Bombed GRE Verbal >.< - engineering grad school

Graduate School
1

<p>The test I took yesterday was much harder than what I prepared for. I was scoring in the 70+ percentile on the verbal using ETS's powerprep II software and other practice tests consistently. I only made a 152 (53 percentile:( ) on the verbal yesterday.
First verbal section went pretty well (I assumed it went well since they threw something ridiculous at me in the second verabal section). I didn't even have time to finish the second section (had to fill in random answers on 3 questions at the end). What they gave me was totally uncalled for, it actually kinda ****ed me off during the test, especially when you see question after question where you have no idea.
This is the end of my rant.</p>

<p>Anyways, I will be applying to aerospace engineering grad schools. I know most of you are going to tell me that engineering grad schools will not typically care about verbal scores.
My top choices (caltech and princeton) care a lot about GRE scores, even the verbal sections. This is from inside people. It can also be deduced from their average admitted vs average applicant scores. Princeton's engineering admits averaged 161 on the verbal, while the applicants averaged 158.
It doesn't help that I'm far below their average either. Even for the less competitive, but still highly ranked schools, my verbal score is still a lot below average.
My main adviser have told me that other schools and professors and even himself have declined students in the past for having low verbal scores and what he considered low was below 70%....</p>

<p>Idk what to do. I plan on retaking it, but yesterday's score was really discouraging and I feel like I'm going to do just as bad. </p>

<p>From a studying point of view, I feel like I've put in enough time. I don't have much more time to put in. I hate having to memorize an additional 1000 words just to have a few show up on the test. But, I think it was the reading comprehension in the second section that screwed me over. This is not something that you can improve in a few months. It takes years of reading to be good at that...</p>

<p>I made this long thread, but I can't figure out what I'm going to ask. I'll edit it later once I figure it out.</p>

2

<p>If you know that the schools you plan to apply to care about GRE scores, you don’t have much choice but to take the test again.</p>

<p>I don’t think it necessarily takes years of reading to get better at the reading comprehension. I actually think it’s much more doable to get better at reading comprehension than to greatly increase your vocabulary in the same amount of time.</p>

<p>Perhaps, it was how you studied the first time, rather than the amount of time you put in. Did you work through prep books or did you take a class? Perhaps, doing whichever one you didn’t do the first time might help you increase your score. I’m very much not a verbal person (and not much of a reader, either) so I got a couple verbal prep books and just worked through the problems. For me, just practicing the types of questions they were going to ask was enough (and I was in the >90%, but I don’t remember what exactly), but I was always pretty good at taking standardized tests. For you, you might need to try something else.</p>

<p>What was it about the reading comprehension that tripped you up? Was it the time limit? Did you overanalyze what they were asking? Were you just frustrated at the harder questions in the second question? All of these can be rectified (or at least improved) in a few months of work, not a few years. Would a tutor help? You could ask a verbally inclined friend to help you out, or find someone experienced in tutoring this particular section. Explaining the reasoning behind the answer (or the process that someone went through to figure out the answer) could help you, and after enough practice, you might be able to find yourself able to follow the same train of thought.</p>

<p>Also, read, read, read. And think critically about what you read. You can read anything you want, but I really do think it helps you be able to process written text quicker and more efficiently.</p>

<p>If vocabulary was the issue, trying to learn some GRE words would probably be the best bet. I was never very good at memorizing definitions of words, so I just did tons of practice problems. After a while, I started picking up on the frequently used words, and I could use context clues to figure out the rest. There may be tips and tricks that prep books or experienced GRE tutors might be able to give you. If you do enough problems and if you do them frequently enough, you might be able to start thinking the same way.</p>

<p>You might also find that just being flustered on the test affected your score. The second time, you might do much better (more akin to what you were getting in your practice tests) just because you know what to expect and are better prepared for what the test might give you.</p>

<p>Best of luck! It sucks now, but this is just another stepping stone to get into the program that best fits you. Try to learn from this test, readjust your study plans, and forge ahead. Really competitive programs probably care more about GRE scores just because they can. When you’re selecting from top applicants, you have to eliminate people some way. But don’t let that discourage you! You can get into a great program, but you may have to work a little harder to do so.</p>

3

<p>Hi. Thanks for the reply. </p>

<p>I would say I “used” to be good at taking standarized tests. I think I got a 2300+ on the SAT, but my reading and vocab has definitely gone down throughout my college years :(.
Even after studying, I am having trouble getting those skills back. It’s not like math where things from many years ago can come back instantly. </p>

<p>As for studying, I just did a few practice tests (scored 70%+ percentile in all verbal sections). I took a GRE course this summer that was apart of my REU program and we used Kaplan’s book and his suggestions on how to attack the verbal section. </p>

<p>It’s just what I encountered on the real test yesterday totally caught me by surprise. I was expecting around the same score I was getting on all the practice tests (I got pretty consistent scores on multiple tests). </p>

<p>I ran out of time on the second verbal section. There was one reading comprehension question that I , admittedly, spent way too much time on. That was a big factor contributing to me running out of time. Another factor was that the difficulty in the second section was MUCH harder (both vocabulary and reading comprehension) than anything I’ve encountered before.
In the first section, I knew 90%+ of the words in the answer choices. In the second section, there was a bunch of words that I’ve never seen before, so I need to improve my vocabulary as well. I just really hate having to memorize so many words just so a few will show up on a test, but I’ll have to do it. </p>

<p>I usually excel under pressure and consequently, thought I’d score even higher on the actual test than on the practice tests. This part’s a bit discouraging. </p>

<p>I’ll need to practice much more. I’m not sure how much more time I can put into studying for the GRE given all the other things I still have to do (classes, research on the side, grad school applications, GRFP application, other fellowships apps, etc…). </p>

<p>Btw, when did you take the revised GRE? Which prep books did you use? </p>

<p>I’m probably going to buy the GRE for dummies book in addition to my Kaplan book. My GRE course instructor told us that Princeton Review GRE prep kinda sucks (something about there being a lot of mistakes in the book or something). I constantly hear and see “international” students scoring unbelievably high on the verbal section. I’m curious to know how they do it. It must be something to do with testing strategy and figuring out tricks rather than actually having a deep and broad understanding of English.</p>

4

<p>I took the GRE last September (2012), and I had Kaplan’s GRE book, Kaplan’s verbal GRE workbook, Barron’s essential words for the GRE (don’t know if they have a revised GRE version, but I figured the vocabulary hadn’t changed that much), and ETS’s official GRE book. I went through Kaplan’s GRE book, and I did a couple of each section in Kaplan’s verbal GRE book but I didn’t have time to finish it. I did a couple of sections of the Barron’s vocab book but I don’t do very well memorizing definitions to words so I stopped. I got Kaplan mostly because they gave a lot of practice tests, and I did those and the ETS ones in the week leading up to the test. By now, they probably have better stuff that’s more in tune with the new test that you can use.</p>

<p>I would just recommend practicing as much as you can, reading the descriptions of what you get wrong and why, figuring out some tips or tricks to tackle sections (even one’s where you don’t know the definitions of the words), and just being calm and confident going into the test. A lot of times I could guess the right answer just by having a vague idea about the word (knowing if it was positive or negative, for instance), rather than knowing the actual definition of it. Knowing roots or reading a lot of stuff with a high vocabulary level might also help you figure out words that you don’t know the exact definition of, bu that you see on the test.</p>

<p>Again, though, now you know what might happen on the test, and by not getting frustrated at it, you might be able to do much better with additional practice and preparedness.</p>

5

<p>Did you do the on-line practice tests at ETS site or just books. If you haven’t already, do the online practice test since it will give you a better feel for test than simply studying book.</p>

6

<p>Ah cool, I will have to check out Barron’s book. I do need to work on my roots. Sometimes, I just forget to use tricks on a test such as looking at roots instead of just randomly guessing.</p>

<p>scmom12, I took both practice tests from ETS (using the PowerprepII software) - both tests were actual GRE tests. Are those the online tests you are referring to?</p>

<p>Btw if anyone’s used powerprep II, does the difficulty of the second section change depending on how well you do on the first section like the real test?</p>

7

<p>How did you do on the writing section? My son scored the same on math and verbal, but did horrible on the writing. We were hoping he wouldn’t have to retake the test, since it is very expensive, but decided to invest in the ScoreItNow program to help bring up his writing score. He also downloaded the free Powerprep software and hope he can bring up his math and verbal scores, but he’s not a good tester and I’m not too hopeful he’ll do too much better than he did on his first, dry run. First test, he just basically read the test info and worked the practice tests online, not too much prep, no pressure. Son will also be applying to engineering grad schools. He’s got some very selective ones on his list, unfortunately, so I’m not too hopeful. He’s choosing them based on the work they do, not on prestige, but unfortunately, he’s picking the Cadillacs rather than the Kias.</p>

8

<p>I haven’t gotten my Analytical score yet. I’m not too worried about that (expecting a 4.5+).
My GRE course instructor gave us some pretty helpful advice on the writing, such making up stuff on the essays.
I can send you the little booklet with tips if you want. </p>

<p>From what I’ve heard, private institutions, at least in engineering, are more selective than public ones. Princeton publishes their applicant vs admitted student vs. enrolled student average GRE scores per major on their website. Even for engineers, their average applicant scores a 158 on V, but average admitted is a 161. </p>

<p>I did get a 170 on math, but I will probably end up retaking it to improve my verbal.</p>

9

<p>Thank you for the offer of the booklet. Very kind of you. </p>

<p>Son did not finish the first essay, and barely finished the second one. He was thrown off by being slammed with the essay first thing. </p>

<p>How does one find the GRE scores of the accepted grad students at the different colleges?</p>

<p>That was a question son had. What is and what isn’t a good score. Of course, percentile will give you an idea, but he doesn’t know how to judge. His dad blew his top over the percentile of the writing, but I’m wondering, based on your satisfaction with a 4.5, if son’s writing really wasn’t as bad as we’re thinking, ie, it will doom him to not be accepted into grad school. Son scored much less than a 4.5, but he could probably bring it up to a 4.5 on the next go round with some test prep and getting over the first time jitters. I’m not hoping for a writing score much higher than that, though, just based on his performance on past standardized tests and their writing sections. Just not his forte.</p>

10

<p>How important GRE scores (and the relative importance of each section) varies school to school and within that, professor to professor. I would say that the analytical is the least important part as not a lot of people seem to even talk about it.
This is the one for Princeton, which is the highest I’ve ever seen for verbal.
[Graduate</a> Admission - A Princeton Profile](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/pub/profile/admission/graduate/]Graduate”>http://www.princeton.edu/pub/profile/admission/graduate/)
Not sure what the absence of analytical writing scores on their website means.
Supposedly, Caltech’s reqs are even higher.
I want to say that I really doubt these schools would decline an applicant based on GRE scores, but that may not be true for the most selective schools (not necessarily ranked the highest).</p>