just stumbled out of the gre. to retake or not?

[PM2016]

ok so i just stumbled out of the gre..i received a 148 V 154 Q (1110 on old scale). i was shocked that i received a 154 on the Q i thought that i would receive a lower score. im also shocked about the 148 i thought that i would atleast get a 150. I do not know if i should retake the exam..i was aiming for atleast a 150 in each section.. so the 148 REALLY bothers me..even though i am relieved that i obtained atleast a combined score of 300.

 

here are my stats

overall gpa 3.7

science gpa is around a 3.4

2000+ hrs of HCE as a cna in a hosp

[TarheelGirlx3]

It depends on the school you are applying to and what their average is for accepted applicants. In my opinion your score is competitive, especially with your GPA and HCE. Don't retake unless the schools you want have higher averages and you have the time/money to improve it.

[Dynamo24]

Your stats are great man. Since the GRE is so broad when it comes to grad schools, I bet you will be fine. Its not like the MCAT at all where if you get anything below a 28 you're more or less f'd. I bet your 302 earns you an interview at a lot of places.

[PM2016]

thank you for all of your advice..as of right now i have decided to not retake it as I now need to focus on shadowing and finding people to write me a LOR..

[Will352ns]

Welcome to the 302 club (same for me). It didn't hinder me at all. Your GPA's are good. Write a badass PS and get some good LORs and you should find that schools will be interested.

 

If you have some time before you apply, maybe focus on a little bit higher level HCE....icing on the cake.

 

Good luck

[simco77]

I'm in the same boat, I'm trying to decide if I should take it again, I got 161 on the verbal and 147 on the quant. so 308 total, my problem is the writing portion, I somehow managed to bomb it with a 3/6, which has to look bad. pisses me off, the GRE is a total money making scheme, $175 for the test....Really??

[nj10]

I'm in the same boat, I'm trying to decide if I should take it again, I got 161 on the verbal and 147 on the quant. so 308 total, my problem is the writing portion, I somehow managed to bomb it with a 3/6, which has to look bad. pisses me off, the GRE is a total money making scheme, $175 for the test....Really??

 

I think if your other stats are competitive I wouldn't worry too much about it, especially if you haven't previous applied to schools before. I made a 3 on the writing portion as well and debated retaking it, but personally I didn't want to risk the possibility of doing worse on the quantitative/verbal portion (granted I made a combined 317, which I know is a little higher than your score). I also felt like there wasn't a whole lot to actually do to try and bump up my writing score, unlike verbal/quantitative where you can brush up on vocab and math formulas. I knew going in that the writing would be my weakest section, and while I felt like I gave it my best shot, the type of writing on the GRE just isn't my strong point. I did however spend a lot of time on my personal statement, which I felt was a better reflection of my writing abilities. I have been accepted to PA school, so it appears that one bad spot didn't negatively affect my application overall.

[kb1988]

Thanks for the perspective nj10. I just received my scores and also got a lower score on the writing portion (3.5, 312). I was feeling pretty discouraged and frustrated. It's nice to hear it doesn't break you, at least at every school.