Am I doomed by my quant GRE?

[soc13]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm sure you get posts like this all the time, but I'd love some folks' perspectives on my stats.

 

I struggle mightily with the quant section of the GRE.  No way around it.  I'm planning to retake it, but I'd hazard a guess that my scores won't raise substantially past the 50% range.

 

Current scores:

164 V (93%)

151 Q (44%) (I know, awful!)

5.0 AW (93%)

 

In terms of background, I have a BA in sociology with a 3.8 GPA from a small liberal arts college in New England (no big name), and a Masters in Public Health from Drexel University with a 3.8 GPA (concentration in community health and prevention).  After undergrad, I worked for a year as a Research Assistant at an education nonprofit.  While in grad school, I was part of an NIH-funded training program to develop health disparities researchers, which provided me the opportunity to work on two research projects, one of which resulted in a second authorship publication.  I also worked with Big Brother Big Sister of America during this time period as a RA, as well as a Teaching Assistant/Course Facilitator for a first-year graduate student course.

 

By the time I apply, I'll have also worked for two years as a Research Analyst for a social sciences firm that works on research and evaluation studies for a variety of clients, mainly government agencies (NSF, Dept of Ed, FDA, CDC, etc.), nonprofits, and state and local governments.  My primary responsibilities are assisting in the design of research and evaluation studies, conducting focus groups and interviews, analyzing qualitative data, conducting literature reviews, writing reports, and disseminating results to clients and communities.

 

In terms of future research interests, I'm primarily interested in race and its intersection with education and health disparities.  I'm interested in exploring issues of school discipline disparities (why Black and Brown students are expelled and suspended more frequently than white students, and what social, emotional, academic, and health impacts this has on them), as well as the ways in which white parents teach children about colorblindness.

 

I had my eye on some top programs, but I'm not sure about the likelihood of acceptance given my GRE scores and lack of publications. 

 

Thoughts on feasibility of acceptance given my GRE scores and other stats/info?

Any thoughts on programs I should look into?

Any other feedback?

 

Man, I would greatly appreciate it.  I don't know if others of you are in the same boat, but it's somewhat like I'm in a silo where most people say 'you'll totally get in!' but have no idea what the process, qualifications desired, or anything else involved with PhD programs entails. 

 

Thank you!!!

[MaxWeberHasAPosse]

I got into two prestigious programs, one of them in the top 5, with an abysmal GRE score: 155 V and 149 Q. I did have letters from famous professors, a publication, and an awesome thesis project. Your verbal is great, your quant is on the lower side. I think it depends on what you want to do. It will only help you to get a higher score. You have a lot of time, take it again.

[soc13]

Thanks so much for your feedback, @MaxWeberHasAPosse.  I really appreciate it.  I don't have any of the awesome things you listed, but I'm hoping to have fairly strong LOR (albeit, likely not from SOC faculty - I wonder if this is an issue).  I will definitely retake the GRE, I'm just not sure how much higher it will go.  I'm interested in Duke, Berkeley, Hopkins, Maryland, Yale, and a few other schools, so I have my work cut out for me!

[jujubea]

You can definitely raise it considering the amount of time you have.

And overall your background looks great.

The letters will matter quite a bit, though, too, so be selective.

 

Good luck!

[soc13]

Thank you, @Jujubea.  I do plan to continue to study and hopefully raise it. 

 

I am going to seek some advice on my letters.  I have one very strong one from my mentor (very strong researcher in health disparities, gets tons of R01s, constantly publishes, but isn't in soc), and will probably have one from a Vice President at my company (PhD with 40 years in research/eval field, 4000 person company), but I am stuck on my third.  I can get one from my former sociology department head, who has a great reputation in her small area of sociology (Catholic religious women/nuns - totally unrelated to what I want to do) and doesn't have a fancy position any more; another former soc professor; or from another former public health professor with a sociology background or other background who has a higher profile.  All love me and would be willing to write glowing recommendations based on my research for them, but it's a matter of their credentials I guess?

[Alext182]

For what its worth, my letter writers weren't "stars", my math score was about 65%, I went to a community college and state school, and I was still accepted into Madison, Wisconsin, UNC, etc. I think I was successful because my application demonstrated a passion for research and a clear vision of what I wanted to study and how I would succeed in their program (e.g. which professors I would work with).

 

re: Test scores:

 

If you can raise your score to around the 65th percentile I think it wouldn't be a huge flag. It would probably give a school pause, but I think your experience and verbal score could overcome it. When the committee is reviewing your application, you just want to be sure that your application gives them the tools to make a strong case for why you will succeed (e.g. "yes her quant score is low, but her verbal is high, she has experience designing research plans, collecting qualitative data, and disseminating research; she is clearly committed to conducting research and will be likely to finish the program, etc). 

 

re: Letters:

 

I wouldn't worry at all about the prestige of your letter writers. A well written letter from someone reputable is worth more than a letter from a star who doesn't know the applicant well. Instead, I'd focus on whether or not the person has the experience necessary to judge whether you will succeed in the graduate program. Ideally, your application would have people that can assess your research plans, ability to conduct research, and ability to meet your goals. From what you described, i'd choose a sociology professor to write a letter because your application would be stronger with one letter writer from inside the field. 

 

Last word of advice - because it sounds like you are switching fields and won't have top test scores, I'd focus on developing a really strong writing sample and personal statement. On gradcafe, I think students tend to compare things that easily quantifiable (test scores, under grad institution, prestige of letter writers, etc). But really, I think those are the necessary but insufficient components (you need your test scores past a threshold, you need a good GPA, you need solid letters of rec). What the committee is most interested in is whether you will finish the program and earn a job. The best way to show them that you will do those things is by writing essays that demonstrate an understanding of how you could contribute to the field and why you are a great fit to work with their faculty.

[jujubea]

For what its worth....

 

...

 

re: Letters:

 

I wouldn't worry at all about the prestige of your letter writers. A well written letter from someone reputable is worth more than a letter from a star who doesn't know the applicant well. Instead, I'd focus on whether or not the person has the experience necessary to judge whether you will succeed in the graduate program. Ideally, your application would have people that can assess your research plans, ability to conduct research, and ability to meet your goals. 

...

 

I second this

[anna_M]

I got into 6/10 schools with a 151 q.

[Applemiu]

To raise the quant scoe I recommend Magoosh, I really liked how you can customize the practice tests. My advice: set the timer at 30 minutes for 20 math questions.

[Pennywise]

I got into 0/8 Sociology programs with almost perfect GRE scores.

 

(though I got into programs in another field where I had more relevant research experience)