Must I Retake the GRE (PhD Statistics)?

[StatsG0d]

Hey everyone,

 

I just took the GRE for a second time after studying much harder than the first (and only improving by one measly point). As it stands now, I have a 164Q and 157V. Having invested much time into studying, and feeling like I deserve and can get at least a 166, is it worth taking? I received several scores above 167 taking practice courses, but I guess the test anxiety got the better of me that day. While cracking the top 15 would be nice, I realize even with an improved GRE score I would likely not be competitive. Thus, I am aiming more for the 16-40 range, particularly at state schools for which I may have an (albeit small) advantage by being domestic. I am interested in time series, Bayesian, massive data, and machine learning techniques like BSTS.

 

Here's a little of my background if it's helpful.

 

Undergrad Institution: Top 100 Private
Program: BA Economics, Minor in Mathematics
GPA: 3.81 (>3.9 excluding study abroad)
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

 

Quantitative Coursework:

Mathematics: 

Calculus I (B+) Calculus II (A) Calculus III (B+) Differential Equations (A) Linear Algebra (A-) Number Theory (A-) Real Analysis (A).

 

Statistics:

Intro to Statistics [calc-based] (A), SAS Programming (A) Econometrics (A). I will take probability theory this fall online from Penn State.

 

Computer Science:

Object Oriented Programming (A) Intro to Computing (A-)

 

Research/Work Experience:

At the time of application, 1.5 years research assistant experience at an international organization in Washington, DC. Did things like data collecting, regressions, Stata programming, and also listed as a main contributor on a popular publication. Will have published 1-2 working papers (likely not to be in a journal, but on the web site).

 

1 year research experience with an economics professor at my undergrad university. Highly regarded (top 5% in IDEAS for economics).

 

Programming Languages:

Advanced: Stata

Intermediate: SAS, Python, C#

Learning: R

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Magna Cum Laude, Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society

 

Letters of Recommendation:

One from my boss (cited several hundred times in journals), my former boss for whom I was an RA and also a student, and my former statistics professor, who is well regarded in Biostatistics.

 

Thank you all in advance!

[GeoDUDE!]

you got an A in real analysis and you really think they are going to give a care about a few points on your GRE ?

[StatsG0d]

Haha well as a full disclosure we didn't use Rudin.

[victorydance]

A 164Q is a bit scary for a statistics doctoral application. I would take it again even if you don't study for it. You obviously have the math skills, you just need to perform better on test day.

[StatsG0d]

Thanks for the response, victorydance. What would you say is a sufficient score? Does one need to get a 170 or would, say, a 167 suffice?

[geographyrocks]

The GRE is generally used as a thinning the herd tool. Your scores are above the herd so I wouldn't worry about it. Your main focus should be your research and LORs which look good. My advice is to start contacting prospective advisors. You want to find schools with a good academic fit. Contact and fit mean a lot more than 2 points on a test.

[StatsG0d]

Thanks for the input, geography. Do you have any suggestions on what I should mention to a professor with whom I would have a keen interest in working.

[bsharpe269]

I completely disagree that 164 is bad. It if fine. If you had low grades in your quant courses and had to prove your abilities with the GRE then that would be different but you have a proven record of success in quant heavy classes. I honestly dont think that a 170 will help your application over the 164. Both of those scores show that you arent bad at quant questions which is really all they use the test to see.

 

I think that you would be wasting your time and money to take the GRE again. I would spend that time reading publications in your field instead so that you are as well informed as possible at interviews.

[StatsG0d]

Thanks a lot, bsharpe. Perhaps I am overemphasizing the importance of the GRE. I would just hate to be "autorejected" from schools simply because of the GRE score.

[bsharpe269]

When people talk about auto rejections I'm pretty certain they mean more like 150Q, not a score over 160!

[StatsGuy92]

For the 16-40 PhD programs, your GRE is more than sufficient. You won't have any problems getting into these programs.

But if you aim for top programs, although your score is not that bad, you should probably retake it given your MATH/STAT/COMP coursework is not that extensive.

 

Best of Luck,

StatsGuy92.

[StatsG0d]

Interesting. Good luck to you too StatsGuy as it seems like we'll be in the same applicant pool. I would love to hear from any grad students or PhDs in statistics who could attest to what seems to be the consensus.

[clurp]

I think I had a 163 and I got into a top 10 stats department. I also got rejected from a few others. 

 

Obviously a higher score is better, but there's a lot that goes into the application. 

[StatsG0d]

That's pretty reassuring clurp. Thanks a lot, and congrats to you.

[StatsG0d]

As an update, I got a 5.0 on the writing (but I don't think this matters much for statistics?)