GRE Score-retake?

[zebrastripe86]

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Hi everyone! It has been my dream to go to vet school ever since i was 5 years old. However, my GPA is not that great, and my GRE score sucks. I have taken it three times and my most recent score is a 980. I understand that a competitive score is 1200. Does anyone have any advice on how i can improve this or if it is worth taking again? I have been using the princeton review book and i just got the kaplan book. The upside to all of this is that i have good recommendations and a TON of experience. I'm just feeling a little lost right now and wondering if anyone had any tips or advice. Thanks!

 

[zebrastripe86]

I graduated in 2008, with a BS in bio. my overall GPA is 3.0...and my science GPA is even worse 2.8 😳( I was thinking of doing a post bacc program at University in Pennsylvania b/c they cater to pre vet students who have low science GPA's. I first took the GRE 2 years ago without studying, my score has improved, but clearly it isn't good enough. and my experience is in small animal, farm animal, wildlife, lab animal and a teeny bit of zoo, but i would really like more in that department. I already applied to vet school once and got rejected, (but then again i only applied to one school bc I had a good feeling i wouldn't get in anywhere else and i did not want to waste my money).

 

[rileydog]

You may want to look into the policies on the schools you are planning on applying to. Some may average, some may take the highest or some may only take the most recent score, even if by some chance it was lower. I don't think you can combine the verbal score from one test with the quantitative from another like you can with the SAT for undergrad. I would try a class and looking over old tests or practice tests to see where your weaknesses are and work on strengthening those. Good Luck🙂

 

[der2002]

IMO, your best bet is to take some post-bacc classes, raise your GPA and if you can afford it, take a study course for the GRE's. If I may ask, what is your score spread? Are we talking ~500 quant and ~480 verbal? A lower verbal score isn't the end of the world, but you really need to identify your strengths/weaknesses in order to improve your quant score substantially. Another question: Do you do better with paper exams rather than computerized ones? You can chose to take the GRE on paper if you think you'd have a better chance (it's offered a few times a year depending on where you are).

Good luck!

 

[zebrastripe86]

this is all great advice! thanks. My score was 510 verbal, 470 math...I have never been good in math. But i also feel myself rushing bc i end up running out of time. I think i will sign up for a tutor. Has any one had any experience with princeton review tutors? I usually learn best with one on one instruction, so hopefully that will help. Oh, and does anyone know if vet school admissions people look down on you if you have taken the GRE more than once? even if your score has improved each time? I also think i do much better with paper exams, but I thought that they are only offered in countries that do not offer the computer one. Where would i find out the information on schools and their GRE policies? I have looked on websites and some don't even say what kind of score they take...do i just email them?

 

[der2002]

http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/gre_0910_tclist.pdf

check out page 9

 

[Rosekiki]

hey don't give up! do anything you can to save up some money and go back to school to take classes. I'm doing my 5th year and will be doing a 6th year of college to raise my grades. I didn't understand how hard it is to get in until my senior year, that's why. I'm not sure if I will get in ever... but I won't give up until I've given my hardest try. good luck!

for the GREs, I practiced a lot of tests and stuff, my verbal sucked, but my math was pretty good. I think for math you just have to practice A LOT of problems, then you'll get a hang off the style. verbal... iono, I'm a FOB so it's just hard for me. if you know how to improve it in a short time, let me know lol

 

[GellaBella]

I def recommend studying from the Kaplan books or taking a Kaplan course.

I had both the princeton review and kaplan books (I self-studied) and I found that the kaplan practice tests/questions seemed to be harder ... when I took the actual exam questions seemed easier to answer.

I wasn't as impressed with the princeton review books. In contrast I felt their questions were easier and werent a true representation of GRE questions.

Once I figured that out (at least for me) I tossed the princeton review book and studies straight from kaplan.

I scored prob about 100 points higher on the actual GRE than I did on any of the Kaplan practice tests.

 

[zebrastripe86]

I just signed up for a private tutor with princeton review. They have a satisfaction guarantee, so if my score does not go up or if I'm not happy with it I can get my money back or take another course with them. I feel like this could really help because I do well with one on one tutoring as opposed to taking a class with 20 other people. I'm not giving up though, I am going to study really hard so I can get a killer score next time!😀 I did buy a kaplan book though, maybe I will look through there and see if there are things of note that could help me. GellaBella, were there any sections of the book that you found to be most helpful?

 

[GellaBella]

I think the Kaplan verbal section is really good.

I am generally pretty good with verbal so I didn't study that section as much as I did the math...however about two weeks before I started studying the commonly used words list from kaplan and I DEFINITELY saw many of those words on the actual GRE. so I was really glad I went through the list. I'm sure if I had been better about it and gone through all the other lists they gave I prob would have done even better. But I was happy with what I got.

Quantitative was also very helpful at remembering formulas for the different types of problems. Really the whole book was helpful for me and I used it a lot for studying. Once I had studied for a little while I began taking as many practice exams as I could find and timed myself to make sure I was staying within the time limits.

Hope that helps!

 

[der2002]

good luck!

 

[libster06]

It depends on where you're going. I took the test 3 different times and finally made a 1036, which no one seemed to have a problem with, except Miss. State, who told me I should retake it since their average score is an 1100. My advisor at my school also told me that a base score is 1000, so anything over that is ok.

As far as studying, Kaplan is awesome, and the reason I made a decent score (IMO) on the last test I took. Most people usually take it twice, since the first go round is nerve-wracking, and a lot of people just don't do as well on the first. If you haven't taken it twice, I would say take it again.

 

[der2002]

just remember, the GRE's are only moderately about knowing the information and mostly about knowing how to take the test. By all means, review the material, but remember to take lots of practice tests online and time yourself. the first couple of questions in any section are the most important since they essentially are the ones responsible for determing your percentile ranking...

 

[Qwerty85]

Have you started with your private tutor yet? Let us know how it goes - I was looking into doing the same.

I just signed up for a private tutor with princeton review. They have a satisfaction guarantee, so if my score does not go up or if I'm not happy with it I can get my money back or take another course with them. I feel like this could really help because I do well with one on one tutoring as opposed to taking a class with 20 other people. I'm not giving up though, I am going to study really hard so I can get a killer score next time!😀 I did buy a kaplan book though, maybe I will look through there and see if there are things of note that could help me. GellaBella, were there any sections of the book that you found to be most helpful?

 

[gone2dogs]

So I also have a GRE retake question, but coming from the opposite direction I guess.

I took the GRE once, 2 years ago and was quite happy with my score. At my 2 file reviews over the last 2 years I was told that my score was excellent and that I shouldn't retake it. But now that I am on round three and looking at applying more broadly, I am starting to wonder if I should study more (I studied very minimally last time) and re-take it, especially since I discovered at least 1 school that won't accept a score that is over 2 years old (it will be 2.5 months too old).

So the real question: Is there a certain score above which it is sort of pointless to try and improve upon it? It seems like many (most?) schools don't use an actual formula to calculate a score (like Michigan does), so I am thinking that beyond a certain point it doesn't really matter. Or does it?

Thanks for any input or a ballpark guestimate! If it matters, My GPAs range from a little bit below average to a bit above average (for science and last 45). And my GRE score appears to qualify me as a "tier 1" applicant for Washington.

 

[StartingoverVet]

So I also have a GRE retake question, but coming from the opposite direction I guess.

I took the GRE once, 2 years ago and was quite happy with my score. At my 2 file reviews over the last 2 years I was told that my score was excellent and that I shouldn't retake it. But now that I am on round three and looking at applying more broadly, I am starting to wonder if I should study more (I studied very minimally last time) and re-take it, especially since I discovered at least 1 school that won't accept a score that is over 2 years old (it will be 2.5 months too old).

So the real question: Is there a certain score above which it is sort of pointless to try and improve upon it? It seems like many (most?) schools don't use an actual formula to calculate a score (like Michigan does), so I am thinking that beyond a certain point it doesn't really matter. Or does it?

Thanks for any input or a ballpark guestimate! If it matters, My GPAs range from a little bit below average to a bit above average (for science and last 45). And my GRE score appears to qualify me as a "tier 1" applicant for Washington.

I don't think there is any definitive answer as schools will vary in their methodologies, but consider the following....

I always view as an application as a chance to advertise yourself to the schools you apply (i worked in admissions office - not vet - so have some background here). Generally, anything you can do to stand out and make yourself special is what is going to help get you in. Usually there is no one right answer to the question.

My answer, in this case: if you can get a "wow" score then that will almost certainly help your application. It might help them to take another look at you. If you go from 1350 to 1450 will it matter, hard to say. If you went from 1250 to 1500 that would almost definitely help you get noticed, and that is really the hardest thing at some schools.

Of course, at some schools it may be meaningless because they don't focus on GRE, or they only use it as a cut-off, but in general it is gonna help!

 

[gone2dogs]

Yeah, I know I am asking something that really doesn't have an answer! But since CSU isn't really a "numbers school," I've started to second guess their advice to not retake it! My starting point is 1370, so then I also fear the possibility of doing worse and wonder how that would look! I have the most room for improvement on the verbal score (600), and after downloading some free gre vocab prep games on my fancy new phone (i know, you kids have had these forever!) I got to thinking that (with a non free version) I might actually be able to really increase my vocab.

Ah well, maybe it will depend on how successful I am at lining up more varied vet shadowing in the next few weeks!

 

[StartingoverVet]

(i know, you kids have had these forever!)

he he. No one has called me a kid for decades!