GRE Scoring: What is a Good GRE Score?

GRE Quant and Verbal sections of the GRE exam are scored on a scale of 130 – 170. The GRE Analytical writing section of two writing tasks uses a score of 0 – 6. Read on as we explain the concept of GRE scoring for each section to candidates looking to appear for their GRE Test.

GRE Scoring Range

Here is the score range of different sections of GRE exam.

GRE Sections	Score Scale
Verbal Reasoning	130–170, in 1-point increments
Quantitative Reasoning	130–170, in 1-point increments
Analytical Writing	0–6, in half-point increments

How GRE Scores are Calculated: Verbal & Quantitative Reasoning

GRE Scoring: The GRE Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sections are adaptive in nature. This means the difficulty level of subsequent sections would be based on your performance in the earlier section. Candidates are required to answer 40 questions in each section. The number of correct responses would generate a raw score. The raw score is then converted to a scaled score between 130 – 170 through a process known as equating.

Number of Correct Responses	GRE Raw Score	GRE Scaled Score (Verbal & Quantitative Section)
0 – 5	0 – 5	130 – 135
6 – 10	6 – 10	136 – 140
11 – 15	11 – 15	141 – 145
16 – 20	16 – 20	146 – 150
21 – 25	21 – 25	151 – 155
26 – 30	26 – 30	156 – 160
31 – 35	31 – 35	161 – 165
36 – 40	36 – 40	166 – 170

 

How the GRE Scores are Calculated: Analytical Writing Section

In the GRE Analytical Writing section, candidates are required to attempt two writing tasks within sixty minutes. The two writing tasks include an ‘Analyze an Issue’ task and an Analyze an Argument’ task. When we talk about GRE scoring in the Analytical Section. Test takers should note that even though they are required to attempt two essays they would receive a combined score. Secondly, the essays are assessed by at least one trained rater using a 6-point scale. Here the human rater is looking at the overall quality of the essay which includes critical thinking and analytical writing skills rather than grammar and mechanics.  

The essay is then evaluated using an ETS-developed e-rater scoring engine, a computerized program adept at identifying writing proficiency-related essay attributes. When the human and e-rater engine scores are closely associated, the final score is determined as the average. In cases of a mismatch, a second human score is sought, and the ultimate score is computed as the average of the two human scores. Subsequently, the scores from both essays are combined, averaged, and rounded to the nearest half-point interval on the 0–6 score scale - as previously mentioned, a single score is reported for the Analytical Writing section.

Read: How to Calculate GRE Score Section Wise?

GRE Score Reporting

GRE test takers will be informed over email once their GRE test scores (official score report) are available in their ETS test taker account 10 – 15 days from the time of appearing for the GRE Exam. Your official Institution Score Report will also be sent to the score recipients you designated on test day.  Candidates should note that while your GRE Official Score Report which is accessible through their ETS account would have personal information and is intended for the test taker alone. The Institution Score Report which would be sent to the institution would have only select information.

GRE Official Score Report vs. GRE Institution Score Report

GRE Official Score Report (For Test Takers)	GRE Institution Score Report (For Universities)
Contact information (name, phone number and email)	Contact information (name, address, phone number, email)
Date of birth	Date of birth
Gender	Gender
Intended graduate major	Your intended graduate major field
GRE Test date(s)	The GRE test dates and score(s) you choose to report with the ScoreSelect option and the associated percentile ranks
GRE test score(s) and the associated percentile ranks
Authorized score recipients or fellowship sponsors and the scores reported to those institutions	n/a
A cumulative record of scores reported within the last 5 years	n/a

GRE Scores Validity

Your GRE scores are valid for a total of 5 years from the day of your GRE General Test. So, if you took the GRE exam on September 08, 2023, your scores would be valid through September 8, 2028.

GRE Scoring: What is a Good GRE Score?

Candidates should note that GRE scores are program-specific as opposed to the popular belief that they are a university requirement. Meaning, that a particular university could have different GRE Cut Offs based on the programmes they offer.  When we talk about a good GRE score, any GRE score for the Quantitative Reasoning section that is near or above 160 is good enough to get you into most programmes offered at top universities. However, highly competitive programmes with a focus on mathematics might prefer a GRE score of around 165. When we talk about a good GRE score for the verbal section, a score of 150 or higher is considered a good score.

Candidates should note that math-heavy graduate programmes would require students to have a high GRE Quantitative Score and usually our less weightage on Verbal Scores. Similarly, candidates looking to pursue humanities subjects for their graduate programmes would be required to have a higher verbal score as compared to Quant scores.

Related Reads

• GRE Scores for MS in Computer Science
• List of Colleges Accepting GRE Scores

GRE Percentile

Admission officers are often equally interested to know about your GRE Percentile. The GRE percentile/percentage would basically be the percentage of students the candidate has outperformed on each section of the exam. Mostly, they are interested to know how you performed as compared to your peers. Anything in the 75th percentile or higher in all three sections of the test will generally be good enough to get into the most competitive graduate programmes. However, some prestigious programmes may want to see higher scores.

GRE Percentiles July 2020 – June 2023

The table below shows the percentage of test takers scoring lower than the selected scaled scores. The data is based on the performance of all individuals who tested between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2023.  

Scaled Score	Verbal Reasoning Percentile	Quantitative Reasoning Percentile
170	99	92
169	99	87
168	98	83
167	97	78
166	96	74
165	95	70
164	93	66
163	91	63
162	89	60
161	86	57
160	84	53
159	80	50
158	77	48
157	73	45
156	70	49

Source: ETS

GRE Percentiles July 2020 – June 2023

The table below shows the percentage of test takers scoring lower than the selected scaled scores. The data is based on the performance of all individuals who tested between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2023.  

Score Level	Analytical Writing
6.0	99
5.5	98
5.0	92
4.5	83
4.0	59
3.5	41
3.0	16

Source: ETS

A total of 1,039,310 test takers took the Verbal Reasoning measure, 1,041,330 took the Quantitative Reasoning measure and 1,037,639 took the Analytical Writing measure between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2023.

How to Prepare for GRE Exam?

To prepare for the Graduate Record Exam and get the desired score, you need to follow the tips mentioned below:

• Understand the exam format and syllabus topics
• Set realistic goals
• Create a study plan and practice regularly
• Utilize effective study materials and online resources
• Develop strong verbal reasoning skills and practice vocabulary

Apart from these, you can use other GRE preparation tips and understand how to score 300 to 320 in GRE Exam in first attempt? That's all about the topic. Candidates can get in touch with us in the comments below. Looking for assistance with University admissions? Get in touch with our Shiksha Study Abroad Counsellors, here.