GRE Score for Top Universities?

[Emanfern]

Hey guys, first post. I saw an article on Magoosh titled "GRE Score for Top Universities" I was wondering if anyone had taken a look at these and can validate that these are good TARGET scores. I do well with targets -transitioning to academia apps from law school apps which run like a formula- and would like to have a minimum goal? Any help would be great there are a lot! 

 

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/gre-scores-for-top-universities/ 

[eeee1923]

It really depends on what type of graduate program you're looking to get into. The rule of thumb would be that the better you do, the more helpful up to the point of diminishing returns (i.e. 166 vs 170). The caveat being that a low score can be more harmful than not (i.e. 60th percentile or lower). Aim for 4.5+ on the AW section though. Just remember the GRE is only 1 part of the application package and not necessarily the most important one. 

[Banstaraí]

I have to second eteshoe's advice, particularly for PhD apps. Most of the professors I spoke to at my undergrad institution (top 5 for colonial history PhD programs) framed the GRE-- and the GPA-- as gate-keeping measures. You need a high GRE score (and high GPA) to get better consideration in admissions, but it's not something that will help you beyond that initial winnowing phase. I was also lead to believe that there's some wiggle room in the "off" section-- ie for history there was an expectation of getting a perfect score on verbal and a near perfect score on writing, but no one was really going to care if your math score wasn't amazing (within reason).

[random_grad]

About the "off" section: some people deliberately sabotage their off section so as to be in the 1st percentile rather than be average. Some of my friends did so. I saw a CV like this once of a person in a top program - so it did not hurt them. That person did have a perfect v and awa score though.

Edited May 29, 2015 by random_grad

[L13]

Tanking a section of the GRE that's irrelevant to your application because you don't want to have a 152 on your file is absolutely ridiculous. Grad schools do NOT care that much.

 

You also do not need a perfect V score to get into a top grad school in the humanities, or at least not in history, which I'm familiar with. The only field I know of where V 165+ is a firm expectation for top-10 programs is philosophy, but even there a perfect score (170) is not a requirement.

Edited May 30, 2015 by L13

[serenade]

Hey guys, first post. I saw an article on Magoosh titled "GRE Score for Top Universities" I was wondering if anyone had taken a look at these and can validate that these are good TARGET scores. I do well with targets -transitioning to academia apps from law school apps which run like a formula- and would like to have a minimum goal? Any help would be great there are a lot! 

 

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/gre-scores-for-top-universities/ 

Yes, this chart is generally accurate if you're aiming for Ivy League schools, but so much depends on your field. What field will you be applying to?