<p>So I'm a prospective math graduate student, and I took the GRE today, and I guess you could say that I, as a math major, underperformed in the math section. I got a 770Q. I rushed through the test expecting the math questions to get harder since it's computer-adaptive, but they didn't really seem to get much harder... I guess I made dumb mistakes, because I didn't feel it was hard at all...</p>
<p>For the all around picture, here's what I got.</p>
<p>My verbal score, at least by percentile inspection, is pretty stellar in comparison to my math score. I know verbal is not considered as much (if at all, in some cases) by math departments, but I was wondering if maybe a math program...say, Florida State/Arizona/Purdue/Texas A&M (or a math program of roughly equivalent caliber) might be willing to forgive a non-perfect quantitative score if it's at least accompanied by a good verbal score...</p>
<p>If it helps provide a bigger picture, my GPA has been a 4.0 during all semesters within my major as well as overall. Also, I am not a minority.</p>
<p>Did you take the math GRE? Getting a 770 probably isn’t a big deal, especially with the caliber of schools you’re applying to. You could try retaking it and just make sure you get 800 on it, but there’s a decent chance your verbal could fall. Then again, as long as you’re able to hit 600+ on verbal, that’s still more than enough for a math department. But if you’re applying this year, it’s probably too late to retake it anyway, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Just make sure you show your aptitude to do real math through your statement, transcripts/resume, letters, etc.</p>
<p>It was a risky decision, but I retook it yesterday, since you’re allowed to take it once per calendar month and my last testing was December 31. I ended up getting 800 Quantitative and 750 Verbal, which is a huge relief to me.</p>
<p>Grad school is starting to sound like a viable (and perhaps even affordable) option now, lol.</p>
<p>Wow. Those are excellent scores – and they are combined with a 4.0 GPA no less. I don’t know much about math programs; however, I would think that you would want to include some really top programs, if you haven’t already.</p>
<p>A high GPA and fairly good test scores are generally prerequisite to most top math schools, and your letters of recommendation will be taken seriously. In my opinion the retaking was not necessary, especially since a few dumb mistakes on a pretty easy math test indicate nothing of your potential for success in grad school.</p>
<p>Momwaitingfornew: Thank you for your encouraging reply! Unfortunately, most top math programs require the GRE math subject test, a fact I was unaware of until pretty recently when I started looking at their applications. I have not taken the math subject test. The next subjecttest, unfortunately, is in April…so I think the best I can really do is apply to the top math programs that don’t require the subject test, which, as far as I know, are University of Texas at Austin and Rice (although both of these schools look kindly on taking the subject test.)</p>
<p>mathboy98: While I completely, 100% agree that the GRE math section is a pretty poor indicator of grad school math performance, I figured that if my application was already at a disadvantage (having not taken the GRE math subject test), I pretty much would have to ace the math section of the GRE to compensate…</p>