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GRE, Should I even bother studying for verbal/analytical?

markhobbus

Joined
7/16/11
Messages
42
Points
18
So I am planning on taking the GRE in March and I'm really only focusing on getting a perfect math score. Is this the wrong approach or should I also be working on the verbal/analytical. I would expect mediocre grades on verbal/analytical sections without prep.

A little background: 3.8 gpa with interdisciplinary Math/Econ major, american born, expecting good ref. letters, 2 finance internships. I will also have time for a retake during the summer if I mess up this test. I plan on applying to berkely, cmu, nyu, and columbia this fall.

All thoughts welcome.
 
Berkeley's admission requirements state that..

"We anticipate that the most successful applicants will have GMAT or GRE Quantitative scores in the 90th percentile. Verbal and Analytical scores should also be strong."

I think you might want to try getting a non-mediocre verbal/analytical score which will taint an otherwise polished application.
 
markhobbus said:
So I am planning on taking the GRE in March and I'm really only focusing on getting a perfect math score. Is this the wrong approach or should I also be working on the verbal/analytical. I would expect mediocre grades on verbal/analytical sections without prep.

A little background: 3.8 gpa with interdisciplinary Math/Econ major, american born, expecting good ref. letters, 2 finance internships. I will also have time for a retake during the summer if I mess up this test. I plan on applying to berkely, cmu, nyu, and columbia this fall.

All thoughts welcome.
Click to expand...
Listen mate, I did the GRE exam without preparation as well. I thought that what matters would be a high GRE verbal as I believe that the GRE Verbal isn't a good measure of your communication skills in English anyway. I easily got a perfect Quant score (thus, i don't think you need that kind of preparation for the quant part. it's very easy) but a mediocre verbal score just like jackcoke said and I was denied (put on Hold) for UCB. Mind you that the remaining elements of my application are really strong.
So my advice would be to score a minimum of 500 in the Verbal section. I dunno how that converts in the new GRE, but aim on getting not less 70 percentile. It's a shame to be denied the place just because you didn't spend two months memorizing words and practicing essay questions.
 
markhobbus said:
So I am planning on taking the GRE in March and I'm really only focusing on getting a perfect math score. Is this the wrong approach or should I also be working on the verbal/analytical. I would expect mediocre grades on verbal/analytical sections without prep.

A little background: 3.8 gpa with interdisciplinary Math/Econ major, american born, expecting good ref. letters, 2 finance internships. I will also have time for a retake during the summer if I mess up this test. I plan on applying to berkely, cmu, nyu, and columbia this fall.

All thoughts welcome.
Click to expand...

As an international applicant I got Q:800 V:420, AW:4.
I practiced Quantitative part for just 8 hours and had no AW practice. So a US citizen must get a higher grade with little practice.
Although I don't know whether it is good or not. But if I were you I would invest on Verbal and AW much more than Q.
 
Something to consider about the new GRE is that getting a "perfect" math score is much harder than it used to be. Previously 6% of students achieved an 800 - it was the 94th percentile. Now that ETS has re-adjusted the scale only 2% of students get a perfect 170 (the new 800.) In fact, some students that may have received an 800 on the old scale would only receive a 166 on the new scale. So a little bit of prep may help more than it did prior to the GRE changes.
 
bhavin said:
Something to consider about the new GRE is that getting a "perfect" math score is much harder than it used to be. Previously 6% of students achieved an 800 - it was the 94th percentile. Now that ETS has re-adjusted the scale only 2% of students get a perfect 170 (the new 800.) In fact, some students that may have received an 800 on the old scale would only receive a 166 on the new scale. So a little bit of prep may help more than it did prior to the GRE changes.
Click to expand...

I got a 166 on the new exam,(94%) and according to the comparison table it was a 800 on old scale. I don't understand what is more that 166? I think the achievable grade is different from exam to exam.(a range from 166 on some exams to 170 on the others) Do you have any idea?
 
Happy to help! The highest score on every exam is 170. One major criticism of the old exam was that it didn't differentiate the high scorers - basically that too many people received 800's. With the new exam, they've made it more difficult to receive a perfect 170 on math. Someone who gets a 170 on the new GRE is in the 99th percentile. 169 is likely in the 97th percentile...and 166 is the 94th percentile. That's still a very good score but not the highest. I actually answered a very similar question here: Is getting a 170/170 harder than getting an 800/800.
 
bhavin said:
Happy to help! The highest score on every exam is 170. One major criticism of the old exam was that it didn't differentiate the high scorers - basically that too many people received 800's. With the new exam, they've made it more difficult to receive a perfect 170 on math. Someone who gets a 170 on the new GRE is in the 98th percentile. 169 is likely in the 97th percentile...and 166 is the 94th percentile. That's still a very good score but not the highest. I actually answered a very similar question here: Is getting a 170/170 harder than getting an 800/800.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help, I think the reason I got a 166 is that I took the PBT version, and the maximum grade for it is probably 166.
 
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