GRE numerical scores vs. percentile scores?

[Smitty20]

The program I am trying to enter doesn't give minimum numerical scores for entrance, but rather says "Applicants should receive scores in the 50th percentile or higher for admission."

 

I've taken my first PP practice test and received both a numerical and percentile score, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.

 

Given my school's requirement, should I not even pay attention to the numerical score? And if I should only concentrate on the percentile, where do they draw these percentages from?

 

Lastly, when accessing the "reports" section in the PP software, my practice scores were above the MEAN scored for both Q and V in the Master program section I plan to enter (Social Sciences, "All" and "Other"). Are these reports reliable?

 

TIA!

[Goldust]

The reports in PP tend to use some older data, but on the whole are fairly representative. In recent years, I would say that the Quants percentile scores have increased a little, while Verbal has remained more or less constant. This is not based on any hard facts, but just general observation.

[Smitty20]

Here were the results of my first PP test:

 

Verbal 520 65%

Quant 560 44%

 

 

Now, even though my Verbal numerical score is lower than my Quant score, it in the higher percentile? I'm confused.

 

I got 18 questions right in the verbal, and 14 questions right in the quant.

 

Chances are, even with these scores I would get in to the program I want to do to my experience, but I would still like to get both in to the high-60 percentile.

[Goldust]

The reason for this is that people tend to do better in Quants than Verbal. For instance, my GRE scores were:-

 

V: 770 99 percentile.

Q: 800 94 percentile.

 

The percentile score simply states that you are better than that many people who took the test.

[Smitty20]

Follow up question:

 

Noticed that the percentiles given when you complete a PP practice test equal are according to the "ALL" report in the reports section of powerprep.

 

However, if you compare my scores only to the Social Sciences degrees, I'm actually further above the mean for both Verbal and Quant. So, if a school requires a certain percentile (i.e above 50th percentile), as opposed to a specific number (i.e above 600), which percentile are they actually referring to?

 

50th percentile of ALL test takers, or 50th percentile of test takers in my major (criminal justice)?

 

If it's the latter, I'm in ALOT better shape.

[Goldust]

Schools usually consider the percentile scores taken overall. The field-wise split in PP is given only so that you know where you stand in your field. For instance, while 700 may be an excellent Quants score in most fields, in engineering it puts you somewhere below the 50th percentile if memory serves me correctly.

[Smitty20]

Oh well. D-day is tomorrow. Time to get some sleep.