Jump to content

An urgent inquiry about GRE's impacts on profiles


cheetah

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

I'm applying for the Ph.D. programs in PoliSci now. A non-native speaker with a degree in the U.S., almost all good regarding GPA, SOP, letters, experiences, etc. Sadly, I have two GRE scores: V (155), Q (168), AW (3.5); V (154), Q (161), AW (4.5). Would you suggest sending them both to schools with GRE as a requirement (given that my second AW is higher), or just sending the first one?

I know that many people say (1) GRE is not as important as previous years; (2) Verbal's bar for non-native speakers is not very high; (3) it's pretty unsafe to have a section below 160 (90th percentile); (4) a low GRE score will result in a funding problem, i.e. taking a quota of 'waiver'; (5) adcom will review all files together... However, different people have diverse views on the importance of GRE. I have browsed the majority of information on this website, and getting more and more nervous about my low Verbal score.

My questions: How much does it hurt? Will my profile be passed for the first round by the Grad School? Is it okay to ask my profs to indicate that a low standardized test score does not mean a low academic ability in the letters? Should I address why I performed poorly in my GRE test in the optional section/supplementary materials on the application web?

Thank you so much! 

Edited by cheetah
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd just submit to places that have made it mandatory (so NYU, WUSTL, Harvard, Stanford, UCLA) and probably wouldn't submit to others. The low verbal score can presumably be offset by a killer writing sample and LORs (TBH I think these matter more than anything else, so if you have a trustworthy/well-known academic who will fight for you, that's good), just like a low quant score can be offset by an amazing quant writing sample - and by quant I mean, like, building models in Stan... Because that will be your competition and given your low scores you need to be better than your competition.

I'd go with the first one - AW doesn't matter that much from what I hear.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, timeseries said:

I'd just submit to places that have made it mandatory (so NYU, WUSTL, Harvard, Stanford, UCLA) and probably wouldn't submit to others. The low verbal score can presumably be offset by a killer writing sample and LORs (TBH I think these matter more than anything else, so if you have a trustworthy/well-known academic who will fight for you, that's good), just like a low quant score can be offset by an amazing quant writing sample - and by quant I mean, like, building models in Stan... Because that will be your competition and given your low scores you need to be better than your competition.

I'd go with the first one - AW doesn't matter that much from what I hear.

 

 

Thanks so much! My only concern is that if I submit the first one, would AW3.5 be a significantly low score...While if submit both, would the adcom think my performance goes down after several years of study in the U.S., given my second test is taken during quarantines? I have relatively a good WS in terms of quali writing and quant models. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use