<p>I have been in contact with a potential future mentor at the top PhD program I'm looking at who says they only ask for an 1100 on the GRE for the students they are interested in. At first I was happy because I thought that would be a breeze, but practice test after practice test I'm scoring in the low 500's on each section. </p>
<p>So clearly I'm freaking out because I really want to work with this person and as much studying as I've been doing my score just isn't improving.</p>
<p>The App. is due on the 15th of December. They said if your official GRE scores aren't in at that point you can just send unofficial numbers and they'll get the official one's later. </p>
<p>So now I'm trying to figure out what to do, I'm considering a tutor. I really don't want to take a class, my schedule is not very flexible and I figure a tutor could focus on my individual weaknesses.</p>
<p>Has anyone tried a tutor? Also what do you think is a reasonable price to pay?
Any advice?</p>
<p>Want to improve a couple hundred’s point on GRE in lese than a month (in your case, is 15 days) is not realistic. Maybe Lower your expectation a bit, and find schools that have better match to your qualification in terms of the GRE score. At least, that is what I will do in your situation.</p>
<p>Think this way, there might be quite a number of students getting contact with your potential mentor at the same time as you, and if he is from a great university, I bet those students would have pretty decent academics merit which of course includes great GRE score. After all, the better the program, the stronger the competition is. </p>
<p>I could not imagine getting a GRE of 1340 (not the best, but I am satisfied) if I have not been studying it for 2 months, but English is not my primary language. So I am not entirely sure if the time of preparation would apply to native language speaker (especially in the verbal part)</p>
<p>I'm really bad at standardized tests as well and after studying and taking practice exams, my scores are laughable. I'm worried and am hoping that the programs I am particularly interested in will look past my GREs and look at my grades, accomplishments, and research interests. In the meantime, I am looking at additional schools who may not be as interested in GREs. I agree with rick in that you should be seeking out additional schools and don't get too attached to the idea of working with this particular researcher. There may be other researchers just as competent and interesting in your field at other universities that don't have minimum GRE preferences.</p>
<p>Or if you're really set on working with the professor, maybe you could wait a year, giving you more time to bring up your scores?</p>
<p>What GRE prep books have you tried, if any? Barron's has a good one, esp for vocab. Sometimes review of vocab and strategies can help. I personally would prep like crazy and give it a shot, and if it doesn't happen, either wait until next year or have other program applications completed that have a lower requirement or don't require GRE at all. If we knew more about your other stats, geographic requirements, and field, maybe we could help recommend another place.</p>
<p>if you can memorize really quickly, i would try to take it again...i'd recommend using a mix of the vocab from princeton review, kaplan, arco, and the top 300 words from barrons. i'd recommend princeton review and kaplan for math reviews. if you crash on GRE prep for a week or two and are dedicated, you can pull it off. though be warned, sample tests from kaplan or barrons will usually give you lower scores than what you can expect on the real test. the powerprep software from ETS is usually the most accurate indicator. and if you can't get your scores up to at least a 12-1300, i'd think it would be in your best interest to wait a year. you want to apply with your best foot forward, and while GREs don't really test anything in my opinion, you probably want at least a decent score as a baseline.</p>
<p>I think that the Barron's book could help you... the vocabulary list is great, and they provide some useful tips and hints for the quantitative section. However, I'm not sure if two weeks is enough study time. And I agree with the other posters: maybe you should consider other schools as well. Even if you improve your score, you can't be sure that you will be accepted to that particular program.</p>
<p>I would give it a shot, and think it's totally possible. The Barron's probably would be good, as the vocabulary is the biggest hurdle on the test. Really, you're nearly there- you're getting low 500's, and you just need 550 on each section.</p>
<p>I studied vocab words for months, and it paid off. I ended up with a 720Q and 740V, but started with a 690Q and 590V. Vocab lists help so much, but you have to put in the time. I am not sure it can be done in 15 days, but I would try.
As for practice tests, Kaplan was right on, Barron's score underestimated my ability, and the ETS powerprep gave me consistently higher scores than I ultimately got (like 1560s!).
Good luck...i know your stress!
a</p>
<p>This is my second time around for taking the GRE's. I'm a master's student now and just wanted to improve my score for the PhD programs. </p>
<p>I have studied Barron's, memorized the 333 frequency words + other words on the list that I didn't easily recognize (however I have not memorized every word in the English language), I've gone through their math review, as well as used the GRE for dummies book.</p>
<p>But with all of the studying and reviewing I've done I still score in the low 500's and I need at least a 550 in each. Which really isn't a dramatic score increase yet I'm not sure what else there is to do. I've used powerprep and the official GRE prep book from ETS for my practice test scores. </p>
<p>Also, I'm applying to other programs (clearly I have no reason to be so confident not to). It's just that this place is my hands down number one and there is a perfect fit in regards to research. Plus my potential mentors and I get along great. Everything else on my app. looks great especially research, it's just these darn GRE's that bug me. </p>
<p>Honestly, I think part of it's mental. If they would have liked a 1200 I think I'd consistently be scoring in the low 1100's. But since it's 1100's I cant break 1050.</p>
<p>i don't think there's anything more inconsistent than GRE scores (particularly verbal). and i think the practice tests (i used kaplan) aren't particularly predictive either.</p>
<p>i wrote practice kaplans two days, and 1 day before the test. my verbal scores were 650 then 620. so i got a 620 the day before the test. i ended up scoring a 780 (yeah hello! i was surprised). </p>
<p>so i don't really put too much weight on the practice tests - though i have heard the ETS made ones are pretty predictively accurate.</p>
<p>i think Barrons and Kaplan make their practice tests much harder just so you get a lower score and when you take the real one it's always going to be much higher. This way you think WOW I use to score 1240 on my practice tests and with the help of _______ (Kaplan, Barrons, Princeton Review, etc.) My score increased to a 1400. When originally your score would have been much higher if you would have taken a practice test from ETS instead of the other companies.</p>
<p>I'd like to warn you (and everyone else) against using the Princeton Review's study book. The verbal section is fine, but the quantitative section really screwed me the first time I took the test. The quant sections in the PR's practice tests are ridiculously easy. I was making 800's every time with 15 minutes left on the clock. I went into the real exam thinking the quant section was a complete joke, and I could take my sweet time on each question. I ended up running out of time with about a quarter of the questions left. Being an engineering student, this section is very important for me, so I had to throw the exam out, and I wasted a lot of money. </p>
<p>Moral of the story: Princeton Review sucks.</p>
<p>I agree, Princeton Review does suck. Their books under prepared me for the SAT IIs and I havent used them since. </p>
<p>I've found that pretty much across the board, Princeton Review is way easier than the actual test it's preparing you for, Kaplan's about the same difficulty as the test, and Barron's is slightly harder.</p>