I finally got my official GRE scores back. They were the same as the “unofficial” ones that I got right after I took the test. For the verbal, I got a 590 which was in the 83 percentile. I got a 710 for the quantitative which is in the 73 percentile. For my analytical writing score I got a 4.5.
I’m pretty happy with the score that I got for the verbal part of the test. The “Interpreting Your GRE Scores” document that they sent along with the scores stated that the mean for this score in Engineering is 468. Even in the Humanities the mean is 545, so I guess I did pretty good for an engineer.
The Quantitative score I got, 710, is right about par with the Engineering mean of 719. I actually thought I had bombed this section since I basically ran out of time and guessed a whole bunch. I got really good scores in the practice tests, but I guess I was just really nervous for the test. Hopefully the 710 is good enough for the schools I’m applying to.
The analytical writing score of 4.5 is also fairly average. The mean for engineers is 4.2. They only give the scores in .5 increments, though. I thought I had done a better job of writing, myself. I tried putting good arguments and whatnot into my essays. Oh well, I guess 4.5 is really nothing to be upset about.
Overall, I thought the GRE was one of the most stressful things I’ve had to endure. The score you earn in the GRE is definitely a quantitative indicator that schools look at. Having said that, I’m still really skeptical as to how useful it really is. It feels to me like something you need to take for the sake of taking it (and paying $130). I really do hope that I’ll never have to take another GRE in my life again.
I took the GRE in October and had much the same experience you did – it frigging sucked. I didn’t do badly, I’m happy with my scores and only 2 of my prospective schools even require them, but I’m mostly just overjoyed that it’s in the past tense. We’ll see how it all ends up. Like you said, hopefully the GRE will never enter into my life again.
Anyway, best of luck to you with the applying/responding/accepting process!!
Contratulations for your score.
I am form Chile and I am goig to take the GRE y July. I hope do it well.
@Cate: Good luck to you too! I hope you get fellowships like crazy!
@Sergio: Thanks! Good luck to you.
Great score!
I haven’t run into anyone with a score higher than 4.5 on the analytic test so I guess congratulations are in order.
Good luck.
Congratulations!!
Do schools accept you if your GPA is low and your GRE is above average? I havent done well in my undergrad because of a 40-hour work week to pay for college as well as other problems, so you think I have a chance at grad school? or maybe an assistantship because I have no money.
I (if I saw my score carefully when it popped up), scored:
Q=750 ; V=590
I ran out of time as well and ended up blindly guessing a whole lot of questions. I was so upset by my Quantative section that I didnt even put much effort on my Verbal Section. I was expecting a 650 on Quantative.
Well, if the score I saw is indeed my score, I would just keep it, atleast for the first attempt at applying to colleges.