Absolutely destroyed by the GRE

[Rad]

So I took my first run at the GRE and I am in an absolute shock and disheartened by the results, I am wanting to get into a Phd in political science program; V: 480-580, Q: 310-410

I knew the math was my weakest point, so I studied like hell the past 3 months, got tutoring and my latest score was around the high 600's in both areas, I am definitely doing this test again but I fear that as one of the schools I am applying to has a mid December application and the earliest available next testing date is January, that they will not accept the application. I am really wanting to get into this program, (Michigan is the dream school) but I am realistic enough to realize that at this point a score like that they wouldn't even bother looking at my application. Trying to decide whether to forgo applying this year and try again next year, or buckle down, study and try to defeat the evil that is the GRE again? any advice or rants would be appreciated.

[Alaskah]

How is your GPA? Were there circumstances (such as being ill, or some other life event) that prevented you from performing as well as you could have? What kind of tutoring was it? And what books did you use?

I've heard people say that some books are too easy for the math, and combinations of book "x" and "y" are necessary. But I can't remember which they suggested...I do know someone said in another forum that the Princeton book broke the math problems down better and was written more for those having difficulty in math. But they also said that the Princeton book, although a good place to start, was not sufficient, either.

[Rad]

I have a masters degree from a university in Britain that used a pass or fail system, I am in my late 30's so university and high school math was a long time ago, no other real circumstances besides usual nervousness, it was the Kaplan tutoring and their books and also the Princeton book.

[kaykaykay]

your Q will be way too low for any decent place.Your GPA (or lack of it ) will not even matter (I am not sure how departements are dealing with this problem . Surely they must have a way to evaluate your application - the GPA is very important normally) . You can ask Michigan whether they would accept your points if you took the GRE after the application deadline. Some places accept points if you test fairly close to the deadline (the form will say something like when did you take or when are you planning to take the GRE)?

If they do not accept late points in my opinion you have to wait a year for that school anyways.(British and Canadian schools do not require GRE) Good Luck!

p.s. of ourse there may be circumstances that change the equation, e.g. you have a solo article in the APSR or something.

.

Edited November 6, 2011 by kalapocska

[Rad]

One of the upsides of my application is that the undergrad courses related to political science all had excellent grades (A's and a B+) and the school I did my masters program in is fairly well known in the sphere of the area I want to do research in, also I have research experience through an internship I did overseas in a think tank. But I know this is all pointless when the application wont even be looked at with such a low overall score. I have contacted Michigan via email and asked their policy about retakes and timing.

[Rachel B]

I know you've got your heart set on Michigan, but you might want to broaden your view and look into PhD programs, especially in Canada, that don't require the GRE.

I think this thread may help a little

[kaykaykay]

There are a lot of good applicants in poli sci, so unfortunately I think unless you did something truly exceptional(hence my reference to an article at APSR) I do not think your points will cut the mustard.

[Rad]

that's exactly what I suspected kalapocska, a highly competitive field in a top 5 university a score a like that will get an application just tossed out. I didnt even make the cut off minimum for Wayne State (1000 combined) and I have no idea what Michigan State's requirements are as they never responded to an email I sent. I am not giving up, I will see what Michigan says about retake and focus the anger and disappointment into something positive, even if it means waiting another year.

[Hatem]

Is it possible to send them your current GRE scores, then update those scores when you retake the test on January?

[Vanilla Tea]

I'm in a similar boat. My GRE scores are very poor. V 159 (84th percentile), M 148 (44th percentile) and writing 4.0 (48th percentile). All my deadlines are dec 1. I can't seem to decide whether to wait it out and apply next year or just give it a shot anyway. The rest of my profile is alright I guess, good scores in both undergrad and MA, work ex, a decent writing sample and hopefully a good SOP. any advice?

[Timshel]

I'm in a similar boat. My GRE scores are very poor. V 159 (84th percentile), M 148 (44th percentile) and writing 4.0 (48th percentile). All my deadlines are dec 1. I can't seem to decide whether to wait it out and apply next year or just give it a shot anyway. The rest of my profile is alright I guess, good scores in both undergrad and MA, work ex, a decent writing sample and hopefully a good SOP. any advice?

For what you are applying for, I don't think your scores are that poor. Most programs you will apply to, unless you are applying to all Ivies, will want you to be over 80% in the verbal, which you are, and the math is really inconsequential. As for the writing, it could be higher, but most don't look at that, either. If everything else in your application is great, I think you are fine.

Edited November 6, 2011 by Timshel

[Rad]

Hatem this is what I am trying to find out from the schools, how long they are willing to wait for GRE scores, I didnt even bother sending those scores when my test finished because I knew I had to retake them anyways. I am applying for political science with a historical approach so the math score is of little consequence but that verbal score is just way too low, I am seriously leaning towards the side of leaving applying till the next cycle, studying my butt off and getting into where I want to.

[converse3]

If you can retake, give it a try. I got a similar Verbal Score (my quant was pretty high tho). I talked to the school where I'd like to go and they said, it's not a bad score, but you're going to be up against the best and if you have time to retake, you should give it a try. If you think about it another way, retaking the GRE is a month or two of buckling down and 190$ max, where as rewriting a whole set of applications can be upwards of 500$ and hours and hours of writing. On whether you can send in your resit scores after the deadline, I would write their admissions office an e-mail and explain the situation.

Edited November 6, 2011 by converse3

[kaykaykay]

Rad : no matter what your approach is the math score will be important in poli sci especially in a top 5 place. I do not know the new ok points but earlier below 600 was sort of bad and around 700 was acceptable. normally the competition in poli sci is really tough, you should read some of the earlier posts of adcoms in the poli sci forum.

if you want to study something historical though, have you looked around in other social science/ interdisciplinary programs?

I mean you could take poli sci classes and have a poli sci bent in your dissertation in various fields such as anthropology, sociology(although math is important there too), history, area studies, geograpphy ,philosophy etc. Some of these put a bigger emphasis on the verbal GRE vsQ than poli sci.

[Rad]

kalapocska: you have definitely given me something to think about, applying to the Phd program in history or I did some investigation on MIchigan's website, and their Near East Studies department also offers a degree which the area of the world I wanted to do research on.