<p>I am a biology undergraduate student. I want to get my PhD in genetics and genomics. I am taking the GRE this weekend, but I just cannot seem to get my quantitative to a reasonable score. I am not sure if I am just not using the right study material or if my math anxiety (and possible dyscalculia) is coming into play overly much. I know a good portion of it is simply wading through the wording of the quantitative problems, as the math questions are rarely like what I have experienced in actual math classes. Furthermore, the time limit puts me into instant panic mode no matter what I do, and I end up making many stupid mistakes.</p>
<p>STATS
- By the time I apply, I will have about 1 1/2 years of research (working in a molecular/genetics lab) to my name. If all goes well (and I get a job when I am hoping to), I will have at least 6 months of experience working as a lab tech.
- I currently have a 4.0 with only a few classes left to take.
- Practice test (Power Prep) GRE scores: 620 (88th percentile) V, 630 (59th percentile...ouch) Q
- Pertinent classes (sciences/math) I have/will have: Genetics, general chem, organic chem, biochem, calculus, physics, general biology, molecular and cellular biology, evolution, ecology, developmental biology, biodiversity, advanced investigations in biology (a general upper level course designed to introduce students to various aspects of research, etc.).
- I have always been an excellent essayist, so I am not very concerned about the AW section.</p>
<p>Is there any chance of getting into a decent school with a good research facilities/funding and a reasonable graduate job outcome? What about funding? I utterly fail at finding average and minimum GRE scores for universities unless they list it in their admissions section of their website, and very few schools have responded to my emails.</p>
<p>I am extremely despondent at the moment due to my quantitative scores. I do know that many of the schools I was wanting require at least the 75 percentile, which is in the 730+ range for quantitative. Obviously my chances of that are nil unless I can find a way to vastly improve my score. Any advice that anyone can give would be most appreciated. :/</p>
<p>First off you need to relax. The GRE is by far the least considered part of your application. Your GPA and experience is fantastic and I think that on paper you are going to look really attractive to most schools. I’m in almost the same position as you so I understand your panic completely. Take the subject test and kick it in the butt if you are really worried that your decent quant score isn’t enough. If you think that you can study extremely hard and really do 50 more points or better then go for a retake but if not (be realistic) its not worth the time and money. Remember that Grad school admissions are more holistic than undergrad. They want to see passion, competence, and commitment to your field and care much less about your ability to decided what value is greater or whether timmy is taller than susie. RELAX, get some awesome LORs, keep your GPA high, and get all the experience you can and you’ll be FINE. Good Luck!</p>
<p>The reason I am worried is because most of the schools that HAVE actually responded back require a minimum score above what I have. 709 for UC Berkley, 75% percentile for University of Chicago. The few averages I have are about 100 points higher than what I am getting, as well.</p>
<p>I have gone over the math reviews until I can about recite them, but they are not very helpful in figuring out the actual GRE questions. What I need most is a down and dirty guide to breaking the GRE itself. I have the book put out by ETS, but it is not very helpful due to the fact that it only explains the questions from one of the practice exams (and the exams in the book seem rather easy in comparison to the PowerPrep exams). </p>
<p>Are there any good resources other than PowerPrep that actually show the TRICKS to the GRE questions. Something that gives good examples of concepts that are likely to be on the GRE, then explains why answers are what they are in a way that will be helpful on the GRE?</p>
<p>I do have the subscription to MyGRETutor, which did help improve my practice scores. I also have been studying from SparkNotes GRE section.</p>
<p>I have spent all of my time devoted to the quantitative portion, since my qualitative has always been well above average. I literally rushed through the qualitative portions on the PowerPrep exams to get to the quantitative, and I still came out in the 88% percentile with about 12 minutes to spare. I can definitely spend all of my time on the quantitative to try to increase that score, however I need something that will help me, not just tell me the same math concepts in an unusable way.</p>
<p>I suggest picking up the Kaplan or Princeton Review GRE prep books from Barnes & Noble or Amazon (i prefer kaplan). They have all of the problem solving “tricks” you need for each question type. I then suggest using mygretutor or Princeton’s 1000 some odd gre question book to nail down those strategies. Good Luck!</p>
<p>I have been using MyGRETutor, which did definitely help from what I was at before. I will look into the Kaplan and Princeton Review books. Thank you.</p>