Abysmal Quantitative Score

[rosebud8]

I just took the GRE and did not do as well as I would like. I scored a 154 in Verbal and a 130 in Quant. I realized that I did not study very hard for the latter portion, as I plain did not have the time. I am pretty sure that I did really well on the Writing portion of the test. I am applying to several programs in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis. Also, I did terribly on the Lit Subject exam, as in I scored a 420.

How much will these abysmal math and subject score and this slightly above average-though-not-stellar verbal score affect my admissions? I KNOW that the rest of my packet is strong; I already have a book published, am a good critical writer, and have written a strong personal statement.

[edgirl]

This is going to sound harsh, though I'm not trying to be cruel. I feel like you're asking because you want honest feedback, so here's mine:

Your 130 is likely going to doom your applications. It's not that the English faculty will necessarily care (although, frankly, they might shrink from a score that low on any section). But universities tend to have minimum GRE requirements for graduate admissions, whether or not specific programs do, and 130 isn't going to cut it for these requirements at any reputable school.

As far as the subject test goes: if it's not required, just don't submit it. If it is required, then you need to retake it. A 420 puts you in the 3rd percentile. That is not where you want to be, nor is it an acceptable number to share with schools that require this test.

If I were you, I would invest in some high-quality test prep (think course, not book). You may be a brilliant writer, but your scores are in a place where admission committees aren't going to get that far into your application.

I hope you are able to improve your scores and find a great fit institution for yourself. Good luck!

[midnight]

If you are considering a retake, please read this post.

Quant is my weakness, and I scored the equivalent of a 142 the first time (490 on the old test).

I decided to take a Kaplan class, get some books, and refresh what I could. I wasn't aiming for perfection (ha, as if), just a score that wouldn't be an outright detriment. I took the GRE again on Wednesday and scored 150 quant--which, while many here would curl up and die at that score, suits my needs well enough. (And I went up in verbal, too, from a 162 to a 164, so hey.)

The Kaplan class was helpful but extremely overpriced for the amount of in-person instruction time, but I know that it helped me a bit.

Also...and this may be strange advice, but I'm going to give it anyway: Don't try to cover all the concepts. I was getting frustrated remembering a lot of the geometry (and yeah, I know it shouldn't even be about simple memorization but about fundamentally understanding it, but that's another post for another day), so I decided to learn what I comfortably could and then focus the rest of my attention on other problems I was seeing again and again in practice (these are musts IMO: algebraic expressions, probability, mean/mode/median/range, standard deviation, charts/graphs, and word problems).

I think the absolute best book for GRE tips and tricks is The Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE while Barron's Six GRE Practice Tests is the best for practice (aside from Powerprep)--its questions and content are in line with the actual GRE's difficulty and overall feel.

Good luck whatever you decide to do!

Edited November 16, 2012 by midnight streetlight

[rosebud8]

I appreciate your honesty, edgirl.

I too am fearing that fate, that I'll wind up spending copious amounts of money on application fees all in vain. I spent part of yesterday emailing ALL of the department chairs of ALL of the places that I wanted to apply to, asking them to tell me HONESTLY how much this Math score would hurt me.

They all basically said the same thing: "blah, blah, blah, we look at your application holistically, so we encourage you to apply anyway it all depends on the committee that will be judging the applications," and so on. Only ONE person (whom I know personally) at ONE of the universities said that those scores would indeed hurt me, but my pubs might hopefully balance everything out and to apply anyway.

I'm not summaring all of this to prove a point, only to ask you: do you think all of these chairs that are telling me to apply anyway are saying this to simply be salespeople for their departments?

Do you think it would help to address the fact that my crappy Quant score is partly due to my having dyscalculia? Thanks so much.

[ohgoodness]

I realized that I did not study very hard for the latter portion, as I plain did not have the time.

I honestly think that it will doom you. 130 is the absolute bottom of the test and there might have been reasons behind getting 135-140 that you could explain in the SOP/have your references explain but 130 only suggests that yes you have issues with your math, if you have dyscalculia then no worry, but you did nothing to address it. There is simply no way of explaining this. You cant write "Sorry I have always had issues with my math but I was simply so stretched for time that I couldnt address it prior to applying".

My suggestion is to - drop everything, study and plan to retake it asap, e-mail the adcom and adress the situation "my previous score was due to bla bla but I realized that it would misrepresent the sincerity of my intent so I am retaking it". They will surely allow your score to arrive late and it will atleast signal that you are willing to put in the extra work required.

[rosebud8]

Thanks, Edgirl. I think that is a good idea. The only thing is, retaking the test ASAP will not give me the better Quant score that I need.

It is pretty clear that I need A LOT of review in this arena. My guess is at LEAST few months of steady practice and review. My instinct is to do this: to put EVERYTHING on hold and to take an online Kaplan course and REALLY review and practice the Quant, even the Verbal.

I may just do that. The way I see it (and call it blind optimism, but I prefer the term "realism) that I basically have all my ducks in a row, meaning I have my recommenders selected and willing to assist, a strong undergrad and grad GPA, and good samples. Seeing as these positive factors are not going to wither up and die right before my eyes, I feel like it might be the best thing to put everything on hold, slooooow it down, take my time now that I actually have it, and practice that awful Math and yes, the Verbal as well, for maybe a couple of months. That way I can retake the test once again, maybe even one more time thereafter. Then I will apply in the Fall of 2013.

Do you think that sounds amenable? It FEELS so!

And thank you for your honesty. I wish someone--anyone-- else would have been that forthcoming!

[kaykaykay]

I appreciate your honesty, edgirl.

I too am fearing that fate, that I'll wind up spending copious amounts of money on application fees all in vain. I spent part of yesterday emailing ALL of the department chairs of ALL of the places that I wanted to apply to, asking them to tell me HONESTLY how much this Math score would hurt me.

They all basically said the same thing: "blah, blah, blah, we look at your application holistically, so we encourage you to apply anyway it all depends on the committee that will be judging the applications," and so on. Only ONE person (whom I know personally) at ONE of the universities said that those scores would indeed hurt me, but my pubs might hopefully balance everything out and to apply anyway.

I'm not summaring all of this to prove a point, only to ask you: do you think all of these chairs that are telling me to apply anyway are saying this to simply be salespeople for their departments?

Do you think it would help to address the fact that my crappy Quant score is partly due to my having dyscalculia? Thanks so much.

I heard it from faculty : Professors are not allowed to discourage anyone from applying. I guess there are several reasons for this. In any case do not be surprised if they tell you you should apply.