what to do? what to do?

[tisch63]

I have never been a successful standardized test taker. The PhD program I am applying to told me they weigh the GRE's very highly in the application process.

Now. I sucked on the exam: a 1040 total. I was advised to retake it but could an extra month of studying really improve my score that much (I mean, they take students in the 1400 range)

What would you do? Take your chances or retake the GRE?

[a fragrant plant]

may i ask what program are you applying? i took the gre in august and my combine score is similar to yours.

[cheesethunder]

yea

i got a 1020 1st time

and a 1070 2nd time

im applying to all the same programs, like iveys, phd programs, etc

im relying on my SOP to shine thorugh and my decent major gpa.

id retake it, i mean my verbal went up 100 points the 2nd time i took it and i took it during midterms so i didn't get a chance to reallly study that much.

[coyabean]

may i ask what program are you applying? i took the gre in august and my combine score is similar to yours.

i'm with you. wow. i'm in anthro and i've got some big names on my list -- and some not so bigs for balance -- and my retake puts me at 1180, i think? my first run was 1060. if that sucks that badly i may as well start applying to temp agencies. :/

[a fragrant plant]

i'm with you. wow. i'm in anthro and i've got some big names on my list -- and some not so bigs for balance -- and my retake puts me at 1180, i think? my first run was 1060. if that sucks that badly i may as well start applying to temp agencies. :/

To be honest with you, I'm very disappointed to learn they require the GRE. I hope the GRE is just a graduate school instead of a departmental requirement. Many studies have shown that people with non-traditional social or academic backgrounds are disadvantaged when it comes to standardized test due to the lack of resources available to them. Why would a discipline that pride itself on censuring inequality use a standardized test to prevent those people from entering academia? Don't they realise that they're in a way perpetuating social distinction? Moreover, Are we saying OK to monopoly?

[modernity]

As far as the GRE... I have always hated it (My scores aren't much different than any of yours and it frustrates me like crazy, theyre not bad scores at all but they certainly aren't helping me get a step up either)... but after some recent reminiscing over my transcripts, I can sort of understand why grad schools want them. I attended two different institutions during my undergrad - a local university not that well known and then I transferred out to a Tier 1 research university for the rest. There are HUGE differences in grading... scale, departmental, right down to the professors.. So I think the GRE is a way for schools to look at everyone on a "balanced level" which I use loosely because you are right in pointing out that socio-economic disadvantages can play heavily into this. I hope too, that its a much less important one, but sometimes a GPA just doesn't cut it - every school cannot be expected to understand every other schools methods of grading, particular professors quirks with grading, etc. I do think there has to be a better method, some way some how... but I can't say I know what it is.

On the original note:

You can improve your score...with even a small bit of crash studying. Make some flash cards, and study them in your spare time for the verbal. For the math, write down all those key rules, and memorize them. Then before the test,take several practice tests- see how you're doing and what you're still struggling with and keep going over it. It is in many ways, up to chance - but you can have some control over it.

[socialcomm]

Do you know what areas you're weakest in? Do you have the time/motivation to study and take it again? If you're going to take it again, I'd concentrate on areas you know you're having trouble in. Whether it's with a class, a tutor, anything that will help you. I retook, albeit a year later, and raised my score 130 points, so it is doable.

[ColorlessGreen]

If you do decide to retake the GRE, I have at least one idea about how to increase your verbal score. There's a website called freerice.com that's quite good for drilling vocabulary - I've found that it often gives out Latinate words that correspond to the types of words that show up on standardized tests. Anything above level 50 will be entirely unhelpful - it's way too obscure to ever show up on the GRE - but if you get up that high, you won't need to drill vocabulary anyway.

From what little I know, the GRE isn't the be-all and end-all of applications - admissions committees might use it for the first cut, but they ought to focus much, much more on the rest of the application. However, your score on an individual part of the GRE might factor heavily - quantitative for math or science, verbal for the humanities. I imagine your percentile is more important than your score, though.

[captiv8ed]

To be honest with you, I'm very disappointed to learn they require the GRE. I hope the GRE is just a graduate school instead of a departmental requirement. Many studies have shown that people with non-traditional social or academic backgrounds are disadvantaged when it comes to standardized test due to the lack of resources available to them. Why would a discipline that pride itself on censuring inequality use a standardized test to prevent those people from entering academia? Don't they realise that they're in a way perpetuating social distinction? Moreover, Are we saying OK to monopoly?

Yep, this is my take too. I am in sociology and was saying the same thing to my husband.

I got a 1010 (!!) and am struggling to study for the quant. My verbal was okay and my writing was fine. But oh, that quant. I never took geometry, so I feel at a huge disadvantage. And unfortunately, I am suffering from a huge block. I can't make myself study for it most days. I struggle to understand it and I just don't want to do it. Now I have big time impostor syndrome running around to boot, since I can't even "pass" this stupid test.

[JerryLandis]

I was really annoyed when I diligently re-learned all the geometry formulas and strategies for the GRE, and then had only one geometry-related question on my test. It was all all algebra. I can't stress enough how much of a waste of my time that test was!

[hamster09]

Is the GRE the only thing you can consider weak in your application? how's the other number your GPA?

and your research experience? some say that if you have other points in your application like your experience and the recommendation then those maybe able to offset your GRE. I had the same problem as you. I was doing well on the practice but lost time on the actual thing. im still pretty angry about that. because now it was too late for me to retake it. 1190 was my score.

[captiv8ed]

I was really annoyed when I diligently re-learned all the geometry formulas and strategies for the GRE, and then had only one geometry-related question on my test. It was all all algebra. I can't stress enough how much of a waste of my time that test was!

hehe, I have no grasp of it whatsoever and got SIX geometry questions on mine. And got each one wrong

[coyabean]

To be honest with you, I'm very disappointed to learn they require the GRE. I hope the GRE is just a graduate school instead of a departmental requirement. Many studies have shown that people with non-traditional social or academic backgrounds are disadvantaged when it comes to standardized test due to the lack of resources available to them. Why would a discipline that pride itself on censuring inequality use a standardized test to prevent those people from entering academia? Don't they realise that they're in a way perpetuating social distinction? Moreover, Are we saying OK to monopoly?

I 'get' it in the way I, theoretically 'get' unrestricted greed capitialist markets. The problem is in the practical application, right? I mean there is a huge gap between who you say you are and what your actions show that you are. Academia has a bad case of personality disorder.

I've had one school tell me straight out that my GRE was too low for their consideration -- UTA. My mentor though swears up and down that every year he sees "his" people get places with sub-1000 scores. It is hard to believe anything anymore. It's like these boards. There are a lot of people who self-report 1400+ scores but the national averages would suggest that there can't be that many of these folks. Certainly not enough for every field and every phd program to get more than one or two of them? Again, feel free to challenge my laymen's math. That 1180? was almost all verbal. I got a 680 on V. I'll, again, leave you to do the math for the other section. LOL

It is what it is. It's a test. And I have no problems saying I'm brown and female. Statistically I suppose I wasn't at an advantage, but I don't like that position either. I'm rather bright if I do say so myself. My biggest disadvantages were really age, discipline, and UG institution (which I guess could have a race and socioeconomic component to it). I had not taken any math course in over 10 or 12 years! When I was still in that frame of mind I did just fine in math up to calculus. I'm not the best spatial thinker so calc and geometry were always less easy for me. But i use to slay algebra and trig! However, there was something to be said for managing my time. I was in a fellowship program that required a large research commitment, managing a "grown up life", my current class load and grad school apps. There weren't many balls I could put down long enough to justify a potential 100+ point quant boost.

In the end I have to have faith in the Universe. I will end up exactly where I'm supposed to be. I've done my due diligence. But this GRE thing is an insane human riddle. If academia needs innovative thinkers to keep it alive and thriving the first thing they seem intent on doing is beating the innovative thinking out of you.

Edited October 25, 2009 by coyabean