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I took the GRE two weeks ago and I received a 6 on the analytical writing portion. However, I've heard that this score isn't given much attention unless it's super low.

PROFILE Type of Undergrad Institution: Top-ranked public liberal arts university Major(s)/Minor(s): Political Science Undergraduate GPA: 3.94 Major (should increase after this semester) Type of Grad: N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE(V/Q/AWA): 162/pretty low quant GRE/6.0 AWA Any Special Courses: Two courses in quantitative research methodology Letters of Recommendation: One from a political methodologist (hopefully he will be able to vouch for my quantitative skills), one from a professor who I have a decently-close relationship with (2 classes), and one from a professor who I've done research under. Research Experience: Experience with both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, though most of my formal training has been in quantitative methodology (regression analysis, factor analysis, spatial modeling, and data visualization). I am also proficient in R. I will be presenting at three conferences in February and April 2018. Teaching Experience: N/A Subfield/Research Interests: comparative authoritarianism, political behavior, political economy, and Russia and the post-Soviet region. Other: I studied abroad at a top 5 German university in summer 2017. I possess high intermediate proficiency in German. RESULTS Acceptances: Waitlists: Rejections: Pending: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Texas-Austin, Northwestern University, Emory University, University of Minnesota, Indiana University-Bloomington, University of Washington, and University of Iowa. I'm also applying to Indiana University-Bloomington's MA in Russian and East European Studies as a backup, which I would use as a stepping stone to a PhD if I had to. Going to: Lessons Learned: Overall, I feel really good about my application, except my quantitative GRE score. I really hope that my extensive quantitative experience will help me out here, considering that my verbal and writing scores are high. SOP: Not posting here.

I think that it's important to point out here that just because your institution might not be "prestigious," that doesn't make it unattractive to institutions. There are many institutions that are quite excellent, but that doesn't make them prestigious. For example, my undergraduate institution, a liberal arts university, is highly ranked on a variety of indicators and has several well-known, influential faculty members (both in and outside of my discipline), yet I wouldn't call it prestigious.

Thanks for the response. I'm curious, do you think this means that Minnesota, for example, looks at all applications in their entirety right away, rather than weeding out applicants? If they didn't look at entire applications, I don't know how someone with such a low score would even make the first cut.

I am currently applying to PhD programs in political science. I recently submitted an application to Northwestern University's PhD program. Here is the department's note about GRE scores: "Anything below 600 (old version) or 160/148 (new version Verbal/Quantitative) means the likelihood of admission is low." My verbal score is 162 (two above the required) and my quantitative score is 148. While my verbal score is fine, my quantitative score is exactly at the cutoff point. Do you think that the program will look at all applications that meet the GRE score requirements, even if one barely meets them?

I've not been a part of this conversation, but I think you should apply to some top 10 programs. Your GRE scores are really excellent. I know it isn't all about the GRE, but your scores are clearly within the range of those who tend to get accepted into top programs.

Thanks for the response. Could you elaborate on this a bit more?

According to Northwestern's admissions page, the Political Science Department's minimum GRE scores for admission are 160 Verbal and 148 Quantitative. Northwestern's program is ranked #23. Is it reasonable to expect that other similarly ranked programs have similar score requirements? Is Northwestern's relatively low quantitative requirement due to the Political Science Department's more qualitative approach to research?

Update: I retook the GRE today. My verbal score is pretty high (91st percentile), but my quantitative score is a lot lower than I'd like it to be. My hope is that my quantitative training pushes me over the edge.

I would say so.

Could take a variety of forms. I, for example, have taken courses in quantitative research methods. I'm also proficient in R, a programming language. Others might have taken classes in econometrics. That would certainly qualify as quantitative training, as well.

You are going to have a difficult time finding anyone working exclusively on German politics. Now, there are many Europeanists that study Germany, in addition to other countries. Take a look at UNC-Chapel Hill (Hooghe and Marks). They are both very reputable scholars that do a lot of research on Western Europe. Matt and Sona Golder at Penn State are very active in Western Europe, too.

I second this. I started out with a really "fatty" statement of purpose. Thanks to the advice of two trusted professors, I've managed to trim the "fat" significantly, and it is a much better document because of it. A third of the programs that I'm applying to require a 500 word statement of purpose, while the remaining programs have a strict 1,000 word limit. It's much easier, in my opinion, to write the 1,000 word one first, and then remove what isn't absolutely necessary for the 500 word one.

@CP->APIf I were you, I'd cut the literature review. I think it's more important to show that you can analyze data and draw new conclusions from it.

@izmir and @audre.bored I am retaking the GRE for the third (yes, the third) time next week. My verbal score is really high, but my quantitative score is much lower than I'd like it to be. My SOP is almost finished and has been revised numerous times by a couple of trusted professors, and I'm almost done revising my writing sample. I'm applying to study comparative politics.

According to statistics published by the University of Minnesota's Department of Political Science, it has accepted students in recent years who had quantitative GRE scores in the 130-150 range. Minnesota's PhD program is ranked #24 according to USNWR. Why do you think individuals with such low scores are accepted to the program? How common is this more generally?

NYU has a reputation for being very quant-heavy. In many ways (of course, this depends on your approach to political science), economics lends itself to quantitative research more than political science. If you have a strong quant background you should be fine.

How competitive is admission to the University of Toronto's political science PhD program? Is it on par with that of top 10/20 programs in the US?

I feel pretty good about my profile. I'm retaking the GRE next week, though, in the hopes of getting a higher quantitative score.

To make the story short, I took the GRE last week and it didn't go nearly as well as I had hoped it would. I'm retaking it next month. Here's my question. I have what I think is a competitive profile (high GPA, excellent letters of recommendation, a SOP that has been revised in light of feedback by two professors, quantitative research experience, and an upcoming presentation at the Midwest Political Science Association). Say I don't do very well on the GRE. Would I still have a chance at top 25 programs that fit really well with my interests?

Does anyone have any tips for a GRE retake? Is it feasible to increase one's quant score by 7-10 points in one month?

Have you looked at their recent placement record, though? Their students seem to be landing pretty good positions, including some at research universities.

I've heard that this is the case, also. I surely hope so. Some of the questions are extremely difficult in my opinion. I've been using this as my primary study tool.

Definitely see if your writer letters would be able to comment on this. If you really wanted to, I suppose you could even write about this in your SOP. If executed properly, it could work.

My concern with your potential application is that those on admissions committees will see that you have multiple degrees (with GPAs that fall below the *usual* cutoff point) on your CV, which suggests that you're a bit scattered, and perhaps don't know what you really want. I don't think you should pursue another masters degree. Just do really well on the GRE and see what happens.