Retake GRE?

[dogman1212]

Hey everyone,

I'm a 2018 applicant who plans to apply 10 to 15 different PhD and MA programs, particularly the ones strong in political philosophy, such as Arizona, Princeton, Virginia, Michigan, etc. Yesterday I took the GRE and scored a 168V and 162Q. Based on the discussions I've seen here and the statistics posted on the few programs that do post their GRE scores, this score seems fairly competitive. I haven't gotten the writing results back yet, but I feel confident that I scored a 4.5+.

I am inclined to not take the test again, although I'm eager to hear input from any of you regarding whether or not I ought to consider retaking it or other aspects of my application strategy. Thanks, and good luck to anyone applying for next year!

[be.]

There is no reason for you to retake. For what it's worth, your scores are very close to mine, and I am not retaking.

[anonnn123]

Those scores are fine. You'd be much better off spending your time working on your writing sample anyway!

[Duns Eith]

You have a combined score of 330. That's super competitive. Sure, no 170v-170q, but your efforts and money are better spent on the writing sample and more applications.

If you got a combined score of 310 or 315, I might recommend retaking. But again WS is waaaaaaay more important.

Edited October 31, 2017 by Duns Eith

[CottonHarvest]

What about a V: 163 and Q: 165? Retake?

[be.]

2 hours ago, CottonHarvest said:

What about a V: 163 and Q: 165? Retake?

If your GPA isn't great (say, below a 3.5), then you might consider retaking. Otherwise, I think those scores are good. Surely, they would put you above any reasonable cut-off.

[Duns Eith]

I agree with @be.

An interpretation of what something one of my profs (who lurks here every now and then) told me is that the GRE can, functionally speaking, hurt (270-304), not-help-nor-hurt (305-324), or help-marginally (325-340).

[apophantic]

should I just cut to the chase and join the military with a 166v and horrifying 147q?

[Duns Eith]

8 hours ago, apophantic said:

should I just cut to the chase and join the military with a 166v and horrifying 147q?

I know someone who did worse on quantitative, pretty good on verbal (not as good as yours), and got into a funded PhD program

Unranked PGR, but good reputation and good placement. Analytic school.

[goldenstardust11]

14 hours ago, Duns Eith said:

I know someone who did worse on quantitative, pretty good on verbal (not as good as yours), and got into a funded PhD program

Unranked PGR, but good reputation and good placement. Analytic school.

Yup! it should still be worth applying. The departments themselves don't typically care about the GRE as much as the graduate school; I would recommend taking a look at the graduate division's requirements for the school you're applying to and see where you fall before applying. If some schools have a cut off above what you scored, then it might be worth saving the time, but I think your verbal score will be enough for most departments to shrug off the lower quantitative score - especially if you're going for a more historical area

[soproperlybasic]

Should I retake with a 304 overall? I had 156V, 148Q, 4 AW. I think the rest of my file should make up for it honestly, and one of my letter writers and I are really close so I presume that's going to be a big plus...but I didn't expect to get such a low score in V at least. I'm looking at all PGR top 30 schools.

[be.]

18 minutes ago, soproperlybasic said:

Should I retake with a 304 overall? I had 156V, 148Q, 4 AW. I think the rest of my file should make up for it honestly, and one of my letter writers and I are really close so I presume that's going to be a big plus...but I didn't expect to get such a low score in V at least. I'm looking at all PGR top 30 schools.

Given that you plan on applying to top departments (with a popular AOI at that), I would advise you to retake. Your quant score is bad, but it's your verbal score that will probably hurt you the most.

 Remember, you will be competing against applicants who are great across the board: great grades, great samples, great letters, and great GRE scores. That one of your letters will be from someone who knows you well is not all that distinguishing; I would venture to say that this is true of most (or at least many) applicants. 

[philstudent1991]

Absolutely don't retake. Philosophy PhD and MA programs do not care about the GRE. Most would stop requiring it if the universities allowed them to. If verbal isn't 160+ and you aren't international, maybe, possibly then.