Quant. section scores for History students

[JustChill]

I was wondering whether other History applicants have had problems with the GRE quantitative section? I scored over 700 on the verbal, and 5.5 on the AW, but 500 on the quantitative. My professors tell me that math is completely irrelevant for History ad coms, but I'm applying to the top programs so I keep worrying about this. Thoughts?

[LifeIsGood]

I actually have the opposite problem. I got a 650V but a 750Q. Weird, huh? Makes me wonder if I've missed my calling as a physicist. Not really, but it does make me hope that what I've heard is correct: that GREs generally only matter for admissions if your scores are well below average. And even then it'll just mean more scrutiny of your other elements. If you get respectable scores on all three sections, you're fine. On the other hand, I've also heard that they do matter for competitive fellowships; they can be used as an easy ranking mechanism.

Edited January 4, 2010 by LifeIsGood

[africanhistoryphd]

I got a 590 on quants. My adviser said not to sweat it, and then during a meeting with a professor from a PhD program of interest he asked my scores and told me not to worry about the quant. score as the department didn't really care as long as it wasn't, like, 10th percentile.

[StrangeLight]

the quant scores don't matter unless you're doing quantitative analysis or economic history. so, be careful to steer your SOP clear of mathy things if you're worried about your Q score.

[TMP]

I talked with about 10 professors over the phone/in person in the fall. During our 15-45 minute conversations, they did not ask what my GPA or GRE scores were. They were more interested in my research interests and talking about how I could be a fit in their programs.

I've gone crazy at times over the fact that they DID ask about my languages and I don't have German!!! (It's quite...um, relevant to my area of study although it's not Modern Germany).

[Ayayay]

Whatever....I got a friggin 440 quant score...do you know what that's like after four years of college? On the bright side my verbal? 790.

[Caligula]

I also scored in the 400s in math. I couldn't be less worried about it.

[Qin Shi Huandi]

I think the quant. score can only help or hurt if you're at the far end of the spectrum. If you get less than a 400 or more than 750ish, it'll probably raise some eyebrows. If you're in the middle, no worries.

[StrangeLight]

i don't think anything less than a perfect 800 would raise eyebrows. 800Q is still only the 88th %ile. it's high school math, easier than the SAT math section, and other than helping with funding, high Qs don't make any real difference for history admissions. anything below 500Q might raise some eyebrows, but probably won't affect admissions. they will affect the funding package you're offered, though. schools award university-wide fellowships based on GPA and GRE scores so they can compare students across disciplines.

[jessabee]

I got 650 Q and 540 V. I'm not too worried about it, the verbal is lower than I would like, but I'm not going to sit around trying to memorize words that I don't use, and that my profs didn't use, when I can be spending my time attending conferences and trying to get something published!