Should I retake the GRE?

[Beeman]

Hello! I am an undergraduate, graduating in May 2020. I am currently looking into PhD programs and just received my GRE scores. I received a V160, Q153, and AW4.0. I was very surprised by my AW score because I had tested much higher on practice tests that  had been graded, but overall I suppose it is reasonable. I was very nervous that day, trying not to panic, and was not very familiar with the topic presented. Still, I felt a little disheartened when I read the score. I didn't have my heart set on Ivy's so I am not too concerned about that, but I am concerned about getting into a R1 institution with this lower score. Is it worth trying to retake next month in hopes of it getting back before deadlines?

Part of me feels that I should retake, but mostly I am in a place where standardized testing makes me so miserable that I should just go with what I have and hopefully any program worth going to will understand.

[PokePsych]

I don't think Ivy's really have that different standards from other R1 universities tbh. In general you want to have a minimum score of 310 to be considered; ideally with both scores at least above the 80th percentile. However, I got into an R1 with a 88th and 72nd percentile score for V & Q respectively. I think your AW wouldn't be the problem much. 

It really depends on the rest of your qualifications though. You're above 310 (usually the lower bound is 300 though, but above 310 is better), so in general you should make the first cut. Keep in mind that most admission committees no longer rely on GRE scores as any reasonable indicator of potential (research experience is way more important), but it's often used by the school itself as a cutoff score for funding (that's what I've heard from a couple of institutes now). If your profile is strong otherwise you probably don't have to worry. 

[t_ruth]

Totally depends on the rest of your profile. As faculty, I put little weight on the writing score. It's graded by computer (and people trained to agree with the computer), and penalizes those who have complex writing (to score well you need to keep very strictly to a five-sentence paragraph format). However, there may be a minimum 4.5 writing score for certain funding opportunities, so that would be an argument for retaking. With a little digging, you can find out if it will matter much to the places you are applying...