<p>I keep hearing that as long as your GRE score is above the minimum, that's basically enough since a GRE won't get you in, but it can keep you out. </p>
<p>Would a score around the 1200ish be enough for a Sociology PhD/Developmental Psych PhD program? At least to get my application looked at; I feel much more confident in the other areas (experience, last 2-yr GPA, recommendations). </p>
<p>I'm probably going to retake, but I have a really heavy load this fall so I probably won't be able to raise it too much higher.</p>
<p>1200 should be ok. Most graduate programs recommend at least an 1100 or 1200. A 1200 is fairly easy to get since the 50 percentile scores (average) for verbal and math are usually around 500 and 600, respectively. You should try to shoot for a 1300 though (600 verbal and 700 math) because some psych programs may be intensive on statistics and they'll want to see a good math score.</p>
<p>Sorry I didn't see that you've already taken it. If you would just want to raise your score (say by 100 points) then don't retake it. A 1200 should be sufficient.</p>
<p>I read for at least one competitive program that the admissions council separates applicants into 4 piles; 1400+, 1310-1400, 1200-1300, and below 1200. </p>
<p>Typically all successful admittances are found in the first two piles, with people from the 1200-1300 rarely being accepted or even looked at.</p>
<p>It was an interesting article and the quoted person was from a top program. If you are going for a top program, I would retake it.</p>
<p>GRE cut-off scores tend to be program specific. Most programs will list the average or median GRE scores of students admitted to their programs. If not mentioned online, this information can usually be gathered from a phone call to the admin collecting the applications. </p>
<p>This information would help you judge your competitiveness for each program</p>