To Retake or Go for Subject Test

[Deleted Because Useless]

Hello everyone, I am having some troubles deciding between the two options. Here is what my application looks like at this point in time.

GRE: 164v 165q 4.5aw

Undergrad GPA: 3.98 / 4.3 summa cum laude

Graduate GPA : 4.2 / 4.3

1 minor conference attendance in USA

Now, the biggest problem I have at this point is that the school I am currently in is in South Korea, and I am shooting for the “top 30” programs, which range from Chicago to Michigan to NYU to Illinois UC. I have talked over with my advisor (chicago u) and he recommends that I need the subject test as well as conference attendance and publications to set me apart from the other candidates who will be coming from the “top” schools. So time is of the essence, and I am not sure if my GRE general is enough (more specifically the AW) that I can focus on the subject test. I doubt I will have any publications by December, but I am planning to attend a few more conferences before the application begins.

Any advice will be a great help.

[Warelin]

First off, I think your scores are fine. They most likely won't get you discounted during the first round for those who go through rounds.

A lot of schools are moving away from the subject test in general. Chicago, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania (Penn) , Brown, Duke, UNC, Wisconsin, UT-Austin, Illinois, Pennsylvania State (PSU), Vanderbilt, Emory, Ohio State, Maryland, Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL), and Rice University do not require the Subject test. Some of these schools are test-optional but many note that it will not make a difference when it comes to them deciding whether or not to admit you.

Conference attendance won't really make a difference. Conferences might matter if you were presenting at a major conference but there isn't much that can be accomplished by attending. Presenting at conferences could also show that you're keeping up with the field and are involved with present ideas. Most students don't have any publications and many are advised against publishing early because the publication will be on your record forever.

My concern is your focus on the top 30 schools. There are a lot of great schools just outside the top 30. Some are better than schools in the top 30 depending on your specialization. What do you want to focus? Schools in the top 30 are very different and each have significant strengths in certain areas which others may lack.

[Deleted Because Useless]

Thank you Warelin for your comments. It's good to know that my scores are not as abysmal as I feared. I did not mean to focus solely on the top 30 schools per se, but it was stated to better judge my GRE scores. I have not yet looked into schools that specialize in my field of interest, and of course I will look further than the "top 30."

As for my interests, I am currently focused on the long 19th century English literature, with emphasis on gender studies (masculinities).

[CulturalCriminal]

7 hours ago, Hopeful and Not said:

I have not yet looked into schools that specialize in my field of interest, and of course I will look further than the "top 30."

You likely already know this, but making sure schools (and specific faculty) are working in your field of interest is super important