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Going through all the try of taking the GRE and then not getting the score yous want is hard. You're likely to exist left with a lot of questions: Should I retake the GRE? Will I exist able to raise my score? Will it make a difference for grad school admissions? Deciding whether or non to retake the GRE tin can be a challenging decision, but, luckily, we're here to walk you through it.

In this guide, we'll explicate when you'll be able to retake the GRE, what grad schools retrieve of GRE retakes, the questions you should ask yourself when deciding whether to take the exam over again, and how to ensure yous'll get a higher score when retaking the GRE.

Can You lot Retake the GRE?

Aye, it is possible to retake the GRE, and many people choose to practise so. In fact, ETS released an infographic, based on data collected in 2014, that showed that 1 in 4 test-takers retook the GRE (and that number is growing each twelvemonth). Additionally, the majority of people who took the GRE a second fourth dimension got a higher score.

You lot can take the GRE upwards to v times within a 12-month period, as long as the last time you took the GRE was at to the lowest degree 21 days ago.

The procedure of registering for a retake is the same every bit registering for the GRE for the first time, except y'all'll already have created an ETS account. If you need a refresher on how to annals for the GRE, check out our step-by-step guide to GRE registration.

What Exercise Schools Think of GRE Retakes?

Will retaking the GRE multiple times cause grad schools to think you're not smart or good at taking tests, thus pain your chances of admission?Fortunately, the reply is a resounding "no!" Many people take the GRE more than than once in lodge to get their highest score. Sometimes y'all just accept a bad 24-hour interval at the exam center, or yous demand to take the GRE more than than one time to larn how to footstep yourself, and grad schools are enlightened of that.

Additionally, ETS recently released a new system of sending scores called ScoreSelect. With ScoreSelect, each fourth dimension you take the GRE, you can choose which scores yous'd like to be sent to schools. This means that, if you've taken the GRE three times, y'all can choose to send only your virtually recent scores to schools, or simply your second scores, or all scores etc. Schools won't encounter if you're choosing not to transport scores from a detail examination date, so if you've taken the GRE three times and cull to only send your best scores, they wouldn't know you've taken the GRE two other times since they'd only encounter one ready of scores.

Some schools do ask that you to send scores from every GRE you lot've taken, and if you're applying to ane of these schools you should comply with those rules. However, the majority of schools don't require this. This means that, not but are most schools fine with you taking the GRE multiple times, you can also just transport them the scores from your best examination and not worry most the consequence of multiple examination scores. Basically, when deciding whether or non to have the GRE, how schools will view this decision shouldn't exist a deciding factor.

Should You Retake the GRE?

There are several questions you should ask yourself while debating retaking the GRE. Beneath are six of the most important. Be certain to consider each one thoughtfully before making your conclusion.

How Far Away Are Application Deadlines?

First things first: Do you have time to retake the GRE and submit those scores earlier admission deadlines?If you choose which schools to ship your scores to while you lot're even so in the exam center, immediately subsequently your consummate the GRE and view your unofficial Verbal and Quantitative scores, your scores will exist received past schools 10-15 days after yous take the test. You lot'll receive an email telling you that your official scores tin can be viewed on your My GRE business relationship, and this is also when the schools yous indicated will receive your scores.

So, in order to make sure your scores are received in time, don't retake the GRE unless you have at to the lowest degree three weeks betwixt the exam date and your earliest application deadline. This will ensure schools receive your scores in fourth dimension and you didn't retake the GRE for nothing.

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How Far Are You From Your Score Goal?

Another major consideration is how far your commencement GRE score is from your score goal. Your score goal is based on the GRE score requirements/recommendations of the schools you're applying to. (Check out our guide if you're not sure how to set a GRE score goal.)

If you're only a point or 2 away from your score goal, that may exist practiced enough for most schools, particularly if you lot didn't meet your score goal in a less important section (such as the Exact Reasoning department if you lot're applying to programs in a math or science field).GRE scores are almost never the most important office of an application, so if other parts of your application are potent, such as your grades, letters of rec, and extracurriculars/work experience, yous'll likely be fine.

On the flip side, if you lot missed your score goal by 15 or more points in either section, you may need to consider drastically irresolute your preparation methods or even changing which schools yous should apply to altogether. Check out our guide to get a ameliorate thought of how much y'all can expect to improve on the GRE. Some schools, nonetheless, accept students with significantly lower-than-average GRE scores if their overall awarding is very strong. Contact the admissions office of item schools directly if you'd like more data.

In general, you have the best chances of meeting your goal score and significantly improving your chances of admission with a GRE retake if your total score is most 5-15 points lower than yous desire it to be.

How Much Have You Already Prepared?

Did yous study a lot before you took the GRE the first time, or did you take the examination without a lot of prior preparation?If y'all didn't do a lot of studying the first time, you'll have an easier chance of raising your score on a retake. Information technology's during the first few hours of GRE studying that y'all make the biggest improvements in your score since you tin become all the low-hanging fruit: equations you were mixing up, careless mistakes you were making, a sure question type yous had no experience with etc.

If you already put in a lot of preparation time, it'll be more challenging to make major improvements with a GRE retake. Still, information technology can be washed, peculiarly if you lot brand changes to the way you study and the prep materials you use. Come across the next department for more than details on how to do this. You lot can likewise check out our guide to learning how long you demand to study for the GRE

How Was Test Day?

Did anything happen during test day that caused you to be distracted and potentially injure your score? This could include being sick, hearing distracting noises such equally construction or someone sniffling during the test, having something else on your mind like some other large test or personal upshot that makes it difficult to concentrate, or even just beingness final to the exam and feeling anxious and stressed when you sit downwardly.

Anything that stopped yous from being calm and full focused on examination day could have negatively impacted your score. If this happened to you the first time you took the GRE and you feel it won't happen again during the retake (if it'due south something you can control), y'all may exist able to raise your score simply by having a better exam twenty-four hours experience the second time effectually.

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If y'all sit down next to someone who has the sniffles on test day, y'all may observe it hard to concentrate and not get the GRE score you'd hoped for.

Will Taking the GRE Again Pose a Financial Hardship?

Each time you register for a GRE exam date, it will cost yous $205, and that's more than just pocket change. If y'all can afford that amount, then you don't need to worry about this factor, merely if the test fee would pose a financial hardship on your or your family, you lot may desire to recollect more carefully about whether information technology's the best choice and if y'all have a solid plan for how you lot're going to improve.

Yous may also consider checking if you are eligible for the GRE Fee Reduction program. If yous are, you'll receive a waiver that covers half the price of taking the GRE. Likewise, if y'all already received a fee reduction waiver within the by yr, you can easily fill out a form to receive some other waiver. Learn more nigh the GRE Fee Reduction Program by reading our guide.

Do You Have a Program For How Y'all Volition Better?

If, during your studying and on exam day the second time effectually,  you do everything the aforementioned as yous did the beginning time you took the GRE, your score probable won't change much. In lodge to see a significant improvement in your score (which is probable what you're looking for), you'll have to have a game plan for exactly how you're going to improve during this retake. The following section has several ideas to help you get started.

Retaking the GRE: iv Tips to Ameliorate Your Score

Once you've decided on retaking the GRE, you should aim to exercise everything you can betwixt now and examination day to maximize your score. Apply these 5 tips to help raise your GRE score.

Create a Report Schedule

Once you've committed to a GRE retake, you should create a report schedule so yous know when you're supposed to be studying. Setting bated a regular time to written report each mean solar day or calendar week, such as weekdays from 7:00-8:30pm or Saturdays from i:00-5:00, volition make information technology easier to study because you'll know ahead of fourth dimension when you should be studying and can arrange the residue of your schedule around it.

You should also include regular goals in your report schedule that you hope to meet, such as, "I want to understand Sentence Equivalence questions by the cease of the week," or "I desire to have raised my Verbal score five points before the end of the calendar month." Setting these goals will assist encourage you to study and ensure you are on rail to meet your goal scores.

Pinpoint Where You Fabricated Mistakes

One of the best ways to increase the effectiveness of your studying is to accurately pinpoint where you need to brand the about improvements, and and so focus your studying on those areas. Go through the GRE you took, and look at every question you answered incorrectly. Do you encounter any patterns? Did you practise well in Exact Reasoning but didn't score as loftier for Quantitative Reasoning? Then look more specifically. Which Quantitative Reasoning questions did you struggle the most on? Algebra questions? Geometry questions? Those that included graphs or charts?

Once you lot've figured out where your weaknesses are, target those areas with your studying. This will help you focus your studying on the topics you lot need to improve the most in, and thus, tin can get you the biggest increases in score.

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Consider New/Boosted Prep Materials

The study materials you apply have a pregnant impact on how well you exercise on the exam. A good prep book and good do tests tin be the difference between an average score and a great score. If you didn't use a prep book the outset time you took the GRE, or don't recollect the i y'all used helped you as much equally you lot wanted, y'all should consider a new one.

Cheque out our guide to the best GRE prep books to effigy out the all-time ane for y'all. Also, practice tests are an important function of learning well-nigh the GRE and tracking your progress. Learn more than well-nigh the best exercise GREs to have.

Endeavor Out New Study Methods

If you lot studied a significant amount before your first GRE and didn't get the score you wanted, you'll probable also need to alter up your study methods before your retake.

One of the well-nigh mutual mistakes people make when studying is to report besides passively. This means you're simply dragging your eyes across the page without really taking any data in. To avoid this, endeavour dissimilar study methods, such equally using flashcards, including more than practice questions in your studying, and stopping every few pages of notes to ensure you're actually retaining the information you lot're reading.

If you want more structure or guidance during your preparation, you may also want to wait into hiring a tutor or enrolling in a GRE prep course. These options cost more than just buying written report materials, merely they tin help you lot get large improvements in your score, especially if y'all aren't sure how to get about studying on your own.

Determination: Is Retaking the GRE Right for You?

If you didn't get the score you lot were hoping for on the GRE, you brand be wondering, "should I retake the GRE?" Nigh a quarter of all people who take the GRE take it more than than once, and the majority of them become a higher score on their second try.

When deciding whether or non to retake the GRE, consider the post-obit questions:

  • How Far Abroad Are Application Deadlines?
  • How Far Are Yous From Your Score Goal?
  • How Much Take You lot Already Prepared?
  • How Was Test Day?
  • Will Taking the GRE Over again Pose a Financial Hardship?
  • Do You Accept a Plan For How You Will Ameliorate?

If you practice decide to retake the GRE, you should take steps to maximize your chances of improving your score such as creating a report schedule, figuring out where you made mistakes, and trying out new study materials and written report methods.

What's Next?

How much can you expect to ameliorate your score when y'all retake the GRE? Learn how to guess how much you'll raise your GRE score past reading our guide.

Just how long should you be studying for the GRE anyhow? Our guide walks you through how to calculate the number of hours you'll need to prepare bated in club to reach your score goals.

Desire more information on GRE scoring? Larn exactly how each section of the GRE is scored so you know how to get every betoken possible.

Set to improve your GRE score past 7 points?

We've written a eBook most the summit 5 strategies yous must be using to have a shot at improving your GRE score. Download it for free now:



Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master'due south from Knuckles University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biological science in several countries. View all posts by Christine Sarikas