Indecisive about GRE/where to go from here

[knifesteak]

hey everyone! Another newbie with a whole bunch of grad school worries. 

I'm looking to apply to PhD programs in social/personality psychology for Fall 2019. I applied last year resulting in one acceptance that I ended up turning down (I got a job in public health research early in 2018, and decided I wanted to stay for a while rather than packing up and moving across the country), and had fairly lackluster applications due to pretty severe mental health problems-- little contact with potential advisors, rushed the process, etc. 

This time around I'm really ready to produce the best applications possible. I have three letter writers (including two research advisors and a former supervisor I performed data collection/prelim analysis for) who are willing to submit letters for me this year, graduated with honors (3.96 major gpa), have two publications with a third in the works (and hopefully a fourth at my current job if my proposal goes well) and have worked in various labs during undergrad-- and I'm currently working for a research organization studying opiate addiction. I have strong SOPs from last year that I plan to rework to include the most recent research experience I've received and how that's changed my research interests.

My only real sticking point in my app is my GRE scores- 148Q, 163V, 5.5 analytical writing (yeah, I know. Huge difference between those... thanks to dyscalculia). I took the GRE once before and managed only a 1 point increase in my Q score after studying for months. I wonder if it's even worth it to retake it again just for that Q score, which may not even increase more than a point or two? I've heard mixed opinions on how much of an influence it will have on my application, as long as I make sure every other aspect of it is strong.

If the rest of my application is strong, is putting in the time and effort to retake the GRE worth it? I know I could take the time spent studying and use it to contact potential advisors, make connections, and strengthen my SOP, but on the other hand, that's a low Q score (I had been shooting for at least 155... but I doubt that's possible for me personally). I'm not able to take a GRE prep course for financial/time-related reasons, either, which was an option I considered shortly after taking the test. 

Basically I'm a bundle of anxiety about the whole process and I'd love to hear any insight!

thanks!

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by knifesteak

[ResilientDreams]

@knifesteak

In my personal opinion, I wouldn't worry about the GRE anymore. Your time is better spent elsewhere, and if a school passes up your otherwise strong application because of a few points in one section, then that school probably wasn't going to be a good fit for you anyway.

I also have a lopsided score (really high verbal and writing, lower quant), and I talked to my undergrad advisor and a friend of mine who's in a grad program now about it, and they both said not to try to retake it. My friend studied for months and ended up getting the exact same score. Her quant score was similar to yours and she still got interviews at half her schools. Social/personality psych isn't the most quantitatively based program either, so I wouldn't stress about it.

Best of luck to you.  

[knifesteak]

@ResilientDreams awesome, thank you! that's what my undergrad advisor told me when I talked to her last week, and it's what I've been hearing from other current grad students I've been talking to lately. I'm definitely thinking my time is better spent elsewhere, especially considering I really don't have other concerns with my applications. thanks for the reassurance  

[higaisha]

Your application looks pretty strong in spite of the weak quant score--luckily for us we're psychologists not mathematicians lol. +1 on focusing on other aspects of your app.