How important is the math/quantitative GRE score for English PhD's?

[thepeeps]

I'm planning on taking the GRE's at the end of the summer so I have enough time to study.  Currently nervous about it because I've always been terrible at test taking.  Whether it was SATs/ACTs or even the state exams needed to graduate high school, I've always just struggled with standardized testing.  I've always done fairly well on the English/writing portions, but for the life of me, I'm TERRIBLE at math.  Especially math that's on exams like the GRE.  

I know I have time to study, but the math portion is really freaking me out.  How do colleges look at GRE scores, as one number or using both of them?  I'm just worried I will do poorly on the math section and have my whole score drop.  Do English departments really pay attention to the score you got on the math section, or will they look at your English/writing score more?  

 

[trytostay]

I literally scored in the twentieth percentile for quant. It’s probably the least important part of your application. I wouldn’t even consider it part of your application, but you do have to submit it as part of your test scores. 

Edited June 21, 2019 by trytostay

[Warelin]

The English department isn't likely to care. There might be some graduate schools which require a minimum score to be considered for certain school-wide fellowships. For example, Buffalo requires a 313+ to be eligible for nomination for additional fellowship support from the Graduate School.

[havemybloodchild]

I scored in the 16th percentile and it was just fine. 

[tony_flow]

I scored in the 20th percentile. I got into every program I applied to. Absolutely does not matter in your application. To be honest, the low math score might even be a little endearing to an admissions committee full of English department people who are also terrible at math

[blackstrap]

This is all very encouraging, as I already know I will bomb the quantitative. 

I sucked at math to begin with, and now nearly two decades have passed since my last math class. I just tried a Magoosh practice test, and the entirety of the math section may as well have been written in Mandarin. Seriously, trying to read the problems for any sense of understanding was excruciating. I was under the impression there were all least a few basic questions? The Magoosh practice test started right out with "car x starts behind car y, passes at 3:20, arrives at 4:16, car y arrives 45 minutes later, what was car y's speed" or some such. Honestly made me want to throw the laptop at the wall. Ugghhh.

So do I spend precious time trying to up my quantitative score at least a bit, or just say F it, answer a few when the day comes, and essentially guess on the remainder? I'm afraid if I actually exert myself, it'll frustrate me and kill my confidence for the verbal.

Edited September 20, 2019 by blackstrap

[snorkles]

1 hour ago, blackstrap said:

This is all very encouraging, as I already know I will bomb the quantitative. 

I sucked at math to begin with, and now nearly two decades have passed since my last math class. I just tried a Magoosh practice test, and the entirety of the math section may as well have been written in Mandarin. Seriously, trying to read the problems for any sense of understanding was excruciating. I was under the impression there were all least a few basic questions? The Magoosh practice test started right out with "car x starts behind car y, passes at 3:20, arrives at 4:16, car y arrives 45 minutes later, what was car y's speed" or some such. Honestly made me want to throw the laptop at the wall. Ugghhh.

So do I spend precious time trying to up my quantitative score at least a bit, or just say F it, answer a few when the day comes, and essentially guess on the remainder? I'm afraid if I actually exert myself, it'll frustrate me and kill my confidence for the verbal.

If the time you have remaining before the exam is such that the time you would spend studying for the quantitative section would hurt your preparations for the qualitative section or other parts of your applications, I would say forego studying for it. Like Warelin said, a low quant score may hurt your chances at some fellowships, but it seems that without some serious studying, you're unlikely to score within the parameters of these fellowships anyway--assuming the rest of your application is equal to other candidates. I guessed on most quant questions, scored 11th percentile. It didn't seem to matter overall. 

[jm6394]

head of admissions at a school with a top-20 english program told me they truly do not even look at or consider the math score