GRE scores

[DrRae]

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Hey all,
I'm preparing to take the GRE this year. Can anyone recommend good GRE study aids? Also, where does everyone sit as far as scores go. Thanks all.
DrRae

 

[K.Astro]

Hey--I took a class from Princeton Review, and used the CD-ROMS from both Princeton and Kaplan. I think you could learn alot from just doing the books and not the class...as long as you are really disciplined about studying for standardized tests. I am really bad about that stuff, so i needed the weekly study group to get me through it.

I started out with a "paper-test" score of mid-1300s, and ended up with a computer-adapted test score over 1500. I'm sure that is not the norm, but it really helped me alot, and I bet it can help you too!

 

[no-see-um]

I'm taking the GRE in October. 👍

The Biology subject GRE has a lot on it. Do they break it into sections? They can't expect someone to be a PHD in everything in biology- like PLANTS. 😱

Do they just have a molecular one?

Also, do you need to take the general GREs as well?

 

[K.Astro]

Not sure if you are directing the Bio GRE question to me? I actually took the general (quant., verbal, writing), not the Bio. There are only a couple of schools that require the bio subject test, and I didn't end up applying to them. Sorry!

 

[DrRae]

Actually out of my tenetive schools to apply to (Auburn, Colorado state, U of GA, U of Fl, NC state, and U of TN- will probably drop Auburn/not that interested) only U of GA requires the GRE Biology. All of the others require the GRE general w/ the analytical writing portion. I will probably take the GRE Biology b/c UGA is my in-state school and I need to apply there but I would prefer to go to U of FL or U of TN b/c of their exotic/wildlife proograms. Thanks for the advice all.
Rachel
PS There is also a great website, really helped me, and you can download the computer based test w/ the writing portion, and the Biology subject test http://www.gre.org/pracmats.html

 

[CoffeeCrazy]

Fruit Fly - you have to have the general GRE... subject tests vary by school. I've heard the general bio GRE sucks because it's so broad in its subject matter... anything from genetics to plants to evolutionary to molecular. If you can take a different subject test, I'd suggest that.

Princeton review books/CDs were really great. Definitely practice on the computer, because paper questions don't even compare. And be VERY careful on the first 5-6 questions you answer, because those determine the ballpark that your final score will be in.

I got a 1400 on the computer GRE, which was 89% for both verbal and math. The score doesn't matter as much as the percentile (how you do compared to everyone else taking the GRE). They want to see that you do well compared to other college grads.

 

[K.Astro]

True about the percentile thing, especially for some of the western schools that only care about the percentile. When I took the computer GRE, though, a 770 on the math was only the 86% percentile, I guess that goes to show how well people tend to do on the math! I think looking at the percentiles alone is a little silly for that reason.

 

[normalforce]

What is an "average score" for the GRE. I got a 1630 a couple years ago. Is this high enough for DVM. Thanks.

NF

 

[DrRae]

It depends on the school. The schools I've looked at require over an 1100 for in state students, and over a 1200 for out of state students. And that is only to be considered. You are probably fine with a 1630, however most schools won't accept score older than 5 years so make sure you don't run out of time. Good luck.
DrRae

 

[DizzyJon]

I thought that they had changed the scoring for the GRE. The vet school i'm applying to used to require a 1500 or something, but now they require a 950. Does anyone know anything about this?

 

[K.Astro]

I realized when I was re-reading this post that we have alot of people from the "logic section" era of the GRE, and alot of people from the "writing section" era. Confusing!

Probably when your school was asking for atleast a 1500, this was when they were using the old GRE that had three sections counting for 800 points each. Now that the GRE only has a verbal and quant. section, and has a new writing section scaled separately (1-6), they are requiring their verb/quant. composite to be a minimum of 950.

I think it is probably easier for us to all talk in terms of section scores (ie: M/V=600/600) just so we are all on the same page... since, for example, 1500 composite on the new GRE sounds very competitive, but the same composite score is not as competitive on the old GRE scale?

Most schools are starting to require the new test now, so pretty soon we'll all have the same scoring system.

 

[DizzyJon]

Oh I see now. So the verbal is worth 600 and a math(quant) is worth 600 for 1200 total. See, I took a practice test last for the first time and got a 940 (min for my vet school 950), but reading post form people who are saying they got a 1400 made me feel pretty bad about my practice test, but actually it isn't that bad out of 1200. I'm sure with more practice I will get my score up much higher, but with O Chem this summer I have little or no time to study.

 

[K.Astro]

Yeah, correct me if i'm wrong, but on the old test the highest score you could get was 2400 (getting an 800 on each of the three sections). On the new test, the highest score you can get is 1600 (math + verbal) and a "6" on the writing.

So, I think when the other poster said he/she got a 1400 on the computer GRE, he/she meant it was on the new test (out of 1600 possible points). It seems that competitive applicants have over a 600 on each of the individual sections at most U.S. schools (regardless of whether it is the old or new test), and I'm not sure about non-US schools.