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how much math gre is "enough"?

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 5:19 pm
by pj29019
Hello guys,

I've been reading closely these days the status update of graduate admission. One thing that hit me was that there were so many people with OUTSTANDING (near 4.0) GPA from their home institutions, but doing very poorly on GRE (subject, of course). I've not yet taken GRE (because I am taking a gap year...), but I just don't understand when those people who have taken a dozen of graduate courses, get nearly perfect GPA, and do not-so-hot on their GRE's.

On the related note, well, in fact, this is the only question related to the title, what GRE score is considered "good enough" (I am enrolled in an ivy institution, and my advisor says that he would expect to see GRE score near the perfect score, but I've seen less than a handful of people who actually got this)?

Also, how well does one need to do, say, if the one wants to obtain the percentile in ~95% range? I know of course it depends year-to-year, but I am only asking for a rough estimate.

Thank you in advance.

P.S. Oh my god, SO many typos and errors...

Re: how much math gre is "enough"?

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 5:59 pm
by Ryker
It depends.

Re: how much math gre is "enough"?

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:18 pm
by vashts85
pj29019 wrote:Hello guys,

I've been reading closely these days the status update of graduate admission. One thing that hit me was that there were so many people with OUTSTANDING (near 4.0) GPA from their home institutions, but doing very poorly on GRE (subject, of course). I've not yet taken GRE (because I am taking a gap year...), but I just don't understand when those people who have taken a dozen of graduate courses, get nearly perfect GPA, and do not-so-hot on their GRE's.

On the related note, well, in fact, this is the only question related to the title, what GRE score is considered "good enough" (I am enrolled in an ivy institution, and my advisor says that he would expect to see GRE score near the perfect score, but I've seen less than a handful of people who actually got this)?

Also, how well does one need to do, say, if the one wants to obtain the percentile in ~95% range? I know of course it depends year-to-year, but I am only asking for a rough estimate.

Thank you in advance.

P.S. Oh my god, SO many typos and errors...

What are you really asking? I just finished studying and taking the general GRE. My score started from a 70% and went to a 95% (I took the Kaplan course and studied a lot). If you're serious about math then the general GRE shouldn't be that hard, and most of the people applying for math/science programs are scoring in the 95% range. You can take a look at the statistics from ETS -- that's how I figured this out.

I haven't taken the Math GRE but it sounds really hard. If you're taking a gap year, now might be the right time to study for it and try taking it.

Re: how much math gre is "enough"?

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:28 pm
by Ryker
vashts85 wrote:
pj29019 wrote:Hello guys,

I've been reading closely these days the status update of graduate admission. One thing that hit me was that there were so many people with OUTSTANDING (near 4.0) GPA from their home institutions, but doing very poorly on GRE (subject, of course). I've not yet taken GRE (because I am taking a gap year...), but I just don't understand when those people who have taken a dozen of graduate courses, get nearly perfect GPA, and do not-so-hot on their GRE's.

On the related note, well, in fact, this is the only question related to the title, what GRE score is considered "good enough" (I am enrolled in an ivy institution, and my advisor says that he would expect to see GRE score near the perfect score, but I've seen less than a handful of people who actually got this)?

Also, how well does one need to do, say, if the one wants to obtain the percentile in ~95% range? I know of course it depends year-to-year, but I am only asking for a rough estimate.

Thank you in advance.

P.S. Oh my god, SO many typos and errors...

What are you really asking? I just finished studying and taking the general GRE. My score started from a 70% and went to a 95% (I took the Kaplan course and studied a lot). If you're serious about math then the general GRE shouldn't be that hard, and most of the people applying for math/science programs are scoring in the 95% range. You can take a look at the statistics from ETS -- that's how I figured this out.

I haven't taken the Math GRE but it sounds really hard. If you're taking a gap year, now might be the right time to study for it and try taking it.
Read. Then post. Please?

Re: how much math gre is "enough"?

Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 2:37 am
by rmhism
pj29019 wrote:Hello guys,

I've been reading closely these days the status update of graduate admission. One thing that hit me was that there were so many people with OUTSTANDING (near 4.0) GPA from their home institutions, but doing very poorly on GRE (subject, of course). I've not yet taken GRE (because I am taking a gap year...), but I just don't understand when those people who have taken a dozen of graduate courses, get nearly perfect GPA, and do not-so-hot on their GRE's.

On the related note, well, in fact, this is the only question related to the title, what GRE score is considered "good enough" (I am enrolled in an ivy institution, and my advisor says that he would expect to see GRE score near the perfect score, but I've seen less than a handful of people who actually got this)?

Also, how well does one need to do, say, if the one wants to obtain the percentile in ~95% range? I know of course it depends year-to-year, but I am only asking for a rough estimate.

Thank you in advance.

P.S. Oh my god, SO many typos and errors...
I made a 900 on the Subject GRE which put me into the 97% range, so the 95% should be around an 890. The only studying I did was the day before the test I went through a practice exam. I made an 830 (85%) without studying the first time I took it. During the test, I really just took my time on each question and made sure to answer it correctly before moving on, skipping those I felt would take too long and coming back to them at the end. Overall in the test, I'd say there was probably one question that I left blank because I didn't know how to do it quickly enough before the time ran out. Instead of trying to cram in the material even months before the test, I would highly recommend that when you are going through your courses, you LEARN the material beyond what the professor requires; don't settle for just making an A.

But you shouldn't really focus on the GRE too much. Focus instead on things like research, what classes you're taking, your recommendations, etc. These matter much more than a single test you took when you were stressed out.

Re: how much math gre is "enough"?

Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 7:53 pm
by gretimes
it depends on universities and courses you are targeting!

Re: how much math gre is "enough"?

Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 9:33 pm
by Sam_NYC
A nearly perfect graduate school gpa is not that impressive. In graduate school, students are expected to maintain a 3.0 gpa. So in graduate school, a 3.0 is equivalent to a 2.0 undergraduate gpa (C average). Also, graduate courses have a different focus than undergraduate courses and will not necessarily prepare you for the GRE subject exam.

As for GRE Scores, it seems some schools have different expectations whether you are a domestic or international applicant. From what I've been reading on this site, it seems they expect 700+ from domestic students and 800+ from international students (this is a rough lower bound estimate).

Re: how much math gre is "enough"?

Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 10:13 pm
by rmg123
I have a 3.98 gpa with a triple major (4.0 in each major) and I did horribly on the Math GRE (34th percentile). I had studied a lot just using the Princeton review book and I felt pretty well prepared. The thing with the test is that it is so heavily based on how well you remember calculus and its variants. Frankly, I think it is a poor judge of how well you will do in graduate school, since there are so many other factors. Seeing my grad admissions, I think that this is definitely true, I was accepted to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Colorado, Washington, Northwestern, and Arizona. I sent my GRE score everywhere except Colorado, and most were applied math programs (but Minnesota and Wisconsin are combined departments). A score is just a score, what matters so much more are recs, courses (I had no grad courses since I go to a liberal arts school and I was fine), and your statement.

Good luck!