<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I know there have been thousands of posts regarding the GRE (I've read most of them), but I think my question is somewhat unique, at least with regard to the type of program I am applying to.</p>
<p>I am in the process of applying to PHD programs in computer music and multimedia, and the majority of my choices are top 10 or top 20 schools. I think I have a fairly strong package, and until recently I was reasonably confident that there were no major faults that would cause problems with the application process (with the possible exception of my age- I'm 22). However, I recently took the GREs and while my scores on the verbal and quantitative sections were fine, 169 and 157 respectively, the score for analytical writing was considerably worse, at 4. In general, I'm a fairly strong writer, but I'm very slow at typing and I'm bad with time limits in general, so this section proved to be a problem (especially with my added nervousness).</p>
<p>I'm curious if anyone has any experience with how music programs look into results from the GREs.</p>
<p>As I previously mentioned the rest of my application seems fine; my undergraduate GPA was 3.69, my honors thesis received highest honors, and at the MFA program I am currently attending I have a 4.0 GPA. Obviously all of this fails to take into account letters of recommendation and my portfolio, but my major worry is that my scores will keep admissions from spending time with my application.</p>
<p>If I have to, I can take the GREs again, and more than likely receive a higher score on the writing, but if analytical writing scores are irrelevant to music programs, than it honestly not worth the time, money and effort.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance</p>