Low GRE Scores

[combustiblecake]

Hi everyone,

So today I took the GRE for the second time and after studying aggressively for one month, I somehow scored lower (V:148 Q:141) than my last attempt (V:150 Q:143 AW: 4.0). I'm pretty sure that I'm good at the content because I did well in questions level 160-170 during practice, I'm just really bad at standardized testing in a strictly timed environment. I'm not sure what to do, or if to even retake it a 3rd time in a few months in case I don't get in this year. It's discouraging, and I can't help but think that I'm destined to fail that test.

The good news is my GPA bumped to 3.5 from the 3.4 I had before, and my last 60 units are still 3.8 since I last applied, and it still got me waitlisted at one school out of the two that I applied.

I'm applying strictly to bilingual programs (except maybe one), since the schools have told me that being bilingual (well, trilingual since I left France?) was a strength in my application:

University of Minnesota

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Arizona

University of New Mexico

Does anyone have any advice on standardized testing for the GRE? Or any other advice? It's such an expensive investment, and I can't tell what part of the test indicates that I'll be great/horrible bilingual SLP.

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2016 by combustiblecake

[thespeechblog.com]

I heard once from Don Asher, "the grad school guy" that taking the GRE too many times draws too much attention to it and so 2-3 times max is more than enough.

Personally, I think you'll have to look at the schools you're applying to for minimum GRE cut-offs. If you don't meet it, that's a problem. IF there is no minimum-cut-off (most schools don't have them from what I remember), you're probably good to apply. Look at the average GRE and consider that people above and below that number got in (that's how averages work).

[combustiblecake]

5 hours ago, mcamp said:

I heard once from Don Asher, "the grad school guy" that taking the GRE too many times draws too much attention to it and so 2-3 times max is more than enough.

Personally, I think you'll have to look at the schools you're applying to for minimum GRE cut-offs. If you don't meet it, that's a problem. IF there is no minimum-cut-off (most schools don't have them from what I remember), you're probably good to apply. Look at the average GRE and consider that people above and below that number got in (that's how averages work).

Thanks, I'll look into those. I've never heard of Don Asher, but would the schools know about my previous scores? You can choose to send only the ones you want them to see, according to the ETS website. 

[edardi1]

11 hours ago, mcamp said:

I heard once from Don Asher, "the grad school guy" that taking the GRE too many times draws too much attention to it and so 2-3 times max is more than enough.

Personally, I think you'll have to look at the schools you're applying to for minimum GRE cut-offs. If you don't meet it, that's a problem. IF there is no minimum-cut-off (most schools don't have them from what I remember), you're probably good to apply. Look at the average GRE and consider that people above and below that number got in (that's how averages work).

well shit.  

I wish I would have known that beforehand.

[thespeechblog.com]

On 12/16/2016 at 1:14 PM, combustiblecake said:

Thanks, I'll look into those. I've never heard of Don Asher, but would the schools know about my previous scores? You can choose to send only the ones you want them to see, according to the ETS website. 

I heard him speak back in 2009 or 2010 - maybe it is different from then. The main idea though was that if your application is great except for a mediocre GRE, then that GRE score is viewed as an outlier... unless you draw attention to it and confirm it over and over. 

You're right though. On test day, you decide to send that day's score, all of them, or none.  If you don't send any, you can later go back and send from specific testing dates, but you have to pay for it ($27 per school). If you send them on test day, you get to send 4 for free.