<p>i know GRE's dont really compare to recs, and research, but what is a good score that one should get on the GRE Physics exam?</p>
<p>My undergrad advisors told me that for DOMESTIC candidates, all they care about is that you get above the 50 percentile. That may sound low, but the Physics GRE is notoriously difficult... very, very few students even come close to finishing the exam. Back when I took it about ten years ago, all you needed was a raw score of 33/100 to get the 50 percentile. Unlike the general test, the subject tests DO penalize guessing. There is a huge selection effect in that the kinds of students who even take the Physics GRE are generally the very best students in the country by almost every measure... so being in the middle of the pack among those such students is still pretty impressive.</p>
<p>My score on the Physics GRE was 800 (on a scale of 200-990), which if I remember was either 76% or 80% at the time. Combined with general GRE scores of 800M, 800A, 740V, and a science GPA of 3.67,
I got into Caltech, Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Columbia, and Berkeley (I chose Berkeley). I also had 3 excellent letters of rec and research experience which eventually lead to a couple publications.</p>
<p>As you already realize yourself, factors such as letters of rec. and research experience are far more important than GRE scores.</p>
<p>thanks harvard and berkley for all your advice, ill keep it in mind during my undergrad years</p>