For applying to graduate programs in Literature, should I retake the GRE general exam with these scores?
August 12th, 2010 | 
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Hi and welcome to my blog,
I opened this blog to help anyone who is preparing for his GRE exam.
I remember myself when I started - I was so lost and in such a panic.
Luckily I got this great Gre guide that helped me a lot
So study hard and good luck!
I took the GRE in May and recently received my scores.
Overall: 1320
Verbal: 720
Quantitative: 600
Analytical: 4.0
Similar to many examinees, I find GRE test results vague and impenetrable. I feel confident with my verbal score, greatly above the mean, and my quantitative score, slightly below the average. However, having majored in English, I was rather shocked upon seeing the 4.0 score in the Analytical writing portion. Surprisingly, at least for me, I had the most difficulty with this part of the exam.
To flesh out my academic background, I graduated from a state school with a GPA of 3.77, completed an independent study within my field, and developed amicable relationships with my professors from whom I would ask for letters of recommendation.
In addition to feedback to my question, I welcome any advice about academic life and graduate school as well.
Thank you.
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In my experience, a 1320 score combined with your background should make you a valuable candidate for most graduate programs – but I was applying for a completely different field of study, and a much smaller one. Your own experience may differ. The best advice I can give is, if you’re unsatisfied with the score, take it again. It can’t hurt.
Your verbal score is very good, so that should be more than enough for an application to a literature program.
Since you’re applying to study literature, you will probably have to provide a writing sample, and that should weigh more heavily than your GRE writing score. If you take a GRE test again, consider a subject test. That would help your application more than retaking the general test and doing slightly better.
It also makes a difference where you’re applying. If you are trying to get into a top tier Ph.D. program (e.g. the Duke English department), then you *might* want to retake the test, but still probably not. Anywhere else, and your scores are more than good enough. It’s better that the low score is in the writing portion than the others, since it’s new and it’s not completely certain how it’s being evaluated.
Keep in mind that retaking the test could result in a lower score, especially since your percentile score for verbal is already really high.
that is pretty good. I wish my scores were that good. I think as long it is again above 500 in both verbal and math, should be fine. I would also apply for a research or teaching assistant as well with those scores.
I would retake it. Because you want to major in literature, you should probably have a 5.5 or a 6.0 on the analytical writing section. If you take it again you might get essay questions that you feel more comfortable with. You might also raise your verbal and quantitative scores a little bit, which could never hurt.
While your scores are good, if you are applying for a literature program your scores in the areas of verbal and analytical writing should be great. You should be in the top 10th percentile for these areas because this is your area of expertise. Keep in mind that the scores are standardized and you are "competing" with people from all disciplines.
I would retake it. While it may be difficult to raise your verbal score much, you can probably bring up your analytical writing score. Hopefully next time around you’ll get essay questions that are easier for you. I lucked out when I took the GRE because my essay questions were related to things that I had studied in college so I had a lot of information that I could include.
Probably good to point out that most PhD programs pay little attention to the analytical score simply because it requires you to write essays that are antithetical to strong analytical writing. It doesn’t seem that retaking the whole thing to raise it a single point or two would be practical as the places you apply to will be looking at your Statement of Purpose and Writing Samples — not some half-baked five paragraph essay you wrote in 30 minutes.
The GRE is used by large institutions to cut applicants right at the gate. If you don’t reach a certain cut-off, your application goes into the trash. However, most institutions recognize that the GRE is nothing more than a capitalist venture to see how well you can take this particular test. Consequently, if your scores are good enough to get you through the door (yours are), you can just dazzle them with the rest of your application package. If your scores fall short, you should start working on a side door entry (contacting people in the program / professors on the committee just to get your name out there).
I did mediocre on the GRE (640 verbal, 5 analytical) and it didn’t stop me from getting into several top-tier programs. I could study for a decade for that test and still not do better simply because of the time restrictions placed on it.
Trust me, PhD programs know the GRE is a scam — it’s nothing more than an expensive foot in the door.