<p>i am prospective m.s electrical enginering student
is my quant score too low for scholarship</p>
<p>Nobody is going to give a scholarship for a high GRE score</p>
<p>Being in a master’s program will hurt your chances more than having low GRE scores</p>
<p>Many university-wide fellowships are highly prioritized on the GRE score because that is the only metric common to all applicants across the university. This is how it’s done at UCB, and I’m told at many other places.</p>
<p>So yes, a weak GRE score would jeopardize your chances at a university-wide fellowship.</p>
<p>Also, be aware that 660 is a VERY low Q score for an engineering student. Perfect 800’s are not uncommon (Minnesota had 57% of their applicants with 800 Q last year). The average of admitted students is typically around 780.</p>
<p>Graduate admissions are something of a crap-shoot even with high stats. It might be wise to talk to your LOR writers about whether you should re-take the GRE, particularly if you do not have an exceptional GPA.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>hey vastly overrated
i dont understand what do you mean by being in M.S program hurts more
could you explain in detail?</p>
<p>Master’s programs are not usually funded…</p>
<p>while we are on this topic, i just did my gre yesterday. how bad is a 410 verbal?
im looking at berkeley, stanford, princeton computer science.</p>
<p>time to look elsewhere? I’d get that verbal close to 600.</p>
<p>anonamous,</p>
<p>you should re-take and at least shoot for over a 500. I’m sure you can do it.</p>
<p>satrianic,</p>
<p>veryspoiledgirl answered your question for me…there simply isn’t a lot of money earmarked for masters students.</p>
<p>i don’t have time to retake the test as the deadline is in december and i’m not allowed to take the test more than once per month. even if i do take it again i dont think my verbal score will increase significantly.</p>
<p>does the 410 significantly lower my chance of admission? seems like MIT doesn’t even look at the GRE so i assumed that top universities wouldn’t place much emphasis on this. can someone confirm/correct me on this?</p>
<p>Edit: english is my first language; i’m from Australia. Does this change anything?</p>
<p>hey vastly overrated
what if i am applying for m.s leading to p.hd
then what
i’ve heard that they provide fellowship for non terminal students(i.e leading to phd)
plus the bummer is that i am international student
what does my quant score reflect?</p>
<p>Anonamous - yes, a 410 verbal score will significantly hurt your chances of admission. Quant scores are more important for CS degrees, but a 410 is very low, especially since English is your first language. However, assuming that the rest of your record is outstanding, you still have chances.</p>
<p>Satrianic - I don’t understand what you mean – you mean that you’re applying to a Ph.D program where you earn a master’s along the way? Those are usually funded, especially in engineering. Regardless of what your GRE scores are, for most doctoral engineering programs if you are admitted you are funded. The challenge is getting admitted, of course. I’m in a Ph.D program right now and while I am not formally a doctoral candidate yet (still earning my non-terminal MA), I’m funded.</p>
<p>Perhaps I should apply to MIT, seeing that a 410 in verbal will significantly affect my chances for berkeley, princeton, stanford. I suppose I might even have a higher chance of being admitted to MIT than those 3. What do you think about this?</p>
<p>Suppose you have two applicants, say X and Y. Applicant X has significantly lower verbal score than Y, but also has slightly higher GPA and slightly better recommendation letters. Would the admissions really pick person Y over X?</p>
<p>Also, could someone explain to me why the verbal section is used in the admission to graduate school (especially in engineering/science). The GRE score seems to reflect how much one studies for the test, rather than to assess how good one’s english is. I know chinese students who can barely speak/write english but got 700+ on the verbal by many years studying and memorizing the vocabs.</p>
<p>I think 410 is too low for those schools, chances are, you are going to have many superb applicants with good numbers, good research and good letters, so I think it will be an uphill battle for you all the way.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>OP seems to be a decent example of that.</p>
<p>how does ivy league (like columbia) treat high verbal and low quant for engineering students?
does 660 quant diminish my chances for columbia engineering, if adnmission decision comes down to my GRE scores.</p>
<p>“The GRE score seems to reflect how much one studies for the test, rather than to assess how good one’s english is. I know chinese students who can barely speak/write english but got 700+ on the verbal by many years studying and memorizing the vocabs.”</p>
<p>While this is true, it doesn’t really diminish the importance of a decent verbal score. As long as the GRE is a required component of your application, it doesn’t hurt to try to raise your score as much as possible. The upside to the “Chinese kids scoring 700+” thing is that, yes, the GRE is beatable and you will see tangible returns if you put in some effort preparing for it. I know the test is easier for some than others but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a native speaker of English to be able to score above 500 with about a month of practice. An average GRE doesn’t make or break grad school admissions but a bad score might send the message that you just didn’t care enough to put in the minimal effort to do alright on it.</p>
<p>Just my two cents.</p>
<p>It’s not really possible to get a good score (700+) verbal on GRE simply by memorizing the vocab if you don’t speak English, or at least read it. There are reading comprehension and sentence completion questions on the GRE; if you cannot comprehend written English, you cannot get a 700+. Those Chinese student may not have had very good spoken English, but I assure you they understand written English.</p>
<p>The truth is: GRE scores can’t get you in, but they can keep you out. This is what I consistently hear from professors and admissions committees. If you get a low score (and below 500 is a low score), that can cast a negative light on your application; but a 700+ won’t necessarily get you into the school, either.</p>
<p>if the GRE was truly useless universities wouldn’t use it.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Communication isn’t a one-way street. The fact that they can read a language well doesn’t mean anything if they cannot effectively communicate their ideas back. For most people, reading a foreign language is much, MUCH easier than writing/speaking it.</p>