no, it is NOT worth getting so stressed out about. It's a whole lot like the SAT actually- a controversial measure of potential academic performance. Some schools use it, some schools don't, and among those that do it's not the highest weighted part of your application for sure. What it can do is raise questions about your intelligence if you absolutely bomb it, or help make up for a poor GPA, or help you get a little extra scholarship $$$ if you do very well. But it's very unlikely to be the thing that makes or breaks your application.

Don't get bent out of shape about the GRE. It might be important for people entering other fields, but there's not nearly enough importance weighed in on it in architecture school.

I got scores on it that were mediocre at very best. To many of us, it's yet another long and boring exam that you have to pay a lot of money for.

The GRE is nowhere near the most important test in one's life. For architecture programs in particular it's often a requirement but very seldom a major factor. Different schools have different priorities, but in general your applications to M.Arch programs will be judged something like this: 45% portfolio, 30% recommendation letters, 20% statement of purpose and resume, and abouit 5% for GPA and GRE combined.

If you're someone who is intimidated or stressed by standardized test though then you might want to consider that in order to get licensed as an architect there is a series of standardized tests (currently 9 of them, 10 in some states, and switching to 7 of them in 2008). These amount to a total of about 36 hours of testing. They're quite a bit more important than the GRE, since they're required if you decide to pursue licensing. But they're still not so important that you should get unduly stressed by them.

thanks alot for the replies and for filling me in with some general information
i really did thought this was going to be the thing that makes or breaks my application. But after hearing that most schools dont prioritise the Gre scores at the very top, iam sorta relieved.

Stern said that if your grades are iffy, your GRE scores should be better. If your grades are great, your GRE doesn't matter as much. The most important thing is the portfolio, by far, and then your recommendations/professional experience.

hows this for an example...I had a friend get into Harvard this year...he got a 1100 on the GREs...his portfolio was obviously kick ass, and his GPA was respectable...

Plans for the Revised GRE® General Test Cancelled

Princeton, N.J. (April 2, 2007) —

ETS has cancelled plans to launch the revised Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®) General Test. The decision was made in consultation with the Executive Committee of the GRE Board.

While ETS and the Board remain committed to improving the test, on balance, GRE officials said they believe problems guaranteeing complete access to the new Internet-based test outweighed the benefits of immediately moving to the new format.

ETS originally planned to launch the revised GRE General Test worldwide in September. Instead, the company will continue to offer the test worldwide in its current computer-based, continuous testing format. Registrations in India, China and Japan, which had been closed, will be reopened in the near future to accommodate application deadlines. Likewise, registrations for the current GRE General Test will continue elsewhere.

"The decision to cancel the revised GRE General Test best serves the interests of test takers and the graduate institutions that use those scores to make admissions decisions," says David Payne, Executive Director of the GRE Program at ETS. "After much debate and evaluation, it became clear that the current format offers students more convenient and flexible opportunities to test when and where they choose, while still providing score users with valid predictors of test takers' preparedness for graduate school study."

The primary reason for cancelling the launch of the revised GRE General Test was test taker access. Plans called for the revised test to be delivered over the new worldwide network of 3,200 Internet-based testing centers. Despite the network's size, ETS officials did not believe that full access to the General Test for all students could be confidently assured.

"As the launch approached, ETS determined that, despite the aggressive development of our Internet-based testing network, we could not guarantee complete access to all students needing to take the exam" Payne explains. "While the graduate community supports, and in fact helped develop and pilot the revised GRE General Test, they have also stated that they are satisfied with the current GRE General Test, until such time as improvements can be gradually implemented. ETS is being responsive to their best interests."

ETS officials will work with the GRE Board to implement many of the planned test content improvements in the future without the access issues associated with changing to an entirely new test delivered over a brand new testing network.

Administering the GRE General Test in two testing sessions in The People's Republic of China (including Hong Kong), The Republic of Korea and Taiwan will also continue for the immediate future.


From: http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.c988ba0e5dd572bada20bc47c3921509/?vgnextoid=e9e8b524b40b1110VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=dd2d253b164f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD

The priority of GRE scores falls just above filling out the application, in that, if you don't do it they won't consider you.

Brute force is what brings up a GRE score. The language sections are about how many vocabulary words you can memorize and the math is formulaic. (I hear you'll be able to use your calculator soon for the math portion.) Brute force won't make your portfolio much better.

So if you have the time, The Princeton Review GRE book lays the formulas out really simply and highlights the most common vocab words. I spent about 2 months reviewing vocab, and about a week reviewing math, with that book and got nearly a perfect score. Didn't make my portfolio any better, but I know alot of strange and unusual words now.

Computer test scores only take a month at most to reach university records offices.

Hello, could somebody tell please about applying to a PhD programme at Harvard, if someone has allready done it and got in, i would really like to know everything there is to know about it, the dos and don'ts . Thank you !