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GRE Scores By Discipline

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Re: GRE Scores By Discipline

#61

Post by ssharp »

Alex3917 wrote: post #9

The fact that every discipline uses the same test for admissions says more about the quality of academia than the scores.

So what is the answer to this problem?

The GRE is a pretty generalized test. Most undergrad programs use either the generic SAT or ACT as their test factor - it's a efficient and useful way to measure a large group of people. The most important prerequisite for most graduate programs is an undergraduate degree in that field. How you performed (as well as the quality of the program you graduated from) is likely the most useful tool, so I can see how the GRE would be downplayed.

In some graduate programs, specifically law and business, what field your undergraduate degree is in isn't that important. I'm guessing this is why the LSAT and GMAT tend to weigh more in admission decisions than the GRE does.

Re: GRE Scores By Discipline

#62

Post by speek »

physcab wrote: post #29
fgimenez wrote: post #19

How is it that the average verbal scores are so much lower than math? A math major averages 714 on quantitative whereas an English Lit major averages 573. Is the math that much easier, or do we not speek so goode nemore?

The GRE math questions are almost the same difficulty as the SAT. I would guess that if you're applying to graduate school, you've done a fair amount of reading and writing no matter what your major, so those questions are "tougher". However, its not the same for math. There is still a general requirement, but the exposure to rigorous math is much more varied. Which reminds me, I kind of remember seeing a "Math for D…

I think Math for Dancers would be an interesting class to take, even if you're majoring in a hard science/math.

Not all people think with only their brain, some people need their body to think. It'd be interesting to see how that actually works from the point of view of someone who math comes to naturally (sans-dancing).

Re: GRE Scores By Discipline

#63

Post by decode »

yters wrote: post #60
dmoney wrote: post #41

Interesting: Philosophy scored higher on Verbal than English/Language.

Makes sense, philosophers are more interested in analyzing the nuances of words than writers. Writers focus more on the effect of words and philosophers focus more on the meaning of words.

My understanding is that English Lang & Lit grad students are not studying to be writers. They're studying to be literary critics and English professors. Writers get MFA's in Creative Writing or Journalism.

Re: GRE Scores By Discipline

#64

Post by tempest67 »

dissenter wrote: post #36
sanj wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I talked to the dept head in aero at MIT during the 90s and he told me that the verbal section of the GRE was the only correlation he'd seen to success.

Funny, I heard a rumor that the only people who got 800s on the verbal section were foreigners. (Read: people who can't speak English.) The explanation was that they were the only ones willing to invest enough time to form-fit the ETS's method of verbal testing. In my own experience the verbal section of the GRE was entirely nonsensical. The vocabulary was difficult and exactly the type of vocabulary I would use if i…

"If the goal of communication is having other people understand you, why would you deal in words that are notable precisely because they are difficult to understand?"

One important value words have lies in their discriminatory capabilities; the more exact and fine-toothed your toolset is, the more precisely you can express yourself. Sure, it doesn't matter if you're wearing mittens on your vocabulary for most exchanges -- but it sure is nice to be able to take them off once in a while, and say exactly what you mean.

Re: GRE Scores By Discipline

#65

Post by tokenadult »

anonyreliant wrote: post #57
tokenadult wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I heard a rumor" I'm a counterexample to the rumor.

99% percentile on verbal. Didn't really study for it though, just read a lot as a kid and had the fortune to have studied Latin. Worth mentioning that my life doesn't correlate to success in any meaningful way, except that I keep making decisions which make me happy if poor.

Agreeing with both replies to me, I think the secret of my success on the GRE verbal section (twice) was reading a lot for fun. And agreeing with them about correlations between GRE success and life success, I still pursue a lot of personal intellectual interests but have not become notably wealthy, although any middle-class American is wealthy in worldwide terms.

Re: GRE Scores By Discipline

#66

Post by tokenadult »

yters wrote: post #59

And if you want another (false) ego boost, calculate your iq from your gre: http://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/GREIQ.aspx

It's hilarious that sites that purport to calculate IQ scores from other test scores generally don't mention error in estimation in either kind of test, nor do they mention regression to the mean.

Re: GRE Scores By Discipline

#67

Post by dissenter »

davi wrote: post #52
dissenter wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny, I heard a rumor that the only people who got 800s on the verbal section were foreigners. (Read: people who can't speak English.) The explanation was that they were the only ones willing to invest enough time to form-fit the ETS's method of verbal testing. In my own experience the verbal section of the GRE was entirely nonsensical. The vocabulary was difficult and exactly the type of vocabulary I would use if i…

"If the goal of communication is having other people understand you, why would you deal in words that are notable precisely because they are difficult to understand?" Once in a while you meet someone else like yourself and experience pleasure communicating at high baud.

Really? I take your point to mean that two smart people can communicate better using obscure vocabulary when they are communicating only between themselves. High baud necessarily implies higher average information throughput, so there would have to be a significant number of these words in the communication.

Could you point to some examples of letters between two famous people using this method?

Most notable people seem to prefer simple vocabulary, and in fact, many of them go so far as to recommend it. The people who prefer complex vocabulary (cultural studies journals, intellectuals) do not seem to accomplish anything of value, and indeed they are routinely accused of being obscurantists.

(Ground rule: scientific jargon excepted, since it is not a part of the vocabulary. But, feel free to look at letters by Newton, Einstein, Godel, Hilbert, anyone really.)

Re: GRE Scores By Discipline

#68

Post by niels_olson »

neilk wrote: post #54

the total scores for the scientific disciplines are consistently higher than those for the humanities and social sciences; Economics scored #4 and it's not a science. That blows away any credibility this might have. Economics does have equations and an analytical approach, but its empirical foundations and usefulness are quite dubious, compared to say, civil engineering, or medicine. I would think that medicine would…

no, it's ordered by score.

Also, students applying to medical school don't take the GRE. They take the MCAT. If you are interested in medicine and taking the GRE, you already failed, which may explain the disproportionately low score.

Re: GRE Scores By Discipline

#69

Post by ChaitanyaSai »

dissenter wrote: post #67
davi wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If the goal of communication is having other people understand you, why would you deal in words that are notable precisely because they are difficult to understand?" Once in a while you meet someone else like yourself and experience pleasure communicating at high baud.

Really? I take your point to mean that two smart people can communicate better using obscure vocabulary when they are communicating only between themselves. High baud necessarily implies higher average information throughput, so there would have to be a significant number of these words in the communication. Could you point to some examples of letters between two famous people using this method? Most notable people s…

Obscure vocabulary could be divided into two, one containing obscure synonyms of frequent words, and another is the chunking of information, of many words, to give one label. People familiar with the topic may find it easier to anchor their thoughts with these chunked words of phrases.

A lot of philosophy seems really ridiculous to me, and yet there must be a need to chunk concepts and give them labels. When you agree on the basket of concepts tagged with "logical positivism" or "paleo-conservatism" isn't it easier to just use that phrase and not repeatedly invoke all or the topically relevant concepts of that set?

Of course, the problem is when these labels are overburdened and/or so multifaceted that you could be talking about subtly different things and not get anywhere. This is why philosophy should be based not in the fuzzy verbal, but in the concisely mathematical, but that is another topic.

I can't point to any letters to showcase the method, but I'd point to political science as it is a place where verbal philosophy and practicality do coincide.

Re: GRE Scores By Discipline

#70

Post by davi »

dissenter wrote: post #67
davi wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If the goal of communication is having other people understand you, why would you deal in words that are notable precisely because they are difficult to understand?" Once in a while you meet someone else like yourself and experience pleasure communicating at high baud.

Really? I take your point to mean that two smart people can communicate better using obscure vocabulary when they are communicating only between themselves. High baud necessarily implies higher average information throughput, so there would have to be a significant number of these words in the communication. Could you point to some examples of letters between two famous people using this method? Most notable people s…

It has nothing to do with a preference for complex vocabulary.

When I talk to someone I know has a large vocabulary, I am free to use the best word that occurs to me, and if they think I'm up to snuff, they are free to do the same thing. This makes for a more pleasurable conversation. (Assuming we're actually trying to say something to each other. But if the motivation is to show off, or engage in ego jockeying, that's boring.)

I guess it's more accurate to say that baud rate surges transiently when a rare, but exceptionally precise word enters this sort of conversation.

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