Requesting a review of my GRE scores for PhD Sociology programs

[anxiousapplicat]

Hi, I just did the GRE a few days ago and got 167 Q, 153 V. (I don't have my writing score yet, but I think I did quite well on it, and I'm not worried about getting a low score there).

My low quant score worries me. My quant was relatively weak to begin with, I haven't done high school math in nearly 10 years. I had about a month to prepare, and managed to improve my quant score by 9 points from what I had in the baseline. Still, 153 is a bit lower than I expected. I got 155 and 158 in the two power prep tests. Now, I'm wondering if I should retake the exam (although that is an expensive option for me), or if this score at least makes me eligible for programs I'm applying to.

For reference, I'm applying to some schools in the top 20 list, and others ranked a bit lower (but still a close fit with my interests) - Princeton, Michigan, UCLA, Wisconsin, NYU, Yale, Brown, JHU, Toronto and McGill.

Thank you! Any advice is highly appreciated.

[whooshboosh]

You said your quant score was 167 and that's low? Or did you mix them up in your first sentence?

 

If you can, I would retake it and spend almost all your prep time working on improving your lower score. If you can't, make sure everything else you have in your application is top-notch. 

[lkaitlyn]

Many schools are doing away with GRE requirements. Are you sure all the ones you listed still require it? Many of them were optional last year.

I assume you mean your verbal score, since your quant score is at or above every GRE quant average for T10 programs that list those averages that I have seen. Your verbal score is lower than might be ideal for top programs (I'd say 160+ is the dream), but they care infinitely more about your actual writing than your GRE verbal. If you have lots of free time, retake with a total focus on verbal prep, but if the choice is writing an amazing SOP or retaking the GRE, screw the GRE — focus on the SOP and other components of the application.

[anxiousapplicat]

On 10/6/2021 at 7:10 PM, whooshboosh said:

You said your quant score was 167 and that's low? Or did you mix them up in your first sentence?

 

If you can, I would retake it and spend almost all your prep time working on improving your lower score. If you can't, make sure everything else you have in your application is top-notch. 

Oops sorry I absolutely did mix them up. I got 167 V, and 153 Q. My Q is the 46th percentile. 

[anxiousapplicat]

On 10/7/2021 at 4:16 AM, lkaitlyn said:

Many schools are doing away with GRE requirements. Are you sure all the ones you listed still require it? Many of them were optional last year.

I assume you mean your verbal score, since your quant score is at or above every GRE quant average for T10 programs that list those averages that I have seen. Your verbal score is lower than might be ideal for top programs (I'd say 160+ is the dream), but they care infinitely more about your actual writing than your GRE verbal. If you have lots of free time, retake with a total focus on verbal prep, but if the choice is writing an amazing SOP or retaking the GRE, screw the GRE — focus on the SOP and other components of the application.

Hi thank you so much! Sorry I mixed them up, my quant is the one that's a lot lower. My verbal is 167 and my writing is 6. My quant is  seriously worrying me since it's below the 50th percentile.

 

Of the schools I listed, only Brown requires it but a coupe others have it as "optional but recommended".

[lkaitlyn]

I think I misread your first post, or maybe you changed it. A 167 verbal score is huge. Yes, the quant score is lower than most programs would ideally want. Honestly I'd submit everywhere recommended or required, and to optional schools where you're on the stronger end of the applicant pool (so schools below T20 where the 167 verbal will stand out in the applicant pool). If you're pitching yourself as a quant researcher, though, the quant score is going to be a problem. I especially worry about the quant score at Princeton, JHU, and Wisconsin, just based on the reputations they had when I applied to schools a couple years back. If you're talking about doing qualitative work, most schools won't care, but I wouldn't send to Princeton unless they require or recommend you submit. (Again, I would submit to all places that recommend or strongly recommend, since the 167 is very strong.)

[anxiousapplicat]

18 hours ago, lkaitlyn said:

I think I misread your first post, or maybe you changed it. A 167 verbal score is huge. Yes, the quant score is lower than most programs would ideally want. Honestly I'd submit everywhere recommended or required, and to optional schools where you're on the stronger end of the applicant pool (so schools below T20 where the 167 verbal will stand out in the applicant pool). If you're pitching yourself as a quant researcher, though, the quant score is going to be a problem. I especially worry about the quant score at Princeton, JHU, and Wisconsin, just based on the reputations they had when I applied to schools a couple years back. If you're talking about doing qualitative work, most schools won't care, but I wouldn't send to Princeton unless they require or recommend you submit. (Again, I would submit to all places that recommend or strongly recommend, since the 167 is very strong.)

Thank you sooo much! That's super helpful to know!

So, Princeton and NYU are my top schools tbvh. I'm happy to retake the GRE, and I think I should be able to raise my total score at least to a 325 (raising it by 5 points on quant - with additional practice, to a 158). I got a 158 on one of the power prep tests, and on a better day I think I can do better. It's still not the best, but at least it's the 64th percentile (my Verbal is 98th, and writing 99th). 

For a variety of reasons, I only had about three weeks to prep for the GRE. I now have time to devote an additional week or ten days to GRE prep. Do you think a score of 325 would make me a candidate they would consider?

I want to do mixed methods research, with some quant (social networks), so raising it might be good for me. I've also been doing a lot of quant research for two years now, and have generally done well on university level stats exams (90-95%). 

[lkaitlyn]

If you think you can raise it without taking time away from working on the more important parts of your app, I don't see any harm in retaking. If you have good grades in stats classes, that will help.