Applying for PhD Political Science; Is my score good enough?

[allenhouse]

Hey everyone,

 

First-time poster in need of some candid honesty. I studied for 6 weeks and scored 153q, 159v on the GRE. This strikes me as an exceptionally average score. However, I'm currently in Australia getting my MPP as a Rotary global grant scholar and have worked as an RA for two different professors in my field. Undergrad GPA is 3.89/ graduate GPA is first class honours. I'm looking into poli sci/ environmental policy doctorate programs at Stanford, Duke, U. of Washington, USC, and Georgetown. 

 

Standardized tests have been my achilles heel from the time I was in elementary school. So even if I retake it, I'm not sure I'll get any higher than I did. My question is: should I retake the GRE or will my other activities make up for a weaker score?

Edited October 14, 2013 by allenhouse

[fuzzylogician]

Find out if these programs have a cutoff score, and if so what it is. If you're above the cutoffs, move on. If not, retake. GRE scores will keep you out (if you are below cutoffs) but they will not get you in. For that, the SOP, writing sample, and LORs are much more important. I'd spend my time there, once you're above any cutoff that could keep your application from being read in the first place. It sounds like you have good grades and research experience and you are able to get strong LORs, so overall it sounds like you could have a decent chance of having a strong application.