How do you interpret my GRE score?

[aGiRlCalLeDApPlE]

Hi, I got 380 in the quantitative part and 490 in the verbal, how do you rate my score? Is this good enough to get admitted? My toefl is 101. I'm applying to Utexas at Austin, U of Pennsylvania and Northeastern University.

[Usmivka]

What were the percentiles? Scores mean different things with different test dates, so you need the percent to really say how you did. I'd guess that those are in the 50th-60th percentiles though, so you'd need to have strong writing samples, resume, publications/presentations, letters of rec, grades, and statement of purpose to compensate. Maybe a Lit person can give you more feedback.

[emmm]

Those scores seem pretty low. At the schools you've listed, I'd be surprised if they were good enough. You might seriously consider studying more or taking a prep course, if you can. However, if you can afford the money and don't mind making the effort, I don't see why you can't try applying to those schools as well as some less competitive schools. All they can do is say no... (that was my rationale for applying as a non-trad)...and you only need one school to say yes. Good luck!

[midnight]

What were the percentiles? Scores mean different things with different test dates, so you need the percent to really say how you did. I'd guess that those are in the 50th-60th percentiles though, so you'd need to have strong writing samples, resume, publications/presentations, letters of rec, grades, and statement of purpose to compensate. Maybe a Lit person can give you more feedback.

 

Those scores are in the 7th and 53rd percentiles.

 

I think that UPenn and Austin are unrealistic; Northeastern may be a bit more flexible about the GRE.

Edited January 11, 2013 by midnight streetlight

[Seeking]

For English Literature, you'll need much higher Verbal and Writing scores on the GRE - at least 158/170 Verbal and 4.0 on the writing.

 

Quantitative score on the GRE should not matter for English Literature applications.

 

It's true that your TOEFL score is good, but there is a limit upto which TOEFL score can counter-balance the GRE verbal and writing scores, especially when you are applying for a discipline such as English literature. 

 

If you have a high writing score on the GRE - such as 5.5 - and an extraordinary writing sample, SOP, awards won for writing in English, exceptional LORs etc, then GRE-Verbal may get counter-balanced by all these other factors and TOEFL scores.

 

In absence of all this, I would suggest a re-take of the GRE with more preparation.

 

If time allows, you may try to write the GRE again and apply to some schools with later deadlines in Feb or March. 

 

These scores stand at Verbal - 53% and Quant - 7% (See link - http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/concordance_information.pdf)

Edited January 11, 2013 by Seeking

[Usmivka]

These scores stand at Verbal - 53% and Quant - 7% (See link - http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/concordance_information.pdf)

That table clearly states that it is based only on examinees between late 2011 and early 2012 (an 8 month period). The OP provided no info on when the test was taken, and since the scores were given in the old style, it may have been a few years ago. If used the scoring table from when I took the test 5 years ago, those would be ~60/40--what the scores mean changes dramatically with time and test group since ETS uses a running average to compute the percentiles. So again, the OPer needs to provide the percentiles that came with their test, and it clearly makes a big difference for how much of a stretch those applications are.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Usmivka

[midnight]

That table clearly states that it is based only on examinees between late 2011 and early 2012 (an 8 month period). The OP provided no info on when the test was taken, and since the scores were given in the old style, it may have been a few years ago. If used the scoring table from when I took the test 5 years ago, those would be ~60/40--what the scores mean changes dramatically with time and test group since ETS uses a running average to compute the percentiles. So again, the OPer needs to provide the percentiles that came with their test, and it clearly makes a big difference for how much of a stretch those applications are.

 

I took the GRE for the first time in July 2011, and my online GRE account's score report reflects the current percentiles for that test (like MammaD in another thread, my quant is now lower than what was initially reported for me). I'm pretty sure that only the new percentiles are on my official GRE report since I requested it in November 2012 after I took the test for a second time. It all seems rather iffy and arbitrary to me.

Edited January 11, 2013 by midnight streetlight

[Usmivka]

 I just looked up my scores on ets, and they list an estimated "new" score next to the ones in the old format, and the percentiles next to them do not agree with the table linked above, but do agree with what showed up on my paper score report a couple months after the test. If your test was treated the same, I'd bet your percentiles reflect the running average surrounding your test date as well, not whatever the newest percentiles are, which are derived from the average over some later period of time.

[Seeking]

The ETS posted this table in 2011 to give an approximate idea of what the new GRE scores mean in terms of percentiles as compared to the old GRE scores. This was because at that time no one had any idea about the new GRE scores.

 

Since then, many have reported lowering of their percentiles to about 4-5% following the fresh testing data available.

 

So, 53 percentile should most likely go down to about 48-49 percentile. The applicant can see in the GRE account the exact percentile.

 

If we see this against a good TOEFL score of 101, it reflects about average GRE score when corroborated against TOEFL, which is not good for English Literature. If the applicant has 5.5 on the GRE-writing and excellent application package otherwise, s/he may make the cut off, but to be on the safer side for selection and funding, I'd suggest a re-take of GRE if possible. 

 

This is because English Literature happens to be an extremely competitive discipline and also an English/Language-intensive one.

 

The TOEFL score of 101 suggests that a re-take is likely to significantly increase the GRE-Verbal and writing scores.

 

But of course, there are some schools that don't regard the GRE scores at all and ask for them only by way of an administrative requirement.

 

The applicant can research the school websites and find such schools to apply to them if the deadline has not yet passed.

Edited January 12, 2013 by Seeking