How many times did you take the GRE?

[meadow36]

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How many times did you take the GRE, and how much is too much? Also, do schools take the highest from each section and combine that score or just your overall highest score?

 

[pika8]

I took the GRE twice, which was totally worth it because my first score was very sad and small, especially in the quant section.

It depends on the school. Sometimes they will take your highest score (Tufts will actually take the highest from each time you took the test--if you score high on verbal one time, and then high in quant the next, they will use those).

But each school is different, you just have to check out their policy.

 

[LVT2DVM]

Ive taken 4 times and my advice is this...Take it twice. If you scores do not dramtically improve from the first time, then dont take it again unless you invest in a Kaplan class or something equivalent. I couldnt afford to take a tutoring class and my scores actually went down after the 2nd time (bet that looks just lovely on my apps). First time takers anxiety is natural so 2 X without a tutor isn't unreasonable. Anything after and youll be wasting you $ without additional preparation.

Adendum: I wanted to add, if your scores are obviously, god awful the first time, then I would proceed directly to tutor-if you have the $ it is time well invested.

 

[rustysmom]

I took it twice... did OK the first time but I knew I could do better so I invested in a kaplan on-line class. My scores went up significantly the second time I took it.

It depends on the school as to how they handle taking the GRE more than once - Michigan State only looks at the highest composite score.

 

[pupsforseeing]

I only took the GRE once (in August of this year) and figured I would re-take it if I didn't get in this time around. I know Davis takes the highest score from section to calculate your total. I work with an intern who applied 7 times before being accepted and she took the GRE 5 times. Each time, her total score remained about the same but she did significantly better on one of the sections (and worse on the others)...by the 5th time, though, she had a really great score if you took her highest score from each! I know there are a lot of schools, though, that only look at your highest composite score or average all your scores together (I can't remember which off the top of my head since it didn't really apply to me because I knew I'd only have time to take it once before this app. cycle), so it'd be a good thing to look into before deciding to take them multiple times. Good luck!

 

[winkle1983]

I took it once...I hate those kinds of tests, so unless I did dismally, I wasn't going to take it a second time. I bought one of those goofy books to "study"...never happened. Best to maybe take an actual class...lol

Some schools will take a combo of your best, but others won't...so it's best to check with the school.

 

[UVA Wahoo]

I took it once and did very well. My advice is, if you are low on money and relatively disciplined enough, I would seriously think about buying a review book. Especially one that has a study plan of some sort in it. Meaning, the writers of the book lay out a plan of attack for you if you are taking the test in a month or two months. That way, you can stay on a schedule and cover all the material in the book by the time you take the test. It really helped a procrastinator like me! haha. I also liked that after I had studied something, I could cross it right off the list and feel a sense of accomplishment. Good luck! Ps, I thought the math on the GRE was so hard I almost cried after I took it, and then I got a 780. lol. So don't despair, you might surprise yourself!

 

[rexosaurus]

I took it twice, my scores went up enough to make a difference. The things is, you can learn the quant section in a short enough amount of time. The verbal section is not something you can just memorize though, not a volume enough to make a difference. I memorized about 300 words (you would think that would be enough!), and maybe 2 were on that stupid test the second time around! So if you have the time to actually learn latin roots, the English language in it's entirety (perhaps a lit major in college?), then learning the quant part is probably your best bet the second go round. The thing about math is that repetition makes you learn, but not verbal! That's just how I feel about it anyway!

 

[carrbear21]

I took it once. I took the Kaplan prep course because for me it was necessary and really helped. My score was 130 points above what my goal was. I WAS NOT going to take that test again! I started the course the end of March and took the GRE the end of May.

As UVA Wahoo said, if KNOW you are devoted enough, practice books are great. I took tons of practice tests once I had the stuff down. The key was taking them at someplace other than my house where there was quiet/a test-taking like facility.

On a funny note, 2 days before I took the GRE my Dad called and told me he was getting remarried (completely out of the blue-- they weren't even together at that point) AND the day of the test I hit a parked car in the parking lot of the testing facility. I guess "bumped" would be a better word. The owner saw and came flying out of her office and I gave her my card and said "I'm going to take the GRE that determines the rest of my life right now so if there's damage e-mail me and I'll take care of it." It was fine though. I guess I do well under stress! AND that afternoon I found out I won a $300 grill! I guess May 24th wasn't so bad after all...

 

[Tiraka]

I took it twice - the first time was summer of 2006. I had decided to wait another year before applying to vet school, but was already registered. Took it with no preparation (vaguely knowing what the CAT format was), and did reasonably well. I decided to retake it since my GPA is avg-low and raised my Quant score with a bit of studying, while verbal remained the same. Couldn't break a 4.5 on the writing though.

Anyone else find the verbal easier than the math?

 

[LVT2DVM]

Anyone else find the verbal easier than the math?

Absolutely! I always have a higher verbal than math. I HATE math! 'bout the only thing I can do is calculate drips rates and drug dosages but dont ask me do any form of geometry!

The funny thing is my husband who has no math classes beyond HS, looked at the practice test while I was studying and he could get those questions right without even working any math. Just using common sense! UGH! I think thats the problem--I approach them tooooo analytical instead of just taking the problem at "face" value.
Anybody else noticed you can do about half the math problems just by looking at 'em?

 

[Kara31191]

*Goes and studies for the SAT*

 

[BostonLvr]

I took it twice. The first time I did slightly above average for my school. I took a prep course the next semester and then took the GRE again and did WORSE! Ugh!

 

[nyanko]

Anybody else noticed you can do about half the math problems just by looking at 'em?

That's what all the practice materials tell you to do. If you take the time to work out every problem you probably won't get finished in time.

I took the GRE general exam twice. The first time I played the quant part completely wrong and wound up in the mid 600s. The verbal was high 600s. My analytical writing score, however, was a freaking 4. After a bit of thinking I decided to take it again, about a year later (that being September of 2007). After reading through a practice book that gave me a little perspective on how to approach the quant (which is honestly very easy in concept - nothing on it is from after high school level!) and I scored over 100 points higher on the quant section the next time. My verbal, however, dropped to low 600s. Analytical writing? A damn 4 again. That section is the bane of my existence! 😡

So if I don't get in this cycle I may repeat it, hunting for a better analytical writing score. I'm happy with my quant and verbal (Davis takes the highest on each section) though.

The reason I need such perfection on this test is because my GPA is horrendously low to average depending on the school and how they calculate it and I need something to balance it out quantitatively.

 

[bovine]

I took it once...I hate those kinds of tests, so unless I did dismally, I wasn't going to take it a second time. I bought one of those goofy books to "study"...never happened. Best to maybe take an actual class...lol

Some schools will take a combo of your best, but others won't...so it's best to check with the school.

That sound exactly like what I did! LOL

 

[ri23]

I only took it once. I had taken several practice tests and was scoring in the 1450-1500 range, but I ended up getting a 1350. I was happy with that being that is an acceptable score for vet school admissions, but when I told my parents they told me "at least you have time to re-take it next month." I didn't retake and instead explained to them that that wasn't that bad of a score.

But in response - I agree with everyone that says get the book. Being that the GRE isn't a knowledge based test like the MCAT, it is pretty easy to self study and most of the books on the market are extremely helpful.

 

[dyachei]

If you can't afford a book, number2.com is a great resource.

I took the GRE once and once only. I used this site and a book (borrowed it from a friend). It lets you practice vocab and math problems, so you kind of get some practice.

 

[ShelterGirl]

Analytical writing? A damn 4 again. That section is the bane of my existence! 😡

Yeah, me too. I took the GRE once, got mid-to-high 700s on verbal and quant, but that freakin' 4 really made me mad. I decided to not retake the test just for that part, especially since Penn doesn't even factor it in. Hopefully my other scores will balance it out!

 

[thesonofdarwin]

Took it once and did relatively horrible.. math was near perfect but evidently for the verbal I'm not so good at randomly picking answers and praying I'm right. Memorizing words I'll never see or use again isn't something I'm good at, so I left it as it was so I didn't do worse a second time. Needless to say, I'll be bringing down the average GRE of my entering class Vocab = my kryptonite.

I did well on the MCAT, though... but didn't report it for the application.

GRE scores aren't everything. I was substantially below the averages of all the colleges I applied to this year and last and it didn't matter.

 

[dustman]

Took it once and thought it was the dumbest / most pointless test i have ever taken. pointless vocab which was incredibly hard for me and the math which only goes to algebra 1.

 

[pupsforseeing]

Needless to say, I'll be bringing down the average GRE of my entering class Vocab = my kryptonite.

Assuming I end up at Penn, I'll be right there with you dragging down the mean 🙂 I did really well on the math, but horrible on the verbal. I even memorized the top 1000 most common GRE words...and not ONE was on the test! I was SOO annoyed! I took a TON of practice tests (on my days off this summer I sat a Border's ad just went systematically down the line of study books and did all the practice tests available) and every time there would be a small handful of words I had memorized...until it counted on the real test! Apparently, according to the GRE, I have a vocabulary the size of a small pea. Oh well.

 

[thesonofdarwin]

I even memorized the top 1000 most common GRE words...and not ONE was on the test! [...] Apparently, according to the GRE, I have a vocabulary the size of a small pea. Oh well.

I had the Kaplan GRE Exam Vocab Flashcard book and memorized them, and likewise none were on the exam. The flashcard pages work well as Word-of-the-Day toilet paper, because the only thing they are good for is wiping one's bum. The perfidious book, while being advertised as quite trenchant, was thoroughly embellished. They deserve upbraiding for being blatant tyros at preparation guides. Another 5 pages to flush

 

[athenaparthenos]

I took it once and read through the PDF sample test pamphlet online the night before, just to see what it looked like. Scored in the 1400s and got a 5.5 on the writing, so yeah... didn't feel a need to take it again. I tend to do really well on those kinds of tests, though, and have a pretty big vocabulary so didn't feel a need to study the words.

 

[josie1000]

I took the GRE once and got a combined 1330 and a 5.5 on the writing. One hint for the verbal section is that there are techniques for doing well other than memorizing words. I would suggest princeton review books, or even look at an SAT book since the setup of the questions are very similar. Are the words you are comparing all singular or plural, verbs or adjectives, same tense? If one of the options is too different from the others it probably isnt right. Asking yourself these questions can usually narrow down the reasonable options so even if you have to guess your chances of guessing correctly are better. Hope this helps.

 

[Angie09]

Apparently, according to the GRE, I have a vocabulary the size of a small pea. Oh well.

Not even a large pea? LOL. 🙂

I took it once (to go to grad school) and once (because my grad school scores had expired) to go to vet school. I'm one of those freaks who LOVES standardized tests, but for normal people I think Kaplan's books (I think this is the second or third time I've plugged them on this board -- I don't work for them, I swear!) are great for strategy. Actual knowledge is, sadly, much less important than...........I don't know, call it test-taking gamesmanship, on the GRE. There are a handful of tricks that make it a MUCH easier (and faster) test, and I think Kaplan does a good job of teaching them.

 

[cows93]

I took the GRE 2x first time had an 1160 second time 1320 all I did in between is go back over the math rules. the verbal also improved by about 100 points bu I feel that was just the luck of the draw. The first tie I had word I still have never heard of an could not tear down into Latin prefixes etc. The second time I knew or could rationalized the meanings of the words.

 

[twelvetigers]

I thought I did really well on it the first time, but after seeing some of these scores, I think I need to give it another go. I'd be really curious to hear some advice on the written parts. I'm pretty sure that my essays were acceptable, but they must have been lacking some key feature that they're looking for. One of my things I was given to write about was just, ugh... I know it's all about HOW you writ and not WHAT you're writing about, but when you can't even think of what to say?

I also had to take the biology GRE for my lovely school... anyone else here take that one?

 

[researchvet]

Once. My advice: Don't take the GRE until you are getting a reasonable score on the practice exams. It seems like some people take it without much studying, viewing the actual test as a practice. Each school has its own policy regarding how they will look at multiple takes.

 

[projekt]

I took it twice. The first time I paced the math wrong and got ~600 because I didn't complete the section. Anyone who knows me knows that's absurd. I took it again and got an 800, and my verbal went up too.

 

[Steelmagghia]

I took it once.
Verbal: 660
Quantitative: 770
Analytical: 4.5

Like others have said, I would definitely recommend actually studying a fair amount before taking it. And practice EVERY section, not just one. I ONLY studied for the math section (I tutor calculus, made an A in my college course, but I haven't even PRETENDED to look at geometry since Jr. High school). I could have done considerably better on the writing had I practiced it.

Also, USE THE SOFTWARE that ETS provides (go to the website, when you sign up for the GRE, you can request the free software to practice the tests). It will help prepare you for the electronic format of the test. That was the hardest part for me because you can't skip questions you don't know and go back. Plus, the next question's difficulty (and therefore point value) is decided by how you do on the current question.

 

[VAgirl]

Just once. And I can't remember my scores off the top of my head, but they were good. I only studied for a week (the test isn't hard) but I think I studied the right things. In my opinion, the right things are:

• Review the basic math rules as well as the tips and tricks in any book on how to take the GRE. Make sure you know 180 deg in a triangle, 360 in circle, and all those basic rules. Also be sure you're familiar with the different types of math problems...there are really a small number of different ones.
• Review the tips and tricks for solving verbal problems. Different sentences you can make with the analogies to see the relationships, how to eliminate ones that don't fit, etc.
• Do some practice sections (on paper is ok at first) just to get a little bit familiar with the types of problems and to practice working through them with the tips and tricks.
• Do practice tests (timed and on the computer). Adding those two elements in makes such a difference. It's really weird at first and you shouldn't be getting used to it on the day of the test. You can't just write on a math problem, you have to recopy anything you want to write on top of to your scratch paper and that takes time.

That's all I did. I started to notice that my scores on all practice tests were really consistent, so I went ahead and took the test (I had a looming grad school testing deadline, anyhow). For verbal, as everyone has said, it's really hard to study for that. Best bet is to start reading as much as you can as early as you can for fun. Worked for me.

I should probably add, though, that I took a Princeton Review Prep Course for the SATs many years earlier. The two tests are so ridiculously alike, that served me very well in the tips and tricks department.

Oh, and I never practiced for the writing part. I think I got a 5.5... I just didn't think it was that bad. I've done a ton of writing over the years, though. Both for school and for my FT jobs. Maybe that helped.

 

[driveshorses]

Why ya'll be taking the test upwards of four times?

One should be da limit. It's duh GRE, not da MCAT.

 

[Steelmagghia]

Why ya'll be taking the test upwards of four times?

One should be da limit. It's duh GRE, not da MCAT.

🙄

I'm sure you did wonderfully on the writing section.

 

[driveshorses]

Mie Skool doesn't kunsider da writing sex-shun.

Werd, I never in my life took a stand-erd-eyez'd test more than wuhns.

Life is 2short.

 

[VetMed555]

Once. I only took it once and I was going through some very difficult emotional times, so I'm really surprised I did OK. I scored 710Q, 550V and 5.0A. Keep in mind, English is my second language, so I was pretty darn happy to score in the 74 percent of all Gre-takers for my verbal section. I know without another year of preparation, I couldn't improve my verbal score, and I was OK with my math score already, so I figured "what's the point?" It's competitive enough. It's not a fun test overall. I don't mind the material, but the fact that it's timed just makes me feel uneasy.
I had a GRE class once a week (part of an internship) for 9 weeks, which only helped with math, because it was a good review of things you just don't remember (like geometry). I think for verbal, you have to start early (a year or so in advance) and vocab. words study mostly helped me. I also had Kaplan, Baron, and official ETS Gre preparation books and WordSmart CDs. I personally like Kaplan a lot. However, my score is pretty average, so I'm not sure my advice is that great =)