Best possible scenario given GRE score?

[eagle-bear]

I am a Canadian MA student considering doctoral studies in the United States. If I decide to do a PhD, this probably means I would ultimately be gunning for an academic position, and would therefore be determined to attend the "best" school possible (let's assume excellent and appropriate supervisors can be found at all potential schools).

I got 690/719/5.5 (verbal/quantitative/analytical) on my GREs. Is this good enough for the "top 10" schools?

(NB: I will likely be applying to an environmental studies type of program)

Thanks!

[lily_]

GRE is only one part of your overall application package. From what I've heard, your scores are high enough to get you passed most "cut-offs". However, there are some programs (engineering, and "hard" sciences) that have very high cut-off for the Q score.

If you are concerned about your score, I would try to contact the departments you want to apply to and ask them if there are cut-offs, and ask if there is an "average score of a successful applicant." But, it's not all about the GRE. GPA, your SOP, strong LORs and from what I've gathered "luck of the draw" all come into play. Make sure that you know where you're applying, who you want to work with, and be able to come up with some kind of project in your SOP.

Frankly, unless you're talking about MIT I think your GRE scores are relatively strong.

[Squawker]

It depends on what field you're looking into. Try having a look on the websites of universities you're interested in applying to, as some put up the average GRE scores for their current students. Obviously, unless you're approaching even 800s, it's always a good idea to try to improve your GRE score if you can afford to retake the test. That said, your scores sound good enough for most arts programs and if I were you I would focus more on improving other parts of your application, like making sure your GPA is high but also perfecting a writing sample and maybe even trying to get a paper published. The GRE is important, but for most arts/humanities programs it's the least important part of your application. I plan to reapply to PhD programs in history after I finish my MA, and when I retake the GRE I hope to get scores like yours!

[wifey99999999]

I am a Canadian MA student considering doctoral studies in the United States. If I decide to do a PhD, this probably means I would ultimately be gunning for an academic position, and would therefore be determined to attend the "best" school possible (let's assume excellent and appropriate supervisors can be found at all potential schools).

I got 690/719/5.5 (verbal/quantitative/analytical) on my GREs. Is this good enough for the "top 10" schools?

(NB: I will likely be applying to an environmental studies type of program)

Thanks!

How did you get "719" on quant section?

[DrFaustus666]

It depends on what field you're looking into. Try having a look on the websites of universities you're interested in applying to, as some put up the average GRE scores for their current students. Obviously, unless you're approaching even 800s, it's always a good idea to try to improve your GRE score if you can afford to retake the test. That said, your scores sound good enough for most arts programs and if I were you I would focus more on improving other parts of your application, like making sure your GPA is high but also perfecting a writing sample and maybe even trying to get a paper published. The GRE is important, but for most arts/humanities programs it's the least important part of your application. I plan to reapply to PhD programs in history after I finish my MA, and when I retake the GRE I hope to get scores like yours!

Hi Eagle-Bear,

(Off topic, in the subject of "sqacking") Did you know that my home state, Maryland, supposedly has the highest population of "Canada geese" in North America?) They can be seen all year round, almost anywhere in the state including in the grimy industrial city of Baltimore ... and they DO squawk. But they're magnificent birds, and I hope they decide to remain here. Maybe we'll rename them "Baltimore Geese" as the populations of our native "Baltimore Oriole," the State Bird of Maryland, are dwindling quickly.)

ON TOPIC

This forum is bizarrely populated and as regards GRE. Everybody's opinion and experiences are different. If you stay around for a while, you'll hear everything from one extreme of

"It doesn't really matter what your GRE is, as long as your undergraduate GPA, your statement of purpose, your internships, your recommendations, etc., are high enough" ....

all the way to the other extreme of "To get into a top 10 school, you must have near 1600 GRE AND a 4.0 average GPA, AND stellar recommendations, AND a terrific writing sample AND even then, you may be passed over if you've not PUBLISHED any research yet."

The best advice, it seems, is to contact the institutions you'd like to attend. They'll usually at least tell you AVERAGE scores. AND, in sciences, especially the harder sciences, a near-perfect Q score does seem essential at the top schools. This is because a full 4% of all takers receive a perfect 800 on the Quantitative exam. Whereas, in the Verbal section, you can score as low as 760 and still be in the 99th percentile.

So ... if you're in a heavily quantitatively oriented specialty ("environmental studies" is not too specific, at least for my ignorant liberal-arts background) ... in my opinion you'd be well advised to shoot for the highest possible Quantitative score, preferably an 800.. (Your Verbal score of 690 seems "probably good enough" though God knows the competition is stiff and if you could break into the low 700s it wouldn't hurt, I would think.)

Re Quantitative: The good news is, many, but not all, quantitatively oriented people (and I am NOT one of those) assert that the Quantitative test is a piece of cake.

So, does that answer your question? Probably not.

Good luck though!

And welcome to the USA,

John

Edited April 10, 2010 by DrFaustus666

[eagle-bear]

How did you get "719" on quant section?

Oops, my mistake. I meant to type 710 for my quantitative score. Perhaps this partly explains is why I could not score higher.