Should I retake GRE? Applying to top Art History PhD programs...

[brown_eyed_girl]

Hi guys, 

 

I'm hoping some of you may have insight on whether I should retake the GRE before I apply to grad school. I've taken it once and scored 166 V (96th percentile), 150 Q (41st %), and 5 AW (87th %). (According to ETS, this is equivalent to 700 V, 630 Q in the old scoring system.) I'm hoping to apply to top PhD programs in Art History - Harvard, NYU, Columbia, Penn, Michigan, Chicago. 

 

My verbal is in the right range, but my math is obviously low. Given that Math is pretty irrelevant to Art History and I've always been terrible at it, I don't want to spend the next few months cramming high school math to raise my Q score if I don't have to. Then again, I don't want an average GRE score to keep me out of top programs. I'm also a little nervous to retake because I'm not sure that I can improve my V & AW scores, and certainly don't want them to drop. Does anyone have thoughts on this? Should I bother retaking? 

 

To put this in a bit of perspective, here are my other stats: I just graduated summa cum laude -- 4.0, College Honors program, did a departmental honors thesis. My work experience is in museum education, research, and gallery sales. I believe I will have strong recommendations. I'm also a URM, if that provides a boost.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you.  

Edited March 20, 2015 by TakeruK
edited for anonymity

[PeakPerformance]

Your math score won't be a significant factor in terms of admission decisions, but it can affect your likelihood of being offered any of the special fellowships (e.g., those offering extra money or less teaching responsibilities) usually awarded to a few students in each entering class. I've been in programs where GRE scores from all sections were a primary factor in determining who would be considered for these elite fellowships.