Need advice on grad school / GRE

[shmerham]

Welp, I just took the GRE and didn't do as well on the quantiative as I thought I would / hoped. I got a 690. I'm pretty bummed because I took the practice test they give you and got a 760. I thought the practice was supposed to be a pretty good gauge (if anything harder than the real thing), but I thought the real test seemed harder. I ran out of time, missed answering the last question by two seconds. I had an answer, but as I moved my mouse pointer to the right answer, time expired.

Do I take it again?

Do I still apply to the same schools? I was going to apply to Berkeley, where a 700 is basically required (no one's gotten in recently with a lower score and I'm not stellar enough in other areas to make up for it). I could apply somewhere more in my range and give myself a better shot of getting in somewhere.

Not looking for answers; just advice, experiences, etc.


Thanks

[Free Range Lobster]

Study more, take it again.

I've taken it twice, just waiting on deciding when I'm gonna go to grad school.

[Cornholio]

My guess is this: If you really feel, based on (several!) practice tests from different companies, that your score could be much higher than what you got, then you should re-take it.

But, if you retake and you get another sub-700, you're in trouble. Once is a fluke, twice is a trend.

So, retake, but make sure you do well.

Getting in to a top school is key, so do what you have to do.

Good luck!

[skimoore]

Definitely take the GRE again, but do a million practice problems before you do. Almost everything on the GRE is stuff you covered in high school, so you just have to remember all the shortcuts. Another thing to keep in mind, the first 10 problems are the most important, after that say the final 5 problems if you have no time left just pick an answer, randomly guessing. It's better on the final questions to pick a wrong answer than not get to the questions at all. If you're still getting really hard problems at the end of the section, congrats, you did well on that section. If you're getting easy ones, you bombed it. The computer hones in on your score so the final few questions just narrow your score down to say a 740 or 750. Good luck.

[shmerham]

Ok, so I have done quite a few practice problems and I spent about half of my time on the first 10 questions. Is that reason to believe I "maxed out", or is more studying most likely going to help?

[slim]

What program are you pursuing? Depending on what you're studying they'll look at your GPA, your letters or rec, and your work experience. If you're going into engineering you're at an immediate advantage by simply being an American applicant.

Also, depending on what you're doing... your school choice isn't everything either. Unless you're going to business school or law school (which you're not since you're taking the GRE) your grad school isn't that critical. We hire new engineers all the time and pay a hell of a lot more attention to their course work and their work experience than what school is on their diploma.

[Viva]

Do I still apply to the same schools? I was going to apply to Berkeley, where a 700 is basically required (no one's gotten in recently with a lower score and I'm not stellar enough in other areas to make up for it).

So, what did you score in the other GRE sections? If those scores are good then a so-so quantitative might not matter that much. Also, selection committees look at everything you give them: transcripts; letters of rec. (this can make a huge difference); research experience; statement of purpose; ect., so if 2/3 of your GRE scores are solid, you should be okay. As a matter of fact, of all of the selection criteria, GRE scores are the least important. However, they can help you if your grades aren't the best.

Berkeley per se doesn't have GRE minimum as it's the individual departments/programs that select their grad students. What program there will you be applying to? Life sciences?

Studying more may not help you much unless you're in the right frame of mind.

[ole2planker]

According to a Wall Street Journal article this week, many standardized test takers are substantially improving their scores by taking attention deficit disorder drugs before taking the tests. Allegedly, the drugs improve concentration.

YMMV

[gorms]

th echo Viva a bit--the GRE's are not the end all be all. If you havent yet go meet the faculty and allow them to put a face with your name. I think that is the big one...it also gets out in the running to find some funding (ie RA/TA positions) within your department.

If i remember right when you take the GRE you have the option of sending the scores to the school right away or waiting and sending a paper copy. I say take them again, see how you do and go from there.

As a last bit of advice dont drink too much coffee before sitting down to take the exam.. I think i had nearly 40 oz's in me and all i could think about towards the end of the exam was taking a leak. Good luck w/ grad school

[Dexter Rutecki]

OK, I used to teach GRE prep for one of the big test-prep companies (hint: the first letter in their name is K), but I have little experience with the computer version as the last year I worked for that outfit was the first year GRE's were available in computer format (for at least awhile they were available in both, and some guys where I worked actually forced ETS to suspend computer administrations for awhile because of a flaw they proved the computer version used to have--but we used to generally advise people to take the old pencil and paper exam). I do understand fundamentally how the computer questions work, with the program supposedly tailoring question difficulty to gauge your score--that being said, from the general scenario you gave, I'd say definitely take it again. If you scored significantly higher on a practice version than what you got on the actual test, there's no reason to think you won't approach that score again.
The only question I'd have is: was the practice test an actual released test, or a company produced proprietary version of the GRE? I don't even know how an 'actual released test' would work anymore with the 'new' computer format, but that could be an important question.

On a related note, I might be taking the SAT in March, which I find pretty funny.