General GRE Retake?

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
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MMDE
Posts: 123
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 5:04 pm

General GRE Retake?

Post by MMDE » Wed Apr 25, 2018 4:51 pm

I just took the general GRE and got a 157 V and 165 Q, I'm very disappointed in this. I'm aiming for a top 20 program, and coming from an unknown undergrad I'm sure a bad verbal score (and bad Q score for a mathematician) will hurt me. Is it worth retaking?

blahquaker
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2018 10:36 am

Re: General GRE Retake?

Post by blahquaker » Wed Apr 25, 2018 5:54 pm

if you're worried about it and think it's worth the money, then retake it.

most schools don't really care about the general GRE very much, though. a bad score (less than 50th percentile) can hurt you, but a good score doesn't really help.

MMDE
Posts: 123
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 5:04 pm

Re: General GRE Retake?

Post by MMDE » Wed Apr 25, 2018 6:31 pm

blahquaker wrote:if you're worried about it and think it's worth the money, then retake it.

most schools don't really care about the general GRE very much, though. a bad score (less than 50th percentile) can hurt you, but a good score doesn't really help.
The reason why I'm concerned about it is judging off Grad Cafe and this website, I haven't seen a top 15 school take an domestic applicant with such low GRE scores.

FreddieBiddleBooty
Posts: 120
Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2017 5:38 pm

Re: General GRE Retake?

Post by FreddieBiddleBooty » Wed Apr 25, 2018 6:42 pm

MMDE wrote:
blahquaker wrote:if you're worried about it and think it's worth the money, then retake it.

most schools don't really care about the general GRE very much, though. a bad score (less than 50th percentile) can hurt you, but a good score doesn't really help.
The reason why I'm concerned about it is judging off Grad Cafe and this website, I haven't seen a top 15 school take an domestic applicant with such low GRE scores.
You should ask directly the grad admissions at your desired universities. Just email them.

ponchan
Posts: 126
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 6:30 pm

Re: General GRE Retake?

Post by ponchan » Wed Apr 25, 2018 6:43 pm

Acceptances to top 20 schools is correlated with high GRE scores, but this doesn't imply that they are necessary (and certainly not sufficient) to be accepted.

MMDE
Posts: 123
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 5:04 pm

Re: General GRE Retake?

Post by MMDE » Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:51 pm

FreddieBiddleBooty wrote: You should ask directly the grad admissions at your desired universities. Just email them.
I have spoken to a few schools in the past, including Courant, which didn't tell me a specific number but just told me to make sure my scores are strong. I found an article estimating the GRE scores for your average accepted Courant student as Q168+ and V158+. I'm sure that number isn't too reliable, however judging by this site and the grad cafe it seems about accurate.
ponchan wrote:Acceptances to top 20 schools is correlated with high GRE scores, but this doesn't imply that they are necessary (and certainly not sufficient) to be accepted.
That is very true, but I come from a rather unconventional undergraduate background and from an unknown undergraduate institution, so I was hoping through the GRE I could stand out in some regard, but instead it seems I've done the opposite. These schools are reaches as is, I believe I may have greatly hurt my chance by doing so poorly on the GRE (for a domestic applicant that is).

I am considering retaking the exam, but I'm not sure if my score was a fluke or really does reflect my ability. If it's the former, I'll have time to devote time to prepare but I'm not sure if that's a possibility by the time applications are due.

kieroda
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Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2017 8:45 pm

Re: General GRE Retake?

Post by kieroda » Wed Apr 25, 2018 10:00 pm

See what you can get on the subject GRE. If your subject GRE is good, I highly doubt anyone would care about your mediocre general score.

If you have the money though, just retake it if you are concerned.

MMDE
Posts: 123
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 5:04 pm

Re: General GRE Retake?

Post by MMDE » Wed Apr 25, 2018 10:18 pm

kieroda wrote:See what you can get on the subject GRE. If your subject GRE is good, I highly doubt anyone would care about your mediocre general score.

If you have the money though, just retake it if you are concerned.
Thanks, I think that's my only option at this point.

Forte
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Joined: Wed Dec 06, 2017 11:38 am

Re: General GRE Retake?

Post by Forte » Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:40 am

MMDE wrote: Thanks, I think that's my only option at this point.
Just an FYI your score is identical to what I got. 157 V, 165 Q and then I think a 4.5 or 5 on the writing. I didn't study for it, because everyone told me they don't really care. The General is more for a "weed out idiots" type of thing. As a program, you don't want someone who has a 30% in quantitative (which covers high school math, basically) in your PhD program. With the same scores as you, I got into quite a few strong programs. Honestly the subject test matters significantly more. You can get into good programs even without the subject test (albeit, probably no "top 25" program, for sure).

I think you're way over-concerned about the general test.

JL_MATH
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 12:24 am

Re: General GRE Retake?

Post by JL_MATH » Sat Apr 28, 2018 10:22 am

MMDE wrote:
blahquaker wrote:if you're worried about it and think it's worth the money, then retake it.

most schools don't really care about the general GRE very much, though. a bad score (less than 50th percentile) can hurt you, but a good score doesn't really help.
The reason why I'm concerned about it is judging off Grad Cafe and this website, I haven't seen a top 15 school take an domestic applicant with such low GRE scores.
Neither gradcafe nor this site is representative enough to estimate your chance. There are only ~100 persons in total who post their profiles here each year.

That being said, if you are still worried about your score and looking for validation to retake it then just retake it. There are still lots of time anyway.



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