Are my GRE scores sufficient for an Entry-level MSN program?

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Hi, I ended up taking the GRE exam yesterday at a Prometric testing center.

I won't get my analytical writing section scores back for a few weeks, but that's OK, since the entry-level MSN programs I'm interested in have explicitly stated that they won't consider it.

Anyway, I got a 780 on the Math section and a 690 on the Verbal (1470 total).

Is that going to be a competitive score, or will I need to retake the exam?

The only info on the websites were that you need at least a 1000, but they didn't really say what would be a "good" score.

(I already have a B.A. in History from Tulane and am taking the remaining pre-requisite classes over the summer at my Community College.)

Specializes in Mental Health.

I got 1450 and 5.0 and was very happy with my score. It was competitive for fully funded clinical psych PhD programs that I applied to since I received several interviews (ultimately decided to go for NP instead). MSN programs are less competitive, so I think you're all set. That's a really great score!

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Specializes in Mental Health.
So I just took the "new" GRE...does anyone know if a 155 in math and 152 in verbal are good scores for masters entry?

Here is the concordance chart: http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/concordance_information.pdf

I would think scoring above 600 on each section and above 4.5 on writing would make you look quite competitive, as long as everything else was in order. Looks like you got 700Q and 490V. Your quant score is great, but the low verbal score will make you look bad. Can you retake it? PM if you want study advice. Verbal is all about memorizing lots of vocab words and doing many practice tests to get used to the reading comprehension. Search quizlet.com for "Barrons 800" for a great vocab list and memorize all those words.

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Here is the concordance chart: http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/concordance_information.pdf

I

 would think scoring above 600 on each section and above 4.5 on writing would make you look quite competitive, as long as everything else was in order. Looks like you got 700Q and 490V. Your quant score is great, but the low verbal score will make you look bad. Can you retake it? PM if you want study advice. Verbal is all about memorizing lots of vocab words and doing many practice tests to get used to the reading comprehension. Search quizlet.com for "Barrons 800" for a great vocab list and memorize all those words.

THANKS! :) I think I will retake it cause I didn't really study at all the first time around. It seems like my scores would be competitive for some private schools...but probably not for UCSF...

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The program I applied to and was admitted said that they viewed 150 on each and 4 on writing as competitive. I scored a 149 and 150 and a 3.5 on my writing and got in. I studied the things I knew I was weak in and went to a free math tips/tricks class which helped a lot. I will admit that I was a little worried about being accepted since I was right on the border and my undergrad GPA was only 3.2, but all pre-reqs and a few additional courses were at a 4.0, so I did have help there.

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The program I applied to and was admitted said that they viewed 150 on each and 4 on writing as competitive. I scored a 149 and 150 and a 3.5 on my writing and got in. I studied the things I knew I was weak in and went to a free math tips/tricks class which helped a lot. I will admit that I was a little worried about being accepted since I was right on the border and my undergrad GPA was only 3.2, but all pre-reqs and a few additional courses were at a 4.0, so I did have help there.

Which program was that? I haven't gotten my writing portion score back but I'm guessing it was a 4

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Ohio State's CNL.

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Turns out I got a 4.5 on writing! :D

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[TR=class: centered donotwrap subhead subhead-nth, bgcolor: transparent]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Scaled Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Estimated

Current Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Scaled Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal primaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]% Below[/TH]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Scaled Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Estimated

Current Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Scaled Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal primaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]% Below[/TH]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal primaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]% Below[/TH]

[/TR]

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[TD=class: left primaryborder, bgcolor: transparent]04/13/2013[/TD]

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[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center][/TD]

[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center]152[/TD]

[TD=class: primaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center]53[/TD]

[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center][/TD]

[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center][/TD]

[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center]155[/TD]

[TD=class: primaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center]64[/TD]

[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center]4.5[/TD]

[TD=class: primaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center]73[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

verbal 53%

math 64%

Writing 73%

Does anyone know what UCSF or SFSU would want? I think the Verbal is pretty low still :/

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Turns out I got a 4.5 on writing! :D

[TABLE=class: data-table columnborder stripe-h small-text nobottommargin, width: 939]

[TR=class: centered donotwrap subhead subhead-nth, bgcolor: transparent]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Scaled Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Estimated

Current Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Scaled Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal primaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]% Below[/TH]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Scaled Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Estimated

Current Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Scaled Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal primaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]% Below[/TH]

[TH=class: normal secondaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]Score[/TH]

[TH=class: normal primaryborder, bgcolor: #FFFFEE, align: center]% Below[/TH]

[/TR]

[TR=class: centered noshade, bgcolor: transparent]

[TD=class: left primaryborder, bgcolor: transparent]04/13/2013[/TD]

[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center][/TD]

[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center][/TD]

[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center]152[/TD]

[TD=class: primaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center]53[/TD]

[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center][/TD]

[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center][/TD]

[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center]155[/TD]

[TD=class: primaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center]64[/TD]

[TD=class: secondaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center]4.5[/TD]

[TD=class: primaryborder, bgcolor: transparent, align: center]73[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

verbal 53%

math 64%

Writing 73%

Does anyone know what UCSF or SFSU would want? I think the Verbal is pretty low still :/

Hey fancyeyes,

I am not sure what is considered to be a competitive GRE score for UCSF. It is a very hard school to get into though. Here is a link with some GRE ranges and median scores from previous years. It may be of some use to you. Good luck!

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Hey fancyeyes,

I am not sure what is considered to be a competitive GRE score for UCSF. It is a very hard school to get into though. Here is a link with some GRE ranges and median scores from previous years. It may be of some use to you. Good luck!

thanks, the Masters entry at UCSF is the only one that really seemed to care about GRE scores...and the deadline is Sept 1st, with scores needing 3 weeks to process...I don't know if I even have time to study to retake it since I'm taking a full schedule of classes this summer :/

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Specializes in Mental Health.

I heard Boston College places heavy emphasis on the GRE for admissions, as well as deciding who gets grants

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I heard Boston College places heavy emphasis on the GRE for admissions, as well as deciding who gets grants

I'm only applying to schools in CA. I think SFSU only cares about getting at least a 4 on the writing section, but I could be wrong?

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Got my scores back...VR-160, QR-165...84th and 91st percentiles, respectively. Though my writing score is only a 4.0, in the 54th percentile... What do you all think? I'm hoping for UCSF but am also looking at many acute care NP programs across the States.

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