<p>I used CC back when I was applying for undergrad. Long story short, it was a huge help and I wish I could remember my username from back then. I'm really interested in applying to Econ grad school and I'm taking the GRE tomorrow. </p>
<p>I'm just curious what scores I need on the GRE to be in the running for schools top 10-20 schools like UC Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, University of Wisconsin- Madison. The rest of my application is only okay (4.0 in math/economics classes, A- overall GPA, economics and engineering majors, years of research (non published but presented in conferences). </p>
<p>I'm thinking my weakest part of my application is not having a 4.0 overall, my unpublished research, and possibly GRE scores. So help me, CC. Where should I "reach" for?</p>
<p>On the old scale, you would want an 780-800 on the quantitative section to get into the top places, which is about the 88th percentile. The verbal and writing sections are irrelevant, provided to meet a very minimal level of proficiency. </p>
<p>One thing that will help you get into top schools is to have well known econ professors writing you letters of recommendation. They don’t have to be on the short list of Nobel candidates, just respected in their field. You can get a feel for their standing in the field by looking at CVs. If your letter writers aren’t famous, its not a deal breaker. Just make sure they can speak highly of you. </p>
<p>One thing that might help you determining which schools to reach for is to consider what fields you’re interested in. For example, if you want to reach for MIT or Harvard, they are good at everything so you don’t have to worry about your interests. But if you want to do macro, Minnesota or Penn are good places, if you want to do IO shoot for Northwestern, etc. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Soo… I did very poorly on my GRE. 160-165 in math and 155-160 in verbal. What schools are now reasonable? I understand I probably won’t get into any top 5.</p>
<p>I’m not as familiar with the new scoring system. A 160-165 on math corresponds to a 760-790 on the old system. The high end of that is still pretty good. If you have a good application and some good letters it still might be worth applying to a top 5. I suggest applying for a few top 15s (reaches), a few in 15-50 (matches) and a few outside the top 50 (safeties). When you are looking at schools outside the top 50 it helps to find ones with established faculty with similar interests.</p>
<p>The other thing to remember is that GRE scores are just one part of the application package. Your scores aren’t that low for top universities, and remember that the rest of your package is considered, too. If the rest of your package is outstanding and your GRE scores are just a little low, you shouldn’t shut yourself out of top schools simply for that.</p>