Bad Math, OK Verbal

[Derpus]

Hello everyone,

 

I recently took the GREs - 159 verbal, 141 math.  My verbal is pretty average and, of course, I tanked the math portion.  I studied mostly for the verbal portion and didn't spend much time on the math, but I'm applying to history programs and wasn't terribly worried about it.  However, 141 on the math is pretty bad.  My undergraduate GPA is very high (3.86), I feel very confident about my LoRs, and I know that my essay is excellent, but I'm worried my math score will shank me.  The highest ranked schools I'm applying to are Cornell (which I don't really expect to get into) and University of Texas at Austin but, honestly, my target schools are BU (#50 in history) and GWU (#60).  Does anyone with similar experiences have any advice?  I don't have the time to re-take it and meet my deadlines, unfortunately.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Galdis

[ashiepoo72]

Well you don't have an option to retake at this point, so just focus on improving everything else in your application. Although it may be excellent, you should keep polishing your writing sample. Spend a lot of time focusing on your SOP, too. Make it pristine--triple check grammar, sentence structure, etc and have several people edit it. Do you have a good amount of research experience? That should be emphasized, as well as any language training.

I'm applying to history programs, too, so I'm no expert on getting in. From what I understand, programs have a GRE cutoff around 300 (some people have suggested it's closer to 310), so if for whatever reason you don't get in this round, I'd definitely retake the test. Do you happen to know what percentiles your scores fall under? I think for most history programs 85th and above for the verbal is considered good, whereas the quant needs to just be "respectable" (whatever that may be) unless you wanna do quantitative history.

Keep in mind public schools and underfunded programs might require a higher GRE in order for you to get university funding. If the department doesn't have a lot of funds, that's the only way for them to fund accepted students. This also varies program to program. One department I looked into said students should get above 85th percentile in verbal, another an average of 75th across all 3 GRE scores.

You could also contact the programs and ask if it's going to be a problem straight out. That'll ease your mind.

Best of luck!

[Derpus]

I still have to fully craft my SoP, but I'll have people look at it before I decide on a final draft.  As for research experience, I'm pretty sure my paper will prove it - I have an incredible amount of citations, the vast majority of which are primary source.  I think my essay will be my strongest suit because it shows I know how to conduct and synthesize primary research into a strong, coherent paper.  My verbal falls under 80th percentile and my math between 8-11th, depending on the source I'm looking at.  For the schools I want to get into (BU and GWU), I fit into their average verbal score but I am basically 8-10 points below their average math.  Since I'm doing foreign policy, math won't play a huge part.  Even then, the reason I did poorly on the math portion is because I do poorly with lots of variables.  On the questions regarding data analysis, I know I answered them correct.

 

I've always had the impression that my GPA, LoRs, essay, and SoP are way more important for history programs.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Galdis

[ashiepoo72]

You're correct that those aspects, according to most people, are the most important. Even so, lots of programs use an unspoken GRE score cutoff because of the sheer number of applications they receive. I don't know exactly what that cutoff is, like I said I've heard anywhere from 300-310. I've contacted a lot of departments and scholars, and some do value GRE scores more than others, but that doesn't seem to be the majority. Either way, it seems like you're posting because you're concerned about it to a certain degree, so I would contact programs and ask them directly. I was openly discouraged from applying to a school that viewed my quant score negatively based on the fact that it would hamper my ability to get university funding (I got 165v 151q). I'm not saying that to discourage you, but to ease your mind and save you money if any programs place more value in the GRE. This by no means reflects how I feel about the GRE (I think it's a poor indicator of ability, to be honest).

Sounds like you have a good amount of research experience. I'd still recommend polishing the writing sample, but that's because I'm a perfectionist and always believe papers can be improved. At the end of the day, I don't think the GRE will prevent you from getting in as long as the rest of your application is strong.

You could mention something about it in your SOP if you're really concerned, but I've read on this site not to bother because it wastes space better used discussing research experience and interests.

[Derpus]

All right, thank you for your input.  I really appreciate it!