Applying and GRE Psychology Test

[Waiting4Drexel]

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Hello,

I know this is a newbie question to ask, but when do most people take their GRE psychology test. I thought that GRE subject tests were given frequently like the GRE general test. I just found out its only offered in April, November, and December. If I want to apply for the 2007-2008 cycle, can I take the test in November, or do I have to take it in April to meet the deadlines? Thanks for your help!

 

[irish80122]

I took it in the fall but I really recommend the April if you can register and prep for it in time. Assuming you are still in school, which I am not sure if you are, it is just a lot to be taking the Psych GRE and doing everything else you have to do. It resulted in me cramming for it, and while I did alright, it could have been much better. Good luck to you!

 

[Waiting4Drexel]

hey irish,
thanks for your response. i am not in school at the moment, im working full-time as a research fellow. so there is no disadvantage in taking the november test instead of the april test? i thought that most deadlines are in december, so taking the november test would be too late since i'd have to wait for the scores to arrive.

 

[RayneeDeigh]

hey irish,
thanks for your response. i am not in school at the moment, im working full-time as a research fellow. so there is no disadvantage in taking the november test instead of the april test? i thought that most deadlines are in december, so taking the november test would be too late since i'd have to wait for the scores to arrive.

Though a lot of schools have December deadlines, most are between Dec 15th and Jan 15th. That SHOULD be enough time, and sometimes schools will still process your application while waiting on your GRE scores.

It's definitely better to take it in April, but since I think it's in a week or so I guess that's out of the question. lol. November is do-able, lots of people do it then.

 

[Wrking4U]

I would say take it in April. Since it is paper and pencil (unlike the regular GRE) it takes about a month to score it so in fact, your December 1st schools will not have the scores in time. Also, I ended up paying double to send my psych and GRE scores since the psych scores weren't ready in time.

 

[Dr.Maybe]

I took mine in November last year, and I wouldn't recommend it. It took a month for me to access my scores over the phone, and 6 weeks for them to arrive at the schools. One school - BU - wouldn't accept my scores because they were past the deadline. Other schools allowed me to self report until the paper scores arrived, but it definitely was stressful not knowing whether they actually had my scores or not. I vote for April, although I know that is really soon.

 

[Waiting4Drexel]

ok, so i just checked and i couldnt take the april test if i wanted to, since the deadline has already passed. what happens for schools that have the dec 1st deadline. do they reject your application, put your application on hold until the deadline, or do they just look at the application w/out the score?

also, clinical psych program admissions is NON-rolling. correct? i applied to med schools this past year (no acceptances, just waiting lists). since it is rolling admissions, it is pretty much impossible to get accepted if you send in your application right before the deadline. this is not the case for clinical psych, correct?

thanks for all your help, i really appreciate it.

 

[WaitingKills]

I would say that if you have time to study, are fairly confident in your psych knowledge and there are still spots available in your area to write the exam, do it in April.

This is for a couple of reasons. First, you won't be bogged down with this exam when doing everything else to apply (like organizing statements and stuff). As well, it'll give you time to do a retake exam in November if you aren't happy with your scores. I took my Psyc GRE on January 6th this year (special circustances due to a screw up on ETS' part) and received my scores by about Jan 18 as did my schools. If you were to do the Nov one, there shouldn't be a big drama of getting your scores in time for Dec 15 or later.

Honestly though... this may just be my opinion... The psych test is fairly easy. I didn't study that much for it (again, drama), maybe about 2 weeks off and on, and scored well. Additionally, while universities ask for the scores, from what I understand the psyc GRE isn't given that much weight unless you score absolutely ****ty. The general GRE is way more important (unfortunately!)

 

[WaitingKills]

ok, so i just checked and i couldnt take the april test if i wanted to, since the deadline has already passed.

DId you just find this on the website, or did you call the GRE people? If you are determined enough, they can usually make exceptions if you talk to them.

 

[RayneeDeigh]

ok, so i just checked and i couldnt take the april test if i wanted to, since the deadline has already passed. what happens for schools that have the dec 1st deadline. do they reject your application, put your application on hold until the deadline, or do they just look at the application w/out the score?

also, clinical psych program admissions is NON-rolling. correct? i applied to med schools this past year (no acceptances, just waiting lists). since it is rolling admissions, it is pretty much impossible to get accepted if you send in your application right before the deadline. this is not the case for clinical psych, correct?

thanks for all your help, i really appreciate it.

Some ARE rolling, most are not. Some will look at your application while waiting for your Psych GRE scores, others won't. Some schools don't even care if you've taken the Psych GRE at all and others require it, while still others just "recommend" that you take it. Your best bet (and I know this sucks and takes time, but it's the only way to get exactly the information you want) is to go to schools' websites and check for yourself. Most have very detailed information about their admissions process.

 

[RayneeDeigh]

As a side note, maybe I'm an island on this, but I found the general GRE to be much easier than the subject. Although I got a good score (~ 94th percentile), I definitely studied more for that than any exam I've ever taken, and I left the room thinking for sure I'd have to re-write. My advice to you is to overprepare for it, no matter when you take it.

 

[psychwanabe]

I'm going against almost everyone else's advice (and I guess it's moot if you can't take it in April anyway), but my suggestion is to wait until November. It's true that by November you will be up to your neck in grad school applications, etc., but this is not a test you want to blow. I have taken lots of psych classes, made A's in all of them, but when I looked at the material to study for the psych GRE's, I was unfamiliar with a lot of it. I did not expect this: I am a good student and figured that I'd be fine on this test. However, I did not give myself enough time to study and therefore did poorly on this test.

I did not have any trouble with my scores getting to my schools on time, even though I did have some Dec. 1st deadlines. I say wait and give yourself plenty of time to prepare.

Good luck!

 

[KillerDiller]

I sat for the subject test in November and didn't have any problems in applying. Although you may miss getting the scores in to schools by December 1st, programs with those earlier deadlines will be expecting this to occur. Many departments allow you to fax an unofficial copy of your scores when you receive them in the mail. Regardless, programs make allowances for the November test date. I definitely recommend waiting and taking it in the fall over trying to cram and stress just to take it in April.

 

[Waiting4Drexel]

hey,
yeah im going to wait for november to come along. thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[psychRA]

My one note of caution for you: will you be attending conferences this year as part of your research job? I planned to take it in November, not realizing that the test day fell smack in the middle of one that we go to every year. Even if I had been able to duck out of the conference to take it, there's no way I could have studied in addition to working on applications and getting my poster presentations together. In fact, I ended up being so busy that I missed the deadline for registering for the December date! 😱 As a result, I was only able to apply to schools that didn't require the subject test, which worked out just fine, but it could have been a disaster.

Most schools will accept scores from Nov. and Dec. with no problem, especially if you let them know that your scores will be reported soon. Just don't do what I did! Be sure to stay on top of the deadlines.