bad at standardized tests

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I've always had excellent grades, but for some reason I am also very bad at standardized tests (SAT/GRE). I scored in the 77 percentile on both sections of the GRE, and I am concerned that I won't be accepted into a good graduate program because of it (even though my GPA is very high and I have research experience). Is there anyone here who didn't do well on standardized tests but still got into a good program? Can you give me any suggestions on how to improve my chances?

lonelyLady, i know exactly how you feel, i failed my high school exit exam 3 times, mostly cause they didnt teach me algebra at all. luckily for me they terminated the exit exam before i graduated. anyway good luck in finding a way. i had a gpa of 3.8 with all as and bs in most of my classes. anyway hopefully someone else will know how to help you.

First of all 77th percentile is not a bad score. It means you did better than 77% of test-takers. Grad schools look at the whole picture and take everything into account. The goal of the admissions process is to find out who will do well in the program and who is likely to drop out or flunk out. They don't want to admit people who won't be able to keep up with their classes. From what you said, you sound well-prepared for grad school. Research experience makes a big difference. Everyone takes the GRE, but not everyone has research experience. Also, different schools emphasize different parts of the application. There are some books about grad schools (especially the subject-specific ones) that reveal how much weight each school gives to each part of the application.

Secondly, not everyone knows this, but there's more to the application process than the application itself. Selecting a graduate program should be about finding the right fit between you and a school. If you're applying to a PhD program, you'll be basically entering into an apprenticeship with a faculty member. You'll have a much better chance of getting into a school if you contact a faculty member you might want to work with before applying. Send them an email saying that you're interested in their research and would like to work with them. Ask if they will be taking on a new grad student in the near-future (often, each faculty member only works with one or two "apprentices" at a time). Emailing faculty is a good idea even if it's not a PhD program. Ask well-researched questions. This demonstrates that you are responsible and intelligent. Many schools also have an optional interview process. Doing an interview increases your chances of admission as long as you can make a decent impression and ask some intelligent questions. They want to know that you are putting a lot of thought into your choice of schools because it tells them that you are likely to accept an admission offer and go on to be a good student.

BTW, I know all of this because I'm a grad student and my dad is a professor who works with PhD students. I hope this helps!