Which GRE scores are better?

[spc92]

First of all I am an international student and my goal is to apply to US for phd in Computer Science, especially at the field of Theory. Since a GRE score is required for that, I took the GRE test twice. My first scores are V=147, Q=167, a/w=3. The second time I got V=140, Q=170, a/w=4. I am wondering which of those two would be best to include in my application. Would it be better to send both of them or not? If not, which one is the best one?

Moreover my TOEFL score is 94.

Some of the universities will be: Berkeley, Toronto, Princeton, UCSD, Chicago, MInnesota, Duke, Riverside.

 

One more question;

Do you also recommend or is it possible, to send the TOEFL and GRE scores before I complete the entire application process?

 

Thank you!

Edited November 15, 2013 by spc92

[compiler_guy]

V 140 is very bad, and might derail your chances. Q 167+ and A\W 4 are awesome. I suggest you send both gre scores if you can, and just write the upper most mark you got. If that is not possible in the application form, make a judgement call depending on the average GRE thresholds of the program you are applying to.

Try to apply to a number of universities that are spread out differently by rank to maximize your chances.

Good luck.

Edited November 16, 2013 by compiler_guy

[spc92]

 

V 140 is very bad, and might derail your chances. Q 167+ and A\W 4 are awesome. I suggest you send both gre scores if you can, and just write the upper most mark you got. If that is not possible in the application form, make a judgement call depending on the average GRE thresholds of the program you are applying to.

Try to apply to a number of universities that are spread out differently by rank to maximize your chances.

Good luck.

Thank you for your reply.

Yes, I know that V 140 is very bad and this is the reason of my question. I was sure that I would send my first scores but when I saw my a/w scores the second time I thought that the second one is much better than the first one. I am thinking that universities want to check our ability in English language through Verbal section. Is that right? In addition, a/w score is evidence about our ability in English language as well. Of course they want to check additional things but I cannot understand the value of a GRE with low score in a/w and a middle or good score in verbal section....

 

Some more question:

1. Really are there some fields in application forms that you can add your scores in GRE?

2. Why some universities don't accept two or more GRE scores? I thought that GRE scores are independent from the universities. I mean that ETC gives you the opportunity to send one or more GRE scores to the universities, so what's the problem?

3. You think that my universities are not good choices?

My full list of universities is;

Princeton, Cornell, Toronto, Berkeley, Boston, Chicago, UCSD, Texas Austin, UCLA, Minnesota, Riverside, Northwestern, McGill, Irvine, Santa Cruz California, Duke, and maybe Virginia.

My grade(until now) is 9.8/10 and I have some research experience in a paper with one professor, but no publications, yet. We continue working on it.  I also started my Bsc Thesis this semester.

 

Sorry for the number of questions but I really want to learn more about this process.

Again, thank you very much!

 

 

[compiler_guy]

Some programs will not even look at your application if your GRE scores do not pass a certain threshold.

1. Yes, in most of the applications.

2. It all depends on the program and university policies.

3. Looks good, but be sure to aim at programs that have research that fits your interests and experience.