<p>Riiiiiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhttttt!!!
Now that was hilarious.</p>
<p>my favorite quotation:</p>
<p>"This is how it works: You first tutor me for free until I take the real GMAT."</p>
<p>This is my favorite:</p>
<p>"What happens after you tutor me </p>
<p>When I see my unofficial score for the GMAT, I will then decide how much to pay you in cold cash. Then, you will be flying back home to tell all your friends about how much money you have made by tutoring me."</p>
<p>I disagree completely with harvard on the previous page, and the statistics bear me out:</p>
<p>1) Few people who retake significantly improve their scores. I have a friend who scored 1260 on his first try, studied for an extra six months while completing his MA, took it again before the holidays and scored... 1290.</p>
<p>2) Statistically, the GRE is a far better predictor of performance in grades and other academic criteria than undergraduate GPA. It is also a very good indicator of future professional performance. That is because...</p>
<p>3) The GRE is not a "hoop" - it is essentially a culture-specific IQ test (given the verbal component) and accepted as such by all high-IQ societies with the exception of Mensa.</p>
<p>4) They wouldn't be statistics if there weren't exceptions - they would be laws. Some people do go on to excellent careers despite poor GREs.</p>
<p>5) In terms of anecdotal evidence, my own observations are that there is an inverse relationship between a person's GRE score and his/her tendency to say they mean nothing.</p>
<p>puppydog said:
"In terms of anecdotal evidence, my own observations are that there is an inverse relationship between a person's GRE score and his/her tendency to say they mean nothing."</p>
<p>For the record... my scores were: 740 Verbal, 800 Math, 800 Analytic</p>
<p>"Statistically, the GRE is a far better predictor of performance in grades and other academic criteria than undergraduate GPA"</p>
<p>Where is this statistic coming from? If you have a study to show us, please provide the link.</p>
<p>Great scores!</p>
<p>Campbell, J. P., Gasser, M. B., & Oswald, F. L. (1996). The substantive nature of job performance variability. In K. R. Murphy (Ed.), Individual differences and behavior in organizations(pp. 258-299). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Campbell, J. P., Kuncel, N. R., & Oswald, F. L. (1998, April). Predicting performance in graduate school: The criterion problem. In J. P. Campbell and D. S. Ones (Chairs), Selection into I/O Graduate Programs: Focus on GRE Validity. Symposium presented at the 1998 conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Dallas, TX.
Kuncel, N. R.,Hezlett, S. A., & Ones, D. S. (2004). Academic performance, career potential, creativity, and job performance: Can one construct predict them all? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology[Special Section, Cognitive Abilities: 100 Years after Spearman (1904)], 86, 148-161.
Kuncel, N. R.,Hezlett, S. A., & Ones, D. S. (2001). A comprehensive meta-analysis of the predictive validity of the Graduate Record Examinations: Implications for graduate student selection and performance. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 162-181.
Schmidt, F. L., Hunter, J. E., & Outerbridge, A. H. (1986). Impact of job experience and ability on job knowledge, work sample performance, and supervisory ratings of job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 432-439.</p>
<p>And let's not get personal! My GRE scores were good enough for what I needed. I'm simply saying that those who poo-poo GRE scores are inaccurate and, in my opinion, incorrect in their assessment of the extent to which they matter for grad acceptance committees, especially at the top schools. Put yourself in a grad director's shoes: two applicants, both 4.0s at the MA level, both with glowing recommendations (obviously), both with excellent statements of purpose... and one with a 1350 GRE and the other with a 1420. How do you justify choosing the lower one? Very tough.</p>
<p>So to summarize... I think there were 3 views expressed (so far) on this thread:</p>
<p>(1) The GREs are meaningless, and not worth much preparation because grad committees don't care.
(2) The GREs are meaningless, but they should still should be taken seriously, and prepared for, because adcoms do look at them (not necessarily as signifiers of intelligence per se). A corollary of this view is that one CAN prep for the exams.
(3) The GREs are positively correlated with academic aptitude and matter in the admissions process. A corollary of this view is that preparation is of limited use beyond a certain point because you cannot appreciably exceed your ability no matter how much you prep.</p>
<p>Is that a fair summary?</p>
<p>Absolutely. I still think those who maintain that adcoms don't care are deluding themselves. Science programs may not care for verbal, and humanities may not care too much for quant, but I think everyone cares a little, at least, and a lot, at most.</p>
<p>I agree... they DO matter... anecdotes aside of people bombing them and still getting in to great programs... I really think those are the exceptions not the rule.</p>
<p>At the PhD program where I applied, the Graduate School does not even forward applications of students who score less than 1300 on the GRE.</p>
<p>It's really difficult seeing all the high GRE scores the majority of you are reporting. I haven't taken the GRE yet, but based on a practice CAT I took (provided with Barron's GRE guide), I'm in poor shape. The assessment test I took scored me at around 950. I have improved my verbal considerably, and today I broke 600 on the CAT verbal (1150 Q+V), but my quantitative still SUCKS!! I can't break 600 on it, which is horrible considering I'd like to get into a biology program. This is really bad considering scoring around 700 is only around the 73rd percentile (according to Princeton's GRE guide). I always felt like one of the brighter students in college, but clearly my GRE score will be a huge handicap. I'm just not fast enough to complete all the problems in the quantitative. Anyone else have time issues with the quant section? And for all of you who have scored above 700 on the quant, how the heck did you manage? Any advice for prep?</p>
<p>Sorry, should have been more clear. My original assessment was 950 and I scored 1150 on the practice CAT I took, and by the way, I think Barron's assessment undercuts what you would probably really score originally so when you take the practice CAT you believe their guide has helped you improve a great deal. Just my two cents.</p>
<p>My "score 800 on quantitative" advice:
1. Spend way more time on the first 10 questions than on the rest; they're more heavily weighted in the final score.
2. Do as many practice problems as you can get your hands on.</p>
<p>I got 650V 650Q 6.0A, and I haven't had any problems with master's programs.</p>
<p>But, I've already been told by a number of top 10 poli sci PhD programs that when I start applying, that Q score better go up.</p>
<p>UCLAri, you have excellent combined scores. If I can get to your level with Q and V combined I should be in good shape for most of the programs I'm interested in. I know for schools like Cornell's biology program I would probably need 1400 or above, but that's not a program I'm looking at. Basically, I think without a 700 or greater quant I'm in bad shape for biology programs.</p>
<p>My scores were good enough for MAs, but will hurt me when it comes to PhD programs. I'll have to retake the test next year, unfortunately. C'est la vie.</p>
<p>I'm in bad shape as well for poli sci programs with anything under 700.</p>
<p>"The GRE is not a "hoop" - it is essentially a culture-specific IQ test (given the verbal component) and accepted as such by all high-IQ societies with the exception of Mensa"</p>
<p>Everyone has a different take on the GRE it seems . . . I have a difficult time taking the GRE seriously because I had a 4.0 undergrad and an IQ in genius range (seriously) and scored relatively low on both sections (490V, 740Q). I HIGHLY doubt the GRE is an indicator of IQ or academic success. </p>
<p>You have to be able to study to increase your score. Being unaware of certain math formulas can make you score lower on Q, and not knowing the definition of such irrelevant words as "hackneyed" (?) can make you score lower on verbal. The GRE is definitely not an IQ test. It's a test of one's ability to memorize loads of information you'll never use again. Just like the SATs.</p>
<p>Hackneyed? That's a pretty common word, as far as I'm concerned. Try getting "Pulchritudinous..."</p>