| 100% | ORALS | 5 | Stage in a Ph.D. program |
| 70% | ORALS | 5 | Stage in getting a Ph.D. |
| 58% | GRE | 3 | Test for a Ph.D. program hopeful |
| 58% | GRE | 3 | Prereq for a Ph.D. program, maybe |
| 55% | ABD | 3 | Not yet a Ph.D., in academic shorthand |
| 54% | PHASE | 5 | Stage in a process |
| 54% | RUNG | 4 | Stage in a scale |
| 54% | LEVEL | 5 | Stage in a game |
| 54% | APU | 3 | "Simpsons" character with a Ph.D. in computer science |
| 53% | GRE | 3 | Standardized test often taken before applying to a Ph.D. program: Abbr. |
| 53% | LARVA | 5 | Stage in a butterfly's development |
| 52% | LITD | 4 | Academic degree equal to a Ph.D. in some countries: Abbr. |
| 52% | APU | 3 | "The Simpsons" character who holds a Ph.D. in computer science |
| 52% | BRIANMAY | 8 | Lead guitarist of Queen, who has a Ph.D. in astrophysics |
| 52% | ROSS | 4 | ___ Geller, NYU professor from "Friends" who has a Ph.D. in Paleontology |
| 51% | FLASH | 5 | Brief interruption in a news program |
| 51% | TIER | 4 | Reward level in a loyalty program |
| 51% | LEVELS | 6 | Ranked stages in a game, say |
| 50% | LARVA | 5 | Early stage in a butterfly's life |
| 50% | PUPA | 4 | Chrysalis stage in a butterfly life cycle |
| 50% | FLOWCHART | 9 | Diagram illustrating stages in a work process |
| 50% | KEVIN | 5 | ___ Cozner, character from "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" who has a Ph.D. in Classical Studies |
| 50% | CRANE | 5 | Frasier ___, radio host and psychiatrist from "Frasier" who has a Ph.D. in Psychiatry |
| 50% | MARIE | 5 | ___ Maynard Daly, the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry |
| 49% | EARTHREENTRY | 12 | Critical stage in a space shuttle's flight |
| 49% | BANDSTAND | 9 | Performance stage in a park or town center |
| 49% | AMY | 3 | ___ Farrah Fowler, neuroscientist from "The Big Bang Theory" who has a Ph.D. in Neurobiology |
| 49% | AVIATES | 7 | Takes part in a pilot program? |
| 49% | ERROR | 5 | Problem in a program |
| 49% | CAST | 4 | List in a program |