Weak verbal for a Literature program?

Test Preparation
1

<p>So I just got back from the GRE.
I was hugely surprised by the score since my strength has always been in verbal and my weakness in qualitative/math.</p>

<p>Final result?</p>

<p>720 Quantitative
580 Verbal EEK!</p>

<p>I really didn’t expect anything less than a 700 on verbal (I got a 790 on the SAT) so I was pretty dismayed. I studied my butt off for the verbal, and hardly any of the words I studied were on the test. Instead I got words like “flop rag”, and “zaniness”. Really? Where was “obfuscate” and “sententious” ? That said, I’m not completely disappointed with an overall of 1300.</p>

<p>But will my weak verbal score greatly hinder my chances of successfully applying to a MA Literature program? Does it look suspicious? I have a 3.8 gpa from USC, a fantastic writing sample, and a solid statement of intent. I’m not applying to a super competitive school. But 580 puts me in the 40th something percentile?</p>

<p>Kiss of death?</p>

2

<p>pursue–I think you did better than you think. according to ETS, a verbal 580 is 81st percentile. (if it were quant, it would be in the 40’s, but verbal is quite different.)</p>

<p>You can see the chart here:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/994994.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/GRE/pdf/994994.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>it’s on page 13 of that document.</p>