"Strong" GRE scores?

[jack001]

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Hi everyone.

I am planning on applying to UMass Boston master's program in MHC. My question is about GRE scores. In their admissions page it reads:

"Counseling Program faculty recommend admission of applicants who present evidence of potential both to complete a graduate course of studies with distinction and to become thoughtful and responsive practitioners. Such evidence normally includes:

...

Strong scores on the Miller's Analogy Test (MAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)..."

http://www.umb.edu/academic_programs/gcoe/programs/counseling/mentalhealth/admissions.html

But that's the only mention I've found of the GRE scores. It's pretty vague.

I did the GRE and scored 570V, 520Q, and 4.5W. I confess that I really did not adequately prepare for it. Plus I was in a horrible mood that day and really distracted (for real - I'm not trying to make excuses). Anyway, my application would otherwise be strong. I graduated magna cum laude with a 3.7-something GPA. I can get 3-4 solid letters. I've done a ton of RA work. I've done 5 poster presentations, and will be having a paper published soon.

I've done some of the kind of work that they recommend "in a mental health, human services or equivalent setting." I'm also going to probably look to pick up some more experience in that too. (I'll probably be applying for fall 2011.)

Oh, I also scored 700-something on the GRE Psych test. I can't recall the exact score.

Anyway, is my GRE score something I should be concerned about? I really don't want to do it again.

 

[progter]

for a masters program I would think that is a sufficient score when coupled with your other qualifications. For a PhD I would say try again.

in my small experience w/ ppl apping to masters programs they seem to be looking for scores above 900, your 1090 should be fine but thats just my opinion

 

[jack001]

for a masters program I would think that is a sufficient score when coupled with your other qualifications. For a PhD I would say try again.

in my small experience w/ ppl apping to masters programs they seem to be looking for scores above 900, your 1090 should be fine but thats just my opinion

I'm sure I could do significantly better. For one thing, I didn't prep well. I took the GRE in early November. I had started prep in July and was diligent for a few weeks, but then did nothing in August through about early October. Then I kind of did some half-assed prep for the remainder. I also only did one practice test.

Dumb, I know. I have no idea why I did all this.

During the GRE, because of various things going on, I was in a foul mood and distracted because of that. In fact, for example, I answered some of the antonym questions as if they were questions about synonyms. My pacing sucked too (should definitely have done more practice tests), so I had to rush through a bunch of questions on both verbal and quant.

Well, as I said, I'm sure I could do better. But I've long disliked ETS and don't want to pay them even more and then have to waste more time and effort on this nonsense.

 

[psich]

What’s done is done…don’t beat yourself up about it. I think your GRE score is alright for MSW programs, but I think that breaking 1100 would help.

 

[jdawgg]

A 1090 will most likely be sufficient to get you into most MA programs as they're generally not very competitive. Since the school offers the option, I'd consider taking the MAT if you have a good vocabulary and like analogies. It's also cheaper and shorter, which is why I took it instead. I scored at the 95th percentile, which was more than enough to get me in...

 

[jnine]

In your essay you could briefly explain and attribute your low score to the distraction. Hi-light your higher psych GRE and other excellent qualifications. You might also contact program faculty/director and ask if they think you will be competitive.

 

[Schooled]

Go to any university library and search for this book:

http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4270092.aspx

There might be a 2010 version, I don't know. There is also an online version (http://psycinfo.apa.org/gradstudy/) that's $20 for 3 months of access.

In it you will find all kinds of interesting statistics from tons and tons of programs. Among them are the average GRE scores.

Now this is strictly for psychology programs. You won't find statistics on MSW programs for example.

Hope this helps! 🙂

 

[Big Psych]

Hi everyone.

I am planning on applying to UMass Boston master's program in MHC. My question is about GRE scores. In their admissions page it reads:

"Counseling Program faculty recommend admission of applicants who present evidence of potential both to complete a graduate course of studies with distinction and to become thoughtful and responsive practitioners. Such evidence normally includes:

...

Strong scores on the Miller's Analogy Test (MAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)..."

http://www.umb.edu/academic_programs/gcoe/programs/counseling/mentalhealth/admissions.html

But that's the only mention I've found of the GRE scores. It's pretty vague.

I did the GRE and scored 570V, 520Q, and 4.5W. I confess that I really did not adequately prepare for it. Plus I was in a horrible mood that day and really distracted (for real - I'm not trying to make excuses). Anyway, my application would otherwise be strong. I graduated magna cum laude with a 3.7-something GPA. I can get 3-4 solid letters. I've done a ton of RA work. I've done 5 poster presentations, and will be having a paper published soon.

I've done some of the kind of work that they recommend "in a mental health, human services or equivalent setting." I'm also going to probably look to pick up some more experience in that too. (I'll probably be applying for fall 2011.)

Oh, I also scored 700-something on the GRE Psych test. I can't recall the exact score.

Anyway, is my GRE score something I should be concerned about? I really don't want to do it again.

I also bombed the GRE (570 verbal, 350 Quan), despite having a 122 IQ. My MA program will accept either the Psychology GRE or the MAT. So I'm just going to go that route. The MAT seems pretty easy (I scored 90+% on the practice exams w/o study) and the Psych GRE looks easy to prep for. You might try going that route. Or, if you wait until August 2011, the new GRE will be out, and it's supposed to be more about reading comprehension than silly vocab words that you'll never use.

 

[PsychGraduate]

I also bombed the GRE (570 verbal, 350 Quan), despite having a 122 IQ. My MA program will accept either the Psychology GRE or the MAT. So I'm just going to go that route. The MAT seems pretty easy (I scored 90+% on the practice exams w/o study) and the Psych GRE looks easy to prep for. You might try going that route. Or, if you wait until August 2011, the new GRE will be out, and it's supposed to be more about reading comprehension than silly vocab words that you'll never use.

Only things are: the GRE in 2011 will have some trick and trap questions still based upon inference and a computer adaptive test algorithm, however, not every question will have the CAT format anymore.

 

[PsychGraduate]

Hi everyone.

I am planning on applying to UMass Boston master's program in MHC. My question is about GRE scores. In their admissions page it reads:

"Counseling Program faculty recommend admission of applicants who present evidence of potential both to complete a graduate course of studies with distinction and to become thoughtful and responsive practitioners. Such evidence normally includes:

...

Strong scores on the Miller's Analogy Test (MAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)..."

http://www.umb.edu/academic_programs/gcoe/programs/counseling/mentalhealth/admissions.html

But that's the only mention I've found of the GRE scores. It's pretty vague.

I did the GRE and scored 570V, 520Q, and 4.5W. I confess that I really did not adequately prepare for it. Plus I was in a horrible mood that day and really distracted (for real - I'm not trying to make excuses). Anyway, my application would otherwise be strong. I graduated magna cum laude with a 3.7-something GPA. I can get 3-4 solid letters. I've done a ton of RA work. I've done 5 poster presentations, and will be having a paper published soon.

I've done some of the kind of work that they recommend "in a mental health, human services or equivalent setting." I'm also going to probably look to pick up some more experience in that too. (I'll probably be applying for fall 2011.)

Oh, I also scored 700-something on the GRE Psych test. I can't recall the exact score.

Anyway, is my GRE score something I should be concerned about? I really don't want to do it again.

However, the Princeton Review 2011 GRE prep book: Cracking the GRE is absolutely the best. I use that book solely with my students now.