to retake or not to retake...

[Grimnir]

the GRE? I took my exam a few days ago and underperformed on the math, as expected. I've never been good doing math under pressure. I scored 156Q/164V. So my question is, is this going to hurt me from getting into biopsych PhD programs? Is it worth retaking? I don't think the score reflects my math abilities at all. I got A's in courses like Calc I and II, physics, chemistry and statistics at a top 10 public school. I have 1 year of so-so research experience and 6 months of full-time research experience. No papers (yet). I'm not sure that studying at this point is going to help much....

 

For reference my practice scores were:

 

ETS exam 1 (before studying) 154Q

ETS exam 2 158Q

ETS exam 3 159Q

 

Manhattan prep:

Exam 1 156Q

Exam 2 157Q

Exam 3 161Q

Exam 4 153Q

Exam 5 158Q

Exam 6 158Q

 

Input is greatly appreciated..

 

[geographyrocks]

I can't say what will or will not be considered a good score at the schools you are applying to.  All anyone can do is make guesses.  What I can say is that I had a 156 q and 160 V and I was accepted into a funded PhD program.  Your scores should be good enough to surpass the bulk cut which is generally anywhere from 300 to 320 dependant on that year's pool of applicants. 

 

My opinion is: if you don't think studying will increase your score, then don't take it again. 

[Grimnir]

I'm planning on applying to schools ranked 20 to 50 and fully funded. I might apply to one reach program ranked higher than 20, but with a 156Q I'm not sure it is worth it. I think a max of 3 to 4 points is possible if I studied and took it again, but that is very iffy given my past experience with taking math exams under pressure. Thanks for the input!

I can't say what will or will not be considered a good score at the schools you are applying to.  All anyone can do is make guesses.  What I can say is that I had a 156 q and 160 V and I was accepted into a funded PhD program.  Your scores should be good enough to surpass the bulk cut which is generally anywhere from 300 to 320 dependant on that year's pool of applicants. 

 

My opinion is: if you don't think studying will increase your score, then don't take it again.