<p>I am planning to apply for a Ph.D. in Sociology at three U of C schools (Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego) as well as at USC. Location is important for personal reasons and since my interest lies in immigration, these schools and their faculties are ideal. </p>
<p>My problem (I think) is that I got a low quantitative score on the GRE (530) while my verbal was decent (660). I could no doubt improve them, but is it worth it? I am wondering how a score like this affects my chances for admissions and fellowships. I should add that I have a decent GPA from undergrad, a very good GPA from a Master's in my field, excellent LoRs, extensive research experience etc. Finally I am native English speaker, but not an American national - so this may affect my fellowship chances, esp at state schools, ie U of C. Any thoughts? Thanks.</p>
<p>If you're not an American citizen or permanent resident, you're not eligible for lots of fellowships, unfortunately :( Check the websites of individual fellowships to make sure. Also, if you are admitted to a Ph.D. program at UCI, UCLA, UCSD, etc., I'm sure that they will at least give you partial financial support. At worse, you will need to TA quite often to pay your tuition, but I don't think they will make you pay tuition. I don't personally know any Ph.D. students who need to pay tuition to attend school.</p>
<p>If you have extensive research experience, excellent letters, and a Master's in sociology already, I think that your low GRE scores shouldn't be much of a hindrance ... after all, they are admitting people based on research abilities/potential, NOT on aptitute in taking standardized tests. Your verbal score (660) is perfectly fine; your math score (530) is a bit low, but perhaps Sociology doesn't care as much about math scores since it's not a physical science/engineering major.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>