GRE in 1 wk

[imagine21]

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I will try to be brief w/ my stats:Mycum GPA is low end (3.4) & science (3.4). I graduated 2005 from Tier One school w/ dual degrees in math & bio. I have owned & shown horses competitively on a national level since age 10. I now work for both a large animal vet (equine mostly with an occasional llama) & small animal vet who also sees exotics. My college advisor advised me to take another year to do post bac courses before applying to bring up my GPA but the guy has steered me wrong in the past.(& I hope he is now too) I am hoping (who doesn't?) to do really well in the Gre's Sept 2 to compensate for my lower GPA. I have been taking all kinds of practice tests -both paper and CD's-The 800-Test, Princeton Review. Kaplan & ETS. Problem is, my scores are all over the map which is making me a wreck. If I happen to get a bunch of words on 1 test that I don't know (despite my attempts to learn every word known to man) or if the reading comp is particularly hard, I am dead. Verbal is not my strength. I am fluctuating from too embarrassingly low to print to about 540-560. My math stays generally 700 or above but there has even been the occasional math test that threw me if I spent too long on 1 question and then had no time to finish. Therefore, I fluctuate between <1100 and 1200> So, here are my questions:Is there any test you think is more indicative of the real score? Did you all score about what you did on practice tests or did anybody do very differently? I did not test well on the SAT's-but, truthfully, I did not put one second of work into it & I have really studied for this. Any last minute advice would be appreciated. Wish my scores were more consistent (on the high end of course) to build my confidence a little beforehand. I plan to spend about 10 hrs a day each day now til Sept 2 going over everything, trying to cram more vocab in my head,(I feel like every new word that goes in, pushes out 5 old ones) practising math, writing a sample essay, taking tests. Thanks for any advice/ input. imagine21

 

[hmarie05]

hey there! let me start off by saying DON'T worry about the GRE. Your situation sounds a lot like mine did when I took it. I didn't take any courses, just used the Princeton Review book and made what seemed like a thousand vocab flashcards. The night before I actually took the GRE, I was scoring like 800 (total) on my practice tests, so of course I was freaking out. I think all the stress was just getting to me, though. I ended up scoring over a 1400 on the real one. Also, some additional things about my application that will most definetely boost your confidence. My cum GPA was a little over a 3.4 and my science GPA was a 3.6, and I was accepted to a couple of different schools with those statistics. I didn't have any large animal experience, either, unless you count the lions and tigers my clinic treated occasionally. I think that you have an excellent chance of getting into a great school with your statistics, given you do reasonably well on the GRE. good luck and if you have anymore questions, feel free to ask!!

 

[mysterypie]

My advice would be to not over do it. At this point you've studied so much that you are completely stressing yourself out and this in turn is be reflected in the scores you are getting on your practice tests. This same thing happened to me. The best thing you could do right now is take an entire day or two off. I know the test is right around the corner but unless you relax a little, you're going to be stressed on test day and may do poorly.

Take some time off and don't even think about the GRE. Then come back to it and sit down and take an official ETS practice test. See how you do and then maybe take another one. Come the night before test day I would go over your flash cards one last time and then go to bed. Get up eat a good breakfast and take the test. You're still gonna be nervous but studying too much right beforehand tends to make the nerves turn to anxiety which tends to hinder your test taking skills.

I was all over the place on my practice tests for awhile until I forced myself to take a break and calm down. Then I started to see more consistent scores after that. All in all I did not do as well on test day as my very top score on the practice tests but I did do within 30 points. I knew I studied hard and I was happy at the end of the day.

P.S. I got into veterinary school and start this fall 🙂

 

[imagine21]

Let me congratulate you on your acceptances. Thanks so much for the words of encouragement. I will do whatever it takes-if I don't make it this time around I will do post bac or retake the test.
One more question: if I get as far as an interview, if you have been in a different professional program & realized it was not where you wanted to be, will the vet schools hold it against you that you were pursuing something else? Do you think it will make them think you are not serious about becoming a vet andn that you should not mention it? Thanks.