Not many schools’ names have become so synonymous with prestige that mere the utterance of their name elicits great awe and wonder from outsiders. Princeton, the fourth oldest college in the United States, is doubtlessly one of those awe-inspirers. They consistently place at the top of graduate program rankings across the board. In this post, we’re going to focus on Princeton: the ideal Princeton GRE scores, and the range of scores you need to score Princeton acceptance.
Joining the elite group of Princeton alumni is by no means a walk in the park, especially for graduate level programs. If you want to get into Princeton, you’re going to need to be the cream of the crop. And naturally one of the factors of your application is going to be the GRE.
The Right Princeton Score, According to U.S. News & World Report 2020 and ETS
U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges List is one of the most of the most trusted rankings of American universities. And they have a page just for Princeton. They also have detailed data on the Princeton score range for the GRE… although they charge money for that more in-depth information.
Meanwhile, ETS is the official maker of the GRE tests, and has the best data on average GRE scores by major. To estimated the scores you need to get in to Princeton’s various grad schools, we’ll use both of these sources.
So we’re going to use these two sources to estimate our score ranges for popular Princeton grad programs. The only solid numbers U.S. News & World Report gives out are for grad programs in Engineering, which will help us create estimates for other programs; here are Princeton GRE scores for their grad program in Engineering:
| Program | U.S News Ranking | Average Verbal GRE | Average Quantitative GRE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Master's | 21 | 165 | 167 |
| Engineering Ph.D. | 21 | 160 | 167 |
To get the score Princeton likely views as average for Engineering majors, you’ll want a verbal score in or above the 86th percentile and a Quantitative score in or above the 90th.
Estimating Princeton GRE Scores in Other Disciplines
Based on Princeton’s Engineering program’s ranking and GRE scores, we’re able to extrapolate some key information about Princeton GRE scores in other programs. Below is a list of estimated average score ranges you can expect from Princeton’s ranked programs.
| Program | US News Rank | Estimated Verbal Range | Estimated Quantitative Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological Sciences | 6 | 162-166 | 160-164 |
| Chemistry | 9 | 162-166 | 164-168 |
| Computer Science | 8 | 157-161 | 164-168 |
| Earth Sciences | 10 | 163-167 | 161-165 |
| Economics | 1 | 163-167 | 166-170 |
| English | 8 | 166-170 | 155-159 |
| History | 1 | 165-169 | 155-159 |
| Mathematics | 1 | 162-166 | 169-170 |
| Physics | 3 | 165-169 | 168-170 |
| Political Science | 3 | 166-170 | 158-162 |
| Psychology | 8 | 161-165 | 155-159 |
| Public Administration | 10 | 162-166 | 156-160 |
| Sociology | 1 | 162-166 | 155-159 |
To see where those scores fall, check out the GRE percentile rankings.
What These Princeton Score Numbers Mean
The GRE score ranges in the chart above represent your ideal target score for getting into Princeton, assuming your GRE score ends up being the deciding factor for your acceptance. That being said, GRE scores are not always the deciding factor in an application to Princeton, or to any other school. If your GRE score is below the average score ranges in this post but other aspects of your application are very strong, you may still be able to get into Princeton.
Resources to Get the GRE Scores Princeton Wants to See
Check out the following links for more help in prepping for the GRE and reaching your target Princeton score:
