please evaluate!

[fall09hopeful]

hi everyone! i am posting because i am really stressing about about admissions. i could really use some outside opinions!

i am a senior at a top 100 school. i am going to be receiving my BS in Political Science in May. I have a 3.5 GPA and a lot of internship experience. i have completed on six month internship in DC working at a lobbying firm and another four month internship working for a US Congressman. i also worked at Parliament in Belfast (1 month) and London (3 months). during the internship in Belfast i worked on research for a paper that i completed upon my return. in London, i studied at the London School of Economics. i have taken quite a few practice GREs and i am taking the test soon. i have been scoring about 610M/580V. i know my verbal is low but i have really good LORs.

i am applying to the following schools:

U Washington Seattle - Evans - MPA

U Texas Austin - LBJ - Masters Global Policy

McGill - MA Political Science

University of Edinburgh - MA International Relations

King's College London - MA War Studies (International Relations)

U South Carolina - MA International Studies

NYU - MA European Studies

Columbia - MPA

[Dreams]

I think you will get into at least one if not more of the schools you listed. Don't sweat it too much and just focus on putting together a stellar application package.

[fall09hopeful]

thanks. i took the GRE's today and didn't do very well. i got a 520V/420Q. i really hope that this isn't too detrimental to my applications.

[Nardo]

If you look at the percentiles for your scores, you're probably higher in verbal. As it goes, people score higher on the quant section. Not sure if that's good new or bad, but never-the-less, you're in a good position of have time to take it again you want. Take advantage of the time before apps are due!

[frankdux]

thanks. i took the GRE's today and didn't do very well. i got a 520V/420Q. i really hope that this isn't too detrimental to my applications.

study your ass off for another six weeks and re-take it. as long as you get in all of your apps by december or so, you should be fine.

do you have a gre practice book to study from? if not, buy one off of amazon.

by the way, my verbal blew so dont feel bad. i got a 480 on that section. (but a perfect 800 on the Quant )

[Dreams]

While the GRE is important, most of the top schools clearly state it is only one of several things considered. Work experience that is relevant; travel and languages; and undergrad performance will also be looked at. You know the first time I took the GRE I did not even break 1100. I retook it a few weeks ago and scored only slightly better. I am also waiting for my writing score. But on the other hand I am counting on other parts of my application to help me. If you feel you want to retake it to improve your scores (especially the Q score) and have the money to do so then sure. But I honestly would not sweat it too much if you choose not to.

[Ferrero]

Most programs have a threshold score of 1000. You should check where you're applying to see if that applies.