<p>For the GRE ...</p>
<p>what is considered a decent score for engineers in verbal and math?
I have heard that you'll be fine for verbal as long as you don't bomb it
(meaning 500 is okay). For math, I have heard that you should get a perfect score.</p>
<p>Is it like the SATs, in terms of content and difficulty? I'd like to know how much time
I would have to devote to preparing.</p>
<p>You need to consult with the professional advisors at your school.</p>
<p>Remember how the SAT was only taken by college bound students?</p>
<p>The GRE is generally only taken by graduate school bound students.</p>
<p>I remember that, decades ago, the math and verbal aptitude tests were similiar to the SAT I in difficulty, allowing for greater experience, knowledge and maturity.</p>
<p>IMO the GRE subject tests are way tougher than the SAT II’s.</p>
<p>I had 740 verbal, 770 math and 620 Chemistry subject. This data is probably way to old to be of current use.</p>
<p>It is rather amazing how similar the GRE scores are for any of the top-30 or so engineering schools…Quants a little over 750 and verbals in mid 500s. Scores in that range are what you are shooting for, but I don’t think GREs are as important for grad school admission as SATs were for undergrad.</p>
<p>It’s not hard to ace the quantitative section, or close to it. Just practice a little, and relax.</p>
<p>The verbal section… just do your best. If you’re a native speaker and have read a book or two in your life, a 500 should be second nature.</p>
<p>I got 800Q and 710V without trying, really… and my girlfriend got 740Q and 680V with less effort than me. We both had a rather mediocre performance on the AW section, though, so if you want to practice anything, do some writing and have it judged somehow.</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses. Seems like I will focus on verbal. How much more difficult is the section compared to the SAT?</p>
<p>It seems like the analogies and reading passages are about similar in style. I have read books … but only engineering textbooks for the past 5 years. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>It seems like the average score is in the high 400s … any idea why it’s so low?</p>
<p>GRE, for me, was basically the same thing as the SAT. I did it during HS because my test skills were at their peak (CR/Math from active SAT prep). The verbal is very dependent on quite arcane words, so I’d say it’s harder if your vocabulary is more limited, but easier if you just know a ****load of words. SAT likes to test your ability to actually comprehend what you read much more (but at a lower level – GRE passages are sometimes dense enough to bend light)</p>
<p>My best SAT scores were 790 M/760 CR/800 W. My GRE was 800Q/770V/6.0AW</p>
<p>Ha, I should have taken the GRE back in high school too. It hurt trying to remember all that geometry I hadn’t used since freshman year of high school.</p>
<p>if i’m getting high 400s - low 500s on the practice GRE verbals, is that something to be worried about? i’m aiming for the top prestigious schools like berkeley and stanford for a MS or phD</p>
<p>shoot for at least 500 i would say on verbal then i think it wouldn’t raise a flag. imo i really think the engineering adcom doesn’t really look at verbal that closely especially if your other credentials are great. heck i got low 400s and still got into the top schools you mentioned. but of cuz you want to keep it as high as possible for fellowship purpose.</p>
<p>I don’t know how grad students have such a hard time with that exam. If you did well enough on the SAT to get into a good school, then replicating that performance – especially after years of intense, higher level study – should be cake. </p>
<p>GRE Subjects look scary. Good thing I’m an EE major.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>… except engineering programs don’t prepare you for GRE verbal at all… which is why graduate engineering programs don’t really care about it that much. As long as you’re literate and you can communicate your ideas on paper, you’ll be fine. Does it really matter if you know what “salubrious” and “animadversion” mean?</p>
<p>i’m thinking of just taking the exam asap so i can get it over it. but i’m really worried that i may score less than 500 on the verbal. how bad will it look if i have to retake the exam?</p>
<p>it won’t look bad if you score low the first time and have a ‘considerable’ improvement the next. which means a 10pt increase doesn’t do much so don’t retake it unless you know you will score a lot higher (50pt or above) that’s why i didn’t bother taking it again knowing i would not make such a improvement (it’s very possible for me to score less too)</p>
<p>Engineering schools do look at Verbal score of GRE too.
This may be relaxed if you are from a non english speaking country like Korea, China etc.
But, since GRE is portrayed as a test of aptitude, rather than english skills, verbal score is also important. For non english speaking students, it is relaxed as compared to American students but not ignored. Admission chance estimator tool can be found at <a href=“http://www.missiongre.com%5B/url%5D”>www.missiongre.com</a>. If your verbal is in 500 range and you are dreaming of Stanford, just forget that unless you have some other great accomplishments to balance that.</p>
<p>‘If your verbal is in 500 range and you are dreaming of Stanford, just forget that unless you have some other great accomplishments to balance that.’</p>
<p>yikes. i heard from others that i can still get in with only a 500, considering that i have a 3.85 gpa and will probably have average letters of rec</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s not true at all. Engineering schools don’t care a whit about how you scored on your verbal GRE section, particularly if 1) you’re a native English-speaker, and 2) you’re obviously a clear communicator in your personal statements. I think I got a 520 or 530 and got into Stanford… as well as MIT, UIUC, Georgia Tech, UT, Cornell, and Berkeley. I didn’t get rejected from anywhere that I applied, so I really don’t feel like the verbal score (or the depressingly low writing score I received, which was a 4.5 or something) had any bearing on my admissions decisions.</p>
<p>I had experiences similar to aibarr. I had a GRE verbal somewhere between 500 and 600 (I forget exactly, but probably on the lower end) and got into everywhere I had applied. This included the likes of UIUC, Carnegie Mellon and Columbia. My writing score was even lower (3.0).</p>
<p>for those of you who got into the top schools with a 500 verbal score, what was your gpa and how solid were your letters of rec?</p>
<p>3.58 GPA at Rice, with good recs from reasonably famous profs. Advantages of a small program are that the faculty get to know you really well.</p>
<p>I’ve always heard the Verbal section of the GRE was more important for non-native speakers since they’re not assumed to be very knowledgeable about English. That said, one of my friends here at Caltech got something like a 450 on verbal and had a pretty tough time the first quarter or so. Since he’s made a lot of friends outside of his home country he’s become pretty fluent, though.</p>