Well, that went well. I took my GREs again this past Saturday, since my previous set of scores had exceeded their shelf-life by about a year. It took me about three hours to complete the exam, which is actually about an hour longer than I expected it to take (of course, I hadn’t expected to do _two_ Quantitative sections, either).
The first test I took was during the fall of 2001, my fourth year of college. I was carrying a full credit load, working 30+ hours in the cafeteria, and burned way the heck out. I did pretty ok on the Verbal section (550) and crushed the Analytical (730). The Quantitative, however, messed me up. Let’s just say that a score of 540 on the Quantitative is not competitive – not at all. That score got me ranked in only the 37th percentile for that section. I was fortunate, though, to be able to still get into graduate school and pick up my first Master’s degree.
This time around, I scored a 580 on the Verbal – still not as high as I would have liked, but still decent. The Quantitative was a different story. I boosted my score by 140 points from the first time, landing at a nice, solid 680. That’s much more competitive and should make it that much easier to land a position in Purdue’s doctoral program. I won’t know about my Analytical Writing until the official scores come in, but I’m optimistic.
So, I’m now in the process of completing my application for the Statistics doctoral program at Purdue University. I’m fairly hopeful that I’ll have the credentials to get in and that I’ll be able to start classes this coming fall. I’m kind of excited about this!
Congrats! So in how many years will we be able to call you Dr. Stitzel?
jayne d’Arcy » Thanks! Though I still have to get through the actual application process and get that acceptance letter. But provided _that_ goes well, then hopefully within four to five years. :)
Congrats on the good scores and good luck with the application process.
re: Steve Buchheit – Thanks, Steve. It actually looks like I may end up going it as a non-degree student for at least a semester in an effort to get some necessary math skills up to speed. I’m actually having a series of emails discussion with the professor who chairs the application committee now to figure out exactly what I need to do in order to get into the program. But hey, I’ve got lots of time, so no worries. :)
My GRE scores sucked this time around too. They were much better 15 years ago when I took it the first time.