GRE Practice Tests vs Real Score

[jakeandreasen7]

I have taken 3 practice tests and take my first, and hopefully last, GRE in 3 days. I have taken both of the free ETS online practice exams, as well as the Manhattan Prep free exam. My scores were as follows:

ETS Practice 1 (Done before studying to see where I should focus, though I had a good Idea that Verbal will probably be my weakness. I should have probably saved this exam, but my adviser recommended I take it to see where I stood on the different secetions.): 145V, 158 Q

ETS Practice 2 (Done with one week left of exam): 157V, 154Q

Manhattan Practice Exam 1: 157V, 157Q

I was just wondering how close your scores were on the real GRE in comparison to practice test scores. Also, what was your goal GRE score? I have heard from my medical adviser at my local university that I should shoot for above 150 on both, and that ill be fine GRE wise if I achieve this score. Then again, I have seen many programs that require above the 50% range for scores. In this light, 150 on both would not cut it. What you you consider to be a generally safe target score? 155 on both?

[hmtpnw]

I felt that the verbal sections on the ETS practice tests were very similar to those on the actual exam. My actual verbal score was the average of my two ETS practices.

For me, the math section on the actual test was more challenging than the practices, and my scores reflect this. Most people seem to feel this way. You can see my practices and scores below and kind of check out how they fluctuated and where I ended up on my actual test.

As far as what score to aim for, 300 is kind of the minimum. If you got a 310 you would be set! Anything over that is great, but don’t stress it. 

Practice Scores:

ETS Practice Test 1 - V: 159 Q: 160

Manhattan Prep Free Practice - V: 161 Q: 157

ETS Practice Test 2 - V: 161 Q: 160

Actual Exam:

V: 160 Q: 158

 

Edited June 18, 2018 by hmtpnw

[jakeandreasen7]

hmtpnw, Congrats on the score, and thanks for the reply! Its nice to know that the verbal was as you expected it to be! That is the main area I am concerned with as I have always been bad at English-based subjects. Did you spend a lot of time studying to achieve your scores? I am up to about 50+ hours, but this has been mostly vocab practice. I am thinking about running over some math sections before my test. Especially if these seems to be harder on the actual exam! Thanks again for the input!

[TacMed]

It’s been a while since I took the GRE but I remember all of my practice tests were higher than my actual score, but there was not a huge difference. I don’t actually remember what I scored, it wasn’t stellar, but met my programs requirements and I got in. The GRE seemed more of an initial filter prior to the interview process.  

Your scores appear really strong and unless the programs you are applying to have an unusually high standard you should be fine. 

 

[hmtpnw]

9 hours ago, jakeandreasen7 said:

hmtpnw, Congrats on the score, and thanks for the reply! Its nice to know that the verbal was as you expected it to be! That is the main area I am concerned with as I have always been bad at English-based subjects. Did you spend a lot of time studying to achieve your scores? I am up to about 50+ hours, but this has been mostly vocab practice. I am thinking about running over some math sections before my test. Especially if these seems to be harder on the actual exam! Thanks again for the input!

Thanks! I used Magoosh to study exclusively. I just watched all of their online lessons and did some of their practice questions. I honestly didn’t spend much time learning vocabulary. 

I have always done fairly well on standardized testing, so I didn’t study a ton. I spent a few weeks seriously studying. Once I took my first ETS practice and saw I was well above what I needed, I pretty much checked out and just waited for my test date. 

I will say as far as quant goes, I could have done better if I focused on geometry more. I forgot a couple formulas and missed a few easy geometry questions because of that. 

[KrebsCycle]

My verbal was somewhat lower on the actual test than in practice. I did not bother learning vocab, I just gambled. 

My Quat was way higher on the actual test than anything in practice. I attributed that to the fact that in practice I wasn't as motivated and lacked some focus. However, although I never had a problem with time in practice, I almost ran out of time on the actual test. 

Actual scores: 

V 158 Q 153 W 4

I used Kaplan.

 

[tantamint]

My practice tests were really similar to my actual score.

Kaplan: 154V 166Q

ETS: 156V 161Q

Actual: 156V 165Q 4.5A

I think you're right to say a good score is around 155 for each. At least that is what I've seen from PA school stats  Good luck!!

[mmrzljak]

Hello everyone, I am retaking the GRE on Friday. 

The first time I took it, I simply wanted to see how well I'd do without studying. 

My scores were: 149 V/150 Q/4.5 AW. Not great, but not horrible either considering I had never even seen the formatting of the exam. 

Since then, I have taken: 

ETS PowerPrep I: 150 V/150 Q (Skipped AW, taken at the beginning of my studying)

ETS PowerPrep II: 152 V/159 Q (Skipped AW, taken yesterday)

Manhattan Free Practice Exam: 156 V/157 Q (Skipped AW, taken today). 

My goal is a 305. How do these exams compare to the real thing? (I remember nothing from the real GRE, it was months ago). Do you think my chances of scoring a 305+ are good? 

[hmtpnw]

I think you have a solid chance of > 305 and potentially 310. I took the MP free practice about a week before my test and got almost the same score. You seem on track to do well. Don't stress. Just do your best.