How important is GRE for grad school admissions?

al2simon
Fri, 11 Sep 2015 16:39:06 +0000

How important is it for top programs for example?

@Iglooo - My answer is a combination of my own, stale, general knowledge plus some feedback from a friend who knows about math Ph.D. programs.

At a top 5-10 program, the math subject GRE score won’t be as important as grades, recommendations, or research experience. My friend said - if it’s above 850 it’ll be fine and no one will give it a second glance; 800-850 is a little below average but no one will care if the rest of the application is good; 750-790 would be seen as a negative but isn’t an automatic reject; below 700-725 is probably fatal. He also said it’s worth studying for because a lot of the test is sophomore level intro analysis that a lot of students haven’t seen since freshman year if they’ve been taking more advanced courses.

Some general comments -

1. Ph.D. programs are different from undergrad. The reputation of the math department (or of the faculty in a particular subfield) is what matters, not the reputation of the school.

2. There’s lots of debate on CC about how important it is to go to a prestigious undergrad. But if someone is interested in an academic career at a research institution, there’s very little debate … it’s pretty important to go to a top 25 program. And graduates from top 5 programs do noticeably better on the academic job market than those from 20th ranked programs.

If your daughter wants to teach at a top 100 research institution then I’d discourage her from going to a Ph.D. program if it wasn’t to a top 25-35 program with funding. If her goal is to be at a teaching institution or get a job in industry then it may make sense to go to a program outside the top 25-35.

3. Admissions to a top 5-10 program is pretty brutal. Admissions rates vary from 3% to 15%. The best way to think about it is that they’re trying to accept classes that are drawn from the top 250 graduating math students in the world. However, since your daughter is a woman and (I assume) a US citizen, the competition won’t be quite as tough. GRE math scores are just a negative filter at these programs. They probably matter more at lower ranked programs since the applicants often won’t have any substantial research before applying.

4. You’re not just competing for admissions but also for funding. That’s another reason to have as strong an application as you can. If a department doesn’t give you funding of some sort (fellowship, TA) then it’s pretty much a signal that you shouldn’t be getting a Ph.D. I believe the top 10 math programs pretty much fund all their students, but I’m not sure if this holds true for lower ranked programs. Of course, a fellowship is preferred to a TA-ship.

5. If your daughter is attending a college with a strong undergrad program, then a recommendation from a well-known professor who knows her and will vouch for her can matter a lot