GRE's high enough?

[ProspectiveProspective]

I'm applying to Columbia (among others) for an Art history Phd, and noticed that some of my GRE scores fall a little short of what they expect. 

Their website states that "[a] prospective students should aim to score at least a 166 on the verbal, 160 on the quantitative reasoning and a 5.5 on the written essay".

I got AWA: 5; Q: 157; and V: 168. 

Am I still competitive - despite coming up short?

[theartman1193]

There's a few steams on here regarding GRE scores. I wouldn't sweat it. I would pay more attention to your statement of purpose, written sample. As a forewarning, applying to grad school is a crapshoot. Many situations regarding a lack of funding and political issues can arise. Among all these factors at play, the GRE is probably the least important. 

[brown_eyed_girl]

You have very good scores, and I highly doubt they will be the deciding factor in your admissions. 

[Joan Callamezzo]

Is that from the Art History website or the grad school website? Those are very, almost arbitrarily high cut offs. I'm actually pretty shocked. Especially the AWA score, considering that part of the test is an absolute farce.  I wouldn't really worry too much about it. I didn't apply to Columbia, but I scored lower than you and still got into multiple ivy/top 10 programs. The GRE can make or break you when it comes to qualifying for university wide funding at schools that don't guaranteed fellowships, but otherwise it means almost nothing.  

[ProspectiveProspective]

Thanks for the feed back! I'm from Australia, and score guidelines here tend to be quite definitive - so it's good to hear that these ultimately won't make or break the application. 

[random_grad]

Yeah, I used the Columbia guideline as an aim because it's the only school which posted that. Whether or not that means they actually care is a different question. You have great scores, so I'd say don't sweat it too much. Many things departments write on their websites appear to be fear-inducing devices meant to discourage people from applying.

[arthistorybuff]

i just recently took the gre with the hope of applying next fall. i improved but only slightly (156 verbal). I am just curious if anyone can provide insight on how heavily the test is weighed in the application process. I have already done a master's and am working in a highly reputable museum. Just curious if this is a deal breaker?