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[avbay]

I think I finally have it in the right place. I sincerely apologize for posting this in the wrong forum - didn't mean to post it several times. I'm new to this whole thing and know better for next time ;) So here goes my question:

I have a 3.82 undergrad GPA; attended a top 10 law school where I was on law review; have practised law for three years and know academia is where my heart is... has always been, but I don't want to teach law school. 

Thing is, my GRE quant scores are not great. 700 Verbal, 280 Quant, 6 on the written portion. Any chance at the top schools? Really want Princeton, Harvard or Stanford.  Should I lower my expectations? Interested in contemporary African politics/terrorism/constitutionalism & post-war nation-building. Would being a woman or minority bolster my chances?

[madhatter]

I don't know specifically what Princeton, Harvard, or Stanford do for graduate admissions, but some programs do set up an initial screen that eliminates applicants who fail to make basic cutoffs. (They also eliminate candidates who don't submit all the requested materials.) Your application may never make it past that screen, regardless of your personal story or other excellent characteristics.

Re-take the GRE. And study hard for the quantitative section this time.

[pluto_ii]

Are you serious woman and minority is golden.

[zharkov]

I don't believe anyone with that GPA and who graduated from a top 10 law school could fail to perform at the 6th grade level in math. 

[dale1]

I believe your terrible math score.

Please, download the PowerPrep software from the GRE website, take the practice exams, and do your best.  With practice, you can get to the 500s without too much trouble.  I don't think that the quant score is going to do you even if you're an underrepresented student.  Also, work on your writing sample.