2nd unsatisfying GRE result... what to do?

[Rising]

Hi everyone,

i am in the train on my way back from my 2nd GRE. 155V, 154Q this time (147V, 151Q, 5.0 AW  first time) and I also expect quite good AW score on this one as well. I studied really hard for the past 2 months. I mainly focused on the V part (studied for the Q for only 2 days or so) and this is the result... quite discouraging, huh? :/ I am not a native speaker and I find it extremely difficult to memorize thousands of words. I did partially succeed in this, however, I was hoping for little higher score. I am applying to some of the top schools in the US (not the most competitive programs they offer but still need a good score..). In addition, I find writing essays much easier than taking tests. It might be "lame" to attribute my low scores to this but... I generally don't do well on tests. I have time to take GRE for 1 more time in the end of this month. I am just not confident that I will score higher on the V part. I think I can easily score higher on the Q but its the Verbal part that I need the most. The average of the accepted students in the program I am most interested in is 162V. I think this is just not achievable in my situation. I might be wrong, though, I did improve a lot from my first attempt but this time the challenge will be much bigger.. To make matters even worse, in the beginning I was hoping that good GRE score could balance my not-so-stellar GPA..

 

P.S. Will the fact that I am not a native speaker make the admission committee look more favorably upon my score?

 

 

[greMS15]

52 minutes ago, Rising said:

Hi everyone,

i am in the train on my way back from my 2nd GRE. 155V, 154Q this time (147V, 151Q, 5.0 AW  first time) and I also expect quite good AW score on this one as well. I studied really hard for the past 2 months. I mainly focused on the V part (studied for the Q for only 2 days or so) and this is the result... quite discouraging, huh? :/ I am not a native speaker and I find it extremely difficult to memorize thousands of words. I did partially succeed in this, however, I was hoping for little higher score. I am applying to some of the top schools in the US (not the most competitive programs they offer but still need a good score..). In addition, I find writing essays much easier than taking tests. It might be "lame" to attribute my low scores to this but... I generally don't do well on tests. I have time to take GRE for 1 more time in the end of this month. I am just not confident that I will score higher on the V part. I think I can easily score higher on the Q but its the Verbal part that I need the most. The average of the accepted students in the program I am most interested in is 162V. I think this is just not achievable in my situation. I might be wrong, though, I did improve a lot from my first attempt but this time the challenge will be much bigger.. To make matters even worse, in the beginning I was hoping that good GRE score could balance my not-so-stellar GPA..

 

P.S. Will the fact that I am not a native speaker make the admission committee look more favorably upon my score?

 

 

Congratulations:. nice improvement in verbal:)

[sjoh197]

If you are not a native speaker... I assume you are taking the toefl? (I don't really know the rules on that) That score would matter more than the verbal gre. If you've taken this test twice already... you're already out 400 bucks minimum. Perhaps your time and money would be better spent on the rest of your application? 

 

If you really think that you could improve your scores a lot by the end of the month, then by all means study hard and go ahead, but you already had 2 months to study for your second attempt and now you have less than a month for another attempt. Perhaps you should focus on really nailing down a superb SOP, Lor's and good contact with your potential POI.

[Rising]

18 minutes ago, sjoh197 said:

If you are not a native speaker... I assume you are taking the toefl? (I don't really know the rules on that) That score would matter more than the verbal gre. If you've taken this test twice already... you're already out 400 bucks minimum. Perhaps your time and money would be better spent on the rest of your application? 

 

If you really think that you could improve your scores a lot by the end of the month, then by all means study hard and go ahead, but you already had 2 months to study for your second attempt and now you have less than a month for another attempt. Perhaps you should focus on really nailing down a superb SOP, Lor's and good contact with your potential POI.

Thanks for your reply, sjoh197,

No, I am not planning on taking TOEFL. My bachelor was taught entirely in English. 

I might give it one more try in the end of the month. I am still not sure. Will sleep on it and decide tomorrow. I would really like to get 160, so I could feel more secure in my application. Hopefully I am capable of achieving that... 

[greMS15]

@Rising, Probably you need to check with schools you are planning to apply . What i know-Toefl is one of the requirement for International applicant.  

[Rising]

33 minutes ago, greMS15 said:

@Rising, Probably you need to check with schools you are planning to apply . What i know-Toefl is one of the requirement for International applicant.  

Thank you for your advice, greMS15. I just e-mailed them. Guess it's better to be sure. =)

[Rising]

I made up my mind! I will take GRE once again in the end of November. I have to focus on the verbal part, what free resources (verbs or reading strategies) would you guys recommend? I have gone over Magoosh's verb lists already. Thanks.