Should I retake GRE? (166/158)

[meteora]

Hi, 

Maybe some of you saw me in the last admission cycle. Unfortunately, my last admission cycle was unsuccessful, and the DGS of the school where I had been waitlisted pointed out that my verbal gre score was low (155/160). 

I retook a GRE test and got 166/158. Since I was so nervous that I would not be able to have a higher verbal score (I am an international student), I only studied the verbal section. Fortunately, I am satisfied with my verbal score, but I am considering retaking another GRE test because of the low quant score. I am confident that I will be able to improve my quant score to 163 or 165 (not 167 or 170 though). Some of my friends advised me that 158 quant score is okay and I should concentrate on other materials such as sop and writing sample. 

May I have some opinions?

[PizzaCat93]

Purely anecdotal, but I got into 3 top-20 schools and 3 top-40 schools with a score of 166/159. Of course, other aspects of our applications will be different, so GRE is not the only thing that matters. There are people with near perfect scores who don't get into schools. However, I personally believe my quant score is a major factor that kept me out of the top-10. Since you did indeed get 160 the first time and believe you can get even higher, I think taking it again would be worth it. Adcoms are looking for reasons to ding you, so getting your stats as high as possible will keep you in the running. 

[Determinedandnervous]

It depends. Is the rest of your file in tip-top shape? If so, you have little to worry about. Another user on here last cycle got into a bunch of top fives with a very similar score because of a wealth of independent research experience.

If your file is lacking in other places (i.e. gpa, research experince) maybe either retake it if you feel you can get a better score or spruce up your independent research by working on a publication. Even having something in the works/under review puts you ahead of 98% of people applying.

[meteora]

11 hours ago, PizzaCat93 said:

Purely anecdotal, but I got into 3 top-20 schools and 3 top-40 schools with a score of 166/159. Of course, other aspects of our applications will be different, so GRE is not the only thing that matters. There are people with near perfect scores who don't get into schools. However, I personally believe my quant score is a major factor that kept me out of the top-10. Since you did indeed get 160 the first time and believe you can get even higher, I think taking it again would be worth it. Adcoms are looking for reasons to ding you, so getting your stats as high as possible will keep you in the running. 

Hi PizzaCat93, 

 

I've always loved your profile picture.

Since I am sympathetic to qualitative research, I really value your anecdotal. It sounds 16x score has different value with 15x score. If this is the case, I think that I should retake the test. In addition, I will try to improve every aspect of my application materials except LORs. Thanks for your opinion.  

[meteora]

7 hours ago, Determinedandnervous said:

It depends. Is the rest of your file in tip-top shape? If so, you have little to worry about. Another user on here last cycle got into a bunch of top fives with a very similar score because of a wealth of independent research experience.

If your file is lacking in other places (i.e. gpa, research experince) maybe either retake it if you feel you can get a better score or spruce up your independent research by working on a publication. Even having something in the works/under review puts you ahead of 98% of people applying.

Hi Determinedandnervous, 

 

In fact, I only have a master's thesis. I think my research experience is weak and I will not have a chance to publish in 6 months. I will try to update my writing sample and sop. 

What I can hope is that my writing sample and sop are competitive. The DGS of the school where I had been waitlisted looked up my full file and only pointed out my GRE scores. He added that If I had had 158 verbal score, I would have been accepted somewhere. In fact, I do not have an ability to evaluate the quality of my writing sample and sop. Yes, there is a trade-off between retaking GRE and having more research experience. I will consult with my letter writers to improve my writing sample. Thanks for your comment. 

[PizzaCat93]

9 hours ago, meteora said:

Hi PizzaCat93, 

 

I've always loved your profile picture.

Since I am sympathetic to qualitative research, I really value your anecdotal. It sounds 16x score has different value with 15x score. If this is the case, I think that I should retake the test. In addition, I will try to improve every aspect of my application materials except LORs. Thanks for your opinion.  

Thanks, glad you like it.

From what I can tell, having a master's helps as well; I think about 3/4s of my cohort has a master's or at least a year of graduate work, so that will likely offset the "weak research experience". 

[Wanumman]

I have a somewhat similar problem. Only 158 on Quant, but my Verbal is 170, which is uncommonly high for someone of my cultural background (the average verbal is something like 148). I was wondering if receiving an extreme score such as this may be seen as substantially better than a high yet imperfect score like 166, and if it could compensate for a modest Quant.

Meteora, I know that the average scores for PoliSci PhD at the University of Chicago is 164V/157Q. It's one of the top programmes. The cut-off line for Northwestern is 160V/148Q. PoliSci programmes tend to have high requirements for Verbal, but not for Quant. Obviously, a high Quant score would increase your chances, but 158Q clearly would not disqualify you the way 155V would. 155V is well below any average for PoliSci.

Unfortunately, a lot of universities are obnoxiously reluctant to post any average scores or even cut-off lines. For instance, NYU says that not being in the top 10% is somehow bad, but they don't specify whether it means the total score. I doubt they expect all their PoliSci candidates to have 165Q, which would be a preposterous requirement for the field. Many other universities are even less specific.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Wanumman

[meteora]

On 7/14/2016 at 9:18 PM, PizzaCat93 said:

Thanks, glad you like it.

From what I can tell, having a master's helps as well; I think about 3/4s of my cohort has a master's or at least a year of graduate work, so that will likely offset the "weak research experience". 

I am quite relieved. Thanks!

[meteora]

On 7/15/2016 at 6:21 AM, Wanumman said:

I have a somewhat similar problem. Only 158 on Quant, but my Verbal is 170, which is uncommonly high for someone of my cultural background (the average verbal is something like 148). I was wondering if receiving an extreme score such as this may be seen as substantially better than a high yet imperfect score like 166, and if it could compensate for a modest Quant.

Meteora, I know that the average scores for PoliSci PhD at the University of Chicago is 164V/157Q. It's one of the top programmes. The cut-off line for Northwestern is 160V/148Q. PoliSci programmes tend to have high requirements for Verbal, but not for Quant. Obviously, a high Quant score would increase your chances, but 158Q clearly would not disqualify you the way 155V would. 155V is well below any average for PoliSci.

Unfortunately, a lot of universities are obnoxiously reluctant to post any average scores or even cut-off lines. For instance, NYU says that not being in the top 10% is somehow bad, but they don't specify whether it means the total score. I doubt they expect all their PoliSci candidates to have 165Q, which would be a preposterous requirement for the field. Many other universities are even less specific.

Hi. If you can improve your Q score, I think that it is quite reasonable to take another one. I personally believe that 162-163 scores are sufficient to get into the most prestigious schools. But I doubt 158 is high enough to compete with other well-qualified applicants. 

 

I understand why I got rejected from Northwestern (I am pretty sure I also submitted relatively  bad sop and writing sample than the admitted students). As you said, it looks 160 is kind of a cutoff score especially for international students.