Which GRE Score Should I Use?

[cdkruse]

I took the GRE a couple of months ago and got AW 3.5 (42nd percentile), Verbal 156 (72nd percentile), and Quant 157 (67th percentile). I saw that Duke and some other programs ask for a 50th percentile in every section of the GRE so I retook the exam and got AW 4.0 (59th percentile), Verbal 153 (60th percentile), and Quant 154 (55th percentile).

 

Now I'm unsure of which score set to use do the differences. Do I need to take the GRE again to get a stronger total score set?

[LadyNichiavelli]

If they require a 50% in each section, I would use the second test scores so that you're not automatically filtered out. But I believe that both of your scores are excellent and there's no need to take the test again.

[kelzie]

I took the GRE a couple of months ago and got AW 3.5 (42nd percentile), Verbal 156 (72nd percentile), and Quant 157 (67th percentile). I saw that Duke and some other programs ask for a 50th percentile in every section of the GRE so I retook the exam and got AW 4.0 (59th percentile), Verbal 153 (60th percentile), and Quant 154 (55th percentile).

 

Now I'm unsure of which score set to use do the differences. Do I need to take the GRE again to get a stronger total score set?

Where did you see that Duke requires 50th percentile? It's one of the schools I'm considering, but did not see that anywhere. I have similar scores (3.5 writing, 161 verbal, 160 quantitative) but am trying to not apply to schools requiring 50th percentile due to it not being 50th percentile. 

 

I did not see anywhere on their website that said they had a minimum GRE score and am hoping that my other scores and GPA will outweigh the mediocre writing one. 

[cdkruse]

I believe I saw the 50th percentile saying on Duke's website a couple months ago. Although I looked today and they provide a range for each score to be considered competitive. I may have been mistaken when referring to Duke when I originally created this post, but from my understanding for many PA program the GRE is used primarily to shrink the applicant pool from 1000+ to a more manageable number for the admissions committee to review. I believe this is especially true for the higher ranked schools as I believe they tend to get more applicants due to their ranking.

 

Anyways, I believe that 4.0 is the lowest writing score possible above the 50th percentile mark and is a lot of schools' cutoff for what is considered "competitive." While it is definitely not impossible to get an interview or admitted to a program with a score below their competitive range if the other aspects of your application outweigh it, I applied last application cycle with a 3.0 writing score and I do feel that my application was probably omitted by some schools automatically because of my writing score. That being said, I did still get 3 interviews out of the 7 or so I applied to, 2 of which were at top 10 ranked programs.

 

Your Verbal and Quantitative scores are fantastic! Kudos! I have no doubt that you will likely receive some interview invitations with those scores, but if going to one of the very top programs, like Duke, is important to you you might want to consider retaking the GRE just to get that AW score up. I studied for about 2 weeks and focused primarily on my writing to get up to 4.0 so I don't doubt that you could get it up if you tried. You're almost there!

 

 

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[PA-C-to-be]

Unless your schools explicitly state that they don't want multiple scores or don't want copies of scores sent that don't meet their minimums, there's no problem putting both on your CASPA since they're not bad by any means. Some schools will take the highest from each category, but if Duke is that strict on GRE requirements, I'd contact them first beforehand just to be sure including both scores won't adversely impact your application. I put both of my GREs on my application and had a higher math and writing score the first time and higher verbal the second so it worked to my advantage since some of my schools took the highest from each section.

[cdkruse]

Would I be able to contact programs by phone or email to see if they do that?

 

 

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[PA-C-to-be]

Some schools put that information on their website, I know my program does but I would assume most programs don't. I communicated with my schools mostly via email so I'd suggest that as a first means of contact to inquire further about their consideration of multiple GRE scores!