Hey,
I know this question gets asked a lot, but I would appreciate some advice.
I'm not a native speaker and my GRE score are 157 for both V&Q (73% & 75%), and 4 on AWA (which is 49% and sucks very much).
My overall GPA is about 3.5, and last two years something like 3.6 (I did my undergrad at a 1-100 scale university, so it's hard to be exact).
I got 119 on the TOEFL (if that makes any difference).
Two of my recommenders are big names in my field. All three know me well enough to write a strong letter.
I have research experience in the field that I'm applying to (twice with a scholarship), and I am a native speaker and a fluent speaker of the two languages that are important for my work.
I wasn't happy with my GRE scores and registered to retake. As I'm now studying for the test again, I realize that any improvement will be a mild one (unless I'm extremely lucky). I'm asking myself whether it is worthwhile to try again, or whether it will be a better idea to invest that time in perfecting my SOP and writing sample. Of course, there's always the chance of getting an even lower grade than the first one.
I'm applying at 10 different universities. My top choice is the history department at Chicago University. I'm contacting POI's at every university, and so far the responses have been good (the professor that I would prefer to work with the most wants to meet face to face).
What would you do in my position (besides burning down ETS)?
Thanks!
