<p>These two statements contradict each other. If the GRE score truly did not matter, then it wouldn’t matter how you scored at all. But since - by your own admission - too-low scores on either section would be a bad thing, that means the scores must matter at least a little. In fact, I suspect that if programs really did not care at all about your GRE score, they simply would not require you to take the general GRE.</p>
<p>I think it’s more accurate to say that the GRE is the least important part of your application. Most programs have a lower threshold (whether explicitly stated or not); once you pass that threshold, having really high scores doesn’t really differentiate you that much for people who have passed. Like let’s say that a 160 Q and 145 V were the threshold; your 170 Q and 165 V aren’t necessarily more desirable than someone else’s 165 Q and 150 V. At that point it’s most likely the admissions committee has moved on to more pressing matters (fit, experience, grades).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think that depends on you. That score is perfectly good enough to get you into programs, so you don’t really have to study if you don’t want to.</p>
<p>@juillet, if you are planning to do a PhD in the hard sciences, you should be able to get a high quantitative score with very little to no studying. If you don’t, then that’s not good. The other sections only matter (at least for domestic students) if you score so badly as to suggest you lack decent reading comprehension and writing skills.</p>
<p>At the University of Michigan, they showed us a plot of applicants GRE scores, with the percent of applicants accepted and rejected with a corresponding score on each section . The department head said something like “See a pattern? There isn’t any. Science PhD programs don’t care about the general GRE.” For hard science programs, you don’t see many low quantitative scores and above a certain range there is no difference in acceptance rates and rejection rates of people with that score. For the quantitative section this is true for an even greater range.</p>
<p>Just got my provisional score from today for the GRE, 148 quant and 145 verbal. The minimum quant is 147 and verbal recommended is 148 for grad school in Chemistry at my local tier 2 university. This is my first time also taking the GRE. I was hoping for higher verbal as my practice verbal was 151 on PP software. I am also willing to take the Chemistry GRE down the road. I was hoping for around 300 overall, that would put me into range for UF or UMD-CP. Coming from only studying weeks, working part-time tutoring at college math/science/accounting over a year- I think I had more confidence for quant overall, and having done b-school as undergrad put me at a disadvantage for which I had to invest in prep materials a lot. I have asked my local university about my scores, contacted the appropriate professor in charge about the verbal score. Subject test is optional but I would be more interested in studying for as opposed to taking the general again. I think my scores might be okay for locally. One of my professors is very distinguished and I also have a part-time job here (outside of FWS), though I still need to take the 3 year chemistry sequence. Not sure but if I am allowed to take more courses sooner to clear deficiencies; I am studying general and organic chemistry and would rather get into grad school sooner than later. I really went in hoping to get the quant score, knowing that the scores are good for 5 years. I am also receiving FWS &/ grant funds towards my prerequisite courses, so I am just planning ahead at this point. Ironically, I had been putting much more effort into the verbal score studying vocab cards etc. I am most likely applying to MS Chemistry after I finish the majority of the required courses. Obviously if I plan to go elsewhere, FSU or UF I would need to retake but I may not have to if I stay close to home (local tier 2 university). </p>
<p>Hi everyone. I’ve just taken the GRE two days ago, and my scores were 161V and 161Q. I was disappointed by my quantitative score as I was expecting something around 163-167, but I didn’t expect something above 159 on verbal (I’m from Mexico). I’m thinking on retaking the test because of my quant score, but I’m not sure about it. I want to apply to MAPSS at Chicago, or MA in Sociology at Columbia or MS in Applied Urban Studies at NYU. Do you think my scores are gonna be good enough to be considered for those programs? I know that the GRE is just a very small part of the whole application and that it acts more like a filtering mechanism, but I wanna make sure to pass through that filter.</p>
<p>Okay I’ve got a simple question which I’m likely overthinking. Should I get a 2014 GRE book or the 2015 book? I’ll be taking the exam either September or October of 2014 - most of the programs I plan on applying too have application Deadlines in December so more than likely will take the exam Sept and maybe if need again in October. Right now, however, I need to study!! I’m taking a vacation soon and will have a 10hr flight so perfect time to begin just need to get a few books. </p>
<p>Also I’ve taken the online exam and scored 156V and 151Q. Those scores are not good but I was rushing through the practice exam to see my score, had I taken my time the scores would likely be higher - still studying would be beneficial. What would be considered a decent score? I’m guessing closer to 170’s? - meaning I’ve got a ways to go The math section I think will be the hardest for me depending how the questions are on the actualy GRE. Seems like the practice exam mostly dealth with which value is greater - nothing extremely complicated. </p>
<p>Also my intended major would be more concerned with the verbal score vs. the quantative. So would I be good with 160’s if I have done 3-4 interships withing the field and have a high GPA. </p>
<p>It doesn’t matter. As far as I know they aren’t updating the GRE again this year. Kaplan et al. release new books every year to make money, but you can use a test prep book from any year as long as the test you are taking is the same test the book is trying to help you take. If you have a choice and they are the same price, the 2014 probably makes the most sense since you are taking it in 2014.</p>
<p>Given that the top score in each section is a 170 - yes, of course it’s better if your scores are closer to 170, but what’s “good” will depend on your programs. In my field, a minimum of 155 per section would be considered decent, with the best scores being about a 160+ (my field cares about both verbal and quant).</p>
<p>Sorry to add to this very long thread with what I’m sure is yet another “will I get in?” message, but I’m rather concerned about getting in to my top choice program: Columbia’s Ph.D. program in English.</p>
<p>I’ve been getting 160-162 on my verbal score on practice tests without much preparation or with very sporadic preparation. I take the exam next Friday and am planning on increasing my prep to every day, including reviewing vocabulary pretty extensively. Their website says their average is in the 95th percentile, which is around 165 or higher. </p>
<p>I didn’t go to a top tier undergraduate institution, but graduated with a 3.75 gpa, which is above Columbia’s average. However, I did two years of undergraduate research, have published already, won an award for my thesis at my university, graduated with honours and distinction, am part of the McNair Scholarship program, the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship program, and Phi Beta Kappa. I list all these accomplishments to give some other information with relation to my GRE score. </p>
<p>Given my other awards, scholarship programs, and research, and obviously assuming I write a killer personal statement, would a 160/162 be too low for such a prestigious program or would I still have a chance even if I end up scoring around there and can’t raise it in time for the actual exam?</p>
<p>For the most selective American graduate programs in the humanities, there seems to be a numerical cutoff that GRE scores help define.</p>
<p>For example, in philosophy, which arguably has the most cutthroat admissions in the humanities, it is unusual to see admits to top programs with GRE scores below 167 V / 160 Q. The cutoff there is pushed so high because philosophy departments get more applications for fewer spots, and can afford to–are in fact forced to–be very picky about every aspect of an applicant’s profile.</p>
<p>I have little knowledge of literature, but if it’s anything like my field, history, the cutoff for the most selective programs will probably be around 160 V / 150 Q, meaning that you will need these scores in order to remain under consideration past the first round of the selection process. In other words, I think as long as you get 160 or above on the verbal section, your scores won’t preclude your application from being read in full.</p>
<p>In fact, I just decided to test my assumption on TheGradCafe, which is the grad school equivalent of this forum and has a handy database with application results in various fields, and almost all of the people admitted to Columbia for English lit in the last several years who disclosed their GRE scores seem to have gotten verbal scores in the 160-167 range. Therefore, I don’t think a 162 V should worry you.</p>
<p>If this isn’t appropriate place to ask, please redirect me and I’ll ask there but..
Are my GRE scores holding me back from being accepted to…
Program: MS electrical/computer engineering
Schools:
UT Austin
Tx A&M
UT Dallas
Tx Tech
Univ Houston
UT Arlington
UTSA</p>
<p>GRE: 158/158/4.0
Percentiles: Q 71% V 78%
Major: EE w. Minor in Physics
Undergrad school: small private 4 year
Undergrad GPA: 3.2</p>
<p>I just took it a week ago after taking a prep course a couple months ago and trying to cram again right before. I left some answers blank so I’m a little nervous about quant. Score. Verbal was above expectation and yes I know admissions doesn’t know this, they just see scores :/</p>
<p>Should I retake? I feel like my quant score is a little low percentage-wise :(</p>
<p>Program: Master in Public Health
Schools: UT School of Public Health, Tufts University, Boston University, UMass Amherst
GRE: 164V (93%) / 163V (86%) / 5.0 AW</p>
<p>Undergrad school: HYPSM
Undergrad GPA: 3.0
Major: Economics
Post-bac school: community college
Post-bac GPA: 4.0</p>
GRE is a relatively small portion of the application. A poor score can hurt you, but a great score probably won’t get you further than a pretty good score.
Are you applying for a masters or phd? How are your GPA, research experience, and letters of recommendation?
I am helping a student prepare for the GRE’s-- For the SATs someone here recommended a great book that gave the answers to the practice tests and showed how the test worked, question by question. It was called the Step by Step Guide to the SAT by Ronald Fikar…does anyone know of a similar book for the GRE’s?
Undergraduate School and Major: UCSD Nanoengineering
GPA: 3.2
Do you guys think I should retake my GRE for the AW section boost? I just got indecisive about my issue halfway and changed my viewpoint, making my argument incredibly jumbled.
“-- The AW section is rarely considered during admissions decisions. Some programs may flag a low AW score (4.0 or below) among native English speakers, but such a score can be easily overcome by a coherent, logical statement of purpose and LORs. Scored well on verbal but not on AW? Don’t worry. Not for a minute.”
So if your statement of purpose is well written and you have very good LORs then you probably don’t have to. If this happened to me I would be concerned that I would bring AW up but my others might drop.
Should I retake? Verbal:164 (94th) Quantitative: 168 (95th) Analytical Writing:6 (99th)…On the official paper practice tests by ETS I scored V:168 Q: 169 and V:167 Q:170.
If you are in the 94th to 99th percentile on everything, why would you retake? Those few little points on the sections are not going to make any significant difference in your admissions. Focus your time and energy on other more important parts of the application, like your statement of purpose.
I am a parent of a rising junior undergrad and not a pro. consultant or anything, so I could be wrong. However, my guess is that if you are seeking a PhD in a field such as Philosophy, Religion or English Literature etc at one of the top 5 or 10 programs, then it might be safer to retake and get a 167+ in verbal if your 167 and 168 were baseline scores. By baseline I mean scores without any prep. I am saying this because 164 seems to be at the bottom of the range in these programs and a little practice could bump up your score.
On the other hand, if you are seeking admission to a STEM program then 168 Q with a 164 V is probably safe since it is at the top end of any program.
Hi! Sorry to post a comment after all these comments asking for help.
I am a rising senior at UPenn double-majoring in sociology and communication.
GPA: 3.85
GRE: 161 V 166 Q 4.0 AWA
I expect to get pretty good recommendations from three of my professors (working personally with one of them and two of them are my thesis advisors).
Also, I have one of my papers published in an undergraduate research journal.
Currently, I’m considering top sociology programs, such as Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and Columbia (still debating on cultural sociology and quantitative sociology program). I know my GRE verbal score isn’t the best, but I wonder if it would do some harm on my general application. I’ve seen several estimated averages for sociology programs, which mostly range from 158-160 to 164, but I’m not so sure if my applications would be screened out with 161 verbal score.
The math section I think will be the hardest for me depending how the questions are on the actualy GRE. Seems like the practice exam mostly dealth with which value is greater - nothing extremely complicated. </p>