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I got 1290 on the GRE

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Oct 22, 2010 4:38 AM GMT

It's better than average, but not breathtakingly great. But what's really contrasting about it is I got a perfect 800 on the math and a mediocre 490 on the verbal. I suppose reading a bunch of RJ threads (among other online petty bantering) didn't help. But studying recondite words didn't help either, as most of the words I read on the test were words I've seen before but still had no idea what they meant. Not to mention the reading comprehension was beyond my comprehension (couldn't focus on topics that were so uninteresting).

So is 1290 decent to get into neuroscience, cognitive psychology, or genetics? I figure with the perfect math score it helps a lot. And 490 on verbal is just average. So it's not like I'm inept when it comes to language acquisition and communication. It's not like I'm going into history, English, sociology, or trying to become an editor for the New York Times.

Thoughts? Opinions? Flame wars? Random pictures of LOLCATZ?

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Oct 22, 2010 4:41 AM GMT

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This calls for a celebration!

No, really, be moderate. I dont want anything to happen to you now that you have made such a great achievement.

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Oct 22, 2010 4:49 AM GMT

congrads, standardized tests are the worst!

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Oct 22, 2010 4:51 AM GMT

JAKEBENSON saidI got a perfect 800 on the math

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Oct 22, 2010 5:10 AM GMT

Only 1290 ?

Oh, well congrats.

Now, I gotta find a new crush

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Oct 22, 2010 8:13 AM GMT

The GRE is just a test to make sure you didn't graduate from an online college and are functionally illiterate. Your transcript, letter of recommendations, and work sample will be much more important.

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AvadaKedavra

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Oct 22, 2010 8:16 AM GMT

Perfect in math and average on verbal. Hey you're Asian!

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Oct 22, 2010 8:24 AM GMT

In order to know words you need to read books. Lots of books. Learning words from a list is retarded.

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DCEric

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Oct 22, 2010 10:32 AM GMT

MunchingZombie saidThe GRE is just a test to make sure you didn't graduate from an online college and are functionally illiterate. Your transcript, letter of recommendations, and work sample will be much more important.

This

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Oct 22, 2010 11:00 AM GMT

JAKEBENSON saidIt's better than average, but not breathtakingly great. But what's really contrasting about it is I got a perfect 800 on the math and a mediocre 490 on the verbal. I suppose reading a bunch of RJ threads (among other online petty bantering) didn't help. But studying recondite words didn't help either, as most of the words I read on the test were words I've seen before but still had no idea what they meant. Not to mention the reading comprehension was beyond my comprehension (couldn't focus on topics that were so uninteresting).

So is 1290 decent to get into neuroscience, cognitive psychology, or genetics? I figure with the perfect math score it helps a lot. And 490 on verbal is just average. So it's not like I'm inept when it comes to language acquisition and communication. It's not like I'm going into history, English, sociology, or trying to become an editor for the New York Times.

Thoughts? Opinions? Flame wars? Random pictures of LOLCATZ?

Congrats. It's acceptable though far away from outstanding. 1290 can be a weakness in your application package for the first-tier grad schools but the rest of your package matters more especially if you have strong recommendation letters or published papers, however the easiest way to find out whether you need to retake the test is to check the schools' pages for the average GRE score of the students they granted admissions in the past.

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Oct 22, 2010 11:05 AM GMT

JAKEBENSON said It's not like I'm going into history, English, sociology, or trying to become an editor for the New York Times.

Do you really think any of those jobs require high GRE scores? You did great, and did even better on the math section than I did, and I'm a math teacher (I think I psyched myself out when it was test day).

In line with what MunchingZombie said, focus on the interesting parts of your application now. I don't think your GRE score will be a make or break point for you. Some universities don't even look at them at all anymore...

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Oct 22, 2010 11:43 AM GMT

AvadaKedavra saidPerfect in math and average on verbal. Hey you're Asian!

if you weren't asian you so couldn'lt say that!

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Oct 22, 2010 11:53 AM GMT

As a lot of people have already said, your GREs are only part of your application. Make sure your essays are proofread by people you trust way ahead of time from submitting it so you can be sure to be on message and grammatically correct and stuff.

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Oct 22, 2010 2:30 PM GMT

they must have dropped analytical? they had that in 2000 when i took the test.

i havd 790 math, 700 analytical and 600 verbal= 2090./2400, which I was ok with.

and yes, the compreshension was perhaps my least favorite.

good luck.

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Oct 22, 2010 2:31 PM GMT

When in doubt, take the test twice. Regression to the mean almost guarantees that you'll
1. Not score perfectly on math
2. Score much higher on verbal.

Just joking. Congrats.

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Oct 22, 2010 3:19 PM GMT

hum... what is GRE?

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Oct 22, 2010 3:52 PM GMT

Congrats bud. Beginning of an exciting new phase of your life. Grad school was a blast. Undergrad days and taking the tests congers up semi bad memories and panic attacks lol

IrisSoul saidhum... what is GRE?

Graduate Record Exams if I remember correctly.

I am soooo glad I am way past that era of my life. Ironically you're starting your career and I actually just took pre-retirement training.

I am dyslexic and it was a long struggle to get good grades. Took lots of classes 2x to get a "B". Winter or summer mini's that ended up grading on a generous curve and threw a chapter out just to finish on time. I know it was scamming the system. I knew the material but just didn't test well. I was totally stressed about the GREs. Turns out I do great on standardized tests. I did really well and that did get me into grad school way back in the day. Plus, I found my own funding and didn't need to rely on my major prof. to come through for me which they seemed to never do.

Good luck man. You'll have fun.

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Oct 22, 2010 4:24 PM GMT

Congrats dude

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Oct 22, 2010 4:26 PM GMT

I'm thinking it's not an insurmountable problem, as long as the rest of your application supports decent communication skills. I've reviewed lots of grad school applications and good math scores are so rare that the committee will probably drool all over it.

On the other hand, you won't survive grad school without excellent reading comprehension. Some reviewers might jump on that. (It's also not unusual to see applications where people have repeated the verbal section to get a higher score.)

The best thing to do is to make personal contact with one or two faculty members ahead of the application process. Have some technical discussions about their work and possible thesis projects. Visit in person, if possible. If you've already got one foot in the door, it will ease things immensely. The most influential thing in an application folder is a note from a faculty member saying, "I've got grant support for this guy, if he gets in."

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Oct 22, 2010 4:33 PM GMT

JAKEBENSON saidIt's better than average, but not breathtakingly great. But what's really contrasting about it is I got a perfect 800 on the math and a mediocre 490 on the verbal. I suppose reading a bunch of RJ threads (among other online petty bantering) didn't help. But studying recondite words didn't help either, as most of the words I read on the test were words I've seen before but still had no idea what they meant. Not to mention the reading comprehension was beyond my comprehension (couldn't focus on topics that were so uninteresting).

So is 1290 decent to get into neuroscience, cognitive psychology, or genetics? I figure with the perfect math score it helps a lot. And 490 on verbal is just average. So it's not like I'm inept when it comes to language acquisition and communication. It's not like I'm going into history, English, sociology, or trying to become an editor for the New York Times.

Thoughts? Opinions? Flame wars? Random pictures of LOLCATZ?

are you going for a MA or PhD?

I'm applying for PhD programs in Immunology at the moment and also just got my GRE test scores back (verbal = 710, math = 800, whew!)

but from my understanding of talking to my PI and other graduate students, the GREs is mostly just a way to filter quickly through applications (i.e. they'll look more closely at yours if its above the "cut-off" point)

and you're right, your quantitative score is the most important score (at least in the field of biosciences).

i think the level of importance for the different components of your application are (for the most part)

1) Research Experience
2) Letters of Rec
3) Statement of Purpose
4) GPA/Transcript
5) GRE scores

so my suggestion for you is that if you're aiming for the top PhD programs in neuroscience, try taking the GRE's again at the beginning of November (you can take them once a month). and that way you'll still have time to get your scores back for this application cycle.
If you're looking at more mid-range PhD programs or MA programs, your score should be fine, especially if the other parts of your application are strong.

Good luck man!!
I can't wait til this whole applying for graduate school phase of my life is over!

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Oct 22, 2010 5:00 PM GMT

AvadaKedavra saidPerfect in math and average on verbal. Hey you're Asian!

LOL totally

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Oct 22, 2010 5:15 PM GMT

Nice work.

I got a perfect on the math section too, and I'm still befuddled.

I need to count on my fingers sometimes to properly add a tip onto credit card receipts.

Why I did worse on verbal than math will forever be a mystery to me.

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Oct 22, 2010 6:14 PM GMT

Congratulations!!!

Not much aware of GRE...

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Oct 22, 2010 8:32 PM GMT

I used to teach classes on the GRE and GMAT. The verbal section of the GRE is, to use a fancy vocab word, fucking bullshit. The test is standardized, which means that questions follow a "logical template." For example, in those questions where they ask "how does WORD relate to WORD", it's always something like "one is the opposite of the another, one results in the other, one is synonymous" with the other. I don't think the people who write the test each year actually care about creating good questions--they care about fitting this logical template.

It mostly relies on word roots, and depends on your ability to rack your brain trying to find any word you can think of that is similar to decipher it. It is something that is not essential for a master's degree, and is something that even English majors struggle with. I don't know what the point of it really is.

As everyone says, your score is just a random number that schools can use when they have nothing better to rely on. So if your experience and recommendation letters are good, they're likely not looking at your GRE score anyway, despite it being required.

JAKEBENSONNot to mention the reading comprehension was beyond my comprehension (couldn't focus on topics that were so uninteresting).

Academic reading is rarely exciting. The reading sections on GRE/GMAT are purposely meant to be extremely bland and "uninteresting" in order to weed out people.

Feel lucky you didn't have to take the GMAT. The math section of that test is a beast.

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tennsjock

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Oct 22, 2010 8:47 PM GMT

Does your field have a subject GRE? For fields that do, the general doesn't really matter. I took both the Physics GRE and the general. Subject tests definitely matter - after all, only other people about to receive bachelors in physics take the Physics GRE. For these fields, the General GRE is more of an afterthought. It can help if you do very well. For example, if you're going to grad school in mathematics and end up getting a perfect score on the verbal and writing components of the General GRE, it shows you have good communication skills (something that is, sadly, lacking in many math departments!). But if your score is lackluster, admissions committees probably won't notice and will focus on other components of your application.

But I agree with everyone else. Even if your field doesn't have a subject GRE, the general is still only one component of the application. They'll give more weight to i) grades, ii) letters of recommendation, and iii) your statement of purpose.

Good luck!

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I got 1290 on the GRE