thm

I'm not applying to PhD programs this year, but I thought I might reply anyway. I took the GRE with about a week's preparation and got 710v, 800q, 6.0aw. Was disappointed with the verbal score because I'd been scoring 790s on ETS's free test prep software, but the percentile was high enough, I suppose. I'd been majoring in the physical sciences before I switched, hence the quantitative score. For the aw section, I had the feeling that there were certain things the readers were going to be looking out for, and tried to provide it. Similar to what the above posters said: clear writing, etc. I might just have been lucky though. At my undergrad institution -- which isn't in the Leiter top 20 but highly regarded in general, I think -- the sentiment toward GRE scores is that it won't help you if you do well, but it is likely to hurt your chances if you don't.

Sorry to hijack this dead thread, but has anyone applied to an MA program with March/April deadlines? If so, roughly when did you hear back (admission, rejection, waitlist)? And if you got in, were your stats good enough for PhD programs? I'm looking at US programs like Stanford's and Columbia's, but I'm worried that I'll be fighting for spots with people who applied for PhD but didn't get in anywhere due to the admissions crapshoot.