I'm in GRE hell...

[Martee527]

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I have submitted the applications anyway but, my GRE score is so bad I'm embarrassed to say it... Am I the only one??? I've taken it three times and each time my hands are shaking so bad that the mouse is hard to control. Guess I have gre-anxiety!

Does anyone else have a competitive application but, a horrible GRE score?! What is my problem??! I feel so defeated.

 

[maconway]

mine is not that bad considering i'm not a native english speaker and it takes me a little while to read things (i always ran out of time).

i feel that some people are not good at taking standardized test which has nothing to do with their intelligence. this is why i think more emphasis should be on your grades in school, evaluations, and animal experience.

 

[rileyroo]

I have submitted the applications anyway but, my GRE score is so bad I'm embarrassed to say it... Am I the only one??? I've taken it three times and each time my hands are shaking so bad that the mouse is hard to control. Guess I have gre-anxiety!

Does anyone else have a competitive application but, a horrible GRE score?! What is my problem??! I feel so defeated.

yes. the gre will be what keeps me out of vet school. i'm convinced. 🙁

 

[AUhopeful]

I agree, the GRE is going to be demise of my application! I am retaking it on the 7th and hopefully it will go up. I have great references, diverse experience and slightly above average GPA. I believe this test does not actually test your skills and that plenty of good candidates get rejected because they have lower scores. But I guess we should keep our hopes up and kick butt in the interviews to make up for the GRE! Good luck

 

[IHeartGoldens]

Hey all..
I'm so depressed right now I'm basically convinced I will never get into a school. I took the test today and did terrible as well.
Anyway, I think this is going to make my application go from borderline to "no"

 

[bschliewe]

Do you struggle with a certain section? Or is it all of them? I tutor for the GRE, and have recently done very well on it. I was a horrible test taker, and then when I realized WHAT WORKS FOR ME, in studying and keeping me level headed during the exam, it made a world of difference.

If you are a poor test taker, you really need to figure out why. Is it anxiety? How you approach the test? Or do you just go too fast and miss a key word or hint needed?

When I studied, I did a lot of practice problems/tests, and every time I got one wrong, I wrote it down on my wrong answer log. I wrote the type of question, how I initially felt when I saw the question, what the answer is, why I got it wrong, and then what area I need to go back and study.

It is time consuming, but it helps to pinpoint why you get questions wrong.

 

[IHeartGoldens]

I think it's the time factor. I had a lot of tutoring and did really well on the mock exams. Come test day, all hell breaks loose.

 

[shortnsweet]

Aww I only took the GRE once...got a 1070..yes you read that right...and am currently just getting back from the Glasgow Vet School Ceilidh (kind of like a square dance)...and getting ready for anatomy lab tomorrow...

GREs will NOT keep you away from your dreams...you experiences, your interviews, your schoolwork, and you personalities will help you buffer those scores...don't lose hope!!!! 🙂

 

[DickVetPlease]

Aww I only took the GRE once...got a 1070..yes you read that right...and am currently just getting back from the Glasgow Vet School Ceilidh (kind of like a square dance)...and getting ready for anatomy lab tomorrow...

GREs will NOT keep you away from your dreams...you experiences, your interviews, your schoolwork, and you personalities will help you buffer those scores...don't lose hope!!!! 🙂

Ceilidhs are crazy/awesome!!

 

[shortnsweet]

Ceilidhs are crazy/awesome!!

hahaha it was QUITE the experience..that's for sure

 

[IHeartGoldens]

Glasgow doesn't ask for GRE, correct? Because I didn't submit mine to them.
Anyway, I'm hoping for the best.

 

[shortnsweet]

Glasgow doesn't ask for GRE, correct? Because I didn't submit mine to them.
Anyway, I'm hoping for the best.

No, Glasgow does not require them...but it's not to say it will keep you out of the running for the schools who do either...

 

[IHeartGoldens]

Thank you 🙂

I guess there is nothing to do but wait! oh..and finish supplementals 🙂

 

[bschliewe]

I think it's the time factor. I had a lot of tutoring and did really well on the mock exams. Come test day, all hell breaks loose.

I had problems with timing as well. I would do great on practice exams, and they were timed. But then during the real test, I would get anxious and instead of focusing all of my attention on solving the problem, I would worry about my time. It is sooooo hard to quiet that little voice in your head the keeps repeating "time, time, look at the time, this is taking too long, you will run out of time."

When I would take practice tests and started to freak out about time, I got up and walked away from the test. It may sound crazy, but I eventually got sick of doing that and when I would try it again, I felt more determined and positive to just do it and get it done because I knew I could.

You just have to stay positive, and I know that's hard, but if you are a well rounded applicant and really want to be a vet, they will see it and your scores will start to show it.

 

[TrocarKarin]

Does anyone else have a competitive application but, a horrible GRE score?! What is my problem??! I feel so defeated.

I'm probably your polar opposite. I have a damn good GRE score, but an unimpressive GPA. I'm probably hoping that schools will heavily count the GRE, while you're hoping they'll ignore it. 🙂

 

[MAbovines]

I'm in vet school at the Atlantic veterinary college at UPEI, and my GRE was not very good either. I was also accepted to both schools i applied to (the other being WesternU).So don't get discouraged! My GPA was also not fantastic. Take a deep breath, and hopefully the schools you applied to will look past your GRE score and you'll be in vet school next year! I wish everyone good luck and I should get back to my anatomy notes....

 

[bruinvetman]

You don't understand how frustrated I am that vet schools place equal emphasis on GPA and the GRE. I've always been terrible on standardized tests (despite taking kaplan courses) but have a good GPA. I don't understand how the GRE is predicative of one's success in vet school.

 

[frozen_canadian]

I don't understand how the GRE is predicative of one's success in vet school.

GRE may not be predict success in vet school, but everyone has to take the NAVLE in order to practice. This is a difficult test, and if you don't do well on a standardized test, you may find the NAVLE tough to pass. This is why vet schools emphasize GRE so much. Just some perspective form someone who has been through the process. 🙂

 

[david594]

You don't understand how frustrated I am that vet schools place equal emphasis on GPA and the GRE. I've always been terrible on standardized tests (despite taking kaplan courses) but have a good GPA. I don't understand how the GRE is predicative of one's success in vet school.

Most schools weigh the GPA far heavier than the GRE.

 

[CorporateFatCat]

I agree with all of this. Just the fact that people study the heck out of this exam speaks for its inaccuracy in predicting success. I thought a proper standardized test was supposed to give everyone the same shot, thus making it really hard to score differently each time it is taken. Of course, I am only another poor test-taker who is complaining.😡

 

[Crazy Hippos]

What's the average GRE score for accepted vet students?

 

[twelvetigers]

Each school will have different averages. I think these are listed somewhere on AMCAS...

 

[nyanko]

I agree with all of this. Just the fact that people study the heck out of this exam speaks for its inaccuracy in predicting success. I thought a proper standardized test was supposed to give everyone the same shot, thus making it really hard to score differently each time it is taken. Of course, I am only another poor test-taker who is complaining.😡

How does the fact that people can study and do better on it make it inaccurate? I can think of a million things that might make the GRE a poor measure of whether one will do well in graduate school, but uhh, that is the worst example I've ever heard. If a person studies hard and greatly improves her score, that should be a POSITIVE indicator - she learned, adapted and improved.

The GRE is much, much more uniform than the same course across different institutions or hell, even different professors at the same institution. It's something they can use that puts everyone on equal ground and really only measures one thing: how well can a person prepare for and take a test? And correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there a lot of tests in the veterinary curriculum? 😉

Sure, it would be "better" if more schools decided to use the Biology GRE or maybe the MCAT (ugh that would NOT be fun!) exclusively, but really your experiences and GPA are what speak to your understanding of the concepts behind science and veterinary medicine. The GRE isn't perfect by any means (especially the writing section it sucks! 😉 ) but I don't really think it's horrible, either.

Then again, I'm in the same boat as TrocarKarin.

Signed,
she who has this argument at least once per application cycle

 

[david594]

How does the fact that people can study and do better on it make it inaccurate? I can think of a million things that might make the GRE a poor measure of whether one will do well in graduate school, but uhh, that is the worst example I've ever heard. If a person studies hard and greatly improves her score, that should be a POSITIVE indicator - she learned, adapted and improved.

Nyanko, I bet you will understand what I am saying here....

But why does everyone assume that the GRE is used for its positive predictive value? Maybe its more valuable as a screening test for its negative predictive value.

I think the MCAT would be the best test for us. Its standardized and tests heavily on the material that is most pertinent to our education. But I am sure no one would like to see that change happen(at least before they get in themselves).

In most places the GRE is usually only around 10% of the criteria, so its only a small part of the app.

 

[CorporateFatCat]

Okay, okay, no need criticize my opinion. I am purely ranting for the sake of those of us who are at the bottom of the GRE bell-curve. Perhaps the fact that people can study for it and get better is a good indicator, but look at these other folks. I'm sure we all studied our asses off (I know I did 🙄), and still didn't see favorable results. Now, I know I don't have a thousand dollars to spend on some private tutor or guided course, so why should the people who can have this advantage? I just think the structure of this test is rather outdated and thus probably doesn't have the accuracy it once had to predict a student's aptitude.

All I want to do now is complain and drink a milkshake 😍. Let's all just chill.

 

[Martee527]

I am so grateful for all of your responses!

This GRE issue is quite a struggle. Not sure what to do at this point. I will just have to keep trying!

It's an expensive test! ETS is making a lot of money from me. Hope they appreciate it.

 

[Mereafterthough]

A vet at my practice recently told me that she read an article in one of her vet journals that said more vet schools are focusing less on grades (GPA, GRE) and more on personality. They found that people with high grades dropped out more, thus grades are kind of a poor factor to rely on when it comes to choosing determined, well-rounded, awesome students. I just hope schools like Cornell who make grades 50% of their admissions "formula" brighten up and focus less on grades as well.