<p>Greetings,</p>
<p>I am applying to a number of strong research institutions for Ph.D. in French history (Brown, NYU, Duke, etc) and a few "safety schools." My undergrad gpa is 3.83 (major gpa is 4.0) and my M.A. gpa at another institution is 4.0 and I have written a M.A. thesis (not quite finished). I have numerous awards and fellowships, including international study in Paris (I am near fluent in French, and read both German and Spanish). My one hang-up is GRE, which falls well below what most prgrams are looking for. My verbal is particularly weak falling in the mid 400s (I know, its bad...), but my writing was decent. I've taken the test numerous times, and for w/e reason I haven't done well. My LOR's are from strong people in my field who are quite established, and I have contacts in most of the departments I am applying. Are my low GRE's a deal breaker for getting accepted? Many thanks.</p>
<p>At some places, you may be eliminated because of your GREs. At others, you may not. There is no definitive answer to your question, since admission committees work differently at different places.</p>
<p>Are you from a well-known school or a less well-known school? My guess is that some people use the GRE scores especially when the applicant comes from a less well-known school. (To give a radical example, a GPA of 4.0 at an online college may not be of equal value as a GPA of 3.5 at a well-known state school).</p>
<p>I am also a horrible test-taker. You may want to invest in a formal study program and do additional practice at home with the study books. I plan to retake the GREs because I did poorly as well. I will say that, at least for my MA, my GREs were not the defining factor in my admissions…I was able to get into all 5 MA programs to which I applied, including two Ivy Leagues. Make yourself known with the adcoms, write killer SOPs, and try the GRE again with considerable prep. Find out if the schools that interest you require a minimum GRE score. Good luck.</p>
<p>you’ll need to write your sample and SOP extremely well. have as many professors as possible read multiple drafts of your SOP and writing sample. kind of late in the process for this advice, but i have a hunch that, GPA aside, your writing style could use some attention. historians in particular seem to be sticklers for good writing. focus on that to make up for the GRE score.</p>