GRE question and Grad school question

[luliov]

Hey folks,

New member to the board here, but have been a sneaker for a while. Going to be applying Fall 2009 for Fall 2010. Hope to get to know many of you as year progresses.

I have two quick questions: First, does anyone recall the thread where someone posted a google doc. listing information on a large number of grad programs? it had a bunch of information, including average gpa, gre, deadlines, etc. i just can't find it now!

two: i just obtained a 1210 (580 quant, 630 verb) score on my GRE. assuming my other factors are very strong (3.82 gpa, ppia fellow, fulbright fellow, government + other internships, fulbright, bilingual, minority), how much does a 1210 weaken my claim to a position at wws, ksg, georgetown msfs + ssp and fletcher? what about SAIS? (i assumeSAIS should be in a separate category given the econ focus, but i'm sure wws and ksg care more than georgetown would, for example). unfortunately, it's almost impossible for me to take it again so I am just curious to get ya'll's insight on where i stand on this.

thanks!

[carpecc]

Luliov,

I've been talking to admissions and faculty from a couple of schools (SAIS, SIPA, American, GW) and while some put more emphasis on different parts of the app, they all say the same thing: they look at the whole package and don't let a single factor disqualify. I'm assuming the other schools are similar.

Since your GPA and everything else is strong, that will definitely pull up your app. I wouldn't worry about the GRE score that much.

Good news for you: you've taken the GRE early and your quant score is the easiest to raise. Grab a math workbook and start studying, then take the GRE again in Nov. You can no doubt raise it by 100 points.

[dagger]

I feel like your extras make you much more competitive than your test score does. And yes, more so than with many other degrees, the whole package is considered for policy degrees. However, there's no reason not to make your application stand out even further. For that reason, I would second the notion above on considering taking the test again. I took mine in November and had plenty of time to prepare my applications.

[luliov]

I am considering taking it again, but I'm worried that I may not score significantly higher. I was very disappointed with the 580; all my practice tests (aside from the first diagnostic) have netted scores 610-660 in quant. I studied concertedly over the summer (7 weeks or so, interrupted in the middle by a 2 week vacation) and still obtained that unfortunate score.

Thus, my question is: Is it worth taking it again even risking that I may not do significantly better? I am worried that if I score ~580 again, I'll be merely confirming my deficiency (rather than just allowing evaluators to consider "he might have been having an off day"). I am not sure how much time and effort I'll be able to dedicate to it this fall.

I honestly think it might have just come down to "luck" in being given quant questions that are more/less conducive to my abilities--and I just got a bad rap on the actual test.

Sorry for the rant, but it's certainly been worrying me the past few days.

[steiner-5]

Thus, my question is: Is it worth taking it again even risking that I may not do significantly better? I am worried that if I score ~580 again, I'll be merely confirming my deficiency (rather than just allowing evaluators to consider "he might have been having an off day").

I'd take it again if that score is significantly lower than the program's median scores. Although you may "confirm" deficiency on one hand if you do poorly, you seem to think you would do better if taken again. I'd bet you'd get a few more points simply for having gotten a feel for the test's timing (I actually had to guess on the last few in the quant myself because I ran out of time). Also, if I were an admissions person, I might wonder why someone who had an off day didn't try to improve his or her score.

That said, every school and program is different, so YMMV.