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:
Hi Chris,
Just got my score last week.
My verbal score is 154, while for quantitative I got 166. I got 4.5 for writing.
From routine training and taking exercises, I got around 150-158 for verbal, and around 166-170 for quantitative.
My GPA is 3.87/4.00, and I am from Indonesia.
The question is: should I retake the test if I want to pursue higher education in top universities? Considering my university is on 200-300th position T.T
Hi Rian!
Great question, and congrats on your scores!
Whether or not to retake the GRE really depends on what type of program you’d like to get into. For example, your quant score is exceptional for nearly all areas of study, but could be improved if you want to specialize in mathematics, because these programs are looking for near-perfect quant scores. Your verbal score is also very, very good, but could be improved if you want to study English or Fine Arts. Does that make sense?
What type of program are you planning to apply to?
Hi Chris,
I am looking to apply to programmes in Public Policy. I have a GRE score of 328 (Q 161, V 167). I have an okay GPA (international), strong work experience and essays.
The Princeton MPA, and the Harvard MPP would be my top choices.
Would you suggest a retake to nail a few more Quant points?
Thanks,
S
Hey S, probably at that level and since the programs aren’t quant heavy, it won’t matter so much Maybe focus on the rest of your applications instead?
Best,
Chris S
Hi Chris,
Do you have the average admit scores for the Education PhD?
Hey Abiya! For Princeton? I don’t see their PhD program in Education. I checked their website and found this: “Graduate work is not offered in business, education, law, medicine, theology, or other professions not specified below.” Maybe you mean for Education programs in general? Check out this post for that: GRE Scores for Education Programs
Best,
Chris S
Hello!
Thank you for this series on average GRE scores for different universities! Could you, by chance, do the next one on John’s Hopkins University? I am mostly interested in the scores for the Biomedical Eng. admissions.
Thank you!
Hey Stephanie! I can’t promise one on JHU any time soon, but I looked up the engineering school in US News and it looks like the averages are 155 verbal and 161 quantitative. Since biomedical engineering is so highly ranked, I’d probably tack a couple of points on top of that. 🙂
Best,
Chris S