Hi.

I did particularly poorly the first time I took the GREs both subject and general. I was a bit sick that day. My math score was in the 82nd percentile and I even managed a relatively low score on the logic portion of the general GRE. However, I had high grades in my major and, previous research experience, and (I hope) good letters of recommendation from my professors. I ended up in Rutgers and was very happy there.

My simplest point echoes that of the earlier comment. I imagine that you are admitted to graduate school based upon a variety of factors. The GREs may be important, but not the only important consideration.

I'm not sure that my or another person's anecdotal evidence will be most helpful to you. I hope that we may be able to coax someone who actually sits on a graduate admissions committee to comment on the selection process. I bet that the same way I have issued a disclaimer, such a person would say "admissions differs from university to university" but I believe their input might help you more.

Good luck with your graduate studies. I know it will be tough but I hope that you'll remember to find it enjoyable as well.

Best Wishes,

How much weight is assigned to the GRE scores depends on the school. At UC Berkeley, they weight it very highly. I know, because when I sat down to talk to their director of graduate studies, and I asked him what he might want to tell me about the program, the very first thing he said was the importance of GRE scores. They even publish recommended minimum scores on the math department website. He also noted, as one of the above posters did, that foreign students generally score much higher than US students on the GRE.