I Bombed the Subject Test. Now What?

[anxiousphd]

I recently received my Subject Test score, and it is BAD. Laughably bad. Only 2 of the 11 PhD programs to which I'm applying () require it, and 1  recommends it. Should I retake the test? If you took the test multiple times, did you do significantly better the next time? What did you do to prepare for the second time? Also, does anyone have any insight as to how important Subject Tests are at these programs? If I decide not to retake the test, should I not apply to programs which require it?   

I appreciate any and all advice.

[Apogeee]

At some point (probably a year or two),  you are going to have to take qualifying exams for your PhD. Based on that, I would say study for this and retake it. When you prepared the first time, did you use the practice book provided by the test-maker? You can go to their web site and download it. Which area do you feel you had the most trouble in? Whatever that area, that is where you should concentrate. Do you have an MA in your field? What is your previous experience?

[Ramus]

No. Do not retake the test. Regardless of your score, it is not worth the couple hundred bucks (and time spent studying) to retake the test if only two of your schools require it. I know that it feels like you did terribly on the test, but last couple of cycles folks have got into higher ranked schools with scores in the ~20th percentile range. So don't sweat this too much.

[EmmaJava]

I took the test, bombed harder probably than yourself (I can almost guarantee this), and got into and/or waitlisted-and-then-into roughly half the schools that I applied to.  My earlier posts from last application cycle will attest to this - I basically took the test in order to apply to UC-SB (amazing fit program, literally the only reason that I took the subject test), which I got waitlisted for and then got into 2 days prior to the April 15 deadline. That I'll be attending somewhere else is another story entirely and doesn't matter to the point I'm making, which is a pretty hard "no" in solidarity with Ramus. Granted, this is just my experience...but then, that's what you're asking, right? I would argue hard against an expensive and nearly useless retake.

[poliscar]

Do not retake it. 

And ignore the poster suggesting that qualifying exams are related to the GRE. They are not related at all, in any way, shape, and form. The Subject Test is an arbitrary, standardized test, designed to make money for the ETS. Qualifying exams are purposeful, carefully designed examinations of material vital to your field. They involve consultation with your advisor and other faculty members, and require actual critical thinking & knowledge. The conflation of the two is one of the most misleading things I have ever encountered here. 

[kurayamino]

I bombed the test as well and did not retake it. I successfully applied to many schools who required the test. It's more just checking off a box than anything else. Don't retake it and, I second what poliscar has said. Exams and the GRE subject are nothing alike.

[acciodoctorate]

Just to add another opinion, I bombed the subject test my first time and took it again.  In retrospect it was unnecessary since only two out of the fifteen schools I applied for required it, and the school I've chosen to attend does not, but at the time I was panicked about my chances of getting in anywhere at all and decided to retake.  

I did not study for a single second between my first attempt and my second.  I thought I would have the time, but it was the middle of a very difficult semester, and the subject test took a low priority.  I almost didn't show up on test day because I hadn't studied any more, but figured I had already paid and might as well give it a shot.  My score improved by over 20 percentile points, which brought me into a much more respectable (though by no means very impressive) score range.  

I agree with what everyone else here is saying about the scores being the least important part of your application and the test itself being useless, outdated, and ridiculously expensive, so don't retake it if you don't want to and I doubt a poor score will seriously mess up your chances anywhere if you're already a strong candidate.  But with that said, I think what version of the test you get can really raise your score just because one version might happen to have more works you're familiar with or more material related to your specialty or something you happened to cover in a recent course/seminar--another reason the test is completely bogus and arbitrary, but I did benefit from getting a "better" version of the exam the second time around.  Your score could possibly improve with very minimal effort, if you're in the position to throw down money on it.

[CarolineNC]

I bombed the subject test when I took it back in 2012 when I was applying to MA programs. I still got into a funded program. I didn't retake it when I applied to PhDs and I had a lot of success with those applications. I don't think it's necessary to retake it. I think most faculty realize that it's a useless test, and I think it'd be smarter to put your effort into your writing sample and SOP. 

 

(The year I took it, it was nothing but Milton and Shakespeare! Ugh! I didn't know any of it!!)

[Dr. Old Bill]

2 hours ago, CarolineNC said:

(The year I took it, it was nothing but Milton and Shakespeare! Ugh! I didn't know any of it!!)

If only I had taken it that year! 700+ for sure!

[AnimeChic101!]

Let me hijack this thread for a second lol.

I'm applying to about 15 programs. About 5-6 of them require the Lit Gre (1 just wants it b/c the grad school requires it, but they don't care for it). My scores are actually abysmal. And no, this is not like some type-A stating that their B or C is destroying their GPA, my Lit score actually stunnnkkkk even though my regular GRE score was decent (80th percentile or so, higher for the writing section because it's just a formula). Should somebody like me retake the subject test? My SOP and writing sample will be good. I'm not too sure about how my rec's will be (I am in a 1.5 years Master program and I only really got to know 2 professors really well, so the 3rd letter may be a bit off). I would much rather spend time publishing, writing, reading and prepping for my conference presentations that I have over the next few months.

 

 

Oh, and OP, I got into a fully funded MA program with my terrible Lit score, but I had amazing recs (my prof's showed them to me when the application season was over and the program I got into told me that they loved the recs) and a really great SOP (the funded program told me so). Just throwing that in there.

Edited May 31, 2016 by BlackRosePhD

[EmmaJava]

On 5/31/2016 at 2:17 PM, BlackRosePhD said:

Let me hijack this thread for a second lol.

I'm applying to about 15 programs. About 5-6 of them require the Lit Gre (1 just wants it b/c the grad school requires it, but they don't care for it). My scores are actually abysmal. And no, this is not like some type-A stating that their B or C is destroying their GPA, my Lit score actually stunnnkkkk even though my regular GRE score was decent (80th percentile or so, higher for the writing section because it's just a formula). Should somebody like me retake the subject test? My SOP and writing sample will be good. I'm not too sure about how my rec's will be (I am in a 1.5 years Master program and I only really got to know 2 professors really well, so the 3rd letter may be a bit off). I would much rather spend time publishing, writing, reading and prepping for my conference presentations that I have over the next few months.

 

 

Oh, and OP, I got into a fully funded MA program with my terrible Lit score, but I had amazing recs (my prof's showed them to me when the application season was over and the program I got into told me that they loved the recs) and a really great SOP (the funded program told me so). Just throwing that in there.

Yeah, still no. Given my own experience, it is just really hard for me to envision a scenario in which retaking the subject test would be worthwhile. I'm even getting hypothetical and using my imagination and let's say that most or all of your applications require the test...I'd say, rethinking your list, in that case, would come before registering for another test (and, as your 5-6 out of 15 still gives you 9-10 that don't require it, I don't even think this applies to you). I guess if we really try to manufacture a situation in which it makes sense to retake the test we could do it, but...why? I think you're on the right track with your line about how much you'd rather spend time publishing, writing, reading, prepping for conferences, etc. Not only because it will pay off in the long run (and in a compound way - the better writing sample and CV, for instance, the less need for a token score on a test), but because those are things that are the actual practice of scholarship and actual scholarship - beautifully - is something that can happen even when we are institutionally unaffiliated (I am proud to have been doing it!). There is nothing about a standardized test that corresponds to the actual practice of scholarship, that can make you better as a student or professional, and more to the point, that can even get you the institutional affiliation that you need/want to continue practicing actual scholarship. There are certain silly games that we can just choose not to play, scams that we can decide not pay, outmoded conventions that we can do away with as we become the future of our field. I'm excited about that. Let's rock, and let's leave ETS out in the cold, those bastards!

[screamingacrossthesky]

On May 31, 2016 at 2:17 PM, BlackRosePhD said:

my regular GRE score was decent (80th percentile or so, higher for the writing section because it's just a formula)

Whether or not you decide not to retake the subject test, it might be worth thinking about retaking the GRE general (if you have the time and the money).  An 80th percentile on the verbal section is, I think, rather low for applying for English PhDs, and (unlike the subject test) I have heard that some schools use the verbal score as a way to make the first cut of applicants.

[AnimeChic101!]

On 6/3/2016 at 6:32 PM, screamingacrossthesky said:

Whether or not you decide not to retake the subject test, it might be worth thinking about retaking the GRE general (if you have the time and the money).  An 80th percentile on the verbal section is, I think, rather low for applying for English PhDs, and (unlike the subject test) I have heard that some schools use the verbal score as a way to make the first cut of applicants.

Yep. I've been prepping for it. The scores are a few years old. I last took it as a junior in college, and now I'm finishing up my masters so hopefully i'll do better . Summer is for prepping. 

 

 

[screamingacrossthesky]

On June 5, 2016 at 5:32 AM, BlackRosePhD said:

Summer is for prepping.

Sounds like a great plan, and I'm sure that you'll be able to pull that score up after earning your MA.  Good luck!

[anxiousphd]

Thanks for this insight! Everyone seems to agree with you that retaking is not my best option. I may or may not apply to NYU-- my main draws to their program are the city and the amount of MA transfer credit they accept.