What is a considered a competitive GRE score for admittance into the MA program in English?

Question

I am interested in going to graduate school. I have a 3.5 GPA, and am in two academic honor societies. I'm a junior in college, and already know which schools I will apply to. I am worried that my GRE scores won't be up to snuff. The schools that I am interested in are not big name schools or anything, but they are well known and reputable. If I earn a score of 1000 or better will this help me gain admittance?

Answer 1

Your grades put you in pretty good shape. Your math GRE score doesn't matter much. The top programs don't really accept MA students. They accept PhD students and will give out an MA as a booby prize to those sho don't complete the program. You would probably need a 750+ in the verbal portion to get into one of those programs.

A 700+ would get you into a good public university -- which usually accept both MA and PhD students. A 600+ on the verbal portion will get you into a decent school that only offers MAs in literature.

With a 500+, you will have no problem finding SOME school that lets you in.

Answer 2

Contact the schools you want to attend and ask them what scores they require.

If you have a 3.5 GPA and are in 2 honor societies, I wouldn't be too worried about getting a decent GRE score.

GRE, like ACT, and SAT, measures what you have learned. The official description (from the GRE website) is: "The Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®) General Test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and critical thinking and analytical writing skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are not related to any specific field of study."

You have these skills. You demonstrate them every day when you are maintaining that 3.5 GPA. Relax. Get a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast. Take the test and go for the schools you want. You'll be fine.

Answer 3

Well, it depends on the school, but most University of California schools want a 1200.