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Mezzomom
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Posted: Fri Aug 3rd, 2007 01:25 am |
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My daughter, a rising college sophomore, has mentioned grad school (in the vaguest terms) as a possibility in her future. Her plan (this week!) is to work overseas for a year or two, probably in Africa, and then return to the States for grad school. This is all very vague and exploratory at this point...
However, my daughter is one of those kids who is a) math-phobic; and b) likely to freeze up at the mere mention of a standardized test. Last year, she completed any and all math she ever hopes to take, and I'm wondering if it makes sense for her to take the GREs sooner rather than later, while she still retains some of that math knowledge. Since she doesn't know precisely what type of degree program she might seek, I can't look at any specific schools to see their requirements. And I have no idea if there is a limit on how old a score may be, or if scores from the various sections/retakes can be combined to create a superscore (a la the ACT or SAT). I'm wondering if an early attempt might make sense in this circumstance, or if I merely have too much time on my hands while my daughter is away this summer?!
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mackinaw
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| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Michigan |
| Posts: | 794 |
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Posted: Fri Aug 3rd, 2007 01:34 am |
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Admissions to doctoral programs are usually very decentralized, made by individual departments and schools within universities. The "graduate school" at most universities will list general university requirements for admission to doctoral programs, but not those for each and every department that offers a doctorate (for that you have to go to the individual department websites). But the grad school is potentially a good source to go to for general information (don't go to the "admissions office"). Pick a few of them, e.g., University of California-Berkeley, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, and you will get the general idea.
Most departments arenn't going to play around with taking "highest score for each part" or anything like that. In any case, for doctoral admissions GRE's are a smaller factor than SAT's are for undergrad admission.
Last edited on Fri Aug 3rd, 2007 03:30 am by mackinaw
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binx
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 459 |
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Posted: Fri Aug 3rd, 2007 03:45 pm |
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My S1 took the GREs fall of his senior year, which was 2004. He has been working for 2 years, and is thinking of starting grad school next year. He just mentioned last week that he doesn't know if his GREs will be recent enough. I don't know if schools vary in their requirements or not. He thinks most schools want them within the past 3 to 5 years.
I don't know much about the GRE. I think the test is being changed, and I don't know if grad schools are going to care about whether you've had the new or old version.
Just when I thought we were done with college applications, both of my S's began talking about beginning grad school applications this fall. But both seem to be perfectly willing to do everything themselves, so I'm staying out of it as much as possible!
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Shennie
Member
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Posted: Sat Aug 4th, 2007 06:18 pm |
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I believe that most grad school programs will consider GREs that up to 5 years old. They know that many students take some time off between undergrad and grad. In fact, some programs PREFER students to have some space between.
The GRE is a computerized test. Students must go to a GRE testing center to take it. They get their scores back right away. In addition to the required math and verbal sections, students can also take a subject test. I was surprised to learn that many top graduate programs do not require the subject test.
As to the question the OP poses, most students who are thinking about grad school take the GRE in fall of senior year. I don't think it is common to take the test several times as it is with SAT or ACT. It probably won't hurt her much to take it during fall of junior year if she is concerned about math retention.
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CaneMom
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Posted: Sun Aug 5th, 2007 01:36 pm |
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Mine took GRE summer between Junior/Senior year. Although he did know he was going to graduate early in December instead of the usual May date. He wanted to get his scores which enabled him to "narrow" down his list somewhat. While he found that what Mac said about the GRE not meaning as much was true, he did find that those GRE scores did still have an impact somewhat. His two "reach", schools (although I hesitate to call them that) didn't even give him an interview so he feels that it was probably that lower than normal verbal GRE score that did him in. If this was really the case there is no way of knowing, but it is just his thoughts.
Another good thing about getting the GRE out of the way is the fact that he was able to focus on his personal statement without the worry of studying for the GRE at the same time, all the while still being able to keep up with his normal studies and research. He is more than pleased with the way everything turned out as he loves the new school he is at and is enjoying his work tremendously.
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