GRE Scores

[laxyhead]

Hi everyone

So i'm looking to apply for graduate school in clinical psych this fall and i just took the GRE this past July. Right now i am contemplating whether or not i should take the test again as i will be taking the psych GRE in Nov.

What scores for the GRE make an applicant competitive? (granted as high of a score as possible is great) But what score would warrant a retake of the test? And how accurate is it to look at the avg. GRE scores for accepted applicants as a benchmark?

Someone i know told me that people who try for PH.D's in clinical psych score usually around 1450. Is this accurate? It seems a bit high to me.

Thanks for your responses!

I'd be willing to share my details if that helps your response -- just PM me

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[PublicHealth]

Hi everyone

So i'm looking to apply for graduate school in clinical psych this fall and i just took the GRE this past July. Right now i am contemplating whether or not i should take the test again as i will be taking the psych GRE in Nov.

What scores for the GRE make an applicant competitive? (granted as high of a score as possible is great) But what score would warrant a retake of the test? And how accurate is it to look at the avg. GRE scores for accepted applicants as a benchmark?

Someone i know told me that people who try for PH.D's in clinical psych score usually around 1450. Is this accurate? It seems a bit high to me.

Thanks for your responses!

I'd be willing to share my details if that helps your response -- just PM me

You should shoot for as high a score as possible. Anything above a 1300 should make you competitive. Typically, a score of about 650 on Verbal, 700 on Quantitative, and 5.0 or higher on Analytical Writing should put you in the running. Personally, I scored a 670 on Verbal, 730 on Quantitative, and 6.0 on Analytical Writing, and was accepted to five Ph.D. programs in Clinical Psychology.

For what it's worth, matriculants in the 2004 entering class of Yale's Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program had a median GRE-Verbal score of 670, median GRE-Quantitative score of 640, and median Analytical Writing score of 6.0.

http://www.yale.edu/psychology/clinical_perfdata.html

You may also want to check out student performance data at the schools to which you plan to apply to get a sense of what GRE scores would make you competitive. Also keep in mind that your GPA, research experience and interests, clinical experience, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, etc, etc, are all factored into admissions decisions. GREs are simply part of the package.

 

[twiggers]

I've spent weeks studying GRE mean/medians of about 30-35 schools (mostly Midwest..some in Penn.) and I agree with public. Go to your school choices and check out their averages, etc. I believe each school is different about what they do about retakes of GRE...some will average and some will take highest. If you're not sure about your scores, retaking them without checking out what your school wants could actually hurt you....it may turn out that your scores were around the average of what your schools accept.The APA psychology book will also list factors of acceptance, and will rank how important GREs are.....your school may rank them 3rd or 4th in importance.

 

[PublicHealth]

Keep in mind that when it comes to clinical psychology Ph.D. programs, you're applying to a person, not necessarily a program. Your research and clinical interests should be compatible with that person's research and clinical interests, and you should be able to get along with them. One way to find out if you "click" with a potential mentor is to meet with them prior to applying in order to get a sense of the work they do, and whether or not they're accepting students! Make sure you read some of their papers prior to meeting with them, so you can say things like, "I really enjoyed your paper in last month's Archives of General Psychiatry. Are you planning to conduct a follow-up study in this area?" It's also a good idea to ask them if they plan to be around for the next five years. Some non-tenured professors stick around for only a couple years before moving on to other things.

 

[lazure]

What's the Analytical Writing thing on the GRE? Must be new since I wrote the &*)(&* test.... I've been told that your Math and Verbal must add up to over 1200-1300 and the Analytical section doesn't matter as much. As Public Health said - the GRE is only a small part of your application - I suspect that unless it is very high , they don't care about your score unless you scored in the 10th percentile... GRE in psych is considered to be a joke in Canada... I think the grad admissions hold shares in the company that produces GREs and other instruments of torture...

 

[PublicHealth]

What's the Analytical Writing thing on the GRE? Must be new since I wrote the &*)(&* test.... I've been told that your Math and Verbal must add up to over 1200-1300 and the Analytical section doesn't matter as much. As Public Health said - the GRE is only a small part of your application - I suspect that unless it is very high , they don't care about your score unless you scored in the 10th percentile... GRE in psych is considered to be a joke in Canada... I think the grad admissions hold shares in the company that produces GREs and other instruments of torture...

http://www.gre.org/faqnew.html

The analytical writing section consists of two analytical writing tasks: a 45-minute "Present Your Perspective on an Issue" task and a 30-minute "Analyze an Argument" task. The "Issue" task states an opinion on an issue of general interest and asks you to address the issue from any perspective(s) you wish, as long as you provide relevant reasons and examples to explain and support your views. The "Argument" task presents a different challenge ? it requires you to critique an argument by discussing how well reasoned you find it. You are asked to consider the logical soundness of the argument rather than to agree or disagree with the position it presents. These two tasks are complementary in that the first requires you to construct a personal argument about an issue, and the second requires you to critique someone else's argument by assessing its claims.

Note: The Analytical Writing section replaced the Analytical Reasoning section.

 

[lazure]

Note: The Analytical Writing section replaced the Analytical Reasoning section.

Too bad. That was the only part of the GRE that I actually enjoyed....

I've got to ask this - how on Earth do you find the time to answer all these posts given that you're finishing your PhD?! I waste a lot of time here and I'm trying to wean myself off.....

 

[PublicHealth]

Note: The Analytical Writing section replaced the Analytical Reasoning section.

Too bad. That was the only part of the GRE that I actually enjoyed....

I've got to ask this - how on Earth do you find the time to answer all these posts given that you're finishing your PhD?! I waste a lot of time here and I'm trying to wean myself off.....

Time management, my dear.