Hey there,
So, I recently took the GRE and did absolutely awful. I prepped/studied for about a week and half at about 3 hours a day yet my scores turned out awful and worse than the score range Magoosh had estimated during practice tests. Both my verbal and quantitative scores are below the 50th percentile and did "average" on the analytical writing.
I am simply not a good standardized test taker regardless of the preparation I do; I was in a similar situation with my SAT scores when applying for undergrad. However, my SAT scores were in no way indicative of my success as an undergraduate and I am confident this is the case for the GRE as well.
The entirety of the rest of my application is very strong: my cumulative GPA (3.73) and major GPA (3.84) are sufficiently high, I have done 3 internships at reputable companies throughout my undergrad during summers and the academic years, and I've been doing research on an NSF funded project since its inception (for nearly 3 years), resulting in co-authoring 2 published papers in top conferences in my field, a 3rd co-authored paper under review at another top conference, and an honors thesis that is currently underway. I also did a summer REU at Carnegie Mellon this past summer. My letters of recommendation are expected to be very strong.
I am applying to several top universities (e.g., Carnegie Mellon, University of Washington, University of Michigan) in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) for a PhD program in addition to a couple of other lesser ranked schools. With deadlines quickly approaching, I am left with no time to retake the GREs. On many of the program admissions websites, it is explicitly stated that there is no minimum GRE score and that applications are reviewed as a complete package.
That said, do you think I have a shot at getting into a top graduate school for HCI given my abysmal GRE scores? Appreciate any feedback and/or advice. Thanks!