emilymuff Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Hello, I am debating on whether I should retake the GRE or not. I have a great overall and science GPA, 6 years of PCE hrs, and a good amount of volunteer and shadowing hours. I will only be applying to 1, MAYBE 2 schools depending on where my husband gets relocated (active duty). My top choice school (and the one I can for sure apply to) says that they consider the application as a whole, and I know that GRE isn't the most important factor on an application. However, I feel like I'll stick out with my current GRE scores (verbal 151, math 149 total 300), especially since they are all below the current PA class's GRE average. I am leaning towards retaking it...besides the money, what does it matter? Also, since I am limiting my chances of getting accepted by applying to one school, I feel as if I should try to go above and beyond in all categories. Any advice? Thank you, Emily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HopeToBePAC Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I wouldn't retake it unless you have extra time/money to do so. Like you said, GRE has minimal impact on your application. You've already hit the 300 mark anyways. Obviously, it would be better to get higher than that, but that's not to say that score is bad. I personally would stick with it especially if you say your GPA and PCE are good. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilymuff Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 1 minute ago, HopeToBePAC said: I wouldn't retake it unless you have extra time/money to do so. Like you said, GRE has minimal impact on your application. You've already hit the 300 mark anyways. Obviously, it would be better to get higher than that, but that's not to say that score is bad. I personally would stick with it especially if you say your GPA and PCE are good. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtpnw Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Do you feel like you could do better if you took it again? How did you prepare for the GRE the first time you took it? If you have time to study and retake, it wouldn’t hurt to do so. A better score will only make you a more competitive applicant. And as you’re only applying to one school you want to be as competitive as possible. If it’s going to be a pain to retake and you don’t think you’ll be able to get a much higher score it definitely won’t make or break your application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilymuff Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 36 minutes ago, hmtpnw said: Do you feel like you could do better if you took it again? How did you prepare for the GRE the first time you took it? If you have time to study and retake, it wouldn’t hurt to do so. A better score will only make you a more competitive applicant. And as you’re only applying to one school you want to be as competitive as possible. If it’s going to be a pain to retake and you don’t think you’ll be able to get a much higher score it definitely won’t make or break your application. I think I could do better. I studied somewhat for the math, and not at all for verbal besides some "tips". Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtpnw Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 32 minutes ago, emilymuff said: I think I could do better. I studied somewhat for the math, and not at all for verbal besides some "tips". Thank you! If this is the case then definitely retake. Use the Magoosh online subscription to study for about a month and I would guess you’ll score at least a 305 to 310. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilymuff Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 18 minutes ago, hmtpnw said: If this is the case then definitely retake. Use the Magoosh online subscription to study for about a month and I would guess you’ll score at least a 305 to 310. Thank you so much; I really appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thePAway Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 There is a free Magoosh GRE vocab app that i downloaded on my phone with a ton of common GRE words. I basically only learned those for the vocab section and did really well, the words showed up a ton on the actual test! My boyfriend is active duty as well so I am in the same boat trying to end up near him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtpnw Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 9 hours ago, emilymuff said: Thank you so much; I really appreciate it! Of course! I think we have chatted before about MEDEX briefly. I interviewed and was rejected from their program this year, but learned a lot in the process. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out via PM. Happy to help in any way that I can. Also, if you do end up studying and retaking you should post an update to this forum! This question comes up a lot in different forms. It would be interesting and likely helpful to others to see how much studying for a month would bump your score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilymuff Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 14 hours ago, CheesePlease said: There is a free Magoosh GRE vocab app that i downloaded on my phone with a ton of common GRE words. I basically only learned those for the vocab section and did really well, the words showed up a ton on the actual test! My boyfriend is active duty as well so I am in the same boat trying to end up near him Awesome! I Didn't know about the app; thank you! Best of luck to you, I hope you end up near your bf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilymuff Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 8 hours ago, hmtpnw said: Of course! I think we have chatted before about MEDEX briefly. I interviewed and was rejected from their program this year, but learned a lot in the process. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out via PM. Happy to help in any way that I can. Also, if you do end up studying and retaking you should post an update to this forum! This question comes up a lot in different forms. It would be interesting and likely helpful to others to see how much studying for a month would bump your score. Yes we did! I remember you. I'm sorry to hear about that Did you get accepted anywhere else or are you going to apply to MEDEX this cycle? Due to my husband being active duty, I am going to apply to whichever PA program is near us (if there is one) and Yale online (was kind of skeptical at first, but after doing a lot of research into the program, it seems like it would be a great fit for me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtpnw Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 1 hour ago, emilymuff said: Yes we did! I remember you. I'm sorry to hear about that Did you get accepted anywhere else or are you going to apply to MEDEX this cycle? Due to my husband being active duty, I am going to apply to whichever PA program is near us (if there is one) and Yale online (was kind of skeptical at first, but after doing a lot of research into the program, it seems like it would be a great fit for me). Yes! It all ended up working out. I was accepted at Duke, which was a better fit for me. Well, good luck! Your stats are solid and you’ve got a good shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilymuff Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 7 minutes ago, hmtpnw said: Yes! It all ended up working out. I was accepted at Duke, which was a better fit for me. Well, good luck! Your stats are solid and you’ve got a good shot. That's fantastic! Congrats Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.