GRE Help! Are Scores Sufficient?

[bullfrogab]

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I'm unsure whether to take the GRE again or not.

My scores: 470-Verbal, 750-Math and 4.5-Writing

Should I take them again?

I know some schools look at the total and some will look at the section scores separately. My concern is that most schools will not take the best sections of multiple GRE exams so I risk going down in Math and not going up enough in verbal. My Grades fall in the 3.5 Range and I have a lot of animal/veterinary experience. Any suggestions if I should give it another shot? Thanks!

 

[chordy4]

If you're going to do poorly in one of the GRE areas, verbal is the place to do it. Your total GRE score is in the average range for most vet schools....so you have an average GRE, average GPA and good vet experience.

I say don't worry about retaking it. Write a good personal statement, have good recs and you should be OK.

Your math score is good, and I think verbal is the hardest place to significantly improve....unless you're REALLY going to put a lot of effort into it...memorizing vocab etc, and even with that, I still think it's largely luck-of-the draw what words they have in the verbal section.

 

[that redhead]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=750437

Here's a very recent thread where this was discussed. Should help!

 

[Nechochwen]

You're score seems right in the middle of the average and think that the 750 Q is great. I agree that verbal seems to be very difficult to increase, so there may be some risk in trying again. Of course, some schools take the best scores, not the most recent scores. Depending on which schools you are planning on applying to, a second try may carry no risk.

Otherwise, looks like a pretty good score. I'll bet the percentage scores look good too.

 

[BlacKAT33]

i wouldn't. you did awesome in the quantitative. and your verbal is probably 50% ? Since your GPA is good i think you are just fine. I think you will pass most of the "stat" eliminations and go onto the phases where your PS, eLORs and other things are looked at. No point in wasting more time studying and you wouldnt want your scores to go down lower. also the combined score of 1220 is above most of the schools' averages. And it is about avg for the top ranked ones. I would only retake the GRE if the score could actually hurt you but i dont think yours will

 

[goldielocks137]

Great job in the quant section! With your grades, your quant and writing scores, and your experience you are probably going to be a competitive applicant. I might just be worried that your verbal score is so much lower than your quant. I had a 710 Q and a 530 V and I was told in some file reviews that I should work to increase my verbal score. But my GPA is slightly lower and my quant score wasn't as good.

So to answer your question, your verbal could be better as right now it is average, but only you know how confident you feel as an applicant. If you think your other areas compensate for the score, then don't retake it. If you think that you're going to be on the borderline of getting accepted then do retake it.

 

[bullfrogab]

You're score seems right in the middle of the average and think that the 750 Q is great. I agree that verbal seems to be very difficult to increase, so there may be some risk in trying again. Of course, some schools take the best scores, not the most recent scores. Depending on which schools you are planning on applying to, a second try may carry no risk.

Otherwise, looks like a pretty good score. I'll bet the percentage scores look good too.

I applied to these: Illionois, Colorado, UPenn, NC State, Tufts, Wisconsin and Michigan. Any idea about any of these?

 

[Nechochwen]

I know that Illinois uses the most recent set.

Anyone else know about the other schools?

 

[RunTheWorld]

I had almost you're exact stats when I applied! 750q, 490v and 3.54 GPA. I didn't want to take the GRE again because I thought I may have just got lucky that one time on the quant section haha! I thought my scores were fine and I got in where I wanted 🙂. As long as you show that you can write in your PS, I feel like that should make up for the fact that you don't know a bunch of random vocab.

 

[chordy4]

I was bored...

Wisconsin (c/o 2014 avgs):
IS- 687Q, 540V, 4.5W
OS- 711Q, 585V, 4.7W
best scores-same test date (if i remember correctly)

Michigan State (c/o 2012 avg):
1153
best scores-same test date (if i remember correctly)

Colorado State (c/o 2013 avg):
643Q, 522V, 4.54W

Penn:
710Q, 578V, don't use W score
best scores-same test date

Illinois (avg to pass 'Phase I'):
63%, ~660Q, 520V, 4.5W
best scores (of two most recent)-same test date

NCState:
competitive applicants exceed 50%

Tufts (c/o 2013 avg):
710Q, 610V, 4.5W

don't know about NCstate and tufts policies regarding multiple GRE exams

 

[RatherBEventing]

Hey, I am so glad you posted this thread! I just took the GRE for the second time and I don't exactly remember my scores, but it totaled up to 1200. I think it was like 740Q and 460V? Or 760Q and 440V. I don't remember exactly. The first time I went in, I didn't study at all but the second time I studied for a couple weeks, especially the vocab. I memorized most of the vocab they have in the Princeton review study guide, but I don't think my score improved very much (the first time was 1100ish). My GPA is decent, its around a 3.8. I've been freaking out though, because a lot of schools have really high GRE score stats from previous years. I am applying to Wisconsin too, as well as Minnesota, OSU, and UPenn. I read in another thread somewhere that UPenn puts really strong emphasis on the GRE score.
Anyways, if that was your first time taking the GRE, I don't think it will hurt to take it again. I would recommend memorizing as much vocab as possible before you take it. If you study for it more the second time around I highly doubt your score will drop.
*this may also help you decide: http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/994994.pdf (scroll to page 13)
btw, how in the world do people manage to get such high verbal scores?!!

 

[BlacKAT33]

My GPA is decent, its around a 3.8. I've been freaking out though, because a lot of schools have really high GRE score stats from previous years. I am applying to Wisconsin too, as well as Minnesota, OSU, and UPenn. I read in another thread somewhere that UPenn puts really strong emphasis on the GRE score.
Anyways, if that was your first time taking the GRE, I don't think it will hurt to take it again. I would recommend memorizing as much vocab as possible before you take it. If you study for it more the second time around I highly doubt your score will drop.
*this may also help you decide: http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/994994.pdf (scroll to page 13)
btw, how in the world do people manage to get such high verbal scores?!!

I got into UPenn with a 750Q and 420V. it is possible, it's not like they will completely reject you if everything else on your app is good except your verbal. i was asked about it int he interview and i explained to them the moment freak out and timing issues. they just asked me what my SAT verbal was and moved on. They didnt really seem to care too much i guess they just wanted to know why so low.

Taking it a second time probably won't hurt you too bad. But it could do these things 1) confirm that you are bad at verbal if you get the same score or lower 2) question whether you are actually that good in math if you get a lower Q score. These things are possible because 1) verbal is REALLY hard to increase your score and you'll probably be really nervous the second time around since it is purely to increase V 2) you spent so much time studying for V that your Q drops.

It's a gamble.

 

[der2002]

btw, how in the world do people manage to get such high verbal scores?!!

Having a humanities degree and A TON of dense reading under my belt definitely contributed to my verbal score. However, a lot of practice with suggested GRE vocab and decreasing the time it takes to read the passages WILL help. A friend of mine, for whom English is not his first (or second) language practiced extensively with the vocab and reading and ultimately scored a 600v. It can be done!

 

[Nechochwen]

btw, how in the world do people manage to get such high verbal scores?!!

Lots of reading was what got me through, I think.

I'm a bookworm, I admit it. 😀

 

[NStarz]

I think a really strong foundation in English helps as well. I've been scoring pretty well on my practice tests, and haven't really studied yet. I think part of the reason for that is that my elementary/middle school ILA/Verbal courses were EXCELLENT in preparing me for English courses later on. There are a lot of people in my university that do not have the same foundation that I have had in essay-writing and reading comprehension, for example, and I think it put me at an advantage.

 

[nyanko]

I literally memorized word lists. I am ashamed of having done it that way but f it.

 

[RatherBEventing]

I literally memorized word lists. I am ashamed of having done it that way but f it.

haha don't be ashamed, thats how I did it the second time around. I even made flashcards. And its really odd, because I've been such a bookworm my entire life. The passage reading isn't too bad and English has always been my strength...I got a 34 on my ACT in the verbal section (which I wish would stand for something for Vet school apps!). I think its just all of the analogies that absolutely slaughter me, I can never get any of them right.

 

[parietal]

Lots of reading was what got me through, I think.

I'm a bookworm, I admit it. 😀

Me, too. I know reading ultimately helped me way more than trying to memorize word lists.

Of course, I'm also a writer, so words are the tools of my trade. If I hadn't done well, I would have been kind of mortified.