GRE - Who is applying this fall and still has to take it.

Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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I'm alternating between math and vocabulary, trying to do at least an hour a day... I signed up for some word of the day emails but so far, they've been horrible (mid-teen and D-list are NEVER going to be on the GRE!). After doing some math practice problems, I discovered that I'm horrible at math. I'm lucky to get 50% to 75% of the practice questions right *headdesk*

Between working, honours thesis research, learning spanish, memorizing my vet manual for my trip, and trying to learn this, argh, my head feels like it's going to explode.
 
scarcelyheard said:
I'm alternating between math and vocabulary, trying to do at least an hour a day... I signed up for some word of the day emails but so far, they've been horrible (mid-teen and D-list are NEVER going to be on the GRE!). After doing some math practice problems, I discovered that I'm horrible at math. I'm lucky to get 50% to 75% of the practice questions right *headdesk*

Between working, honours thesis research, learning spanish, memorizing my vet manual for my trip, and trying to learn this, argh, my head feels like it's going to explode.
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What lists are these?! Try Merriam Webster and dictionary.com for their Word of the Day emails. They're fairly good from what I've had so far. I also bought the Kaplan vocab flashcards that everyone was talking up on some thread... now only if I made time to study them between volunteering at 2 clinics, taking Physics II and finishing my research project! Not to mention getting ready for our trip!!
 
I'm taking mine at the end of this month!! I am so worried about the verbal!!! ahh
anyone taking it in seattle area??? 😀
 
I took it on Wednesday without having studied too much, desperately hoping that I'd get the words that I knew on the verbal. Yeah... that didn't happen. I actually do know a decent amount of the words from the GRE study book (which I stole from my sister on Thursday), it's just that on the test they're presented in such a weird way for me. I'm gonna review a bit and I signed up to take it again in September to see if I can get better. I think I got somewhere around average (waiting to see percentiles), but I want to get better than that. Should've studied in the first place, but the study book was so booooooring and it's summer and I just didn't want to. 😳

Also, that question in the preparation part before the test about if English is the language you speak best is so awkwardly worded! I was literally staring at the computer for like a minute, re-reading the sentence and trying to figure out what they were asking. That totally threw me off.
 
I took the GRE in May and will be taking it again in July. Now wishing I had decided to sign up for early August instead though.

I did find it funny that the score I got on the GRE was the same score I got on my original SAT score. Oh standardized tests, how I hate thee...
 
😕
Ausheya said:
I took it on Wednesday without having studied too much, desperately hoping that I'd get the words that I knew on the verbal. Yeah... that didn't happen. I actually do know a decent amount of the words from the GRE study book (which I stole from my sister on Thursday), it's just that on the test they're presented in such a weird way for me. I'm gonna review a bit and I signed up to take it again in September to see if I can get better. I think I got somewhere around average (waiting to see percentiles), but I want to get better than that. Should've studied in the first place, but the study book was so booooooring and it's summer and I just didn't want to. 😳

Also, that question in the preparation part before the test about if English is the language you speak best is so awkwardly worded! I was literally staring at the computer for like a minute, re-reading the sentence and trying to figure out what they were asking. That totally threw me off.
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so you only get to see the actual score but not the percentiles??
Do schools look at both or mainly the actual score? And what is the preparation part??/ I never heard of that before..
 
xxalic3xx said:
😕

so you only get to see the actual score but not the percentiles??
Do schools look at both or mainly the actual score? And what is the preparation part??/ I never heard of that before..
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yep, the actual score (out of 800) for both the verbal and quant pop up at the end of the test. you get the percentile later with your official score report, after a good amount of people have also taken the same test. unlike the SATs where all the students for a particular test take it all together in one day, the same GRE's are taken at different times by different people, so the percentile score fluctuates a little based on the number of people who took the test (and of course how they did). it's not unheard of for your percentile to change even between the time you get your official score report sent to you and the time it gets sent to vet schools (though that shouldn't be much of an issue if you're applying this cycle. i took the GRE back in 2007 and just applied last cycle and my percentiles actually all went up a bit since I got my official score report.

in terms of whether the actual score or the percentile is more important, it really depends on the school and the way they evaluate their candidates... but generally speaking, you're competitive as long as you can score above the 70th percentile. For verbal that tends to be in the 500 range, and for math that tends to be around 700. i got 85th percentile for both verbal and math, but the actual scores were 590 and 760, respectively. so don't despair if your verbal score seems low.

i'm pretty sure that the preparation part = the questions they ask you (name, demographics, etc...) before you actually start the test itself, so don't worry about it. it's not something extra you need to study for!
 
Hmm I just took the GRE yesterday... my third time, and my Quant score went down and my verbal went up, despite how much time I spent studying for the math section. Would I be doing myself harm if I took it a 4th time?
 
Oh GRE... :/

I took the GRE for the second time and despite spending all my time studying Verbal stuff and not looking at all at Quant my verbal score went down (and it was already horrible!) and my Quant went up. Rawr.

Oh well, I think I'm just going to deal with my not-so-great score and if I have to reapply next year, I'll take it again then.
 
Just took it this morning: 500 V & 710 M

My scores were really close to what I got in PowerPrep (500 V & 690 M). For the first time, I'll take these score and apply.

Got to the last section where they ask if I'd do the Essay for their research ... left that one BLANK.

Good luck everyone!!
 
I'm taking the GRE tomorrow. Yikes. I will post my scores in the RANT HERE thread or the RAVE HERE thread, whichever is most appropriate😛.
 
psilovethomas said:
I'm taking the GRE tomorrow. Yikes. I will post my scores in the RANT HERE thread or the RAVE HERE thread, whichever is most appropriate😛.
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Mine is tomorrow too... I may hurl. I feel really unprepared! 🙁
 
I probably won't end up retaking it. I planned to, but after all the travel and with a new course load... I dunno. I'd need to take it really soon for it to be worth anything, and I also need to substantially improve for it to be worth anything. Blech.
 
Good luck everyone taking the GRE tomorrow!! Just remember to catch your breath before you begin!

I'm taking my GRE on Monday and I am already starting to panic! It doesn't help that each practice test I take results in drastically different scores! All I want is a 710 Q -- that's all I'm asking for.
 
Horsingaround31 said:
Good luck everyone taking the GRE tomorrow!! Just remember to catch your breath before you begin!

I'm taking my GRE on Monday and I am already starting to panic! It doesn't help that each practice test I take results in drastically different scores! All I want is a 710 Q -- that's all I'm asking for.
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Same here. My quant section scores on practice exam are ranging between 440-690! Personally, I think the 440 one was a bit unfair.😛
 
Mine is the 31st. I don't feel prepared at all. I've been too busy! I did a little studying tonight though... I suck at geometry, so I thought I would tackle that section in my workbook.
 
Can someone explain to me how ETS send reports to schools?

If I do a computer test, do they not send scores right away to the colleges I designate? When I look online, it appears that they send reports out once a month on paper and that it can take 6 weeks to get scores out...

If that is the case, is the latest one can safely take it 6 weeks in advance?
 
Some schools have specific deadlines. Illinois probably has one of the earliest deadlines for score reports (or for taking the test, I forget which). Basically, if you plan to apply this year, you should take it soon. Then you can pick, like, four schools to send reports too for free. After that, it's not free - dunno what it costs, but something like $20 a report?
 
Bleh... I'll be retaking in September! I thought it would be the verbal that would get me but I somehow scored a full 100 points lower on the quantitative than what I got on both of the Powerprep tests. Ended up with a 540V and 600Q. I'm actually okay with that verbal score but the quantitative is a no go!! 🙁
 
ckd816 said:
Bleh... I'll be retaking in September!
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Will the scores be sent out to the schools in time if you retake in september?

On the GRE website, ETS says it takes 10-15 days to send the score reports out. Does anyone know if that is actually how long it takes?
 
ckd816 said:
Bleh... I'll be retaking in September! I thought it would be the verbal that would get me but I somehow scored a full 100 points lower on the quantitative than what I got on both of the Powerprep tests. Ended up with a 540V and 600Q. I'm actually okay with that verbal score but the quantitative is a no go!! 🙁
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Hi ckd - How was your pacing on the Q section? Did you feel rushed towards the end?
 
missmt said:
Will the scores be sent out to the schools in time if you retake in september?

On the GRE website, ETS says it takes 10-15 days to send the score reports out. Does anyone know if that is actually how long it takes?
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I hope they are 😕 as I will be retaking it September 3rd. Talk about coming down to the wire here, especially for getting the percentiles for the VMCAS! I received my first round of scores less than a month after I took the exam, so hopefully :xf: this happens again...
I didn't send my initial scores either, so I will be sending everything on that date... if anyone here is worried about cutting it close, just compare yourself to me and you'll feel better!
Good luck everyone!
 
missmt said:
Will the scores be sent out to the schools in time if you retake in september?

On the GRE website, ETS says it takes 10-15 days to send the score reports out. Does anyone know if that is actually how long it takes?
Click to expand...

To be safe, a lot of schools say that Sept. 1 is the last day you should take it for it to be sent in time. The thing for me is that I'm sending to more than 4 schools, so I -believe- I have to wait for my scores to get to me in the mail before I can designate four more schools to receive. If I get the scores in 2 weeks and designate the last right away, that should be another 2 weeks (so roughly a month).
 
Take it with me on the 3rd. I could use some company...

I am losing my mind trying to frantically study. It is literally do or die time!
 
What are the magic numbers that I should be aiming for? I think to get 5/5 on the GRE section of my apps, I need to be in the top 20th percentile. A 5/5 will guarantee me me an interview with my current average.

Frig, I'm so nervous. I'm going to have a nap and spend the night doing practice tests!
 
You should be aiming for 800/800. 🙄

If you're asking what top 20th percentile is, for quant 80th percentile is going to be mid 700's somewhere, and for verbal probably high 500's.
 
nyanko said:
You should be aiming for 800/800. 🙄

If you're asking what top 20th percentile is, for quant 80th percentile is going to be mid 700's somewhere, and for verbal probably high 500's.
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I haven't seen many scores in that range on SDN :scared:

Nevermind... I'm psyching myself out... all I had to do is look at the successful applicants thread. Now, on to my nap 🙂
 
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scarcelyheard said:
I haven't seen many scores in that range on SDN :scared:
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Well, that's because top 20th percentile is necessarily going to only be the PEOPLE WHO SCORED BETTER OR THE SAME AS 80% OF THE OTHER TEST TAKERS so of course you don't see "many" of them. If the majority of people got those scores, they wouldn't be top 20th percentile, would they? 😉
 
Aw man, during my nap, I dreamed that TT got footage of a secret killing sewer at one of the lodges we were at in Costa Rica. They had calfs and pigs in water up to their necks and gassed them until they bled. Thanks for putting on the Andromeda Strain dad 😛
 
I just took the GRE practice test, and if I figured it out correctly, I got:
490 - q
400 - v
:scared:

Which is weird, because I found the math portion pretty easy... and fun... even though I was writing it in my own kitchen, I was still anxious and nervous during the first section I did, which was verbal.

Last time I took a standardized test was in the 10th grade, and it was just one of those piddly little math things that they give once a year and my results were never significant.

I'm not really sure what to focus on for tomorrow *sigh*
 
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scarcelyheard said:
I'm not really sure what to focus on for tomorrow *sigh*
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focus on sleep! The most important thing is that you have a fresh mind for the exam. And get a good breakfast! This is not a test you can study for, I know because I am trying like crazy to "study" and as a normally studious person, I am coming up short, so really its all about feeling positive, and making sure you work on each problem in a timely fashion!
Good luck... and don't worry what you got on your practice scores, its all random and a little luck for tests like this!
 
Thank you 🙂 I'll make sure to get plenty of sleep and, in my case, a good brunch because I'll be writing at 1 pm.

It sucks a little that if I do bomb it, the test is $215 and 6 hours away from where I go to university, so I can't just "try again" like most people do if they're not happy with their scores.

*sigh*

Only positive thoughts from now on! I did recognize a lot of vocabulary words from the Kaplan book. Whooo.
 
missmt said:
Will the scores be sent out to the schools in time if you retake in september?

On the GRE website, ETS says it takes 10-15 days to send the score reports out. Does anyone know if that is actually how long it takes?
Click to expand...

On the whole, it seems like the deadline to take the test is the same as the VMCAS deadline. I'm sure there are exceptions to this as with everything else, but I know someone pushing it and taking it late September to maximize their prep time... It's kind of a gamble. I think as long as you have the scores to self-report you would be good to go and then the score reports can be sent past the deadline. I'm shooting for mid-September I guess so I can (hopefully) have my percentiles for VMCAS.

EDIT: I started looking up policies on score reports at the schools I'm considering and exceptions to this so far include Oregon State and Kansas State... they want the official stuff all in by the VMCAS deadline. Check with your schools!

pdjy said:
Hi ckd - How was your pacing on the Q section? Did you feel rushed towards the end?
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Yeah, I guess so. I tried to take more time on the first few since I know they're more important, but I had a few tough questions throw me for a loop towards the beginning and I wasted too much time on them. On my practice tests I always finished the quantitative early and got 100 points higher... go figure! 🙄

scarcelyheard said:
Aw man, during my nap, I dreamed that TT got footage of a secret killing sewer at one of the lodges we were at in Costa Rica. They had calfs and pigs in water up to their necks and gassed them until they bled. Thanks for putting on the Andromeda Strain dad 😛
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:laugh:
Good luck tomorrow!! You'll be awesome! :luck:
 
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Quick question: during the actual test, do you write the essays first or do the mc questions first?
 
Essays are first. I wish it was the other way around. I can do fine on the essays; it is the dang verbal section I want to start with; so I can have the most brain power for it.
 
Scarcelyheard: Are you writing yours in Halifax tomorrow? If so, I might be writing mine with you. Good luck!
 
I am
Thanks, you too!
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Ha small world isn't it? Well, if you're writing the one at 1pm we'll be writing buddies🙂
 
I'll probably be wearing a light pink watch on my left wrist and a pink and red bracelet on my right if you feel the need to know who I am lol 😛
 
Sending positive vibes to scarcelyheard and lab rat today!
 
Looks like I'll be taking it again in December! I don't know what AVC is going to think about that, but I really don't care. 560 quant and 420 or 430 (can't remember) verbal. Gross. I think the essays went good though.

I've been preparing for it a few hours a week since May. But I barely got to study the entire month of August. I went away from the 7th to the 21st. When I came back, I was stuck in the lab from 10-6 each day. I really only had a day and a half to study for it this month.

Luck was against me with the verbal... I studied the top 200 GRE words and I only recognized about 2 from that list.

I think I'm going to purchase a different type of study guide and some practice tests for the next time.
 
scarcelyheard said:
I think I'm going to purchase a different type of study guide and some practice tests for the next time.
Click to expand...

I switched to Barron's after doing the Kaplan books and taking the GRE twice. So far, I like the change, but only time will tell...and my future test scores.
 
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