Are these good GRE scores?

[historyguy12485]

Hey all...

I have 3 semesters left before I graduate w/ a BA in history, music history minor. I want to pursue grad studies in colonial American history. I go to a decent public university now, my GPA is 3.86 and it's slightly higher in my major. I scored a 620 V and 650 Q, and I also will be interning at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation this coming summer. Anyone able to guess what my chances may be for getting into a program like William and Mary, UVA or U Mich? I don't think my verbal score is high enough, but then you always hear that the GRE doesn't actually help you? The average scores for the schools I mentioned are in the 640s. How much of a difference is there between a 620 and a 640? Do schools look at just the number score or do they also look at the percentile?

Thanks in advance!

[DrOrpheus]

Hey all...

I have 3 semesters left before I graduate w/ a BA in history, music history minor. I want to pursue grad studies in colonial American history. I go to a decent public university now, my GPA is 3.86 and it's slightly higher in my major. I scored a 620 V and 650 Q, and I also will be interning at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation this coming summer. Anyone able to guess what my chances may be for getting into a program like William and Mary, UVA or U Mich? I don't think my verbal score is high enough, but then you always hear that the GRE doesn't actually help you? The average scores for the schools I mentioned are in the 640s. How much of a difference is there between a 620 and a 640? Do schools look at just the number score or do they also look at the percentile?

Thanks in advance!

I'm jealous of your CWF internship! I love VA, and CW is one of the many great historical sites to visit. I excavated at Washington's Ferry Farm up in Fredericksburg a couple of summers ago and have been aching to return.

You did far better than I did on the GRE! As you'll no doubt read on these forums repeatedly, it's not just the GRE that adcoms look at. Your GPA is great, and you're doing the right thing by the internship. Keep doing stuff that makes you stand out, like presentations and such. These plus your SOP, writing samples, and LOR's will count for much more than the GRE. One thing you might want to do is to start building a rapport with a few potential advisors. As far as chances for W&M, UVA, UMich, I can't say. Budgets are tightening all across the country and I've noticed a trend in other posts that many departments are reducing their cohorts significantly as a result. That's where the stuff outside of your "numbers" come into play. Most importantly, make sure you are a good fit with the program; you can have the best application in the pile but if your interests don't mesh with the department's, they're not going to take you. You may find that your "dream" school isn't the best fit for your interests. My "dream" school was Harvard, but the fit isn't there so I didn't bother wasting application fee $$.

In sum, keep doing what you're doing, try to get more presentations/internships under your belt, and if you really feel insecure about your score, retake the GRE, but I think you're good to go. Averages are just that -- averages. Good luck!

PS: Since you're interested in Colonial American history, if you are interested in excavation, my UG conducts the field school I mentioned above. It's a ton of fun, you learn a LOT, and there are weekly excursions to various historical sites. Plus, Professor Levy is a W&M alum and knowledgeable beyond description. It was honestly the best experience of my entire UG career. The website is http://history.usf.edu/gwffs/mainpage.htm if you'd like to take a look.

[historyguy12485]

I'm jealous of your CWF internship! I love VA, and CW is one of the many great historical sites to visit. I excavated at Washington's Ferry Farm up in Fredericksburg a couple of summers ago and have been aching to return.

You did far better than I did on the GRE! As you'll no doubt read on these forums repeatedly, it's not just the GRE that adcoms look at. Your GPA is great, and you're doing the right thing by the internship. Keep doing stuff that makes you stand out, like presentations and such. These plus your SOP, writing samples, and LOR's will count for much more than the GRE. One thing you might want to do is to start building a rapport with a few potential advisors. As far as chances for W&M, UVA, UMich, I can't say. Budgets are tightening all across the country and I've noticed a trend in other posts that many departments are reducing their cohorts significantly as a result. That's where the stuff outside of your "numbers" come into play. Most importantly, make sure you are a good fit with the program; you can have the best application in the pile but if your interests don't mesh with the department's, they're not going to take you. You may find that your "dream" school isn't the best fit for your interests. My "dream" school was Harvard, but the fit isn't there so I didn't bother wasting application fee $.

In sum, keep doing what you're doing, try to get more presentations/internships under your belt, and if you really feel insecure about your score, retake the GRE, but I think you're good to go. Averages are just that -- averages. Good luck!

PS: Since you're interested in Colonial American history, if you are interested in excavation, my UG conducts the field school I mentioned above. It's a ton of fun, you learn a LOT, and there are weekly excursions to various historical sites. Plus, Professor Levy is a W&M alum and knowledgeable beyond description. It was honestly the best experience of my entire UG career. The website is http://history.usf.e...fs/mainpage.htm if you'd like to take a look.

Thanks for the reply! That field school looks really interesting, I'll have to look into that. I definitely have a very interdisciplinary approach to history so I find archaeology and material culture invaluable to understanding social and cultural history.

Yeah, I'm really stoked for CW, and I'm sure that can't hurt to have on my resume. I'm not sure I have the appetite to sit for the GRE again, it was enough stress doing it once. I just wish my verbal was like 10-15 pts higher, oh well.

You mention presentations and I forgot to say that I'm presenting a paper this April at the Phi Alpha Theta Conference at Villanova University on the conception of property in 18th c. America. In my head, I'm doing an anthology of work on whiteness, property, identity, etc. until I reach my dissertation. This paper is the first (albeit tiniest) step!

[DrOrpheus]

Yay PAT! My presentation's on the foundation and evolution of the Macedonian navy under Philip II and Alexander the Great. It's the first chapter of my senior thesis. Yeah, I'm an ancient historian/classicist that did excavation work on a colonial America site. It was my first excavation and I wanted to do one stateside before I go over to Greece and had to deal with being a n00b on top of being in a foreign country.

I just noticed on the application for the field school that Dr. Levy hasn't updated the due date. I'd email him to see what's up. I ran into him about 6 weeks ago and in our talking about the site he didn't mention that the field school wasn't on for this year so it might just be an oversight on his part. Let me know if you apply!

[Riotbeard]

Your GRE score is pretty good, but if you fell like you can do better. You may wanna take it again. A little higher score may help from an adminstrative perspective (The schools that encompass the department like having high GRE statistics), but at the end of the day, any advice you get here is guessing, and the GRE is pretty low on the importance level of your application.

[qbtacoma]

Your GRE score is pretty good, but if you fell like you can do better. You may wanna take it again. A little higher score may help from an adminstrative perspective (The schools that encompass the department like having high GRE statistics), but at the end of the day, any advice you get here is guessing, and the GRE is pretty low on the importance level of your application.

Yeah, the issue is whether you want to shell out more money to take the test. If you can't, then don't worry about your scores, but if this is something you want to do, it will give you a modest benefit, especially if you break 700.

[historyguy12485]

Thanks for the info everyone! As much as I want to think that if I take it again I'll do better, I'm not sure if that's true. I have appointments to meet with 2 of my professors who I consider mentors, and I'm going to ask them what they think. I spoke to another one of my mentors, Dr. Steve Gimber, early Americanist at West Chester U, and he really wasn't able to give me a definitive answer either way. I wish this process were easier...

[natsteel]

I would think that for schools which have an average GRE Verbal score of 640, your 620 should keep you competitive enough to have the rest of your app looked at. I got into a program with a GRE V of 20 points below the department's average. Keep in mind that it is an average, meaning people must have gotten in with scores lower than the average. Also, your Q score gets you over 1200 combined. Like the poster above, I would say that if you are confident you can do better (650+) and have the money, then take it again. If not, it's not a V score that will keep the rest of your application from being seen.

[Rustin]

I think a large part of the decision is: How did you prepare for the GRE the first time around? If you went all out, and really took the time to prepare for it the best you could, then take the 620 and be happy with it. If you didn't, then take three months and study right, taking practice tests along the way to measure your progress. You have the time since you're not up against any application deadlines yet. If you see consistent improvement in your practice, take the GRE again and bump the score up.

For example, my first practice tests without any studying were in the 600 to 650 range verbal and the 400-450 range for math (it'd been eight years since I looked at a math course, book, or actual problem). Three months, 1500 flashcards, and lots of math prep books later, I ended up with a 700v/760q/6aw score. This was a bit lower on the verbal than I'd been practicing at and a bit higher on the math, so I was pleased- taking it again, with more practice, could not have substantially changed my scores.

Looks like you're doing a lot of the things right to prepare. Good luck.

Edited February 16, 2011 by Rustin

[thepast]

Despite what the websites say about admissions, the GREs count, and low scores hurt your chance of admission. I believe that there is a gap between the reality and rhetoric regarding admissions.

[TransnationalHistory]

I can't predict your chances for any program, but my GRE scores were not steller....650 V and 700 Q. But so far I've gotten into at least one school. From talking to the professors who wrote my LOR, the biggest thing that counts is what you bring that stands out from the rest. Most applicants have decent to excellent GRE scores, so that's not really the best way to get into a program. An internship is a great start. Try publishing some undergrad research if you can. And make sure you have a strong writing sample. Your GRE scores, from what I can tell, are perfectly fine. They won't impress anyone, but they are not going to raise a red flag either.

[SecondBlackPrez]

I agree with Transnational...