Fresh (less than one hour) GRE scores 610V and 660Q

[wannaphdnHistory]

I am very disappointed in the Verbal part. I was shooting for at least a 650, and on all the practice tests, I was making at least that. I have no idea what happened. Guess I have to take the test again. I was too disappointed to even have the score sent. Is it realistic to get at least a 40 point jump on the verbal section? If not, I guess I am going to a "safety" school.

[slawkenbergius]

Aw, chill out a bit, will ya? Why would you waste all that cash? 1270 is an okay score, and it will most likely be the least important part of your application anyway. Assuming you have a decent GPA and research experience, you've got a good shot even with a score like that, and 40 points won't make much of a difference anyway.

[blukorea]

I improved my scores the second time around by 60 pts total (40 pts in Verbal and 20 pts in Math). I was pretty certain that even more drastic improvements were possible. If you are confident about it, take it again by all means.

[futurePhD]

In my humble opinion, you would be much better served to polish your writing sample and SOP, and make sure you have superb LOR's. Of course your GRE scores matter, but the 3 aforementioned factors are really the keys to admissions.

BTW, there is no such thing as a "safety school" when it comes to applying to history PhD programs. I had a perfect GPA and a stellar Verbal GRE and got rejected from both of my so-called safeties, and five of the six other programs I applied to. You might have better odds at some lower ranked programs, but it really is a crapshoot. Best of luck!

[kfed2020]

In my humble opinion, you would be much better served to polish your writing sample and SOP, and make sure you have superb LOR's. Of course your GRE scores matter, but the 3 aforementioned factors are really the keys to admissions.

Definitely agree.

Good luck!