I haven’t taken the test officially yet (taking in 3 weeks), but over the past two years I’ve taken various practice tests and studied for months at a time, sporadically … And on every single practice test, I get a 159 on the Quantitative section. It never budges despite studying. On verbal I usually score between 162 and 168 (yes, strange for an engineering student, I know).
I’m concerned that this quant score straight up doesn’t even meet cut off scores. I’m interested in pursuing Mechanical Engineering at UC San Diego, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, USC, Carnegie Mellon, Yale, or University of New Mexico.
My BS is in Chemical Engineering and I have a 3.6, consisting of all A’s and B’s. I’m concerned that with B’s in my math courses, a 159 in Quant, and the fact that I’m coming from a different field will make the rest of my accomplishments null.
My name is on multiple publications and I’m working hard on a first author publication for the end of the summer. I have two years of research experience in a lab at my university, and another year of experience at a reputable national laboratory. This summer I am in a relevant, extremely selective program for undergraduates in robotics. I had hoped it could be a foot in the door to the same laboratory. All of my letter writers are extremely supportive and want to help me achieve my goals, leading me to think they will write strong letters.
However, I am concerned that even having a foot in the door and multiple people rallying to help me network will not outweigh the GRE, GPA, and different B.S. degree.
Should I accept a post-bac position and use the year to focus more solely on my GRE quantitative section? This still may not work.
You have some rather odd school choices (Yale for engineering?), but the short answer to your question is that no, a 159Q on your GRE is not automatically disqualifying. It may be for some individual faculty members or programs, but on the whole, you can get into plenty of good schools with that score, and plenty of really good schools provided you have other aspects of your application that are good (and you do).
I am on the ME faculty at an R1 university, and my own personal preference is that I like to see 160 or higher, but it is hardly a dealbreaker. If you come in with good research experience and/or references and good grades, I probably am not going to care so much about your GRE.
@boneh3ad there is a specific lab at Yale with a specific professor who I am interested in working with! Thank you for the response!
just so you know, most of the successful competition to top schools will be well over 160. For example, Duke’s ME program is a 166 average.
https://gradschool.duke.edu/about/statistics/mechanical-engineering-and-materials-science-phd-admissions-and-enrollment
For the most selective programs, your GRE may take you out on the first cut but there are plenty of solid programs which will consider your application seriously.
GRE is not the most important criterion. If the rest of your application is strong, it shouldn’t rule you out.
The nice thing about the GRE is that you do not have to report any scores, so don’t select the free score reporting. You can take it as many times as you need to boost your score.
You say that you have studied for the exam “sporadically”. Have you done a careful analysis of the items that you got right and got wrong? Until you identify your specific error patterns, you won’t know what you need to work on.