<p>I am planning to apply to a top Phd program in chemistry. I recently took the GRE and was somewhat disappointed by my score, as I was scoring between 790 and 800 on the analytical practice exams. Looking for advice on whether to retake the GRE (I also will take the Chem subject test).</p>
<p>Stats:
GPA: 3.95 (Bachelor and Masters joint program)
GRE: 750 Analytical, 740 Verbal
Research Experience: 3 years (including summers)
Strong Letters of Recommendations </p>
<p>Schools applying to:</p>
<p>Harvard
MIT
Berkley
Wash U.
Stanford
Cal Tech
Yale</p>
<p>I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that that is a correlation and not a causation. I can't believe that they would exclude somebody based upon a 40 point difference in something like the GRE general test. I am betting that the individuals at those schools happen to have high gre scores, and not that they are there because they have them.</p>
<p>Hmm... I tend to think of 780 as the cutoff for hard sciences + economics. But that verbal score is massively high so it's hard to recommend risking such a high score. </p>
<p>I suggest you find out for sure what quant score most successful applicants have. If it's above 780 redo the test. Remember, take extra time during the first 10 questions, because if you get any of them wrong the computer will adapt your test to be less difficult and this will most likely cap your maximum possible score below 770.</p>
<p>780 as the cutoff for what? No grad school is going to reject someone because they "only" scored a 750. Unless the rest of your application is weak I see no reason to bother with it.</p>
<p>^On what basis should I accept your (less-than-articulate opinions/advice) over that of my distingished advisors in a top program at a top 5 school?</p>
<p>Correlation is definitely not causation, but GRE's really shouldn't be what's keeping you from getting accepted but for a top school it might be low enough to make them wonder. Doing significantly above average doesn't affect your app, but scoring below definitely does.</p>
<p>Top schools more or less assume you'll get an 800 in quant if you're in the sciences/engineering and that's reflected in the student body. Hell, for my major (EE) over 20% of people score 800s, so you can be dang sure a top college can fill their entire class solely full of qualified people who just happened to have 800 in that part. For example, the average GRE quant for one of the programs at my school was 798.</p>
<p>gthopeful -- you're exactly right, that's the advice I've received from my advisors (who place their students in top 5 programs yearly) and the reason I'll retake. </p>
<p>PhD-Bound? Good luck in your quest for mediocrity.</p>
<p>PhD-Bound? Thought I'd look at your prior posts. Seems you started a thread asking whether you should retake the GRE subject test on which you scored in the 95th percentile. Give me a break!</p>
<p>gthopeful, you hit the nail on the head. OP's score for chem would place him/her in the 80's percentile-wise. OP, if you consistently scored 790-800 on the practices, as you say, and are confident that you can do so on the re-take; then the re-take sure wouldn't hurt. </p>
<p>I was told that for top programs, GRE is just part of a "checklist": they juste want to make sure you have score above something. So retaking it has no incidence (retaking it only 1 time at least).</p>
<p>hey chem08.. i plan to retake too.. i didnt do too well on my first try cuz i got a lot of really difficult probability n permutation combination questions.. any tips on those u cud share.. it wud be gr8!! i've been scoring in the high 700s too on all practice tests so the real thing ws a bit of a shocker.. i'd be glad for any advice u got on both quant n verbal sections.. congrats on the awesome score!!</p>