u/New-Exercise9755

Hi everyone,

I’ve taken the GRE twice but haven’t been able to cross 316 (Q162, V154, AWA 5.0). Since the GRE is quite expensive, I’m not planning to take it again.
I’m currently planning to apply to around five universities in the US for MPP, but I’m increasingly skeptical about the job market and the overall financial risk.

My_qualifications: My background is in law as I graduated in 2025 and have worked for about a year in political consultancy in a state in India. Given how uncertain the job market is globally, I’m particularly concerned about scholarships and the financial burden of pursuing a master’s abroad. In the worst-case scenario, if I’m unable to secure OPT or a job after graduation, I want to minimise the amount of debt I would have to carry if I return to India. This means looking for a tier 2 Uni with higher scholarship then a Tier 1 Uni, which I don’t know if it’s a good decision or not but financially seems fine.

I’d really appreciate some guidance on whether I should:

1. Apply only to five US universities, or
2. Apply to 2-3 US universities and diversify across Canada (Carleton, Munk, UBC), Europe(Sciences Po), Australia (Uni of Melbourne and Sydney), and Singapore (NUS).

I’d also really appreciate university suggestions based on my profile. I’ve been researching programs for almost a year, but I’m starting to feel that my current list doesn’t give me a strong chance of getting significant scholarships.
At this point, taking on something like ₹1 crore in debt seems like a very risky decision given the current job market.

Would love to hear from people who have gone through a similar decision, particularly regarding scholarships, post-study work opportunities, and the financial risk of studying in the US vs. other countries.
Thanks in advance!

I gave the GRE last week and scored 316 (162Q, 154V). Before the exam, I took 2 PowerPrep tests and 1 GregMat mock, and my scores were almost identical (159–162Q, 150–154V). It feels like my scores have plateaued despite a month of preparation.
I’m planning to retake the GRE on 31 July and am aiming for 325–330, with 165+ in Quant.

Verbal
I completed all GregMat Verbal videos, finished 20/34 Vocabulary Mountain groups, practiced TC/SE on GregMat, and used the Big Book for RC.
My plan is to finish all 34 vocab groups and continue practicing TC, SE, and RC. I think this should be enough unless I’m missing something.

Quant (Main Concern)
I’ve completed all GregMat Quant videos, solved the Manhattan 5 lb. exercises, and spent the last few days before the exam doing GregMat Quant practice.
My biggest issue is that I barely finished the Quant sections on time. GregMat’s strategy suggests having 4–5 minutes left for review, but I had none.
I’m not sure what’s holding me back:
Am I still using traditional methods instead of GRE shortcuts?
Do I take too long to identify the concept being tested?
Is my overall solving speed just too slow?
During mocks, I noticed that whenever I tried to speed up, my accuracy dropped. So I switched to solving more carefully, which improved accuracy but left me with no buffer time.
For the next 30 days, my plan is to mainly do timed Quant practice/tests on GregMat. I’m also wondering whether I should redo the Manhattan 5 lb. book focusing on faster methods, or use some other resource.
For those who improved from ~160–162Q to 165+, how did you practice? What would you do differently over the next 30 days to improve both speed and accuracy?

I gave the GRE last week and scored 316 (162Q, 154V). Before the exam, I took 2 PowerPrep tests and 1 GregMat mock, and my scores were almost identical (159–162Q, 150–154V). It feels like my scores have plateaued despite a month of preparation.
I’m planning to retake the GRE on 31 July and am aiming for 325–330, with 165+ in Quant.

Verbal
I completed all GregMat Verbal videos, finished 20/34 Vocabulary Mountain groups, practiced TC/SE on GregMat, and used the Big Book for RC.
My plan is to finish all 34 vocab groups and continue practicing TC, SE, and RC. I think this should be enough unless I’m missing something.

Quant (Main Concern)
I’ve completed all GregMat Quant videos, solved the Manhattan 5 lb. exercises, and spent the last few days before the exam doing GregMat Quant practice.
My biggest issue is that I barely finished the Quant sections on time. GregMat’s strategy suggests having 4–5 minutes left for review, but I had none.
I’m not sure what’s holding me back:
Am I still using traditional methods instead of GRE shortcuts?
Do I take too long to identify the concept being tested?
Is my overall solving speed just too slow?
During mocks, I noticed that whenever I tried to speed up, my accuracy dropped. So I switched to solving more carefully, which improved accuracy but left me with no buffer time.
For the next 30 days, my plan is to mainly do timed Quant practice/tests on GregMat. I’m also wondering whether I should redo the Manhattan 5 lb. book focusing on faster methods, or use some other resource.
For those who improved from ~160–162Q to 165+, how did you practice? What would you do differently over the next 30 days to improve both speed and accuracy?

Hi everyone,
I’m planning to apply for MPP programs in the US for Fall 2027 and would really appreciate some honest feedback on where I stand.
I recently took the GRE and scored 316 overall (162 Quant, 154 Verbal). My undergraduate degree is a 5-year integrated law program from India, and I graduated in 2025.
Since graduating, I’ve accumulated about 1 year of work experience:
Worked at a political consultancy, where I was involved in local body election strategy and political research.
Currently working at a public policy think tank. My work includes:

1. Tracking youth-centric initiatives and parliamentary developments.
2. Managing a national fellowship that helps young people understand skilling and employment opportunities in India.
3. Conducting analytical work using large government datasets, including labour force surveys, health surveys, and other public policy data.

By the time I apply in October 2026, I’ll have around 1.5 years of full-time experience.
I have about three months before applications begin, and I’m trying to decide where to invest my time. Specifically:
Is a 316 GRE competitive for good MPP programs in the US, or would retaking it make a meaningful difference?
Would my time be better spent working on publications and courses instead of preparing for another GRE attempt? Should i do any data analytics courses? Does coursera courses have any value in applications?
Based on my profile, do I have a realistic chance at strong MPP programs, or would it be wiser to wait another year and apply with more experience?
I’d really appreciate feedback from people who have applied to or are currently studying in MPP programs. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,
My GRE is on 28 June (next Sunday), and I just took GregMat’s GRE Practice Test 1. I scored 318 (Q162, V156), but I’m not able to figure out whether I’ve actually made meaningful progress.

For context, I took both ETS PowerPrep Test 1 and Test 2, where I scored 310 (Q160, V150) and 309 (Q159, V150), respectively.
From my analysis of those tests, I realized that, apart from 2–3 questions, most of my mistakes in Quant were due to silly calculation errors or missing keywords because I was rushing through the questions. In Verbal, however, my vocabulary was very weak. So, for the last two weeks, I focused almost entirely on learning GregMat’s Vocabulary Mountain and a bit of quant prep. Overall, I found Quant relatively manageable and Verbal quite difficult ETS tests.

After doing some targeted Quant practice and focusing heavily on vocabulary, I took GregMat Practice Test 1 to plan my final week before the GRE. I was honestly shocked by how difficult the Quant section was. Compared to this test, the ETSPowerPrep Quant was much easier. On the other hand, I found the Verbal section slightly easier than ETS tests.
Despite the tough Quant section, I was surprised to score 162. My section-wise performance was:
Quant Section 1: 9/12 (I was expecting much lower.)
Quant Section 2: 7/15
Verbal Section 1: 6/12 (I was actually expecting more.)
Verbal Section 2: 11/15
Now I’m confused about how to interpret these results.
So far, I’ve completed 17 groups of GregMat’s Vocabulary Mountain, and my plan of action is to finish 20 groups (around 600 words, but with an anxiety that what if there are important words in next few groups) and spend the last three days revising them. For Quant, however, I’m unsure whether this score is actually reliable. Thus, my plan is to focus on concepts revision and conducting few medium level test practice on gregmat.

While reviewing the gregmat practice test, I noticed that in Quant Section 1 there were about 3–4 questions where I had absolutely no idea how to solve them. I ended up making logical guesses without fully solving the questions because they seemed too difficult and still got them correct. Thus i am considering these scores as a fluke and planning to continue with my plan stated above but need some guidance whether that plan is right or not?

Can someone help me also to understand what I should take away from this score? How representative is GregMat Practice Test 1 compared to the actual GRE? My target score is 325, and I’d really appreciate any advice on what I should focus on during this final week.

Hi,
I completed my BA LLB in India in 2025 and, during my five years of law school, I pursued several research internships in public policy. Later, I gradually shifted my internships towards political consultancy. After graduation, I worked as a full-time consultant at a political consultancy firm for a year, where I was involved in local body elections in India. My work included candidature analysis, manifesto preparation, and other election-related research and strategy.

More recently, I joined a small public policy research firm that works on central government socio-economic surveys and indicators, including health surveys, labour force data, and other development statistics. I shifted because data analysis is a core skill in public policy. However, I am finding it difficult to perform well during my probation because I do not have a quantitative or economics background.

I am currently preparing to apply for MPP programs in the United States. My question is whether I should continue building expertise in general public policy or instead pursue a program that lies at the intersection of law and public policy. I do not want my law degree and legal training to become underutilized.

Throughout my internships, I have realised that I have a much stronger grasp of interpreting laws, understanding policy design, and analysing policy implementation. In contrast, I need significant improvement in the quantitative side of public policy, which is one of the reasons I joined my current job and also why I wanted to pursue a master’s degree. However, this short stint has made me wonder whether, if I continue moving towards a data-heavy public policy career, my legal expertise will become less relevant over time.

What would you advise? Are there specialised master’s programs in the US that combine public policy with law and are well suited for someone with a law background and experience in political consulting? Politics and governance genuinely fascinate me, and I believe I performed well in political consultancy before switching to my current role.

At present, I am preparing for the GRE and plan to submit my applications in October 2026. By then, I will have around 1.5 years of work experience, and by the time I begin my master’s program, I will have approximately two years of full-time professional experience.

Hi,
I just took PowerPrep Test 2 and scored 309 overall.
Quant: 159
Verbal: 150
My GRE is scheduled for 28 June, and I have about two weeks left to prepare.
Verbal Performance
I performed poorly in the first verbal section and got only 4 questions correct, which resulted in an easier second section. In the second verbal section, I scored 13 out of 15.
Quant Performance
In Quant, I got:
3 questions wrong in the first section
4 questions wrong in the second section
Most of the quant mistakes were due to minor logical errors and calculation mistakes rather than conceptual gaps.

Given this performance and the time remaining before my exam, how should I structure my preparation over the next two weeks to maximize my score, particularly in Verbal while also improving Quant accuracy? I have studied from Gregmat so far and have watched all his videos and have also completed the manhattan book’s exercises recommended by gregmat 2 months plan. Currently i am studying from bigbook which i feel is not sufficient enough. Should i shift to some other exercises. Meanwhile i have only done 12 groups out of 32 so far and intend to complete 25 before exams. Rather than vocab, the ability to not able to crack the idea of verbal questions makes me more suffer in that section. Pls give me any idea as i dont have the capacity to give gre again.