GRE result: V:145, Q:161

[abohammed]

Hi Guys,

I did the GRE today, and my results are:

V: 145

Q:161

What do you think? Should I re-take it? 

My target is High rank universities in US. (MIT, Caltech, ...)

 

[Mayur Kulkarni]

Depends on your academic background. All top level universities (like M.I.T) dont even care about GRE its just a formality there. But I know people who scored better than you can got reject even in mediocre universities.

[Vince Kotchian GRE Prep]

hi Abohammed,

What were your scores on the two ETS practice tests? That will tell us whether it's worth it.

[columbia09]

It depends what you're going for. My advisor told me that most geology programs care only about the math section and could care less about verbal. If I had the same scores as you I would probably get tons of offers with financial support. I don't believe that the GRE is just used as a formality. I did horrible my first try (145V 145Q) and only got 2 offers with no financial support. Some of the schools I didn't get into (Rice and UW Madison) had big problems with my GRE and rejected me just because of that which is really pathetic and disgusting. I had two  majors a minor and a thesis along with a 3.8 GPA. I busted my butt at a top public school and they didn't give a crap. 

Edited September 18, 2015 by columbia09

[Mayur Kulkarni]

 I don't believe that the GRE is just used as a formality.

My friend got into MIT (Computer Science) with a score of 314, he was a graduate from IIT and published 3 IEEE papers

[EdNeuroGrl]

You might want to call the admissions department, or check the program website to see if they have any GRE score postings/average/cutoffs and see how you stack up. If the departments care less about one score over another you should be able to see that in the stats.

As I have heard it discussed, the weight of your GRE will depend on the program's philosophy about it first. 

Second, the weight of the GRE will depend on the student applying. If there is a question of your ability to do graduate level work (ie you haven't ever taken any graduate courses)  then the GRE's might be used as a method of assessing your potential to meet that level of study. If you have a lot of course work, or have a very strong background in an area where your GRE is weak, then the coursework will usually be considered over the GRE score.

 

[EdNeuroGrl]

Also, the first time I took my GRE I took it without disability accommodations. My Quant score was terrible (40th percentile)... I went in and went to war with ETS about it and eventually threw enough litigious language around about the American's with Disabilities Act, that they granted me limited testing accommodations. This brought my Quant score up remarkably. I don't know where you are coming from, but if you happen to need testing accommodations, you should start now, because ETS will make it as difficult as possible.

[columbia09]

My friend got into MIT (Computer Science) with a score of 314, he was a graduate from IIT and published 3 IEEE papers

314 isn't that bad of a score do you think someone with a 290 will get into MIT ? No

[Mayur Kulkarni]

314 isn't that bad of a score do you think someone with a 290 will get into MIT ? No

Who knows! Folks at MIT are a bit crazy ;-)

[abohammed]

Thanks guys, u encourage me to try to submit my results to these universities... 

[columbia09]

Thanks guys, u encourage me to try to submit my results to these universities... 

contact your advise and see what he or she says. They'll give you the best info 

[Shany]

There is nothing absolute about the GRE. A lot of people got into top programs with relatively low or average GRE scores. It is said that top programs care less about the GRE than average programs. However, I do think that the higher the better, whether these programs care much about the scores or not (because you have no means to know whether they indeed don't care that much). I'd say that they pretty much use GRE scores as the initial cut-off. What really sets the deal is your research experience and your academic interests. But I do think that your verbal might be too low to pass the initial cut-off if you want to apply to top schools like MIT and Stanford.