Why Perfect GRE Scores Aren't Usually Necessary
Categories: WORLD EDUATION NEWS
Anayet Chowdhury, co-founder of ArgoPrep, an online learning platform that provides GRE test prep, suggests that it isn't typically worthwhile for someone to put in 100 or more hours of effort so that they can raise those scores to the 99th percentile."What you don't want to do – a lot of students do this – is spend 100 or 200 hours studying for a particular section," he says. "You know, what they want is to reach the 99th percentile, and that's really not necessary unless you're applying to a prestigious program." Chowdhury says that prospective grad students who are attempting to raise their GRE scores should consider whether the scores they already have are good enough for admission at their target schools.He says that the time and energy spent attempting to achieve perfect or near-perfect GRE scores is often better spent on writing admissions essays or making your application file more compelling in other ways, such as by completing a clinical research project. "When considering GRE scores, [the] percentile is just as important – if not more important – than the actual score, because of the adaptive nature of the GRE exam," Skelly wrote in an email. "Numerical scores can vary from month to month and year to year, but percentiles are consistent in showing who the best candidates are." How Much GRE Scores Matter Maxwell says that grad school applicants should take the GRE seriously and prep for the exam thoroughly. However, GRE test-takers who do not perform as well as they hoped should not automatically assume that a low score will prevent them from attending grad school, she says."You want to do the best that you can do, but it is only one part of you," she says. "The test does not say everything that your application file can say about you as an applicant to a specific program."Experts say that grad school applicants with subpar test scores can sometimes compensate by writing compelling admissions essays and submitting a strong resume.