GRE-third time's the charm?

[radquish7]

Hello,

I'm applying for a PhD in the social sciences and was wondering if anyone had any advice/input regarding how many times one should take the GREs. I took them over a year ago and scored decently in the math, but not in the verbal. I took them again recently and scored decently in verbal, but a little less decently in the math. Would you guys recommend that I take it a third time? I feel that I could definitely do better (I had a slight panic attack during the math section this time). I'm not in the 700 range in either section but I fear that taking them again might seem like a desperate attempt to get lucky?

I would appreciate any help!

thanks!

[captiv8ed]

Are you over 600 in each section?

[radquish7]

Are you over 600 in each section?

I'm 690 math, 650 verbal (those are my highest scores from both tests) ....I'm applying to a lot of reach schools, so I'm a bit worried that I didn't break the 700 mark.

(I hope in 10 years standardized exams will have become obsolete!)

[captiv8ed]

I hear ya on that!

I think you have pretty high scores. I don't know how it is in your field though. Most everything I have read has been that you want to score over 1200, and you are well over that.

[readeatsleep]

i took the gre two years ago and did poorly (i didnt study, i knew id get into the m.a. program i was applying to).

now i am applying to top tier schools and am taking the gre again today (in 3 hours!!!!). i am hoping to hit 700 in each section, and if i dont come close, i am not going to hesitate signing up to take the gre again at the beginning of december.

[soleprovider14]

I just took the GRE for the third time so I can provide you with some advice. I am not in your field but after taking the exam twice I contacted all departments which I am applying to and asked if taking it a third time will prove to be problematic. Furthermore, I asked if the schools will take my highest scores from each section (i.e the Verbal from the first time, and the quant from the third time). I was assured by all schools that taking the GRE multiple times is not "frowned upon" and that they do consider the highest scores for each section. My advice to you is only to retake if you feel like you did substantially worse than what you were scoring on during your practice tests. In my case, I panicked the first time, and was not as prepared as I should have been the second time. The third time however, proved necessary as I achieved the highest scores for each section out of all of my tries.

In summation, contact the departments you are applying to and ask how they consider the scores, ask yourself if retaking is worth it, especially with scores already in the 600s.

Good luck.