Should I Take the GRE Again ?

For everyone taking the GRE – except for test prep tutors, that is – there should be a burning question on everybody’s mind: 

How do I maximize my chances of getting into grad school?

For many, the answer appears simple: Maximize my GRE score. However, the answer is not that simple. Indeed, many lose sight of the ivory tower beyond the austere gates of the GRE, spending 6-months on GRE prep, and, in some cases, only a day on essays and applications.

So yes, the GRE is important, but it is only a part of your application. In terms of getting into grad school, you may be hurting your chances by focusing on the GRE at the expense of your application.

Who Should Retake the Revised GRE ?

Getting a case of the GRE-itis is something that consumes many considering to retake the test. I’m not talking about the test taker who only studied for a few weeks and get sub-30% in each section. For them, retaking the GRE—after some serious prep—is the only way to go.

Who Should Consider NOT Taking the Revised GRE ?

For those scoring above the 90%, retaking the GRE, just to get a 170 in math (vs. a 166) will only detract from time that could be spent hunting down an old professor for a glowing letter of recommendation. Even those who are trying to enter a math program, the extra bump in points may not carry as great a significance as one would expect.

Of course I cannot look into a crystal ball and divine what grad admissions are thinking. But one thing to keep in mind is that a perfect score on the old GRE (an 800) corresponded to 94% ranking. On the new GRE 94% is 166. So if an admissions program is comparing your performance to somebody who only took the old GRE (which is valid until August 2016), then essentially you got the exact same score.

Would that same admissions program give more weight to the 170? Perhaps. But I think it could very well dump them all in the same bucket, so to speak, and look at other parts of the application. “Ooh, look at this glowing letter of recommendation that the 166 scorer got. Hmm… it looks like Mr. 170 wrote his own letter of rec—and did a poor job of it, at that.”

Takeaway

The final assessment is up to you. Of course there are many who are on the fence. And on this blog I’ve had literally hundreds of comments asking me whether score x is a “good” score. For a helpful post read here: http://www.thegreonline.com/2013/04/how-to-study-for-gre.html