GRE, admissions advice?

Graduate School
1

<p>I'm a first year student in a two-year political science master's program at a ... lower-tier (unranked on US News & World Report) state school. Undergraduate GPA, as an English major, not great (3.3). I'm expecting to make straight As in my master's program (I did for the first semester, and subsequent semesters shouldn't be too much more difficult; anyway, 4.0 is the GRE I'm aiming for). Also, if all goes as planned, I should graduate having coauthored, with professors, at least two articles in decent journals.</p>

<p>My question:
I got ok GRE scores: 720 V/720 Q/5.5 AW, with minimal prep. If I spend a few months studying this summer, I imagine I would bump up my scores some, although there's always the chance the scores would go down instead. </p>

<p>I want to apply to Stanford, Princeton, maybe Harvard for a PhD; Stanford is my top choice at the moment as I'm interested in media and politics/political communication and S. has strong programs in each department. My GRE scores are above the "average" listed for the school but are not perfect, obviously. Would retaking the GRE for a better score be worth it, i.e. substantially improve my chances at admission?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>Also, looking over the forum it seems one big piece of advice is "test scores don't matter much." Any OTHER advice on how I can maximize my application for a good chance at admission at top programs?</p>

2

<p>No, don’t retake the GRE - your score is great. Just focus on keeping that 4.0 grad GPA and publishing those articles.</p>

3

<p>Just to echo flexfit, you have excellent GRE scores. Any improvement in your GRE scores will only marginally help at this point.</p>

4

<p>Thanks, Flexfit and GCN. If I may ask, what authority do either of you have for those statements? General knowledge of grad admissions, or some experience with more selective programs, or something else? Sorry, I’m not quite sure how the verification process works around here so am curious about that.</p>

5

<p>I direct a grad program. No need to retake in your case.</p>

6

<p>Thanks, Professor X.</p>