Pathetic GRE scores, no time for retake

[Vanilla Tea]

I'm applying for a PhD in film/media studies. My GRE scores are pathetic- V: 159 (84th)/ 590 , Q: 148 (44)/ 600 and Writing (4)- (shocker, but when you're screwed, you're screwed). On the old scale this apparently adds up to 1190. (Also, is it me, or does everyone else on this forum score really well on the GRE?) That doesn't even make a 1200. One of the schools I'm applying too 'rarely admits anyone below 600 on verbal'. All my deadlines are December 1, so no time for retakes. I don't want to make any excuses for a bad GRE scores, but I think it seriously puts me at a disadvantage- and I guess funding might be difficult. Of course I know people making it to grad school with unusually low GRE scores, but I'm usually never the exception to the rule. Should I just resit the exam and apply next year? It's a bit of a bummer as I have the rest of my package together, done the whole emailing profs rigmarole etc.

Edited November 14, 2011 by Vanilatea

[emmm]

You're close to where you seem to need to be --- the new system might work to your advantage. An 84th percentile in verbal doesn't seem so bad, and does your program even care about quantitative? I would say it's worth going forward with your plans, especially as you have everything else set to go. If your scores were way below where they needed to be, I might suggest waiting, but I don't think your scores are too terrible.

[YellowSubmarine]

I'm very much in the same boat as you- I took the GRE over the weekend, got almost the exact same scores (147 quant, 159 verbal). Most of my programs don't seem to put a ton of weight on GRE scores (they don't ask for a minimum score, etc), but it's still really stressful knowing how mediocre my scores were (particularly my quantitative, ugh).

The best I can tell you is that middle-of-the-road GRE scores probably won't kill your application if the rest of it looks really good. I'm also hoping that schools may not be putting as much emphasis on the GRE this year because of the big transition it's gone through (no way to compare scores, students have a difficult time preparing, test scores tend to go down every time the test goes through a big change like this, etc).

And yes, I do think the people who hang out on this board have unusually high scores- they have to. Not everyone can be scoring in the 85th percentile and above (which seems to be the trend, scrolling through some of the posts).

Best of luck to you.

[Sigaba]

Press on! Focus on what you can control. Use the remaining time to nail your SoPs. Press on!

Press on! Focus on those tasks you can control. Kick the hell out of any projects/assignments that you have to do. Press on!

Keep going. Do not bow your head. Do not stop. Do not slow down. Look forward, not back. Tell your fears to get out of your way.

C'mon! You got what the Ivory Tower needs -- a desire to teach, intellectual curiosity, and humility. There are spots in doctoral programs for the next academic year. Go and get them!

[dilon1211]

My score estimate was

V 650-750

Q 680-780

What I actually got:

V 161 (620) 89%

Q 155 (710) 69%

I got 620 in Verbal,whereas the predicted one was 650-750 . How ?

I'm applying to Bio-medical sciences(immunology) , so it would be of great help if someone could shade some light on how my quant score would have an impact. And based on my score ,what are the colleges I should apply ?

[Vanilla Tea]

Thanks for the encouragement Sigaba and emmm- I think I really needed to hear this from others!

And Yellow Submarine- you're right, let's hope for the best! And thank god for other mediocre scores on the forum. Kind of unnerving otherwise.

[process chemist]

@dilon1211 just look at the program pages, and see where you can possibly fit. But most biomedical science programs have deadlines of Dec 1st - Dec 15. Few have deadlines past Jan. 1st. so you need to get cracking. I hope you have you SOP, transcripts, and you LOR writers lined up because you are cutting it close. For example UMich PIBS scores fit into your range, but when you apply, you have to wait for 24-48 hours to receive a secure ID to start you applications. There deadline is Dec. 1st and it is an excellent program

[krishaan11111991]

I scored 302 in the gre...  verbal-145     quants- 157.....   AWA- 3.5..... Is it a good score?  What is a pathetic score in the gre?

[perfectionming]

I scored 302 in the gre...  verbal-145     quants- 157.....   AWA- 3.5..... Is it a good score?  What is a pathetic score in the gre?

Yea, it is, I have to say. The reason is that neither V or Q is satisfactory. I mean, you have to at least make one satisfactory, depending on whether you are a Science-type or Liberal-Arts-type student.