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Students who take the GRE and are not completely satisfied with their scores may consider retaking the test. Is doing so a great idea? While every applicant is unique and every program has its own particular guidelines, there are a number of general factors to share with your advisees as they decide whether to take the test again to try to get a higher GRE score.
1. Taking the GRE multiple times will not harm their chances of admission. Last year, the ETS (the makers of the GRE) introduced a new feature for test-takers called ScoreSelect. The introduction of this option allows test-takers to decide which test scores they’d like to send to schools. In other words, if a student takes the test three times, she can choose which of those three test scores to send to schools. For more information , visit the ETS ScoreSelect website.
2. Students should only retake the GRE if they are confident they will score higher. For most students, preparing for and taking the GRE costs money ($185), takes energy (all those hours of studying), and can be very stressful (the four hour pressure cooker that is Test Day). They shouldn’t put themselves through the ringer if they’re not entirely sure that they’re going to get a higher score. While many students simply hope that taking the GRE a second or third time will increase their score, they shouldn’t leave their performance to chance. Instead, they should prepare for the test thoroughly and take a number of practice tests to gauge their readiness.
3. Is the student’s current score good enough to get her into the program of her choice? Perhaps her program that requires a minimum GRE score of 150 in both Verbal and Quantitative. If her current scores are in the mid-150s, she should ask herself what benefit there would be in retaking the test. Many programs with minimum GRE scores will ultimately look to other factors, like research interests and work experience, to decide admission. If the programs the student is interested in offer scholarships to students with high GRE scores, then it may be worthwhile to retake the test. Otherwise, a score that is above a school’s requirement is probably sufficient. The student can use the time she would have spent re-preparing for the test to do other things, like work on research projects or craft a really fantastic personal statement.
4. Students should take the entire test seriously. While the new ScoreSelect option offered by ETS is a great way to send only the best test scores to schools, it is not possible to send only the Verbal section score or only the Quantitative section score. So, if a student takes the test and gets an outstanding Quant score but a lackluster Verbal score, she must prepare to retake the test with both sections in mind. Schools will see the entire GRE score for the date of the test that is sent to them.
These are just a few things to remind your advisees of as they decide whether or not to retake the GRE. While these are general factors to consider, remember that every applicant, every school, and every program is unique. As always, encourage advisees to thoroughly research the programs they are interested in attending.
Questions about retaking the GRE, or about GRE scores? Talk to us in the comments!
