GRE Score

[rainy_day]

Hi Everyone:

I just took my GRE and got a 540V, 610Q. I am applying to English PhD programs. I have a 3.9 GPA from an unknown school and great LORs.

I could retake towards the end of a November, but I'm trying to decide if I should. Thoughts? Advice? What would you do in my shoes? (For what it is worth, I scored right around a 540 on my practice tests, too. Analogies and Antonym questions kill me.)\\

THANK YOU

[socialcomm]

What types of schools are you applying to? Do you know if they have GRE cutoffs? Will the rest of your application (SOP etc) be strong? I don't think your score would be competitive with a top school, but I don't think you're screwed necessarily. If you have the time and motivation to take it again you could... but know that there's a possibility your score could go down too... Good luck!

[JennyFieldsOriginal]

For a PhD program, I'd retake.

Honestly, I got the huge Barron's list off the internet and studied all the words on them (about 3000) and that was what I credit with doing so well on the verbal. In my experience it was all about knowing the vocabulary...if you can answer those questions quick you can afford to spend a ton more time on the reading comprehension, etc. Another bonus is that taking vocab flashcards with you everywhere is really easy and you can assimilate a lot of words quickly.

I think with the experience of taking the test under your belt once you'll know what to expect and might be less nervous.

And if you luck out a little more on what words you get or go slower at the beginning of the exam you could easily break 600 and be in a better spot.

It seems silly that this test is so important because it's all a game of chance, but I think you could see huge gains if your score went up just a bit.

Try not to stress and GREs are not the most important part of your app so don't be discouraged!

[rainy_day]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the feedback I think I will cram some vocab and take it again in November; I think that if I commit I can probably pass the 600 mark.

Thanks again.