<p>So i took the GRE today and i was in awe when i saw my final result. I knew i didnt do well on the math because of time restraints. I had to guess on my last 3 questions and my last 4 were not even answered because it cut me off. </p>
<p>When i saw my final score it was 640 Q and 750 V</p>
<p>Now i wasnt surprised at my verbal score because i studied like a maniac for it, but the math felt like an arrow right thru my heart.</p>
<p>This wasnt my first time taking the GRE.</p>
<p>Last time i had 770 Q and 430V</p>
<p>So there is a HUGE discrepancy between my scores and i dont even know how to feel about this. </p>
<p>Do you guys thing that most schools will look at my highest score which would be 770Q/750V or just the highest overall?</p>
<p>Im going to grad school for chem engineering, 3.85 gpa, publications, lots of research blah blah but this GRE thing has me really confused. </p>
<p>I think this also proves how the GRE measures absolutely nothing.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>The GRE measures something, just not as much as people think. Mostly it just measures whether one had prepared for the test. IMO, there was a time when it did mean something…but that was decades ago. Now, it’s a test that people can study for, as easily as any other test. They (depending upon resources) will pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for books, tutors, and classes to acquire tricks and techniques to “best” the GRE or any other standardized test. So when I see people with extremely high scores now, it just doesn’t have the same effect as in the past. Geez, an entire industry has sprouted just to teach test takers how to take the test.</p>
<p>Take the Rubik’s cube. Before solutions were handed out like candy on Halloween, it was quite an impressive feat for people to solve it. Now people can study the solutions. And so solving it has lost its value. It’s the same with the GRE IMO.</p>
<p>Fortunately, grad schools for many fields know this too. And as long as the GRE scores aren’t too low, they have focused more on other areas in the selection process.</p>
<p>Going from a 770 to a 640 on the Quantitative is unusual but not something that would be considered inexplicable. On the other hand, going from a 430 to a 750 on the Verbal is about as close to impossible as something can get. It is rare to see any improvement between tests on the verbal section so an increase of this magnitude is just not going to be seen as credible. A 430V is a low average score while a 750V puts you at the top of the distribution. While studying math can improve your Q score it is almost impossible to significantly increase one’s verbal score.</p>
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<p>[citation needed]</p>
<p>Seriously, how do you know it’s impossible to increase a verbal score? Wouldn’t reading more, building your vocabulary, improving your comprehension speed, etc. all feed into a better verbal score?</p>
<p>Its not impossible because ive clearly done it. The reason my quant score dropped is because i got stuck on a few problems which caused me to run out of time and not attempt the last 4 while guessing on the last 3. </p>
<p>As for the verbal, i bought every single book that preps you for it. Whenever i came across words i didnt know i wrote it down. I did all of the Big Book tests published by ETS, writing down all the words i didnt know while getting practice at the same time. Then i also did a couple of other programs where i wrote the words i didnt know. In the end i ended up learning more than 2000 words.</p>
<p>Now everybody knows that verbal section involves a significant amount of luck. It just so happened that i knew almost every single word that popped up on the screen. I had some questions repeat from Big Book and a few from Powerprep. I wasnt surprised at all because my two powerprep tests before the actual test were 800Q/700V, and 790Q/710V. I was obviously very disappointed in my Quant score, but i asked a few of the schools im applying and they said they look at the highest individual scores so they will see my 770Q/750V which is thing is a pretty decent score. I really wish that i got the 800Q to go with the 750V but thats done and now i have to focus on other aspects of my application.</p>
<p>It is NOT impossible to dramatically increase your verbal score with the right amount of perseverance.</p>
<p>It’s not impossible to increase your verbal score. It is more difficult, but definitely not impossible, especially if (as it seems to me) something significant happened the first time around or the test-taker simply did not study very much. Sometimes you also just get lucky (or unlucky) wrt to the vocabulary you’ve learned.</p>
<p>Anyway, it depends on the school. Some will take the highest, some will take the most recent, some will average them, and some will simply look at both.</p>
<p>A med school prof here. I would look at your scores and simply surmise that you took the GRE, hated your verbal score, prepped like mad for it while ignoring any math prep, and retook. I would conclude that you could potentially score 770/750, and more importantly, could raise your score 430-770 with determination and work. I do not think your scores will be a problem. </p>
<p>To be honest, in your field your first score would likely have been fine. I know a PhD student in a top chemistry program with almost your same first scores. It is the quant not the verbal that is important. You retook and showed that when you made it a priority, you did well. </p>
<p>You will do fine.</p>
<p>Thank you for the reassurance sunnyflorida. Im going to rely more on my high engineering gpa and my research to get me into one of the top chemical engineering grad schools.</p>