Asked about GRE during interview. How to interpret this?

[deutsch1997bw]

I recently interviewed with the admissions committee for a PhD program in political science. I was told before the interview that I had made the "long short list." Note that this program is highly ranked in my field, and is especially strong in my subfield. I did not expect to even get an interview, as my quant GRE score is extremely low. My verbal and writing scores, in contrast, are quite high. During the interview I was asked to provide some context for my low quant score. My understanding, though, is that I would not have made the "long short list" if my GRE was that important. How should I interpret being asked about this? Thanks!

[fuzzylogician]

You have a weakness in your application but they otherwise liked it. They wanted to give you the opportunity to put that weakness in context; if there are mitigating circumstances, that could reduce any concerns about this weakness. Depending on what you did with this opportunity, you could have helped yourself, or probably left things as they were before (and hopefully not hurt yourself!). Overall if they talked to you, that's good news. Giving you a chance to help yourself is also good news. Beyond that, it's all guess work. 

[deutsch1997bw]

4 minutes ago, fuzzylogician said:

You have a weakness in your application but they otherwise liked it. They wanted to give you the opportunity to put that weakness in context; if there are mitigating circumstances, that could reduce any concerns about this weakness. Depending on what you did with this opportunity, you could have helped yourself, or probably left things as they were before (and hopefully not hurt yourself!). Overall if they talked to you, that's good news. Giving you a chance to help yourself is also good news. Beyond that, it's all guess work. 

I told them that I ran out of time. I also emphasized that I have extensive quantitative experience to compensate for this weakness. 

[00ber]

On 1/20/2018 at 3:28 PM, deutsch1997bw said:

I told them that I ran out of time. I also emphasized that I have extensive quantitative experience to compensate for this weakness. 

I think you'll be OK! I also have a much lower quant score compared to my other scores, but I have several years experience in a research position and earned good grades in my graduate-level quantitative courses. Pointing out another outlet that better demonstrates your quantitative abilities compared to this standardized test is definitely the way to go. 

[deutsch1997bw]

1 hour ago, 00ber said:

I think you'll be OK! I also have a much lower quant score compared to my other scores, but I have several years experience in a research position and earned good grades in my graduate-level quantitative courses. Pointing out another outlet that better demonstrates your quantitative abilities compared to this standardized test is definitely the way to go. 

Thanks for the response. That is my thought, too. I guess my concern is that my application will be "thrown out" because of my quant score before the rest of it is considered. I suppose that I'll find out soon enough!