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gymnick

Nov 25, 2005, 6:34 PM

Post #51 of 357 (4521 views)
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Re: [gymnick] Trusting you guys [In reply to]	Can't Post

thanks again for all of the encouragement. I just got back and I did so much better than I thought I would. 610 math and 710 verbal. I'm glad I didn't spend more than a week preparing.

Aubrie

Nov 25, 2005, 8:24 PM

Post #52 of 357 (4507 views)
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Re: [gymnick] Trusting you guys [In reply to]	Can't Post

Nice work! One less thing to worry about!

cymbeline

Jan 16, 2006, 3:31 PM

Post #53 of 357 (4415 views)
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Re: [grimson] Importance of the GRE? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I can beat 490 on the math part: I got a 460 (19th percentile). Can anyone top (lower) that?

cymbeline

Jan 17, 2006, 9:51 PM

Post #54 of 357 (4383 views)
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GRE Subject Test scores [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hey--can anyone tell me what a good/great score is on the subject test? I just got my score in the mail--650. I scored a 710 on my general GRE verbal section.

By the way, as far as low GRE math scores go, I feel confident my friend who went to Johns Hopkins' MA in CW program takes the cake: he scored a perfect 0. He just didn't do that part.

motet
Dana Davis / Moderator

Jan 18, 2006, 7:32 AM

Post #55 of 357 (4367 views)
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Re: [cymbeline] GRE Subject Test scores [In reply to]	Can't Post

Quote

he scored a perfect 0. He just didn't do that part.

You can't get a 0. You get 200 points just for showing up.

texasgurl
Stacy Patton Anderson

Jan 18, 2006, 9:56 AM

Post #56 of 357 (4357 views)
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Re: [cymbeline] GRE Subject Test scores [In reply to]	Can't Post

I think there's a percentile score associated with your scaled score. You should be able to get of sense of how "good" your score is from that. The better the score, the higher the percentile.

Stacy Patton Anderson
http://family-of-five.com

cymbeline

Jan 18, 2006, 10:56 AM

Post #57 of 357 (4351 views)
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Re: [motet] GRE Subject Test scores [In reply to]	Can't Post

Interesting--if you can't get a 0, I wonder why he lied. He also said he got all the verbal questions right. Maybe his scores were more like 550/440.

motet
Dana Davis / Moderator

Jan 18, 2006, 2:17 PM

Post #58 of 357 (4335 views)
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Re: [cymbeline] GRE Subject Test scores [In reply to]	Can't Post

Quote

Maybe his scores were more like 550/440.

Well, if he's lying to you there isn't much point in the conversation but a perfect score either on the verbal or the math is 800.... so, if he got all the verbal questions right then he got an 800 (not a 550 or 450).

Question..... The score I see at the end of the exam doesn't include the final essay score, right?

sovietsleepover

Jan 18, 2006, 2:29 PM

Post #59 of 357 (4332 views)
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Re: [motet] GRE Subject Test scores [In reply to]	Can't Post

Right, you won't see your essay score at the end of the test. The essay is "hand graded" by at least 2 graders following a pretty exacting rubric, & fyi, the graders have at least college degrees (if not grad degrees, I'm not sure about the requirements) & have passed pretty stringent qualifying tests to make about $14/hr grading this stuff all day. If the 2+ scores assigned by the graders vary by more than 1 point, they're flagged for review and probably re-graded to make sure they get scored fairly. If they differ only by a point your scores are averaged.

(I had a job grading essays for the Florida state achievement tests--No Child Left Behind-enacted exams that determine whether Florida 8th graders get to go on to 9th grade, and though it was an absolutely excrutiating job for a numbing company, it was definitely interesting/creepy to see what goes on behind the scenes of standardized testing [the company I worked for didn't have the GRE contract--I think that stuff's done in-house by ETS, right?--but I'd assume other test evaluation companies operate by similar standards].)

motet
Dana Davis / Moderator

Jan 18, 2006, 2:42 PM

Post #60 of 357 (4328 views)
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Re: [sovietsleepover] GRE Subject Test scores [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks, Miriam... that was pretty interesting and yes, I think the scoring's done in-house by ETS.

So, conceivably, one could get a 700 on the verbal, do poorly on the essay, and bring their score down considerably, yes?

sovietsleepover

Jan 18, 2006, 3:12 PM

Post #61 of 357 (4323 views)
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Re: [motet] GRE Subject Test scores [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm not sure. The essay score is out of 6 possible points, & 1) I'm not sure if there's a composite score at all (or, if anyone uses it, rather); and 2) if anyone does look at a composite, whether the essay figures in, since it's graded on a different scale.

texasgurl
Stacy Patton Anderson

Jan 18, 2006, 3:25 PM

Post #62 of 357 (4318 views)
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Re: [motet] GRE Subject Test scores [In reply to]	Can't Post

FWIW, the GRE scores are represented as three separate scores on the score sheet. My scoring sheet didn't have any composite score or composite percentile. I could see my score and my percentile for verbal, and my score and my percentile for math, and my essay score, but nowhere were the scores combined for me in any way. I noticed this because years (and years and years) ago, when I took the SAT, I recalled that there was a verbal percentile, a math percentile, and an overall percentile generated by the two scores put together. I think the LSAT was the same (one scaled composite score), but I'm not sure.

Stacy Patton Anderson
http://family-of-five.com

franz

Jan 18, 2006, 5:29 PM

Post #63 of 357 (4301 views)
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Re: [texasgurl] GRE Subject Test scores [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

The GREs are ridiculous. I've heard they don't make the slightest difference for an MFA program but I studied extensively anyway-- who knows? I might end up trying to get into a masters program or phD program where the score was important. And as selective as these MFA programs are, it can't hurt to have a good score.
I finished the test thinking I did poorly on the math, only to find that I'd scored a 780-- and that was 87th percentile. I scored a 700 on verbal and that was 96th percentile. Go figure.
I was pretty annoyed when I received my essay scores in the mail-- 4.5, or 50th percentile. That was the one part of the test I thought I'd done well on! Whatever. It really isn't an accurate reflection of intelligence and I think we all have enough to worry about with our writing samples without getting entrenched in this.

Franz Knupfer, author of short stories and novels

motet
Dana Davis / Moderator

Jan 18, 2006, 7:04 PM

Post #64 of 357 (4288 views)
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Re: [texasgurl] GRE Subject Test scores [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks again, Miriam and thank you TXgirl. That was really good information because the score that they see in my grad apps will probably be the one that they decide with so it's good to know that it won't get lowered! I seriously doubt I'll be getting a 6 so I don't think the essay score it's going to help either.

franz, I hope my scores are similar to yours but I can tell you right now I'm going to be the Guess Girl on the math for sure. I'm also not applying to MFA programs. Regular graduate programs for me.

Thanks again, ladies. You're Tops!!

Dana

katieb

Aug 15, 2006, 1:05 PM

Post #65 of 357 (4183 views)
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Should I re-take the GRE? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hello all, first time poster here. Thanks to Motet for helping me out on the posting process! What a fabulous resource this is and I've only just begun reading. I'm hoping you all can give me some feedback on whether or not I should re-take the GRE... here is my story:

I hurriedly took the GRE four years ago, but didn't end up in grad school. My Verbal score was 560 (76%), Quantitative score was 650 (61%) and I got a 5.5 out 6 on the Analytical Writing (there was no % associated with this as it was the first year it was included in the exam). As I prepare to apply for MFA programs for Fall of 2007, would you recommend that I re-take the GRE? I am quite certain that with some study time I could do a lot better, but I'm not sure if it's worth the effort or the cost. Also, will the fact that I took this darn thing 4 years ago have any effect on my acceptance or rejection?

Any thoughts on this?! Thanks so much!

KatieB

pongo
Real men bake bread.

Aug 15, 2006, 1:12 PM

Post #66 of 357 (4181 views)
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Re: [katieb] Should I re-take the GRE? [In reply to]	Can't Post

If you're only going to be applying to MFA programs (instead of various sorts of MA programs with creative components), don't bother taking the GRE again. MFA programs don't even look at your score.

dmh

Poetry: It's not just for sissies any more.

Difficult Listening, Sundays from ten to noon (Central time), at http://www.radiofreenashville.org/.

http://home.comcast.net/~david.m.harris/site/

Clench Million
Charles

Aug 15, 2006, 4:31 PM

Post #67 of 357 (4154 views)
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Re: [katieb] Should I re-take the GRE? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Like pongo, I don't think you should worry about it. 76% is probably fine. Most MFA programs don't care about your scores, normally thye only require them because the university does and there might be some minimum that all students have to meet.

katieb

Aug 16, 2006, 1:15 AM

Post #68 of 357 (4131 views)
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Re: [Clench Million] Should I re-take the GRE? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks Clench Million and Pongo! I really appreciate your feedback. Looks like I'll just be taking more time to work on my writing sample!

Thanks again,

KB

trinmeg

Aug 16, 2006, 2:48 PM

Post #69 of 357 (4102 views)
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Retaking it! Which score counts? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hey. I just registered to retake my GREs next month after getting a disappointing, although acceptable, score last weekend. Does anyone know what score I'm supposed to write down on my applications? The highest? An average? The newest? Does it differ by program?

bighark

Aug 16, 2006, 4:12 PM

Post #70 of 357 (4092 views)
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Re: [trinmeg] Retaking it! Which score counts? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Different chools have different policies on how they interpret multiple GRE scores. Some take the highest score, some compute an average. Since MFA programs don't really care about GRE scores, though, I don't think it really matters.

Go ahead and run with your disappointing by acceptable GRE. Use the time you would have spent preparing for round 2 on your writing.

Good luck

GDClark
George David Clark

Aug 17, 2006, 9:12 PM

Post #71 of 357 (4051 views)
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Re: [bighark] Retaking it! Which score counts? [In reply to]	Can't Post

As Clench mentioned some graduate schools require a minimum GRE score for acceptance, of these some require an even higher score to be eligible for financial awards. For example at Ohio State as of the 2005-2006 year a writer needs a score of at least 1200 cumulative to be accepted (since all writers accepted merit full tuition waver and stipend). Some exceptions may apply, but I was told this is the general rule by an MFA faculty member.

(This post was edited by GDClark on Aug 17, 2006, 9:15 PM)

laughingman

Sep 12, 2006, 8:03 PM

Post #72 of 357 (3965 views)
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Pay Attention to grad school requirements! [In reply to]	Can't Post

I was going through the archives at Tom Kealey's MFA blog (specifically August 2005) and saw a letter from a professor at Colorado State University saying that applicants should be wary of minimum requirements to get into the graduate school. He said "... but if you don't have a 3.0 and acceptable GREs we can't get you in at all, much less with financial aid." I'm not trying to scare anyone away from applying to any programs, but it would probably be a good idea to e-mail faculty members and/or the graduate school before you drop $60 on an application thinking that you can blow past all other reqirements on the strength of your writing sample alone.

With regard to sub-par GPAs, most of the programs I've e-mailed have told me that an "excellent" or "outstanding" writing sample could get an applicant into a program outright, or in on a provisional basis, at least. The faculty member I e-mailed at Irvine admitted that acceptance was possible, but said it was "very unlikely." This was qualified by the statement "[in the last 10 years] we haven't accepted a student with a GPA below 3.0, nor have we responded to an application so positively that we petitioned for an applicant to be admitted." Needless to say--and despite my confidence in my writing sample-- I won't be applying to UCI with my 2.7 GPA.

(This post was edited by laughingman on Sep 13, 2006, 1:46 AM)

plumagemour

Sep 25, 2006, 4:36 PM

Post #73 of 357 (3906 views)
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Re: [laughingman] Pay Attention to grad school requirements! [In reply to]	Can't Post

uc irvine, is, in my opinion, a very conservative program anyway. seems like state-affiliated programs (state schools, university of "said state") are much more strict about things like gpa requirements. usually the more liberal and more private the school, the more independent the creative writing program is from the rest of the college and its general reqs.

wilmabluekitty
Wilma Weant Dague

Oct 7, 2006, 8:35 PM

Post #74 of 357 (3839 views)
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Re: [plumagemour] Pay Attention to grad school requirements! [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

That's my experience. I think my writing sample was mediocre and my statement of purpose was arrogant and vague. The thing that told them I was worth anything was my high verbal score. NOw that's outdated and I'll have to take the GRE again. I just found out recently that there's a writing component. Can anyone clue me in as to how that goes? Waht kinds of questions do they ask/

__________

Oct 8, 2006, 1:59 AM

Post #75 of 357 (3830 views)
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Re: [wilmabluekitty] Pay Attention to grad school requirements! [In reply to]	Can't Post

Be prepared to take a stance on gun control and then write a lame essay about it.

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