Although some will say otherwise, the purpose of the GRE is not
entirely to see what you know.
IT is partly to see if you are willing to put in the effort to raise
your score. Honestly, if you took it once,
raising your score 6 mo later or a year later is not that hard. IF
you scored low in vocab, just get some
books on building your vocabulary, or find a list of high-frequency
GRE words and memorize it.
When I had to do this, I read the entire GRE verbal list into a
cassette tape and played it in my car every day.
I thought I had a year to get it down, it was three or four hours of
words. Unfortunately, I had made a mistake
and only got through H in the vocabulary. However, my score
skyrocketed in that portion of the exam. Then,
because I was more confident with the verbal my quant actully raised!
The math on the test does not go beyond
geometry I believe, but it may be trig. So, if you give yourself a
year, or even 3-4 mo, there is no reason you can't raise a 800 to
a 1200 literally right away. Heck, I don't know if you can even score
800 anymore! but the point is, it really is not tht hard
to raise this score at all. I've seen too many average studetns get
high scores the second time around. But, you have to
put in the effort.
IF you don't, you really do face an insurmountable question from
prospective advisors. That is, "If you are not even willing to put in
a few months to raise your score, what makes me think you are willing
to put in the effort to earn that MS or PHD?" I will tell you right
now,
preparing for the GRE is a joke compared to what you have before you
with those two degrees. too much effort is needed by the advisor
to waste his/her time with people who are only interested in doing
things the easy way.
I hated the GRE. I did not think it meant much. Now, I think I get it.
Now, if you were talking the Bio GRE, that is an entirely different issue.
Personally, I thought the bio GRE was an outstanding reflection of my
background.
I also used it as a tool to assess my background. I discovered I was
really strong in
ecology and evolution, but really behind in molecular and immuno. SO,
I started taking courses
in recombinant DNA, Molecular genetics, through the community
education program a local university had (before my PHD).
It was pretty cool because I could pay $25 to sit in the lectures and
learn the material. Then, when I got in my PHD, I took
Immunology and some other stuff. What happened? I discovered Immuno
was freaking interesting, especially from an ecotoxicological
perspective,
and from a evolutionary trade-off perspective. The bio GRE was a
great tool in that way, and had I not taken it I might not have
realized
how behind in some areas I was or how well I knew other areas. Its a
pretty nifty thing to do if you want a rounded education in the life
sciences.
I hope this helps you consider what positives you can get from these tests.
On Thu, Sep 4, 2014 at 3:41 AM, Shambhu Paudel
<oasis.excurr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I have similar problem with my application materials for the PhD. I did 8
> years education after my school education which has mode of instruction in
> English. I have secured good marks at University level which includes both
> course and project work. I scored highest mark in my MSc level (topper of
> university) with excellent research position.
>
> I do have some international journals papers and some are under review
> (nearly 10 papers) with strong capacity in statistical analysis. In addition
> to this, I can work confidently in R, GIS and Remote sensing software too.
>
> Additionally, I am also getting several international competitive research
> grants and currently running some national level project. But still my
> application is not accepted.
>
> I understand that without tests like GRE, ILTES no body believes our
> existing inherent capacity. This is more problem for developing and non
> native English language speaker like me.
>
> With regards,
> shambhu
>
>
>
>
>
> On 4 September 2014 06:49, Malcolm McCallum
> <malcolm.mccallum.ta...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> If you have good scores, they don't matter.
>> IF you have bad scores, they matter.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 3, 2014 at 7:22 PM, Asya Robertshaw
>> <asya.roberts...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> > I am a current PhD student and I will admit that my GRE score was pretty
>> > mediocre. I've never been good at taking standardized tests (I didn't do
>> > very well on the SAT either). I love math, but English is not my native
>> > language, so I've always struggled with the verbal sections of the test.
>> >
>> > I personally don't think that these standardized tests are a good way of
>> > evaluating the student's academic potential or his/her potential to
>> > conduct
>> > research. Despite my low scores on the SAT and the GRE, I graduated with
>> > a
>> > 4.0 GPA from both high school and college. I had extensive research
>> > experience as an undergrad and was even able to publish a paper on the
>> > research I conducted with my undergraduate mentor. Over the past fee
>> > years
>> > of my graduate career I have had a number of my research proposals
>> > funded,
>> > I've won a couple of poster competitions, I was awarded the NSF-GRFP
>> > fellowship, and have manuscripts currently in review. I intend on
>> > submitting (and hopefully publishing) my thesis before graduating.
>> >
>> > I feel very lucky that my advisor overlooked my low scores and still
>> > accepted me into her lab. Without that opportunity, I would not have
>> > been
>> > able to pursue my passion in research!
>> >
>> > Asya Robertshaw
>> > Doctoral Candidate
>> > Purdue University
>> > Dept of Botany & Plant Pathology
>> > 915 W State St
>> > West Lafayette, IN 7907
>> > On Sep 2, 2014 7:37 PM, "Alex M. L" <stenella.fronta...@yahoo.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >> Last weekend I got into a long discussion on the value of GRE score in
>> >> a
>> >> PhD
>> >> student. As the 2015 applicants start, I open up the discussion to the
>> >> community:
>> >>
>> >> I have a female student that has both a Masters (thesis) and
>> >> publication
>> >> with
>> >> several years research experience. However, her GRE score are quite
>> >> poor.
>> >> Should I really pass up a seemingly great applicant because of low
>> >> scores?
>> >>
>> >> If a student has a biology Masters or a publication... do GRE scores
>> >> matter?
>> >> Have we not moved past GRE scores when picking the next round of PhD
>> >> researchers for our lab(s)?
>> >>
>> >> If you have a personal story of low scores and still attaining your PhD
>> >> or
>> >> accepting a similar student... I would love to hear from you!
>> >>
>> >> Cheers!
>> >> Alex M.L
>> >>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Malcolm L. McCallum, PHD, REP
>> Department of Environmental Studies
>> University of Illinois at Springfield
>>
>> Managing Editor,
>> Herpetological Conservation and Biology
>>
>> “Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich
>> array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a
>> many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature
>> lovers alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share
>> as Americans.”
>> -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of
>> 1973 into law.
>>
>> "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" -
>> Allan Nation
>>
>> 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert
>> 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss,
>> and pollution.
>> 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction
>> MAY help restore populations.
>> 2022: Soylent Green is People!
>>
>> The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi)
>> Wealth w/o work
>> Pleasure w/o conscience
>> Knowledge w/o character
>> Commerce w/o morality
>> Science w/o humanity
>> Worship w/o sacrifice
>> Politics w/o principle
>>
>> Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any
>> attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may
>> contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized
>> review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not
>> the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and
>> destroy all copies of the original message.
>
>
>
>
> --
>
>
>
> Assistant Professor for Wildlife/GIS/RS
> ||Kathmandu Forestry College ||Kathmandu, Nepal || www.kafcol.edu.np
> Cell: 977-9841-170723
>
> South Asia Representative for World Cetacean Alliance
> www.worldcetaceanalliance.org
>
--
Malcolm L. McCallum, PHD, REP
Department of Environmental Studies
University of Illinois at Springfield
Managing Editor,
Herpetological Conservation and Biology
“Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich
array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a
many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature
lovers alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share
as Americans.”
-President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of
1973 into law.
"Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" -
Allan Nation
1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert
1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss,
and pollution.
2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction
MAY help restore populations.
2022: Soylent Green is People!
The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi)
Wealth w/o work
Pleasure w/o conscience
Knowledge w/o character
Commerce w/o morality
Science w/o humanity
Worship w/o sacrifice
Politics w/o principle
Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any
attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may
contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized
review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not
the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and
destroy all copies of the original message.
