Just took my first practice exam, Math only

[cconnel1]

I just took my first math practice exam with no prior preparation. I scored a 160, or 78th percentile. I am wanting to pursue a PhD in Economics and ultimately obtain a 95th percentile or higher.

1. Is this a reasonable goal considering that I am starting from scratch and have 6 months approximately to prepare?

2. I intend to take the verbal section tomorrow. Is the composite score a simple arithmetic mean of your verbal and quant scores?

[cconnel1]

I scored a 156 verbal, with no preparation. 71st percentile.

Is there a way to estimate what my total score would be with 160 Quant and 156 verbal?

[tommywallach]

Hey CC,

I think you're thinking the GRE scores like the GMAT, where your two scores combine to become one score. They don't. There is no composite score. So your score with a 160 Q and 156 V IS your score. 160Q/156V is how it would report.

As for your other question, six months is indeed plenty of time to prepare for the GRE and see the kind of improvement you want to see. Our usual student only plans to prepare for about 3 months. If anything, you might be overdoing it! : )

-t

[cconnel1]

T,

I appreciate the feedback.

I stumbled upon my mistake shortly after posting the verbal score. I knew absolutely nothing about the exam when I first attempted the practice test!

I have yet to set a target date for taking the exam as I am working full time in consulting. I set an arbitrary 6-month timeline for mastering the vocab and problem types. I only get nights and weekends to prep. I am just getting started and trying to set goals.

Which section of the GRE do you find people are able to improve the most with dedicated study? I conjecture that it would be verbal due to the vocab memory component.

Also, is it realistic to shoot for 5 point jumps in both sections, or is that selling myself too short?

Thanks in advance,
CC

[tommywallach]

Hey CC,

There's no minimum or maximum improvement--anything is possible given enough time. A few things to keep in mind:

1) We generally recommend working HARDER for a SHORTER period of time, because the longer you stretch things out, the more likely it is that there might be a few weeks in the middle where you suddenly can't study at all (work gets crazy, family issues, etc.), and then you lose all the progress you made. Consider shortening yourself to three months, truly.

2) Actually, most people find improvement in quant to be much easier than improvement in verbal. You're right that memorizing vocabulary is relatively easy, but you still can have an "unlucky" day (there are thousands and thousands of words they could conceivably use), and improving "reading" is actually very difficult. Even people who aren't math people often discover that once they re-learn the basic rules, quant is easier. That doesn't mean this will all be true for you, by the way, it's just the more common outcome.

Good luck! You're in great shape however you choose to do this.

-t