should I retake?

[ristastic]

I took the GRE over the weekend, and scored 660V, 480Q, and I expect the essays to be 5's or 5.5's. I'm applying for an art history PhD for fall 2010, and am not sure if I should bother retaking the test? I think the rest of my application will be fairly strong, good recs, etc. Any advice?

[jrpk]

The verbal is great, but the quant is poor. I realize you're going for a degree in the humanities with Art History but you're way below the 50th percentile with 480 in quant -- it 's below 30th percentile. I think you should take them again. I know it's a drag. I'm like you I did very well on vebal and struggled with quant. I took my GREs in March, I've not taken a math class in decades (seriously decades), but I got a GRE book and studied the the math stuff for like 2 weeks and hit low-mid 600s. good luck.

J

[ristastic]

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. I've always struggled with the quant section of any standardized test...this 480 was after 2 months of dedicated study! Sigh, back to the drawing board, I guess.

[natofone]

Yes, you should retake it. You'll do much better just by being more familiar with the format and testing environment.

The math is very easy once you learn the basic formulas and strategies (pick a number, fill in the answer) involved. The above poster is correct - just get a book and study for a few weeks. You'll be happy with your improvement.

[jrpk]

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. I've always struggled with the quant section of any standardized test...this 480 was after 2 months of dedicated study! Sigh, back to the drawing board, I guess.

I sympathize, I'm by no means a math wiz either.

By the way, your first time preapring, did you take the practice tests while you were studying? Those helped me quite a bit. I also found the practice tests on the GRE website to be pretty close to the actuals. The practice tests in the book I'd used (I think it was Barrons) were actually harder. Good luck!

J