Good idea to take the NEW GRE?

[sl0822]

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[Marissa4usa]

Hi there,
to be honest, I wouldn't bother retaking the GRE. 1200 is not super-mega-awesome-and-what-not but it's a solid score and I think you are wasting your time that you could otherwise spend on doing better things to improve your credentials.

However, to answer your question, I highly doubt that any school will not consider if you submit scores from the new GRE.

 

[G Costanza]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing as Marissa. I think 1200 isn't going to wow anyone but isn't going to hurt you either. My guess...they check it off and move on to the next item.

 

[JuniperTree]

It's worth it if your weak point was analogies and you like fill-ins.
Otherwise don't bother. The new GRE is longer and requires a slightly different studying focus (I'm taking it this coming week for the first time, but also took an old practice test - I personally prefer the new one but if you are familiar with the old one, you'll need to study.)

 

[sl0822]

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[PsychPhDone]

Where are you applying? And what's your GRE-Q and V breakdown?

 

[Member03326588]

I'm thinking of retaking the test as well. For those who have taken the old one like me, though, or have experience with both the old and new one, should I take a year off to study for the new one, or go at the new one with only GRE knowledge from the old version? My scores are 96th percentile for V and 47th percentile for Q, AW 5.5.

 

[JuniperTree]

Member03326588 - Haven't taken the old one but you definitely do not need a year of studying. Taking a few practice test in the new form should be more than enough.

 

[sl0822]

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[PsychPhDone]

I got 700 Q and 500 V on the old GRE. Looking to improve my verbal score with the new GRE.

Not sure where I'm applying yet, but probably around 4-5 top programs.

If you're applying to research-focused programs, you definitely need to retake it and get that verbal up. And probably apply to more than 5 programs. You'd get filtered out at our program unless you get that verbal up abut 100 points and that quant up another 30 or so unless you have personal connections.

 

[cara susanna]

The Quant's fine. Verbal isn't great but a lot of programs accept lower verbal because it has a higher percentile.

 

[sl0822]

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[PsychPhDone]

Oh yes, just to clarify I meant I am applying to 4-5 top programs, and then another 5-10 programs that are not as highly-ranked. Though even the lower ranking schools are still crazy competitive! I don't believe there are any "safety schools" in our field.

sounds reasonable. good luck!

 

[Kingkou23]

I'm having this same issue - whether or not to take the new GRE?

I've already taken the old GRE twice and my scores weren't that great at all (~1100ish). I'm wondering if it is worth taking again, I'm just afraid that if I don't have a drastic change in scores then it'll just make it look even worse. I've always done bad on these standardized tests! At the same time, I feel like this is the portion of my application that is holding me back from even making it to the more "qualified" portions of my app.

This is going to be my second round of applications and wan't it to be the last time! I have two master's degree's (one is Psych and the other in Neuroscience) with really high GPA's (one from a highly regarded university), a master's thesis, and hopefully a publication by the end of November.

What should I do?!

 

[caitlinelise10]

I would recommend that anyone in this situation take a couple of revised GRE practice tests (I know there is at least one free practice test on the GRE website) to see if you do better with the new format. I used to work at Kaplan, so I had access to all of their practice tests. A couple of years ago, I took one of the old GRE practice tests and did pretty dismally. When I took one of the revised practice tests a few weeks ago, I had gone up between 20 and 30 percentile points on the verbal section... with NO studying between the old and new test formats. The new format has a lot less vocab and is much easier in my opinion. So, just take a revised practice test and if your score magically improves, take a shot at the new test. If you weakness is the quantitative section, I would say don't bother. They did not change the format of that section enough to warrant it. Hope this helps someone.

 

[kmltlsrw]

Coming out of lurkerdom to respond to this one. I took the old GRE in July and wasn't satisfied with my scores (610 V, 580 Q), so I decided to take the new GRE last month and try to bring them up before applying. I liked it soooo much better. Than the old format. All verbal is in context and quant is more applied reasoning than straight up formula knowledge (although definitely still some of that). The downside is you won't be given your scores right away because they haven't finished norming it yet. I was given a range of what my performance would have equated on the old test and ended up with 630-730 V and 650-750 Q, which I'm good with. Whether I actually end up at the upper or lower range will depend on how everyone else does in these first few months. Good luck!

 

[Psychadelic2012]

A couple of years ago, I took one of the old GRE practice tests and did pretty dismally. When I took one of the revised practice tests a few weeks ago, I had gone up between 20 and 30 percentile points on the verbal section... with NO studying between the old and new test formats.

I took the old GRE in July and wasn't satisfied with my scores (610 V, 580 Q), so I decided to take the new GRE last month and try to bring them up before applying. ... I was given a range of what my performance would have equated on the old test and ended up with 630-730 V and 650-750 Q, which I'm good with. Whether I actually end up at the upper or lower range will depend on how everyone else does in these first few months. Good luck!

Oh, Lord, it sounds like everyone does better on the new GRE. How can that be valid?? How in the world will this be interpreted when it comes to applications, especially for those of us who chose not to take the new test and stick with our original scores????

 

[kmltlsrw]

Oh, Lord, it sounds like everyone does better on the new GRE. How can that be valid?? How in the world will this be interpreted when it comes to applications, especially for those of us who chose not to take the new test and stick with our original scores????

Well, to be fair, I did some more studying before taking the new GRE, so it's not like my scores just magically improved. And they'll still be doing percentile ranks, so programs can evaluate people that way. If everyone improves by 30 points automatically on the new GRE, then the percentile scores will reflect that.

 

[JennaDaisy]

I had wrote the GRE last year and wasn't happy with my scores so I wrote the new GRE this year and did much better. My verbal and written percentiles increased by about 20 and my math was about 7 percentiles higher. One of my other friends rewrote it as well and did much better with the new version. Also my friends old GRE score percentiles went down, not by much but still, it was good she rewrote it. In general, it seems like most people are doing better with the new format. Not sure how it is valid, it might just be that we do better the second time regardless of the test version.

My advice to anyone with low scores would be to see what your prospective supervisors think about your GRE scores. Some supervisors don't believe the GREs are reflective of your ability in graduate school, in which case I would not waste your money or time to rewrite it. Besides it is always possible that your scores will go down.