Should I retake the GRE? low verbal score

[joro]

I'm still deciding on whether I should retake the GRE or not. My current score is 760q, 490v, and 4.5awa. I will be applying for Computer Science graduate programs. Would raising this score to at least a 800q, 600v, and 5.0awa make a huge difference? Should I just concentrate more on my SOP?

[natofone]

It sure wouldn't hurt and your chance for funding would likely go up because many schools use the GRE to systematically determine which students get the stipends (but I have no idea how computer science graduate programs work). You can raise your score considerably by just memorizing the top 500 or so vocabulary words. You could easily do that in a few weeks.

[joro]

It sure wouldn't hurt and your chance for funding would likely go up because many schools use the GRE to systematically determine which students get the stipends (but I have no idea how computer science graduate programs work). You can raise your score considerably by just memorizing the top 500 or so vocabulary words. You could easily do that in a few weeks.

Since you bring up funding, would my chance of being accepted into a graduate program increase if I require very little to no funding? I'm speaking mainly about the public universities in California (UC and CSU). As long as I don't make a certain amount by the end of this year, I will receive a tuition waiver from the government for the public schools in California. Basically, I would just have to pay the miscellaneous fees that those schools have along with the basic necessities (housing, books, and food).

[natofone]

I'm not sure, because I believe that most schools separate the admissions decision from financial aid decisions. That being said, I've read stories on here where schools have emailed candidates asking them if financial aid is required and then admitting them when they say no.

[belowthree]

The UC schools will take into account whether you're in-state or out of state. In-state students are dramatically easier to fund and UC schools are generally supposed to serve in-state students. As for using GRE scores to determine funding, that's extremely uncommon in computer science from what I know. I've heard it's common in disciplines with limited departmental funding, but in CS that just usually isn't how funds get allocated. (And many CS departments believe in funding *every* PhD student they admit, with a few notable exceptions. There's some places that simply will not offer you admission without funding.)

However, if you're a foreign student or have been educated in a foreign university during any stage of your education, a 490v may raise an eyebrow. Usually CS doesn't care about the verbal score at all, but if you're a foreign student, that changes. (Or maybe even if you have an asian last name, unfortunately. It's not fair, but sometimes it's how the perceptions work.) I'd say you probably don't have to retake if you don't want to, but retaking and getting better scores wouldn't be a terrible idea either.

[joro]

The UC schools will take into account whether you're in-state or out of state. In-state students are dramatically easier to fund and UC schools are generally supposed to serve in-state students. As for using GRE scores to determine funding, that's extremely uncommon in computer science from what I know. I've heard it's common in disciplines with limited departmental funding, but in CS that just usually isn't how funds get allocated. (And many CS departments believe in funding *every* PhD student they admit, with a few notable exceptions. There's some places that simply will not offer you admission without funding.)

However, if you're a foreign student or have been educated in a foreign university during any stage of your education, a 490v may raise an eyebrow. Usually CS doesn't care about the verbal score at all, but if you're a foreign student, that changes. (Or maybe even if you have an asian last name, unfortunately. It's not fair, but sometimes it's how the perceptions work.) I'd say you probably don't have to retake if you don't want to, but retaking and getting better scores wouldn't be a terrible idea either.

I will keep the idea of retaking the test open. If I see any significant score improvements in my practice tests in the next 2 months, then I'll probably retake it in early November.

[newage2012]

However, if you're a foreign student or have been educated in a foreign university during any stage of your education, a 490v may raise an eyebrow. Usually CS doesn't care about the verbal score at all, but if you're a foreign student, that changes. (Or maybe even if you have an asian last name, unfortunately. It's not fair, but sometimes it's how the perceptions work.)

Isn't that foreign educated students suppose to have lower verbal scores? I don't see how does it raise eyebrows.

[belowthree]

Isn't that foreign educated students suppose to have lower verbal scores? I don't see how does it raise eyebrows.

They are, which is why professors actually tend to start caring. Most domestic students can struggle through giving a presentation or writing a paper without encountering basic language issues. A foreign student on the other hand, will sometimes be completely unable to give an understandable presentation the first year or three and will need extensive editing on all their papers. It's something you hope improves after a year or two, but a lot of professors are looking for students that can dive in head first. To say nothing of the potential funding hiccups for the first two years if the student is disqualified from TAing because of language issues. That would force the professor to fund them another way during a time their research output is going to be substantially lower and even if they're brilliant, may require considerable time and effort to help them communicate their ideas.

A lot of schools have so many foreign applicants that it's easy to be picky. Not wanting to invest the time in a brilliant student with language issues is easy when you can chose a different brilliant student without language issues.