Guidance on GRE cuttoffs, taking a year off, etc

Graduate School
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<p>I've read this forum since I was in high school but I've never actually joined, so hi there College Confidential! I'm at a point in my senior year of college where I'm not sure where I should go from here. I would love to go for a PhD but I think I have a pretty mediocre application, particularly with respect to the GRE Quant and wondering how best to improve it. So here is my profile:</p>

<p>UG INSTITUTION: Ivy level R1, ranked in top five for materials science and engineering
UG GPA: 3.1 now; 3.3 by graduation
RESEARCH: 15 months full time R&D at a tech startup (Co-op); 3 more months + a year of academic research with well-known professor by graduation
PUBS: None because of industry versus academia, fair bit of proposal-writing experience though; reasonable chance of pub(s) by graduation, my future PI is pretty productive and has few grad students
LORS: Will get solid letters from (1) Lab director of my department (who is also co-chair), (2) boss at my co-op, (3) PI at school.
SOP: Confident I can write something compelling, lot of enthusiasm
GRE: 700V/680Q</p>

<p>I know 680Q is bad. I just got stuck on a problem yesterday, wasted too much time and didn't finish the last 5 questions or so. I got 710 and 780 on the two powerprep tests so I think I'm capable of knocking my score into the right range. I've heard it's perfectly fine to retake the test once so that would seem to be the best option. Unfortunately, the test is changing at the end of the month and that was my last chance to take it in that form. Kaplan has suggested that test scores tend to go down historically right after a test change so even if I work my way through the new format, it may not be helpful at all, not to mention I wont get my scores until the last minute for applications because they need to build a statistical pool... Should I go for it anyway?</p>

<p>I know i really needed a 3.5+ GPA but I wasn't well prepared for the rigor of my UG institution when I got here. I've gotten the hang of it now and my GPA in major and in junior/senior years should be in the ballpark of 3.5-3.6, so hopefully that will be taken into account.</p>

<p>As for the other parts of my app the only thing I can really improve is publications, possibly, we'll have to see. I have some hope for that because my PI appears to be putting out roughly 12 reputable articles a year with a very small group. I'll only have three months to figure that out if I want to apply in december but that brings me to another question: Should I take off a year and work at the co-op I am currently working at after graduation? That would give me a year to worm my way into some publications and an extra year of industrial R&D. A year of hard work for my PI and maybe I can convince him to go to bat for me for admission at my UG institution to continue to work for him, who knows? I heard that professors hold a lot of sway since they are providing the funding (not sure how often this happens though...). On the other hand, do grad addcoms frown on taking a year off? I would consider a masters, particularly because its pretty easy to get into the BS/MS program here, but financially it's pretty much out of the question. So its grad school with funding, or no grad school at all.</p>

<p>What do you guys think? Tips, suggestions?</p>

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<p>I took a year off before each grad degree. For me it was very worthwhile - taking a break from classes, letting the previous work sink-in. You are then also applying with a complete transcript, with all of those strong end-of-year grades, maybe awards or honors. You don’t have to rush through the app process. More time to visit all of the prospective grad schools and perhaps meet relevant faculty. More time to get some good recs, and write a better statement of purpose, maybe take the GRE once more if you think you need it. Some of my classmates started grad school burnt-out from their previous year, I by comparison felt refreshed and it showed in every aspect of my work: note taking, reading, studying, and general attitude. We are all different but it was a great idea for me!</p>

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<p>You did not say what you would get a PhD in if you went to graduate school. It sounds like your UG degree will be in Engineering so I assume that is what you are planning to do graduate work in. 680Q is not a bad score but it is true that most successful applicants to graduate programs in Engineering and the Physical Sciences usually score over 700 in the quantitative. Your 700V is very impressive. With all of the Engineering courses you have had to take it does not seem that your lower than expected Q score was due to insufficient practice or lack of familiarity with the level of Math topics tested for on the GRE. If you got A’s in your Math and Physics courses at an Ivy League school it is likely that The 680Q was an aberration and you would do better if you took it again. If you really struggled with Math intensive courses and subjects it may be that your score might not improve on a retake. If there is a good chance that you could do better than that it might not be a bad idea to take some time off and retake the GRE since many schools have a cut-off of 700Q for prospective graduate students in Engineering.</p>