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About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 10:02 am
by qp10
Is there any chance of the scores for September test being viewable online earlier than the announced date(Oct 27th)?

I signed up for both Sep and Oct and I'm waiting to cancel Oct test if the score for the last one turns out to be good.

I really don't want to take that darn test again...

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 12:20 pm
by bfollinprm
Highly doubtful. Why would ETS rush to get scores back to you if it meant you could get half your money back from them? They understand that people sign up for both exams as insurance in case you bomb the first one, so the earliest you'll see your score is 3 days before the October test, after the refund period elapses. Anything else is a very poor business decision.

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 1:52 am
by qp10
Well, the reason I wanna know my score ahead of time is that I want to avoid having to go and take the test on Saturday if I can, that is, if the last score turns out to be satisfying... the fee return is not of my concern. I heard that you can get the scores early by calling ETS and paying some fee.. Is this still possible?

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 2:38 am
by djh101
3 days? Why that's tomorrow! Time to start checking compulsively (not that I wasn't already :shock:).

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 3:04 pm
by bfollinprm
qp10 wrote:Well, the reason I wanna know my score ahead of time is that I want to avoid having to go and take the test on Saturday if I can, that is, if the last score turns out to be satisfying... the fee return is not of my concern. I heard that you can get the scores early by calling ETS and paying some fee.. Is this still possible?
Yes, it's still possible.

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 11:01 am
by qp10
Thank you guys for all your responses.. I called ETS and they said the phone service is no longer available.

I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed and keep checking the website.

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 12:05 am
by djh101
Well, it's 9PM here (west coast), which means its October 27 on the east coast. Where are my scores, ETS? :evil:

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 12:07 am
by dak213
djh101 wrote:Well, it's 9PM here (west coast), which means its October 27 on the east coast. Where are my scores, ETS? :evil:


I keep refreshing but there's nothing!!

One of my friends said that they might not have it up until 6 or 8 am but another one of my friends said that she thought they could view their scores at midnight for last year's test.

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 12:11 am
by blahblah
Mine are up! I had to clear my browser cache to see them though. (On Chrome can try opening incognito mode and checking in that.)

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 12:21 am
by djh101
Thanks. That worked. I am extremely pleased. :D

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 2:01 am
by heisenbergh23
Guys, how was the scores? Any rough idea on cutoff raw score for 990?

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 2:31 am
by djh101
It should be two weeks until we get the official scores and I believe the raw score is in there, correct? I got a 910. I think I skipped around 5 questions; I know I missed 6 or 7 minimum but probably more like a dozen. This is, however, a very rough estimate. I'd say the raw score range will probably be similar to 0877,

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 3:18 am
by wompwomp
890! Given that I have been out of college/physics for two years now, I am more than happy with my score. Gets me past any cutoffs - that is all I can ask for!

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 3:45 am
by djh101
Psh, 890 is excellent even without any asterisks. I was actually hoping for an 800+ so that if I went to New Mexico I could skip the prelims (and because I like rounded numbers) but planning on mid to high 700s, and I would have been pretty content with that. However, I am now confident that I will succeed in my ploy to make everyone forget that I do not hold a bachelors degree in physics. o_o

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 7:21 am
by level1807
990! So happy two months of preparation were not in vain. And it's 94%. I'm guessing the raw score cutoff is close to the usual of 82.
The physics GRE is actually surprisingly different from Math. In Math, there are 66 questions and in order to get 990 you have to get raw score 66, and it's 99%. Which is sensible, compared to when admissions see 94% in Physics and they have no idea whether you're really in the first percentile or in the sixth.

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 7:32 am
by heisenbergh23
Congrats.Can you tell us how many questions you left, and approximately how many you answered incorrectly?

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 11:14 am
by TakeruK
level1807 wrote:990! So happy two months of preparation were not in vain. And it's 94%. I'm guessing the raw score cutoff is close to the usual of 82.
The physics GRE is actually surprisingly different from Math. In Math, there are 66 questions and in order to get 990 you have to get raw score 66, and it's 99%. Which is sensible, compared to when admissions see 94% in Physics and they have no idea whether you're really in the first percentile or in the sixth.
Well, I would also argue that most admission committees do not really care whether you are in the first percentile or the sixth!

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 1:18 pm
by djh101
Congratulations, level. I guess I'll see you at Caltech (kidding).

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 2:00 pm
by janghun
Hmm.....I got 910 (86%) of Sep. 27 PGRE....I had left only 3 question as blank....I guess I had made lots of mistake.., about 10~15....

Is the score just OK to apply to Top20 Schools ?

I'd like to study HEP theory in Top20 Schools as a Ph.D Candidate.

I have really concerned about the score...

So, I took the Oct. 25 PGRE again. I left only 2 questions as blank and I guess I made about 2~3 mistake at the time.......

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 2:32 pm
by level1807
heisenbergh23 wrote:Congrats.Can you tell us how many questions you left, and approximately how many you answered incorrectly?
Thanks. I answered all questions but I only know for sure that I got the 100th question wrong.

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 2:35 pm
by level1807
TakeruK wrote:
level1807 wrote:990! So happy two months of preparation were not in vain. And it's 94%. I'm guessing the raw score cutoff is close to the usual of 82.
The physics GRE is actually surprisingly different from Math. In Math, there are 66 questions and in order to get 990 you have to get raw score 66, and it's 99%. Which is sensible, compared to when admissions see 94% in Physics and they have no idea whether you're really in the first percentile or in the sixth.
Well, I would also argue that most admission committees do not really care whether you are in the first percentile or the sixth!
Yeah, I guess that's true. Still, even for us it would be nice to see some distinction between raw scores of 82 and 99.

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 2:40 pm
by level1807
janghun wrote:Hmm.....I got 910 (86%) of Sep. 27 PGRE....I had left only 3 question as blank....I guess I had made lots of mistake.., about 10~15....

Is the score just OK to apply to Top20 Schools ?

I'd like to study HEP theory in Top20 Schools as a Ph.D Candidate.

I have really concerned about the score...

So, I took the Oct. 25 PGRE again. I left only 2 questions as blank and I guess I made about 2~3 mistake at the time.......
I think it's totally OK. Test scores are only a small part of the application. And they know perfectly well that some people can memorize stuff and some don't, so even GRE scores do not reflect your capabilities in a very objective manner.
If you have strong recommendations, maybe publications, work experience, then 910 score is not something to worry about. In other words, this score is not likely to become the reason of a rejection, should there be one.

Re: About the September PGRE scores

Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 2:50 pm
by djh101
CalTech lists the average PGRE as 880, Boulder as 825, and Washington as 810, so keep that in mind. I guess none of the schools read ETS's guide on using GRE scores where they recommended that schools provide the range rather than the average.