The GRE

Oh the dreaded GRE (Graduate Record Exam).

I took the GRE on campus back in November. I was crazy nervous through the whole thing. Since it's computer based, if you take the GRE you get to see your scores for the math and verbal section the moment you submit your test. Unfortunately the written scores have to be graded by a human and sent to your house a few weeks later.

I had my scores sent to my parents house so I could see them when I came home for Christmas. One day I sat down at the counter (notedly after I'd been home for a few days) and saw the ETS letter sitting there with my name one it. Mom said it'd been there for a while. After I told her what it was she hovered behind me like a crazy person waiting for crack. I opened it and my eyes went straight to my writing scores.

Before I tell you what my scores are, let me just say that after I submitted my test, I wasn't too proud. I didn't do horrible but I did exactly average, which isn't what grad schools want to see. Of all the grad schools that I researched, more than half of them wanted their applicants to have at least a 500 on the verbal section. I'm not horrible with words, unless I've never seen them before - and of course, I'd never seen any of those words on the GRE.

My GRE Scores:

Verbal: 460
Math: 540
Written: 5

At least my written scores are actually decent. The written portion of the exam is out of 6 points, most students get a 3 or 4. I was so happy to see that 5.

i was so happy to see that 5

After I took the test I told myself that if I made at least a 5 on the written portion I wouldn't re-take the GRE. It is quite an expensive test. I'm still thinking about re-taking it, especially if grad schools wont even consider me unless I have at least a 500 verbal score. Granted, the grad school I want to go to the most doesn't give their applicants any suggestion of what their scores should look like. I'm not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. I guess they're just keeping their options open.

A Question for my Readers

How important are GRE scores? Do you think I should re-take the GRE?