Hi, I'm applying to several tier 1 and tier 2 U.S Sociology PhD programs in two months. By "tier 1" I mean schools like Harvard or Princeton, by "tier 2" I mean schools like Washington or Texas-Austin. I am applying from abroad and have done almost all of my studies in an non-English environment up until now. So, I am having some difficulties with the GRE verbal and writing component.
I took my first GRE two month ago and I got the following results.
Verbal:160(85 percentile) Quantitative: 166 (91 percentile) Writing: 4.0 (59 percentile)
Now, this is the score I got by only doing two practice tests two days before the exam. So, I could probably pay 200 dollars again and retake the test to do a little bit better (I can aim for something like 160-162, 168-170, 4.0-4.5) . To tell the truth, I am a bit worried that my verbal and writing score may give off bad impression when compared to other applicants for the top schools. However, I have also heard some rumors that US universities will not care so much about GRE verbal and writing scores from international students as long as they are not terribly bad (which I don't think this is the case).
If anyone has experience with these issue, it would be great to know what you think.
Best,