Retake the GREs?

[nyccat]

I am applying to English PhD programs.

I have a 145 in math, 163 in verbal, and 4.5 in the analytic writing.

The math I am helpless in, but I've been told that they don't care about math. I thought I could do a little better on the verbal and on the writing based on practice tests, but under the pressure of the real exam, this might not be true.

I am also struggling with the SOP, if anyone has any advice.

thank you

[WildeThing]

As other posts and even admissions site will tell you, GREs aren't everything. From my understanding they are mostly used to weed out candidates with very low scores. To what degree are GREs actually relevant is debatable, but they are certainly secondary to fit and ability (as represented by your SoP, LoRs, WS and grades). I personally got 161, 155 and 4.0 the first time I took the test. I retook it and got 165, 153, 4.5. I applied to about 17 of the top schools in English and Comp Lit and was rejected by every single one. I am not retaking it this time around because I don't think it's worth my time as it is unlikely I will improve my score and I think it's probably good enough to not be discarded out of hand. However, who knows. People have been accepted with worse scores and rejected with better ones.

Whether YOU should retake will depend on how much time you have (and your general ability in exam situations), how confident you are in your other materials, and what schools you're applying to (without getting into questions of affordability). I don't think your scores make you a compelling candidate (in a vacuum), nor do I think they will make committees question you. Your other materials will be more relevant, IMO.