jaimie2i wrote:
Thank you Rich and Brandon, for your kind and thoughtful advice. After letting this information percolate for a bit, I've realized that 1) My current score is NOT the end of the world and 2) A retake might still be worthwhile, because I think I can do better. After spending most of the quantitative section freaking out (I literally froze on several questions), I approached the verbal section in an almost fatalistic manner and ironically I think this helped me. I was so sure that the worst had already happened that I was very calm and focused on the verbal portion, and gave my full attention and effort to each question, without testing anxiety getting in the way. I think this shows in my much higher verbal score. I think a short break is in order, followed by some additional studying/review for the retake.
Unfortunately, most of my experience is in restaurant management. It's a challenging job with a fair amount of responsibility, but not exactly quant-heavy. I guess that, given that, it's pretty important to show the adcoms that I can handle the quantitative aspects of graduate study.
Given your work history and career goals, I fully agree! Keep in mind that you already have a solid score, so that should feel really good about that. Take the test again but now there is only upside, so no reason to be nervous. Good luck!!!