Took the GRE today, should I retake?

[spicysalmonroll]

Hey guys,

Getting right to the point, I took the GRE today and got V-164, Q-166 for a total of 330. I'm planning to apply to top PhD programs in political science. In my opinion, the score (esp verbal) isn't anything phenomenal but it's not bad either.  I went to a top Ivy for undergrad (graduated summa cum laude, PBK), and I want to see whether retaking the GRE would be worth the effort/time. My understanding is that the avg verbal score for top Poli Sci programs is 165+ so I'm wondering how important a benchmark that actually is.  Thoughts? 

[DogsArePeopleToo]

On 8/26/2016 at 5:41 PM, spicysalmonroll said:

My understanding is that the avg verbal score for top Poli Sci programs is 165+ so I'm wondering how important a benchmark that actually is.  Thoughts? 

First off, those are great numbers, congrats!

You've scored in the 94th and 92nd percentiles on verbal and math, respectively, and you seem to have a stellar undergrad profile.

I am inclined to think that if you have a few years' work experience and/or teaching assistant experience during undergrad, you are probably good with what you have. I'd focus more on letters of recommendation, a kick-ass personal statement and a research proposal, etc. To me, those are more important now.

The "benchmark" really depends on the school and the profile of applicants they receive in any given cohort. It is almost cliche to say this, but admissions committees would tell you that those benchmarks are not cutoffs and they look at the entirety of an applicant's profile, which you seem to have going for you.

Then again, most people who retake the GRE tend to score higher, according to ETS. It seems to me that the score improvement applies more to people whose first-attempt scores are lower than yours. But if you're feeling confident about recommendations, personal statement and your research proposal, and you won't need to spend an inordinate amount of prep time, you should go for it.

[DogsArePeopleToo]

Oh, and you just took the GRE today. Give yourself a few days to process the experience and your performance. With time, you can contextualize things better and make better decisions