Quant Score an Issue?

[lalala416]

I took the GRE last week and scored a 166V (96th percentile)/150Q (40th percentile). After graduate school (most likely a soc PhD), I plan to pursue a career in public sector survey research. Is my low quant score likely to work against me? 

I especially worry because my undergraduate college uses narrative evaluations in place of letter grades, making my GRE scores the only real "number" on my app (though I do have a  3.47 GPA from ~60 credits of college coursework taken in high school). 
 

The rest of my application will be strong--I attend an honors college, have directly relevant work and internship experience, and can expect strong LORs. 

Edited January 7, 2015 by lalala416

[atlremix]

I have very similar stats for my GRE (high 90th percentile verbal, 40th percentile quant, 4.0 writing), a 3.31 in Biology & Chemistry for my undergrad, an Associate's awarded through joint enrollment, and a 4.15 GPA on my MA in Gerontology. Also have 2 years undergrad natural science research, 2 years graduate social science research, and strong letters of recommendation. I have applied to social sciences and public health programs with an aging focus in the current application cycle. In describing my research experience, I emphasized that I have obtained strong quantitative skills through my research, which were not measured on a general GRE exam. I am also hoping that the weak quantitative section won't hold me back.

 

I will update with my admissions decisions as soon as they come in, and considering that our profiles are very similar, hopefully that helps. Which application cycle will you be applying for?

Edited January 7, 2015 by atlremix

[lyrehc]

It really depends on the program you're in. A lot of sociology programs focus on qualitative research. I switched from sociology to communication, but my GRE scores were 151, 143, 5.0 and I got into a program that is ranked in the top ten for my specialization. Letters of reference and the rest of your application frequently mean more than GRE numbers.

[lalala416]

Thanks!

@atlremix: I'll be applying next cycle (2016). 

[ritsukot74]

From what I've heard from my advisers, programs put a lot of weight in the quant section of the GRE, not only because it is needed for sociological research, but also because there is a well known algorithm that predicts future success in a grad program (operationalized by future GPA). The equation takes in consideration GREV, GREQ, MAT score (if available) and letters of recommendation (which are all assigned scores based on how good or bad they are). 

 

Anyways, after running statistical analysis on this data, it seems like the only variable that has statistical significance is the GRE Quant. In other words, GRE Quant is the variable that better predicts applicants success (again, good future GPA). The second significant variable is letters of recommendation, that's why you see people with relatively low GREQ getting into programs, because they have outstanding letters from key people. But they usually don't care about a relatively low GREV, because it has no significance for predicting applicants' success. 

[Karl32]

It really depends on the program you're in. A lot of sociology programs focus on qualitative research. I switched from sociology to communication, but my GRE scores were 151, 143, 5.0 and I got into a program that is ranked in the top ten for my specialization. Letters of reference and the rest of your application frequently mean more than GRE numbers.

151/143/5 for a top ten program, nice deal!!!