Retake GRE?

[BeccaDevPsych]

I would love it if the GRE was no longer used to determine PhD readiness. I cannot get above a 150 in Quant. I have never been great at math, but I seriously despise this section. 

I am going to apply to PhD programs in Developmental Psychology in 2019 and I am currently in a master's program at Brown. Should I even worry about my scores? I will have 3 years of research experience, a Msc from an Ivy, a bachelor's in psychology from a UC, and a crap GRE score.

I would just hate to waste another $200 on the most anxiety ridden test of my life for the 3rd time! That's $600 total.

HELP!

[Logan B.]

I am right there with you. I just took another test and have spent over 1000 dollars on test and test prep and ended up doing WORSE on the quant section the more I studied. How is that even possible?! I don't know. But if it makes you feel any better- I got a 145 in quant, 150 verbal, and 4 in writing. I already have my masters in art therapy with a great gpa, research experience, and 5 years clinical experience... so sounds like we are in a similar boat.

I say focus on your LOR and SOP. But that's just me.

[CoreyM]

Hey Becca. Yeah, I definitely see what you're saying here. So many schools place a big emphasis on the GRE, and I bet a lot of the administrators don't even know what kind of questions are on the test! But as long as they're using it to grade us when we apply to their programs, might as well figure out how to crack a good score on it. Here's a blog with 38 commonly used math equations on the GRE quant section. By learning these quick formulas, you can bump your score up a couple of points, get into the Psych program of your dreams, and be rid of the test once and for all.

https://www.prepscholar.com/gre/blog/gre-math-formulas-cheat-sheet/

[nicokren]

Hey Becca, totally understand how you feel. I hate the GREs with a passion. My scores are sub-par, though I have an MA and research experience. If I could offer any advise, I would say to move forward with the rest of your application materials. In the end, I believe your sanity is not something to sacrifice and if taking the GREs again will stress you out, then don't do it! Focus on selling yourself in other ways (i.e., SoP, CV).

You've got this! 

[ContentFaces]

On 11/7/2017 at 2:06 PM, BeccaDevPsych said:

I would love it if the GRE was no longer used to determine PhD readiness. I cannot get above a 150 in Quant. I have never been great at math, but I seriously despise this section. 

I am going to apply to PhD programs in Developmental Psychology in 2019 and I am currently in a master's program at Brown. Should I even worry about my scores? I will have 3 years of research experience, a Msc from an Ivy, a bachelor's in psychology from a UC, and a crap GRE score.

I would just hate to waste another $200 on the most anxiety ridden test of my life for the 3rd time! That's $600 total.

HELP!

Honestly, I took the test 3 times and did worse on the third than I did on the second. Focus on tightening up the other aspects of your application, and save your sanity!