Berkeley and the "80%"

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
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colldood
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:45 pm

Berkeley and the "80%"

Post by colldood » Fri Nov 02, 2012 7:11 pm

It's a common perception that Berkeley rejects you if you score less than 80th percentile on the GRE. Is this actually known to be true? Because I recently met someone who did significantly worse and was accepted.

Legendre
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:05 am

Re: Berkeley and the "80%"

Post by Legendre » Fri Nov 02, 2012 9:04 pm

This is stated on UC Berkeley's admissions page: http://math.berkeley.edu/programs/graduate/phd-program
Experience has shown that the score on the Mathematics Subject GRE is a partial indicator of preparation for Berkeley's PhD program. A score below the 80th percentile suggests inadequate preparation and must be balanced by other evidence if a favorable admission decision is to be reached.

rmg512
Posts: 97
Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:15 pm

Re: Berkeley and the "80%"

Post by rmg512 » Mon Nov 05, 2012 1:19 am

I pretty much read that as "you better be a mathematical prodigy in every single other way conceivable if you want to be admitted." Because my friend with pretty much EVERYTHING else going for him got rejected because his GRE score was only in the 61st percentile.

colldood
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:45 pm

Re: Berkeley and the "80%"

Post by colldood » Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:52 pm

Are you from the US? Because that would make a big difference

rmg512
Posts: 97
Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:15 pm

Re: Berkeley and the "80%"

Post by rmg512 » Mon Nov 05, 2012 4:30 pm

My friend (and I) was a student at a California school. So you'd think maybe we'd have a leg up on the competition given we'd be the least expensive first year students. Nope.

math_stu
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2012 1:05 pm

Re: Berkeley and the "80%"

Post by math_stu » Mon Nov 05, 2012 4:41 pm

colldood wrote:Are you from the US? Because that would make a big difference
Do you mean that a low score of a US student is more forgivable from the same score of an international student?

colldood
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:45 pm

Re: Berkeley and the "80%"

Post by colldood » Mon Nov 05, 2012 5:09 pm

I mean that Berkeley is a public school and therefore has few spots for international students, making the competition much stiffer. Unless I'm mistaken...



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