Low Quant - Physics

[Rosz]

I am applying to schools such as Ohio State, IU-Bloomington, Penn state...

I took the general GRE last month and scored 600 Verbal 480 Quant and 5.0 Analytical. I was fairly well prepared (scored 680 V, 770 Q on PowerPrep software) but walked into the testing center with flu-like symptoms (apparently not flu). I have strong letters, good research with publications and a 3.8 GPA.

Is this low score going to severely hurt my chances? I loathe to shell out another $160 - particularly to ETS. Also, at this point, the earliest I can take the GRE is the 20th, so the institutions wouldn't receive the scores until early February.

Thanks.

[Tam]

I think you should definitely retake it. That's almost a freakishly low quant score. What a pain. :-\

[JustChill]

Nah, who uses math in physics?

[hubris]

Nah, who uses math in physics?

Faraday? yuck yuck yuck...

[NeuroNerd86]

Sorry to be a downer, but I'd say retake it. While your GPA would demonstrate that the score is most likely a one-time aberration, chances are such low quant score will at the very least raise some serious red flags for the adcoms. For physical and life sciences anything below 700 Q is not good.

[Deleted]

Sorry to be a downer, but I'd say retake it. While your GPA would demonstrate that the score is most likely a one-time aberration, chances are such low quant score will at the very least raise some serious red flags for the adcoms. For physical and life sciences anything below 700 Q is not good.

I would also recommend you retake the test. A friend of mine who applied to Mech Eng Masters was rejected because of a 660Q he got (he was sick when he took the test) and thought it did not matter that much. The truth is most applicants are competitive and you will get discarded if one of your application's parts is too much out of their target window.

Good luck for your apps!

[AlexthePhysicsMaster]

Well, there are really two issues here. First, your application has to be selected by the physics department. After that, it has to be approved by the graduate school.

For the first step, they will be seriously concerned about your score. I *strongly* suggest sending a letter explaining that you were sick, and referencing your (hopefully) strong scores on other math tests, math grades, etc. I would also tell them that you're planning to retake it. After you retake it and get your score, I would again e-mail them and give them an unofficial score at that time.

The second step is really where I'm worried -- the graduate school may reject you out of hand if your scores are too low. Obviously, this is why you need to retake it. Even if the physics department is reviewing applications in the next week or two, the graduate school may not look at them for another few weeks or months. This is also why you need to tell the department that you are retaking it -- they may be perfectly willing to accept you, but decide not to because they think the graduate school will veto their decision.

Finally, i would suggest studying for the math test -- I understand that you were sick, but it's very unusual to score THAT low!

So in short, YES, you must retake it, but also stay in contact with the departments. Good luck!