Accepted PHD Students and GRE

[SAH]

I was pretty middle of the road for the programs that I applied to, except AWA where I was below average.  

Quant:160 - 78th percentile

Verbal: 168 - 98th percentile

AW: 4.0 - 56th percentile.

[jzp406]

Quant:157 - 68th percentile

Verbal: 163 - 92nd percentile

AW: 4.5 - 80th percentile

 

Several offers and interviews. Had extensive research experiences. 

[ForensicPsych93]

On February 4, 2016 at 1:22 PM, EatSleepPsychology said:

Verbal: 164/94th percentile

Quantitative: 160/78th percentile

Analytical Writing: 4.5/80th percentile 

Two acceptances and several other interviews. 

Hope that helps and good luck! 

Hi just curious in how How exactly did you study to achieve this?

[eternallyephemeral]

Keep in mind that the GRE tests how well you are at doing the test. I studied my ass off with every book and online practice test I could find, spending months (maybe years) on my vocab list to learn all the words I never knew (and have since forgotten).

Out of eight schools, I had interviews at four, waitlisted to one (turned into a rejection), rejected at five (two presumed and one of the interviews), and accepted at two.

I moved topics (and entire faculties!) at the six I was rejected, waitlisted and interviewed-then-waitlisted at. If that makes sense (psych to business).

Verbal: 168 (98th%)

Quant: 163 (86th%)

AW: 5.5 (98th%)

I would still say that other aspects (especially fit, more than anything else) are more important. Making the cutoff or being safely within the school's range is what you should focus on, lest you have diminishing returns trying to get that extra few points.

[PinkFreud22]

6 hours ago, Emely Moreta said:

Hi just curious in how How exactly did you study to achieve this?

 

I started studying early (6-8 weeks before the first time I took the GRE) for an average of 1-2 hours/day. To study, I used Kaplan and the Princeton Review. Within that, I focused a lot on being strong in the basics (roots and formulas primarily) before trying to do practice problems. I found that being strong on my foundation skills allowed me to focus in more on complex issues when I finally did start to work on practice problems. I also did 4-5 practice tests and simulated the real testing situation the best that I could. That way when I got to the real thing it didn't seem that out of the ordinary and I could stay calm more easily. 

I agree with @eternallyephemeral though that as long as you fall in the range they accept it shouldn't be something that kills your application. 

Good luck!

[therapeutic turtle]

I applied to 8 programs. I got 3 interviews, 1 waitlist, and 2 acceptances in clinical psych.

I took the GRE before applying to MA programs and before applying to PhD programs. My scores stayed exactly the same both times, despite a rigorous study program the 2nd time.

Verbal-163 92%

Quant-146 25%

AW-4 56%

I had some poster presentations, a 3.77 UG GPA, and a 3.95 grad GPA for my MA when I applied this year. I think a strong research fit and good interviews helped me gain my acceptances, despite being somewhat underwhelming on paper. I also had a 3.9 in my  psych stats course despite my poor quant score. 

[psychologue]

Verbal - 170

Quant - 164

AW - 5.5

My scores are the exact same as the last time I applied - 2 years ago I applied to I think 8 schools in the NE, got on the waitlist for one doc program that I didn't want to go to and got accepted to a PsyD that I didn't want to go to. This time around I applied to 11 schools, got 9 interviews. Currently have 3 acceptances, 2+ waitlist. Seems like the scores just get you off the first pile, and it's the rest that actually determines the likelihood you'll interview/get an offer.

Here's what I did better this round: completed most of a research oriented masters, and during my time there got on 3 posters and 3 pubs in prep, a relevant thesis project underway, 2 stellar letters of recommendation, better writing skills and a better personal statement with editing from my advisor, and, maybe most importantly because it helped inform "fit", a research focus. I also didn't limit my school search geographically, valued student outcomes over prestige, and only applied to schools that were a good fit on paper - i.e. I could write about my interests in a personal statement without lying. People will sometimes tell you that getting a masters looks bad, and while that may be remotely true, it wasn't true in my experience. PM me if you have any questions - I've gotten some great advising and I'd be happy to pass it on.

 

[ibc]

V: 167 (97%)

Q: 149 (37%)

AW: 5 (93%)

Took the GRE twice. Yes, it is a hilarious discrepancy and I have no idea how I got in anywhere with that Q score either. Applied to 11 schools, received interviews from 4 well-regarded clinical science PhD programs, offers from all 4. My low Q score was probably a factor that kept me out of the running for some of the more competitive schools I applied to, but who knows if those would even has been as much of a great fit as my current program is. 

I absolutely don't recommend slacking on the GRE (I should have started studying a lot earlier and studied a lot more considering my minimal math experience in HS and college) but yeah. I include my scores to illustrate the fact that there is no "formula" guaranteeing success in the crazy admissions process.

[CatLady4Lyfe]

Verbal: 67th percentile

Quant: 52nd percentile

Not super stellar, but enough to make the first round of cuts. I applied to 6 schools (Social programs). Interviews and acceptances from 3.

3 years of lab work, a thesis, 9 conferences (7 first author), 1 paper in press (first author).

 

Edited March 8, 2016 by CatLady4Lyfe

[Tahlain]

Q-166

V-168

W-5

2 acceptances to top 12 social/personality programs. 

Current undergrad senior, several posters, and some pubs in prep, but no actual publications yet. Lots of tutoring/outreach work. 

[rdnando]

Q - 151

V - 154

W - 4.5

2 acceptances and 6 rejections.

[tdog]

Sorry to revive what might be a totally dead thread--I just took the GRE and am feeling pretty crap but wondering to what extent that reaction is valid.

Unofficial verbal score is 165 (95%), quant 147 (27%), writing still unknown. I have a 3.74 undergrad overall GPA, a masters in neuroscience, a PhD in a semi-related area, 4 publications, and 1 year as a postdoc at an Ivy.

I would like to apply for clinical PhD programs with particular interest in those strong in developmental neuropsych research. I'm not sure where I should be aiming at this point, or how much bombing that quant changes things. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Edited November 10, 2017 by tdog

[HigherEdPsych]

On 11/9/2017 at 6:33 PM, tdog said:

Sorry to revive what might be a totally dead thread--I just took the GRE and am feeling pretty crap but wondering to what extent that reaction is valid.

Unofficial verbal score is 165 (95%), quant 147 (27%), writing still unknown. I have a 3.74 undergrad overall GPA, a masters in neuroscience, a PhD in a semi-related area, 4 publications, and 1 year as a postdoc at an Ivy.

I would like to apply for clinical PhD programs with particular interest in those strong in developmental neuropsych research. I'm not sure where I should be aiming at this point, or how much bombing that quant changes things. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

If you are not willing to retake the GRE to improve that score, I suggest reaching out to the advisors you want to work with and ask them directly. It looks like you have great experience that might make up for your quant score, however, that experience might not do much for you if the schools you are applying to have hard cut offs (like many of the "top" ranking programs do) or the person you are wanting to work with is inflexible when it comes to GRE scores. 

[Clinapp2017]

9 hours ago, HigherEdPsych said:

If you are not willing to retake the GRE to improve that score, I suggest reaching out to the advisors you want to work with and ask them directly. It looks like you have great experience that might make up for your quant score, however, that experience might not do much for you if the schools you are applying to have hard cut offs (like many of the "top" ranking programs do) or the person you are wanting to work with is inflexible when it comes to GRE scores. 

Again, reaching out to perspective mentors about what your gre scores need to be is really not a good idea at all. I’m not sure where you’re getting this advice from, but this will only negatively impact your relationship with a prospective graduate mentor. I’m all for relationship building; but this is not the way to do it. 

[HigherEdPsych]

On 11/19/2017 at 9:57 AM, Clinapp2017 said:

Again, reaching out to perspective mentors about what your gre scores need to be is really not a good idea at all. I’m not sure where you’re getting this advice from, but this will only negatively impact your relationship with a prospective graduate mentor. I’m all for relationship building; but this is not the way to do it. 

Again, I can't say I agree with you. It sounds as though you had a bad experience. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. 

[Clinapp2017]

31 minutes ago, HigherEdPsych said:

Again, I can't say I agree with you. It sounds as though you had a bad experience. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. 

I’m accepted into a top tier clinical PhD program, so no, I did not. I was sharing my perspective from working with the DCT, so I feel like it has merit. If you’ve heard from profs about wanting to help perspective students figure out which gre to send, id love to hear about it (honestly, because everything I’ve heard it to the contrary). Some profs receive over 100+ apps from qualified people, and their job isn’t to referee which gre score their applicants should send. It looks naive to ask such a question. I’d recommend making contact and asking better questions about research and mutual interests. 

[HigherEdPsych]

8 hours ago, Clinapp2017 said:

I’m accepted into a top tier clinical PhD program, so no, I did not. I was sharing my perspective from working with the DCT, so I feel like it has merit. If you’ve heard from profs about wanting to help perspective students figure out which gre to send, id love to hear about it (honestly, because everything I’ve heard it to the contrary). Some profs receive over 100+ apps from qualified people, and their job isn’t to referee which gre score their applicants should send. It looks naive to ask such a question. I’d recommend making contact and asking better questions about research and mutual interests. 

Which top tier program is this? 

As I mentioned in the other thread, there are no universal practices when it comes to GRE scores - just as there is no science when it comes to getting accepted into a clinical program. Getting offers depends on many variables, some of which are not even within your control. Furthermore, while one advisor might view an applicants openness as naive, another may not and see it as just that. To answer your question, yes. I have heard of other students in my former lab discussing GRE scores with potential advisors, and receiving useful advice on whether they should apply or not. I mean, unless your scores are absolutely horrible, you obviously would not want to contact someone directly. 

[Skinner]

On 2/4/2016 at 6:48 PM, Love3 said:

Verbal: 148 (32nd)

Quantitative: 152 (48th)

Writing: 4.0 (56th)

I am horrible standardized test taker but I'm an excellent student. I was nervous about applying to PhD programs but I went for it anyway because I have a lot of hands-on experience and research experience. I also recieved excellent letters of recommendations and was told my statement of purpose was really good. I don't know how bad you did but I would just make sure (1) the scores are above the cut-off because even if the rest of your application is great, they will not look at it. (2) the rest of your application is amazing. The program may look past your scores if they can see that you have potential from all of your experiences and recommendations. (3) It also depends on the type of PhD program you are applying to. Some are more competitive than others. 

I performed horribly on the GREs. I applied to 9 schools. I received 6 interviews and 2 acceptances so far. 

 

 

 

3

Which programs did you get interviews/accepted?

[Skinner]

On 11/18/2017 at 11:19 PM, HigherEdPsych said:

If you are not willing to retake the GRE to improve that score, I suggest reaching out to the advisors you want to work with and ask them directly. It looks like you have great experience that might make up for your quant score, however, that experience might not do much for you if the schools you are applying to have hard cut offs (like many of the "top" ranking programs do) or the person you are wanting to work with is inflexible when it comes to GRE scores. 

That sounds like a great idea. I think I'm going to reach out to some professors at UNT.

[huskypsych]

I posted this question in the main thread and I think it got a little buried, hoping someone following here might have some advice?

-I took the GRE originally a year ago and got Q:159 (72%)  V:161 (88%) AW: 4.5 (82%) . Quite honestly, I was happy with this, but a mentor encouraged me to retake it. I did so earlier this month and got Q: 157 (65%) V:167 (98%) AW:5.0 (92%). Now I'm at a loss of what to send to schools that do not superscore. Is it better to have solidly average scores in both categories or very high in verbal and low-average in quant (based on my most competitive schools)? I've gotten advice on both sides ?

[Kylar]

I'm not an expert as I'm applying this cycle as well, but I'd send your more recent scores, as it's only a small tick down in quant and a pretty substantial increase in verbal with a slight increase in AW. The latter are the most important anyway.

[loffire]

9 hours ago, buckeyepsych said:

I posted this question in the main thread and I think it got a little buried, hoping someone following here might have some advice?

-I took the GRE originally a year ago and got Q:159 (72%)  V:161 (88%) AW: 4.5 (82%) . Quite honestly, I was happy with this, but a mentor encouraged me to retake it. I did so earlier this month and got Q: 157 (65%) V:167 (98%) AW:5.0 (92%). Now I'm at a loss of what to send to schools that do not superscore. Is it better to have solidly average scores in both categories or very high in verbal and low-average in quant (based on my most competitive schools)? I've gotten advice on both sides ?

Seeing that youre applying to clinical I would say your second one! your quant isn't brilliant but in no way do I think its bad at all. so definitely second imo

[ResilientDreams]

I vote for the second!