependent? 

I also want to point out that in many fields that are quantitative, the GRE Q score is actually the one that is worthless** (since you should already know math well above the GRE Q level) and I think the Verbal score is actually the most important for people in math and physics type majors. I put the ** after worthless because I should qualify this statement: I mean worthless as in, you should get some cutoff value but beyond that will not help you. For example, I don't think there is much difference between something like 90th percentile in the GRE Q vs 99th percentile for people in quantitative fields.

On the other hand, I think scoring higher on the GRE V will impress people in quantitative fields. But I think meeting a cutoff is more important, additional gains above that should not really matter. 

There are lots of GRE study tips on this forum, and elsewhere (in the form of books and websites). I think dedicating a serious chunk of time over the next month can improve your score significantly. It might help to set a concrete goal as well. I don't know for sure what geology programs will look for (although I am in a earth science department now, where geology and planetary science students are considered together for admission) but you aren't aiming for a perfect score, just something a bit higher. I think your goal score should be somewhere around the 50th to 60th percentile. Most schools in my field of research publish GRE cutoffs at the 50th percentile, so scoring above that would be ideal, but I'm not sure if going beyond that would be worth the return on investment.

[columbia09]

It is bullshit and I'm really frustrated by it! No he did not give a specific score I need to get. I probably should focus more on the math section even though I've done horrible on math standardized tests 

[columbia09]

Also the ETS practice tests seem to offer to explanation to how to solve the problems. Is this true ? 

[columbia09]

I'm thinking about getting magoosh. Anyone have experience with them 

[GREMasterEMPOWERRichC]

Hi columbia09,

Most GRE Companies offer some type of free resources (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.), so that you can 'test out' a product before you purchase it. We have a variety of free resources at our site (www.empowergre.com). You should plan to take advantage of all of the freebies, then choose the product(s) that best match your personality, timeline and budget.

 

 

 

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

Rich

 

 

[columbia09]

I like magoosh I'm taking it the 28th of sept but should I get the 99$ deal for six months or should I get the 79$ deal for a month ?

[gctsan]

Not sure if you have purchased Magoosh, but if your timeline is a month (like myself), I think using EmpowerGRE maybe a better approach. I used Magoosh in the past couple of months, it has great video resources (covering all GRE topics) great questions and video explanation for each. However, since your time is short, I think you should use something that provide you the tactics, which EmpowerGRE is fantastic for. I signed up today and have been using it in the last 4 hours (I'm doing quant only), and absolutely love it. It provides strategies to tackle different types of questions, which has helped me to increase efficiency and gave me an entirely new ways to approach problems. They also have the 1 month Score Booster study plan, which outlines lessons you can take to get you ready for the next GRE test. 

Best of luck!

[koalalover1]

I'm a Speech Path applicant, but I took a Kaplan test prep class, and that shows you every question you got right/wrong and tells you how to get the right answer! I don't know anything about Magoosh, though.