Ask your GRE questions here: How important? Are yours too low? When to take? - Page 8

werwerwer · 09-13-2012, 01:32 AM

So, I am in a similar rut. Took the GRE this August -- V167/Q158/AW4.5. Not hot; verbal is OK, the other 2 are in the 70-something percentile. No excuses. Like evelynn, I'm thinking of (social/sociocultural) anthro. I have a 3.9 from a prestigious uni. Assuming that everything else is pretty decent (whatever that means to you), how would I fare w/admissions? Think the Ivies, Stanford, Berkeley, Chicago.

Not gonna lie -- I'm butthurt about the 4.5. It's embarrassing. Don't really have the time to retake, and frankly, don't want to. But please be brutally honest about the possible impact of a low AW score. I feel like it'll be some kind of gross, hideous (even if small) blemish on an otherwise nice application. Tl;dr apparently I'm not as proficient a writer as I fancy myself to be blah blah blah.

polarscribe · 09-13-2012, 01:46 AM

Um, 4.5 is not a "low AW score" or embarrassing. It's 72nd percentile. You scored better than 72 percent of everyone who takes the GRE, and not remotely everyone takes the GRE. And nobody really cares about AW anyway. Seriously, you have a 3.9 GPA. Don't worry about a stupid standardized essay.

Nobody can tell you how you're going to fare in admissions, but a 4.5 AW score is not going to get your application thrown out.

werwerwer · 09-13-2012, 03:12 AM

I suppose that was what I wanted to hear. (Thanks.) In my experience, only high scorers have ever defended the test's ability to determine intelligence (!) or what have you. (Nor would you be wrong to say that it's mostly been those like me, bitter wretches that we are, who've expressed pronounced distaste.) The general feedback I've gotten from faculty & staff has been something like "well, your writing score is certainly not stellar, but whatever." They seemed hesitant, however, to brush it aside. That worried me. And that just about every grad-bound student I've talked to, including those w/5+ (most of them), has retaken or is planning on retaking. Feels a bit weird that I'm not. Like I'm suddenly less competitive or something.

Regardless, I have neither the time to prep nor inclination to do so. I figure it's better to have the GRE be the weakest link than, say, LoRs, or anything else.

Thanks again; I needed to get this out of my system.

spectastic · 09-13-2012, 03:36 AM

so you guys all had lower scores on the actual test than your practice tests?

I have heard that it's important to not screw up the beginning portion of the exam. Say if you miss the first problem on the math section, which is suppose to a easy one; that apparently automatically prevents your score from reaching 170, no matter how well you do afterwards.

polarscribe · 09-13-2012, 10:31 AM

Yes, the GRE is computer-adaptive, meaning that screwing up the early questions can send you down a path of lower scores.

werwerwer: My scores were 800/540/5.0, and I never really considered retaking. It's just not that important of a component in the application.

AquaBear · 09-14-2012, 07:34 PM

Bio(medical) Engineering or Biophysics. My scores: 163Q, 165V, 5.5W (translates to 770, 690-700, 5.5/6). Should I retake? I didn't think so, but just wanted to make sure

codejunkie · 09-15-2012, 01:08 PM

The GRE is no longer adaptive by question however. It's adaptive by section.

spectastic · 09-17-2012, 05:21 AM

ok nevermind that. are the practice tests easier than the actual tests?

usavinci · 09-24-2012, 10:18 PM

I'm really really bummed with my GRE score today...~~>_<~~
Now, I GREATLY need helps!!!!!
Ok, here are my Stats:

GRE: 168Q+152V (English not my first language)
Econ&Math majors from top public university
GPA: 3.51 Major GPA: 3.65

How's the chance of getting into top Finance Master Program or Econ PhD?

kgsolo · 09-26-2012, 01:08 AM

Do I need to take GRE for NYU Wagner??????

-black male
-3.3 college GPA from Ivy League (top one, HYP)
-2-3 years of nonprofit, public sector experience in various capacities (Congress, national nonprofits, etc.).
-Currently finishing law school at top 20 law school, 3.4 GPA

I recently became interested in getting an MPA in NYC, but I am simply too busy with last year of law school right now to take GRE. For NYU Wagner school it is not required I'm told so I'm wondering based on this background if I still have a good shot. Again I don't plan on applying to other MPA programs.

So my basic question is how important is the GRE based on this? Will the fact that I have finished law school debunk any idea based on lack of GRE that I cannot handle the work? Thoughts?

zipzip · 10-02-2012, 08:56 AM

hey werwerwer you don't need to worry about your score..it is insanely high... I think you are paranoid. Unless of course you are a really terrible writer and think your writing sample is atrocious.

hey eveyln...go ahead and apply anyway! I think one of the major problems is people with lower scores not even trying. Take a shot at it, you might have a great research idea that they latch onto!

as for me? I'm applying in the same field as both of you guys.. I got a 309 on the GRE. 159v 150q 5aw. I was happy about the writing score and very ****ed off about the verbal, since my background was in semantics. I think it really comes down to guessing properly. I knew all the words that showed up in the answer blocks, I took a prep class twice, and paid around 3k in attempts to take the exam. Personally I think it shows nothing of what a student is made of. I had a 4.0 in my major as an undergrad (3.79overall) and I have a graduate degree in a related field with a 3.88. I've done the whole publication presentation at conferences thing...I just hope that makes up for my slightly lower score (1220).

I think the test is BS! I know people who are not very intelligent and sit for it once and get 320's. Then they fail at grad school, or don't go, or drop out. Same with the SAT's...it really is not a strong indicator. In something like social sciences, where most of our work revolves around reading a research article and having to be creative with discovery this test is not indicative of much of anything..just how you responded to 80 questions you couldn't actually study for under a timed condition.
And yes, after 3 prep classes and 1000+hrs of studying, I can honestly stay the test is NOT something you can study for. You can memorize 3,000 words but they may or may not show up on the exam, same with the math principles. You never really know, and without knowing it is impossible to study. Being familiar with the type of questions is one thing, but that is not studying in the traditional sense.

zipzip · 10-02-2012, 08:58 AM

hey usavinci... that is a good score. I wouldn't complain.

zipzip · 10-02-2012, 08:59 AM

spectastic- the ETS practice tests are way easier than the real ones. The practice tests told me I would score around 1400+. That didn't happen...actually that didn't happen 3x in a row. The practice exams, even the one on the cd (and the cd is supposedly adaptive) are not as hard as the real test.

zipzip · 10-02-2012, 09:00 AM

Aquabear- are don't need to retake, you scored better than 90% of all test takers in each section, what the heck are you thinking?

HomeGrown · 10-02-2012, 11:29 AM

So only two months to send applications for MPA programs.
Just took the GRE and got 168V and 158Q. But my GPA was 2.8 because of dealing with severe depression and anxiety (albeit from a top 5 school).

Anyone with advice on where to apply? what to do to bolster my app?
Applications are definitely going to Columbia SIPA, NYU Wagner, American and George Washington. Maybes are to Harvard Kennedy School, Princeton WWS, UPenn Fels and Brown Taubman. HKS and WWS I'm wondering if I have a realistic shot at.

Also an URM here.