GRE results- should I retake?

[e5jc23]

I'm applying for Fall 2013 to biostatistics PhD programs. I go my GRE results back... and they're not so great.

I got: 159V, 158Q, 3.5AW. I'm a math major, so I feel like I should've gotten much higher on Q, and I have no idea why I got so low on AW- I actually though I did fairly well.

Would it be worth it to retake it? If I did retake, the earliest I would be able to is Nov. 9. Would this be soon enough for December deadlines?

[Quant_Liz_Lemon]

I'd retake it. Biostats programs want to see really high quant scores. 80%+

[midnight]

I'd definitely retake if I were you.

I'm going to sound like a broken record, but I highly suggest Princeton Review's latest GRE prep book (2013). I've found it much more logically organized and easier to follow than Kaplan or other similar materials. This book goes over the actual mathematics but really focuses on tricks and tips to minimize time spent on a problem and to maximize efficiency.

I'm impressed by PR's verbal and AW prep as well.

Also check out The Ultimate Math Refresher to go over math that you probably weren't doing much of in biostats (geometry, I assume?).

[rockbender]

Yes, retake it. The Nov date should be fine for Dec deadlines, but if you are concerned you could check with your schools.

Re: the low AW score, if you didn't do this last time, sprinkle some ETS-vocab words into both of your essays. I personally didn't think I wrote a great essay, but I'm pretty sure that the few fancy vocab words I threw in boosted my score. It's relatively easy to do on the test date, so it might help if you don't have time to dedicate to raising both the Q score and the AW score by brute force studying.

[Voldeboy]

I have got 154 V and 165 Q. I am applying for PhD in Physics-fall 2013. I have a decent GPA 9.2/10 and a few small projects with no publication as of now, but I am expecting to submit one at least one in the next 1-2 months. Should I retake GRE. Will retaking it really improve my chances of getting in a better place.

Thank You