Did I sink my chances at a decent math program?

[laupow21]

So I'm a prospective math graduate student, and I took the GRE today, and I guess you could say that I, as a math major, underperformed. I got a 770Q. I rushed through the test expecting the questions to get harder since it's computer-adaptive, but they didn't really seem to get much harder...I guess I made dumb mistakes, because I didn't feel it was hard at all...

For the all around picture, here's what I got.

Composite: 1540

Quantitative: 770

Verbal: 770

Percentiles can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRE#Scaled_score_percentiles

My verbal score, by percentile inspection, is pretty stellar in comparison to my math score. I know verbal is not considered as much (if at all, in some cases) by math departments, but I was wondering if maybe a math program...say, Florida State/Arizona/Purdue/Texas A&M (or a math program of roughly equivalent caliber) might be willing to forgive a non-perfect quantitative score if it's at least accompanied by a good verbal score...?

If it helps provide a bigger picture, my GPA has been a 4.0 during all semesters in my major, math, as well as overall. Also, I am not a minority.

EDIT: Weird, when I copied this post, it took away some random spaces between words. Hopefully this post is now readable!

Edited December 31, 2010 by laupow21

[Bukharan]

I am not a major in Math but it seems to me that your profile is strong for the programmes in the universities you listed. Your GRE Verbal is impressive. You sure you are a scientist?

[MoJingly]

Gee, I'm not a math major either. But I would have killed for a GRE score like that. I know that's not much help, but I can't figure that a quant score like that will hurt you, especially considering your GPA.

[eklavya]

770 Q score isn't bad, even for a math major like you. But some schools are perfectionists and demand 100%. If you are applying to such schools, go take the GRE again. Else, you can always impress the adcomms with your research, LoRs, and so on.

[laupow21]

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

I took bhikhaari's advice and retook the test today (luckily my previous testing was December 31, and you're allowed to take it once per calendar month.)

I brought my Quantitative up to an 800 and still managed a 750 in the Verbal. I'm soooooo relieved.

P.S. Bukharan, I have considered a back-up career as a writer.

Edited January 6, 2011 by laupow21

[was1984]

Any school that demands an 800 in math is culling out a lot of good candidates. I got a 790 myself and I was perfectly happy with it. I think everyone knows that the difference between a 770 and an 800 is a careless mistake on an early problem.

[colormehappy]

For most math programs the subject GRE is what matters. I've heard that some places don't even look at the general scores, or if they do, they look at the verbal since that section actually requires quite a bit of analytic thought. Good for you though for retaking and getting 800.

[Matt W]

Having talked to professors on admissions committees at a conference, most don't care about how you did on the general GRE (its high school level math!). Its a complete formality. The only thing its good for is when you're being considered for university wide fellowships.

What you should really be concerned about is the Math Subject GRE (and even this one is a bit controversial). The math subject is sort of funny: some professors say that they care a lot about it, others don't like it at all. However, chances are that there will be at least one person on the admissions committee who cares about it.

Matt

[laupow21]

I know that the Math subject GRE is a lot more important now, but I didn't know about the subject test until after the last testing date of 2010. I confess, I am really ignorant of the grad school process. I didn't even know the GRE had subject tests until two months ago. Now if I end up taking the subject test at all, it will have to be in April (way after the due dates of most applications), all thanks to my idiocy.

It's a real shame because I otherwise would have applied to some top schools, but I've sort of screwed myself over now.

Edited February 3, 2011 by laupow21