Good enough GRE, retake?

[franky]

I'm applying to doctorate program in chemical and bio engineering in the fall. I just took the GRE and my unofficial scores were Q: 790 and V: 560.

I'm applying to top rank schools, should I take the test again? I can take a Kaplan course for free (paid by my job) this summer. I have a 4.0gpa at a state school in chem. eng. and ~4 years of research experience when I graduate.

Since I can't do much better in quantitative, is it worth it to improve my verbal score? I am under the impression that engineering schools don't care that much about verbal.

Any insight would be helpful.

[starmaker]

Your verbal score is good enough for engineering. Plenty of schools don't even look at the verbal score. The main reason to retake would be for funding purposes - a high GRE helps in fellowship competitions and may have a positive effect on your funding package.

If you're going to retake, you'll have to retake quickly. The new GRE, which is a very different test with an entirely different scoring system, replaces the old one on 8/1 (i.e. any Kaplan or other GRE class that you take will need to be short). Unless you think you can significantly improve your verbal score in a month, don't bother.