I had a 99th percentile in both back in the day. Civil engineering major. Sometimes I think I should have done more with that.

Philosophy majors do the best at LSAT too. It is good training for how to think and write clearly. Philosophy majors also tend to have some of the highest mid-career salaries among those without advanced degrees.

Anonymous wrote:Why do engineers do so poorly on verbal/writing? Of course I don't expect them to do as well as humanities majors but these numbers stand out.

Non-native speakers of English.

Why do engineers do so poorly on verbal/writing? Of course I don't expect them to do as well as humanities majors but these numbers stand out.

Secondary educators (who have mastery of a subject and don't do standalone majors) do fine on the SAT and GRE. It's the elementary education majors that are low.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this for masters or PhD? I would think for PhD the research conducted and the proposal would matter most.

GRE is taken for both though not all programs require it. One of the reasons education majors score relatively low is that many states require every teacher to get a master's degree so it's not a select population like the other majors. The amount of people choosing to do a master's/PhD in philosophy or art history are usually very small and very talented.

That might have something to do with it, but education majors have below average SAT scores as well. It’s one of the lowest scoring mainstream degree.

It's usually the states with the weakest education systems that historically have education undergraduate majors though. If you're going to teach MS or HS, you major in biology or history or whatever you are going to teach and then take supplemental coursework to get your teaching license.

Elementary education majors always scored lower than other majors long before master's degrees requirements were implemented.

That being said, I don't know if it's really a scandal that education and social work score the lowest. The comparison group is those taking graduate degrees, not the general population.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this for masters or PhD? I would think for PhD the research conducted and the proposal would matter most.

GRE is taken for both though not all programs require it. One of the reasons education majors score relatively low is that many states require every teacher to get a master's degree so it's not a select population like the other majors. The amount of people choosing to do a master's/PhD in philosophy or art history are usually very small and very talented.

That might have something to do with it, but education majors have below average SAT scores as well. It’s one of the lowest scoring mainstream degree.

Anonymous wrote:Is this for masters or PhD? I would think for PhD the research conducted and the proposal would matter most.

GRE is taken for both though not all programs require it. One of the reasons education majors score relatively low is that many states require every teacher to get a master's degree so it's not a select population like the other majors. The amount of people choosing to do a master's/PhD in philosophy or art history are usually very small and very talented.

What does that mean for my rising sophomore at UMD if he continues with his CS/Math double major with a philosophy minor?

Another way of looking at it.

Verbal scores:

80th+ percentile: Philosophy
70-80th percentile: Anthropology, Art History, English, Foreign Languages, History, Physics, Political Science
60-70th percentile: Biological Sciences, Business Administration, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Performing and Studio Art, Public Administration, Sociology
50-60th percentile: Architecture, Communications, Education Research, Finance, Psychology
40th-50th percentile: Accounting, Computer Science, Elementary Education, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Health Sciences, Social Work

Quantitative:

80th percentile+: Finance, Mathematics
70th-80th percentile: Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics
60th-70th percentile: Accounting, Chemistry, Civil Engineering
50th-60th percentile: Architecture, Biological Sciences, Business Administration, Philosophy, Political Science
40th-50th percentile: Art History, Communications, Foreign Languages, Performing and Studio Art, Public Administration, Religion
30th-40th percentile: Anthropology, Education Research, English, Health Sciences, History, Psychology, Sociology
20th-30th percentile: Elementary Education, Social Work

Is GRE optional like SAT/ACT?

It's for all GRE test takers, by intended area of study.

Is this for masters or PhD? I would think for PhD the research conducted and the proposal would matter most.

For 31 selected majors:

Verbal

Philosophy 160
Art History, Theory and Criticism 157
English Language and Lit 157
Foreign Language and Lit 157
Political Science 157
Religion and Theology 157
History 156
Physics and Astronomy 156
Anthropology and Archaeology 156
Economics 154
Public Administration 154
Art: Performing and Studio 153
Biological and Biomedical Sciences 153
Business Administration and Management 153
Chemical Engineering 153
Chemistry 153
Mathematical Sciences 153
Sociology 153
Psychology 152
Architecture and Environmental Design 151
Banking and Finance 151
Communications and Journalism 151
Education: Evaluation and Research 151
Computer and Information Sciences 150
Health and Medical Sciences 150
Mechanical Engineering 150
Accounting 149
Civil Engineering 149
Electrical Engineering 149
Elementary Education 149
Social Work 149

Quantitative

Mathematical Sciences 164
Banking and Finance 162
Chemical Engineering 161
Computer and Information Sciences 161
Economics 161
Electrical Engineering 161
Physics and Astronomy 161
Mechanical Engineering 160
Civil Engineering 158
Accounting 157
Chemistry 157
Architecture and Environmental Design 155
Biological and Biomedical Sciences 154
Business Administration and Management 154
Philosophy 154
Political Science 153
Art: Performing and Studio 152
Foreign Language and Lit 152
Art History, Theory and Criticism 151
Communications and Journalism 151
Public Administration 151
Religion and Theology 151
Sociology 150
Anthropology and Archaeology 149
English Language and Lit 149
Health and Medical Sciences 149
History 149
Psychology 149
Education: Evaluation and Research 148
Elementary Education 147
Social Work 145

Analytical Writing

Philosophy 4.3
Political Science 4.3
Art History, Theory and Criticism 4.2
English Language and Lit 4.2
History 4.2
Religion and Theology 4.2
Foreign Language and Lit 4.1
Anthropology and Archaeology 4.0
Sociology 4.0
Biological and Biomedical Sciences 3.9
Business Administration and Management 3.9
Physics and Astronomy 3.9
Psychology 3.9
Public Administration 3.9
Chemical Engineering 3.8
Chemistry 3.8
Economics 3.8
Education: Evaluation and Research 3.8
Health and Medical Sciences 3.8
Communications and Journalism 3.7
Art: Performance and Studio 3.7
Mathematical Sciences 3.7
Architecture and Environmental Design 3.6
Elementary Education 3.6
Social Work 3.6
Mechanical Engineering 3.5
Banking and Finance 3.4
Civil Engineering 3.4
Computer and Information Sciences 3.4
Accounting 3.3
Electrical Engineering 3.3

https://www.ets.org/pdfs/gre/gre-guide-table-4b.pdf