Is my GRE score enough?

[TheLuckyOne]

Hey guys, I am a junior in college now (double-major in Economics and Sociology), and I plan to pursue a PhD in Sociology right after college. I have already taken the GRE, and I got V: 160, Q: 170 and AW: 4.5. I still have a lot of time to retake the GRE if I need to, and I really want to get into a top 10 PhD program with full financial support. My GPA is 3.70 as of now. Do you think my GRE score is competitive enough for a top 10 program? Should I retake the GRE in my senior year? Thank you so much in advance!

[wisescience]

Great quant score! 

 

My recommendation is that you if you're willing to fork over the cash, you may benefit from studying and taking that GRE one more time. For the retake, you could focus on the verbal and see how it goes (aiming for 164+ is a solid goal). If you get a 5+ for AW, that is also a bonus. Your SOP and Writing Samples (if required) will be what communicate your writing ability to the department, however. 

 

Nevertheless, great GRE score! You really don't have to take a retake--but if you have the opportunity to improve and money is not a major concern, I'd go for it. One thing that could be potentially more beneficial than a retake would be to pursue an independent research opportunity or dedicate time toward mastering a research language (or begin studying another one if you are already multilingual).

 

Also, do you have time to study abroad should the funds be provided? This is a great pathway toward maximizing your CV as well.

Edited February 10, 2014 by wisescience

[Darth.Vegan]

You really don't need to retake. I am firm believer that GRE scores are used for sorting piles more than anything and there is no way a score like that will get you in the reject pile. That is an insane quant score (wish I had you to tutor me on the quant section when I was taking it!), and a very respectable verbal score. 

[TheLuckyOne]

You really don't need to retake. I am firm believer that GRE scores are used for sorting piles more than anything and there is no way a score like that will get you in the reject pile. That is an insane quant score (wish I had you to tutor me on the quant section when I was taking it!), and a very respectable verbal score.

Thank you! I have a high score on the Quantitative Section because of my background in Economics. Given my 170 in Quant, I think it will give me more advantage in applying to programs emphasizing on quantitative methods. However, I am much more interested in qualitative methods, especially ethnography. To maximize my chance of successful admission, should I apply to programs emphasizing on quantitative methods? In other words, how important is it to apply to programs relevant to one's preference of research method?

[Darth.Vegan]

Thank you! I have a high score on the Quantitative Section because of my background in Economics. Given my 170 in Quant, I think it will give me more advantage in applying to programs emphasizing on quantitative methods. However, I am much more interested in qualitative methods, especially ethnography. To maximize my chance of successful admission, should I apply to programs emphasizing on quantitative methods? In other words, how important is it to apply to programs relevant to one's preference of research method?

 

The important thing in my mind is to have faculty that can advise your work. Apply to programs with faculty that can support the type of work you see yourself doing, including methodological approaches. 

Edited February 11, 2014 by xdarthveganx

[TheLuckyOne]

The important thing in my mind is to have faculty that can advise your work. Apply to programs with faculty that can support the type of work you see yourself doing, including methodological approaches. 

 

Thank you! I think so too. By the way, do you know which programs specialize in ethnography or the qualitative approach in general? 

[RandomDood]

As others have said, you absolutely do not need to retake it, yours is a more than respectable GRE score (dat quant!).

BUT, since you are a still junior, IF you have the financial resources and the time I would go ahead and try to retake it when you have time.

Not because you need to (as xdarthveganx said, that GRE will definitely not put you in any department's discard pile), but because in the current system there is really no downside to retaking the GRE, apart from the money and time you put into it; you will be able to keep or discard the score, and ultimately choose which one to send to schools. Now, let's say you manage to increase your verbal score by 5 points, you would approximately be top 5% V and top 1% Q; that will not automatically get you in anywhere, but I think that as much as low scores can keep you out, really high ones represent a powerful signaling mechanism.

That being said, focus on impressing your current professors, getting a good GPA and working on your SOP (by both doing some research about the literatures you are interested in and looking at prospective programs). Those things are all way more important than 5 extra points in verbal.

But IF you have the time and financial resources, retaking it cannot hurt.

[TheLuckyOne]

As others have said, you absolutely do not need to retake it, yours is a more than respectable GRE score (dat quant!).

BUT, since you are a still junior, IF you have the financial resources and the time I would go ahead and try to retake it when you have time.

Not because you need to (as xdarthveganx said, that GRE will definitely not put you in any department's discard pile), but because in the current system there is really no downside to retaking the GRE, apart from the money and time you put into it; you will be able to keep or discard the score, and ultimately choose which one to send to schools. Now, let's say you manage to increase your verbal score by 5 points, you would approximately be top 5% V and top 1% Q; that will not automatically get you in anywhere, but I think that as much as low scores can keep you out, really high ones represent a powerful signaling mechanism.

That being said, focus on impressing your current professors, getting a good GPA and working on your SOP (by both doing some research about the literatures you are interested in and looking at prospective programs). Those things are all way more important than 5 extra points in verbal.

But IF you have the time and financial resources, retaking it cannot hurt.

 

Thank you so much! I noticed that you are studying at the CUNY Graduate Center, which is in NYC. I have been thinking about the location of my future PhD program. I am not really a city person, and I have really enjoyed my undergraduate institution, which is in the middle of nowhere. But since I am very interested in doing research using qualitative methods, especially ethnography, I think there are many advantages of attending a program in a big city with diverse population, such as Chicago and NYC. Do you agree with that?  Does location really matter in selecting programs? Thank you in advance   

[RandomDood]

Dear TheLuckyOne,

I think that it makes sense, but only under specific circumstances. Apart from the obvious ones (you have a fiancée, a wife, kids, you absolutely need to be close to your family, or whatever), from a research point of view my thoughts are the following.

1) Regardless of the location, choose the program that is best for you, that it has faculty you are interested in working with, and has good placements. And especially, do not go anywhere where for some reason or another you know for sure that you will feel miserable. Your mental state reflects in your ability to do good work, and ultimately-regardless of what "ranking-obsessed" people think-it's your ability to do quality research that gets you a job.

2) Do not operate on the assumption that you know what your dissertation will be about. You may be interested in a specific city, neighborhood, organization, social movement, but think might-and most likely will-change. If-when-that happens, you don't want to find yourself in a program that you chose over another one exclusively because of the proximity to that initial project.

3) If you are admitted to a "rich" program, location will matter even less. My gf goes to a top-notch, really rich Ivy League, and all of their students receive funding to conduct research wherever they want in year 3 or 4. Other departments barely have the money to pay their students a stipend, and funding for research is highly competitive. In that case, yes, being close to a location where you think you might have more flexibility and choice when it comes to research might be an advantage.

4) If you are really disciplined, being in a place where you think you could carry out independent research during your first and second year might be an advantage; the earlier you start researching, the earlier you start publishing, the better. As I said, though, that would require a substantial amount of discipline; coursework at the PhD level is pretty intense and you most likely will not have the time and energy to do research (my strategy is to just get over with the coursework ASAP in order to be free to do research).

I know I probably did not give you the straight answer you expected, but ultimately it's a matter of personal choice/disposition. Those I mentioned are just a few points to take into consideration when you make your decision. Good luck :-)

[TheLuckyOne]

Dear TheLuckyOne,

I think that it makes sense, but only under specific circumstances. Apart from the obvious ones (you have a fiancée, a wife, kids, you absolutely need to be close to your family, or whatever), from a research point of view my thoughts are the following.

1) Regardless of the location, choose the program that is best for you, that it has faculty you are interested in working with, and has good placements. And especially, do not go anywhere where for some reason or another you know for sure that you will feel miserable. Your mental state reflects in your ability to do good work, and ultimately-regardless of what "ranking-obsessed" people think-it's your ability to do quality research that gets you a job.

2) Do not operate on the assumption that you know what your dissertation will be about. You may be interested in a specific city, neighborhood, organization, social movement, but think might-and most likely will-change. If-when-that happens, you don't want to find yourself in a program that you chose over another one exclusively because of the proximity to that initial project.

3) If you are admitted to a "rich" program, location will matter even less. My gf goes to a top-notch, really rich Ivy League, and all of their students receive funding to conduct research wherever they want in year 3 or 4. Other departments barely have the money to pay their students a stipend, and funding for research is highly competitive. In that case, yes, being close to a location where you think you might have more flexibility and choice when it comes to research might be an advantage.

4) If you are really disciplined, being in a place where you think you could carry out independent research during your first and second year might be an advantage; the earlier you start researching, the earlier you start publishing, the better. As I said, though, that would require a substantial amount of discipline; coursework at the PhD level is pretty intense and you most likely will not have the time and energy to do research (my strategy is to just get over with the coursework ASAP in order to be free to do research).

I know I probably did not give you the straight answer you expected, but ultimately it's a matter of personal choice/disposition. Those I mentioned are just a few points to take into consideration when you make your decision. Good luck :-)

 

Dear RandomDood, 

 

Thank you so much for being so helpful and warm-hearted! I will actually spend this Spring Break visiting several schools in Chicago to check out their PhD programs, and I think that will give me some insight in answering my question.  I think you are absolutely right that people change their decisions and interests all the time, and I should have an open mind and give myself more options. 

 

I have another question, and thank you so much in advance for answering. I have been reseaching about programs, and I have come across programs where several professor all share part of my interests, instead of one or two professors who share most of my interests. For example, for a specific program, there's one professor interested in family, one professor interested in culture, and another professor interested in incarceration, instead of one professor who have all the above interests. Therefore, it is very difficult for me to pinpoint one person as my potential advisor. Does that mean that the program is not a good match with my interest? I think I don't really know what's the best way to find programs that best match my interests, would you please help me? Thank you so much!