<p>I am an electrical engineering major at a large top engineering school (think Illinois, Purdue, Michigan). I will be applying for PhD programs in Operations Research / Industrial Engineering and am trying to get a feel for how to interpret my GRE scores. I just took the GRE this morning and got a score of 164Q/155V (790Q/530V). My biggest concern is on my verbal section as it is lower than I performed on any of my practice tests.</p>
<p>The rest of my stats can be summarized as:</p>
<ul>
<li>GPA: 3.63 (but 3.85+ over the past 2 years)</li>
<li>Research: 1 EE REU, 1 semester EE research, 1 year OR/IE research</li>
<li>Letters: Two from professors from research groups above (one is a mentor of sorts). The third from work manager/branch lead.</li>
<li>Work: 5 co-ops with big space/aero company (think NASA, Boeing)</li>
</ul>
<p>I plan to apply to the top PhD programs in Operations Research - Stanford, Northwestern, MIT, Michigan, Cornell, Princeton etc.</p>
<p>What I would like to know is whether my focus in the coming month(s) should be on studying to retake the GRE (mostly to improve my verbal score), or to spend all my time focuses on my personal statement instead. I understand how vital a part of the application that is, as you need to fit with a certain research group in order to be accepted. I would appreciate any advice you can provide - preferably based on your own experience.</p>