I got a 480 on the verbal section of the GRE and a 660 on the quantitative. Should I re-take it?

Question

I have heard that scores do not really change and that was my score AFTER taking a prep course. I want to apply to clinical and counseling psych doctoral programs but my verbal is rather low. Other than that, I have research and clinical experience and will have strong letters of recommendation. I don't know how to even improve my verbal without memorizing the entire dictionary. Any suggestions or words of advice.

Answer 1

Since most doctoral programs require a 1000 on the GRE, I'd say you have a pretty solid score.  Coupled with your experience and your GPA (if it's good) you shouldn't have too much of a problem.  I wouldn't suggest a retake, but if it would make you feel better, then you may as well go for it.

The only thing I can suggest to improve your score is to carry around vocab cards and learn about the meanings of certain prefixes and suffixes so that you can semi-deduce the meaning of words without actually having seen them.

Answer 2

Scores can change.  Maybe not always, but...

I re-took the GRE and got 200 points better the 2nd time (on the Verbal).  I really don't know what the deal was the first time...