absolutely bombed the GRE

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The odd thing is that I'm a good student (3.71 GPA overall, 4.0 in cog sci major at university of connecticut) and I'm about to have research published in an academic journal as the second author. I'd really like to do graduate school if only to continue my research, learn about the bleeding edge work currently being done in my field, and eventually get a PhD in experimental psychology out of it.

The thing is, I am absolutely horrible at standardized tests. I received around a 930 on the SAT and 16 on the ACT. It'd be really easy to conclude from these scores that I'm just a total moron, but my performance in school hasn't been predicted at all by these scores.

Could I conceivably improve my GRE score by around 500-600 points, or is this pretty absurd considering that it's at least partially a psychometric test? Could I possibly waive the GRE requirement? It's not like the schools I'm interested in applying to are that great; all of them are pretty significant downgrades from my current institution. Unfortunately, they all require GRE scores around 1200. The schools that have cut off points lower than that have no faculty doing the type of cognitive neuroscience research that I've been doing this last year.

Test-taking is itself a skill. If you are "horrible" at it and you need to do it, you are going to have to go through the preparations and take them seriously. (So you don't end up like me ;>)

There are books in the library and you can order them through the interlibrary loan system.

It sounds like you are a better overall student than you are a test-taker. I didn't do so well when I was a good test-taker and I couldn't seem to do the daily work.

There are GRE preparations programs that help students prepare to take the GRE...just like the ones that help high school students prepare for the SAT. Often the location of these GRE test preparation sites are posted on the bulletin boards in undergraduate universities...

You may have to drive a distance where these GRE preparation programs are held...they usually reach out to students over a
large geographic area of each U.S. state.

Best of luck to you!

Pay the big money for a class and get as many "practice" tests as you can.
Many schools are averaging the scores from all gre tests taken so it is possible that even getting a stellar grade on the next one may still have you in the place you started. Also there are GRE subject tests, so maybe one of those is better suited to your needs.
good luck and get as much practice as possible!

So don't apply to places that have GRE cutoffs. Why not apply to better schools? Does it matter in your field for what you want to do? Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.

GREs are the least looked at part of your application. Grades and teacher recommendations will be much more important. And you have published research!

But yeah, see if you can get a waiver or something for those places.

When I applied for graduate school (in history) I was told by one place that I had to raise my GRE score by SEVERAL HUNDRED POINTS. The other place, that ultimately accepted me, didn't put as much emphasis on the GRE, but looked more at my other accomplishments.

You might have some sort of learning problem that blocks effectively taking tests. Anxiety actually shuts down verbal comprehension for me, and TIMED standardized tests make me anxious. Some people can receive accommodations for taking tests, such as no time limit, if they have verification from a doctor that the accommodation is necessary.

Good luck.

Z

For a long time I might have passed something like the GRE and totally screwed up in a work environment. It's taken me a long time to change that.

Yeah I would say that's a biggie. You should be able to find a place that doesn't require GREs, and with published research under your belt you probably aren't in a bad position at all otherwise.

Although I would say in principle it would be possible to bring those scores up. It's largely a matter of strategy and knowhow.