Hey there! During what year of their undergrad should a mathematics major take the GRE? Also, what score is needed on the regular GRE & the math GRE subject test in order to be admitted to a top-20 math PhD program? Finally, what activities should an undergraduate engage in in order to improve his or her app for grad school? Thanks.
P.S. - this kind of information is readily available in the undergraduate section of CC. Why is the grad school section so different?
Academic grad programs generally do not care about ECs unless they have a direct connection with the area of study. That you climbed a mountain or helped the hungry somewhere will not help your application. I can’t help with the GRE question but can suggest you don’t completely ignore study for the verbal section. While it is not a primary metric for STEM programs you still need a respectable verbal score so study the most tested vocab; available in many test prep books. Good luck!
There isn’t some big guideline because graduate school admissions are much more subjective while also being a little more straightforward in what you need to do. It really boils down to 4 components: GPA, GRE, research experience, and references.
GPA and GRE are pretty easy to understand. Higher is better. There’s usually no set rules to follow other than you generally need at least a 3.0, and what sorts of GRE scores you need will depend on your field. Verbal will be far less important for math students, for example.
Research and references, thankfully, go hand in hand. Go find a way to get involved with a professor’s research program. That gives you experience and a good shot at a strong reference letter from that professor. The ultimate goal is to show you have the interest and drive to survive in the research-oriented world of graduate school.
Mostly what boneh3ad said. Especially the 3.0 GPA.
I wanted to add that graduate schools generally follow the same admissions cycle as undergrad. So if you want to go to grad school right after undergrad, you will be applying fall of your senior year so you want to get your GRE done at some point during your junior year.
The GRE subject tests aren’t quite as important as the SAT subject tests, check with graduate programs to see if they actually even require them. None of my engineering graduate programs did.
If you are interested in “what score you would need”, the company that administers the GRE releases this: https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_table4_extended.pdf It is a breakdown of GRE scores by intended major. It should give you a good idea of how people with similar backgrounds as you scored on their GRE.
Since it also sounds like you are currently in high school, my advice to you is to relax. Enjoy the last bit of high school you have left, enjoy college, and cross the metaphorical grad school bridge when you get there.