Zeratul Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Hi, I'm a non-traditional applicant, and I've been toying with various plans to try to get into a decent program for econ. The problem is I don't have that much math in coursework, but I have self studied a large amount of the undergrad math major. Do you think taking the GRE subject test in math (and scoring well, obviously, say above the 70th percentile) would help in signalling ability? Thanks. I figure if I'm going to try to go to grad school I should try to get into the best school I can, so I'm willing to take first semester micro and econometrics, and maybe grad analysis on top of that if necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treblekicker Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 the math subject test is rather difficult (as are most gre subject tests) and many mathematics phd applicants do not score extremely well on it. i would highly advise against doing so. unlike the general gre, the math subject test covers material one would learn in while pursuing a BA in mathematics, including topics that are not at all pertinent to economists (abstract algebra, number theory, geometry, complex analysis, etc.). in addition, the signaling value is not particularly high, even for those without a super strong math background. quite honestly, even if you did score well on the test, it wouldn't suddenly make up for a weak math background, especially if you happen to lack the 'necessary' courses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econoecon Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 My advice is that if you can score well without tons of preparation, you might as well take it. However if you are going to spend a year studying for it, there are much better uses of that year (such as taking actual math courses). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathemagician Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 The math subject test will not be a substitute for insufficient coursework. The adcoms also don't have many people to compare it against since almost no prospective economists take the test. Finally, I don't think they will be impressed unless you score in the 90th percentile or higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeratul Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Ok thanks, I was thinking grad analysis and micro would be really good to take and that the math gre on top of that would be even more solid because even with grad analysis I won't have too many upper level math courses. Is the level of mathematical maturity what's important here, or is it sheer number of classes? Would good grades in those classes make up for a lack of the more traditional coursework? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_member Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 My advice is that if you can score well without tons of preparation, you might as well take it. I have to strongly disagree with this, submitting a score to adcoms from the math GRE ]is all but a complete waste of time. Adcoms rank applicants according to criteria on a template they are given. How are they supposed to take into account the math GRE if you are the only one who has it? In a worst case scenario, your math GRE score (even if its in a high percentile on the math GRE) gets confused with a regular GRE by an administrative person and gets you auto-rejected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeratul Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 In a worst case scenario, your math GRE score (even if its in a high percentile on the math GRE) gets confused with a regular GRE by an administrative person and gets you auto-rejected. haha the math GRE is out of 990, what are the chances of an auto-admit? :grad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_member Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 haha the math GRE is out of 990, what are the chances of an auto-admit? :grad: Ha ha... but what are the chances of >750 by a non math major... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econoecon Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I agree that it isn't likely that it will help much (or at all) but if he/she can do a great job without much effort, then I think that it might be worthwhile to take the exam assuming he/she can afford the fees if there is any chance that it would help. In that case it could be worth seeing if a recommender could mention the significance of the math GRE score. Of course I think the probability that someone with an insufficient math background would ace the math GRE with little effort is very low... I have to strongly disagree with this, submitting a score to adcoms from the math GRE ]is all but a complete waste of time. Adcoms rank applicants according to criteria on a template they are given. How are they supposed to take into account the math GRE if you are the only one who has it? In a worst case scenario, your math GRE score (even if its in a high percentile on the math GRE) gets confused with a regular GRE by an administrative person and gets you auto-rejected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takemoremath Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Not that I necessarily think this is a good idea but actually the math on the GRE subject test is not so advanced. According to ETS, 50% is from single and multivariate calculus and 25% from linear algebra. It is only the remaining 25% of the content that is drawn from more advanced topics. So someone who remembers their calculus quite well could get a decent score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisquared Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Not that I necessarily think this is a good idea but actually the math on the GRE subject test is not so advanced. According to ETS, 50% is from single and multivariate calculus and 25% from linear algebra. It is only the remaining 25% of the content that is drawn from more advanced topics. So someone who remembers their calculus quite well could get a decent score. On the contrary, I've seen many Math GRE review books say that the most difficult questions are often drawn from the most basic topics. This means that even if you know calculus and linear algebra well, it is still non-trivial for one to answer questions from those topics correctly. You also forget that the remaining 25% is drawn from any topic in an undergraduate math curriculum, and that 25% can be a massive part of your score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneArmedEcon Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 On the contrary, I've seen many Math GRE review books say that the most difficult questions are often drawn from the most basic topics. This means that even if you know calculus and linear algebra well, it is still non-trivial for one to answer questions from those topics correctly. You also forget that the remaining 25% is drawn from any topic in an undergraduate math curriculum, and that 25% can be a massive part of your score. Yeah, I've known several very smart people who got their butts kicked on the GRE Math subject exam. From what I understand, the main frustration for them was that the time constraint was very binding--had they had an additional hour or whatever, then they could have solved the entire exam. But it's not the case that if you are proficient in lower division math then the GRE Math exam will be a cakewalk. Also, remember that the population that you are being compared against are prospective PhD Math students, not the overall prospective grad school population (as is the case with the general GRE). Complete guess, but I suspect that most aspiring Econ graduate students fall in the 50-75th percentile compared to PhD Math students. So something like a 70th percentile score may be quite good given that context, but the adcoms might not fully appreciate that since they are unlikely to consider GRE Math subject scores very often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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