155Q too low for stats MS programs?

[jcauteru]

I just took the GRE and scored a 155Q/161V. I'm concerned that the quant score will ruin my chances for admission to masters programs. Should I retake the test given the rest of my profile?

GPA: 3.67 from top-20 liberal arts college

Relevant coursework:

Intro Stats/Probability: A

Econometrics 1:A

Econometrics 2: A

Calc 1: A

Calc 2: A-

Calc 3: B-

Linear Algebra: B+

I also have strong relevant work experience doing data mining and predictive analytics.

I'm planning to apply to BU, Columbia, CUNY Baruch, Harvard, MIT (ORC), and Johns Hopkins. Am I aiming too high? Any recommendations for safety schools that still have a good reputation in the Northeast?

Edited August 25, 2012 by jcauteru

[cyberwulf]

Yeah, I would re-take. From your profile, I think the biggest concern will be your quantitative ability and capacity to handle advanced mathematics ("If Calc 3 and Linear Algebra were a struggle..."). A really strong GRE Q could assuage at least some concerns.

[emmm]

I second the advice to retake -- that score seems really low given your background.

[Hanyuye]

I have similar grades and retaking the GRE. I didn't do well in LA, CAL2, CAL3 and will hopefully make it up with Cal 4 an GRE Q today.

[jcauteru]

Thanks for the input. Sort of what I expected to hear, I'm planning to retake it in October. @Hanyuye, I hope the test went well for you!

I'd be curious to get any other opinions on my profile. Most of my grades for relevant coursework are above. I left out 2 A's in advanced economics seminars that had strong research components to them as well as an A on my senior thesis (again empirically focused). I expect to have three great LORs from my undergrad profs.

As far as the math goes, I didn't realize until a little too late in undergrad that I wanted to pursue statistics through grad school. The lower grades on Linear and Calc 3 are due to the fact that I took them at night while working full time. I'm not one to make excuses, just saying that there is a reason.

Any thoughts on my chances at those schools? I know I'm shooting high with a few of them but I'm hoping my relevant work experience will help. It is essentially 2 years of applied statistics with lots of programming (I can code in SAS, R, Python and VBA. I can also handle basic MapReduce in Java).