The GRE, which stands for the Graduate Records Examination, is a general education test similar to the SAT®s and ACT®s and is usually administered by the same company. The GRE is the most commonly accepted graduate admissions test worldwide and a high score is mandatory for entry into many graduate programs.
Whether you are considering business school, science graduate school, or even a liberal arts program, the GRE Test is one of the most crucial stepping-stones to help you achieve your academic goals. Considering the importance of this test, it’s equally vital for you to know the test material as it is to fully understand the GRE scoring percentiles for each section of the test. The three sections that you will be tested on are Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing.
What to Expect from Each Section of the GRE
The Verbal Reasoning Section
For the Verbal section, you will be given 30 minutes to answer approximately 20 questions. There are a few different categories of questions that you will be answering for this part of the test, including:
• Text completions: Fill in the blank with one word to complete the sentence.
• Sentence equivalence: Pick two choices out of many to complete the sentences.
• Reading comprehension: Read the passage and answer the relevant questions.
The Quantitative Reasoning Section
This section is broken up into two different types of questions. You will have approximately 20 questions to answer in a 35-minute time frame. The two different portions of the quantitative section are:
• Quantitative comparisons: Compare and identify the relationship between two quantities.
• Problem solving: Apply mathematical foundations and strategies to answer multiple-choice questions.
The Analytical Writing Section
This section will test your analytical and critical thinking skills and your ability to support different ideas and arguments in writing. You will have a total of 60 minutes to complete this section, so that means 30 minutes for each of the two parts. The two portions of this test include:
• The issue essay: You will be presented with an issue that you need to evaluate.
• The argument essay: Analyze and critique an argument that’s assigned to you.
The Unscored Sections
The unscored sections are two additional sections of the GRE Test that are not part of your overall score. These sections serve the purpose of testing out the effectiveness of new questions for future GRE tests. Unscored questions are broken up into two categories: the experimental section and the research section.
The experimental questions will be hidden somewhere among the verbal and quantitative sections. In this scenario, you won’t know which questions are unscored, so it’s important to do your best on every single question. The research questions will be easy to identify as they are always at the end of the test.
GRE Score Percentiles
Trying to figure out how the GRE score percentiles work can often leave students feeling confused and frustrated. The breakdown provided below will help you get a better idea of where you stand after taking the test.
There are two factors taken into consideration when scaling the final GRE score percentiles for the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the test. The first factor observed is the number of questions you answer correctly within the allotted time frame. The faster you answer questions correctly, the more points you earn and the higher your percentile will be.
The second factor that’s calculated into your GRE score percentile is the difficulty of the questions you answer. More challenging questions will earn you more points, but that doesn’t mean that the easy questions aren’t important. Every single point makes a difference and has the possibility of putting you in a different percentile.
Verbal and Quantitative Percentiles
The Verbal and Quantitative sections are graded on a scale of 130 to 170 points. For the most part, each point will put you in a different percentile, but sometimes it might take a two or three point increase to make a difference.
| Score |
Percentile (Verbal) |
Percentile (Quantitative) |
| 170 | 99 | 97 |
| 169 | 99 | 97 |
| 168 | 98 | 95 |
| 167 | 98 | 93 |
| 166 | 97 | 91 |
| 165 | 95 | 89 |
| 164 | 94 | 87 |
| 163 | 92 | 85 |
| 162 | 90 | 82 |
| 161 | 88 | 79 |
| 160 | 85 | 76 |
| 159 | 82 | 73 |
| 158 | 80 | 70 |
| 157 | 75 | 67 |
| 156 | 72 | 63 |
| 155 | 68 | 59 |
| 154 | 64 | 55 |
| 153 | 60 | 51 |
| 152 | 55 | 47 |
| 151 | 51 | 43 |
| 150 | 47 | 39 |
| 149 | 42 | 35 |
| 148 | 38 | 31 |
| 147 | 34 | 27 |
| 146 | 30 | 24 |
| 145 | 26 | 20 |
| 144 | 23 | 17 |
| 145 | 19 | 14 |
| 144 | 17 | 12 |
| 143 | 14 | 10 |
| 142 | 11 | 8 |
| 141 | 9 | 6 |
| 140 | 7 | 4 |
| 139 | 6 | 3 |
| 138 | 7 | 4 |
| 137 | 6 | 3 |
| 136 | 4 | 2 |
| 135 | 3 | 1 |
| 134 | 2 | 1 |
| 133 | 1 | 1 |
| 132 | 1 | 0 |
| 131 | 1 | 0 |
| 130 | 0 | 0 |
Analytical Writing Percentiles
The Analytical Writing section of the GRE test is broken up into two parts. Each part is 30 minutes long, and you will be required to write an insightful essay on an assigned topic.
Once the essays are sent in for grading, each one will receive a score between zero and six. These two scores are then averaged to determine your final Analytical Writing GRE score and percentile.
| Score | Percentiles |
| 6 | 99 |
| 5.5 | 98 |
| 5 | 93 |
| 4.5 | 82 |
| 4 | 59 |
| 3.5 | 42 |
| 3 | 17 |
| 2.5 | 7 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 1.5 | 1 |
| 1 | 0 |
| 0.5 | 0 |
| 0 | 0 |
How to Check Your Score
Immediately after completing your test, you will be able to view your unofficial scores and percentiles for the Verbal and Quantitative sections. Unfortunately, due to the grading process, your Analytical Writing score won’t be available until a later date.
Your official scores will be posted in your online Educational Testing Service (ETS) account two to five weeks from the date you complete your test. Of course, this time frame depends on the delivery method you choose for your test.
For computer-delivered tests, the delivery process is fairly quick. Your official score will be available in 10-15 days. It will take about five weeks to view scores in your Education Testing Services account for paper-delivered tests.
How Admissions are Affected by GRE Score Percentiles
The most important thing to remember is that different graduate programs view GRE score percentiles differently. For example, the average accepted score for an Engineering Masters degree program is 159 for the verbal section and 167 for the quantitative section.
The average GRE score for all test-takers is around 150-152 for the Verbal and Quantitative sections, and around 3.5 for the Analytical Writing section. However, at a more prestigious school such as Stanford or Harvard, anything lower than 600 for the verbal and quantitative section and 5 for the analytical writing portion will disqualify you.
Ordering and Sending Additional Score Reports
What’s great about ETS is that they will allow you to purchase and send as many GRE score reports as you need to. If your score has already been reported to the National Testing Administration, then your request for additional score reports will be processed within five to ten business days. Otherwise, you will need to wait until after the GRE Test scores are published before your order will be processed.
Each additional score report costs $27 (USD) and can be ordered one of three ways: via US mail, fax, or the ETS online system.
To get additional score reports via mail or fax you will need to:
Step 1. Download the Additional Score Report Request Form (PDF) and print a few copies.
Step 2. Carefully follow all the directions and complete the form.
Step 3. Allow up to 10 business days for your order to be processed.
To get additional score reports via the Educational Testing Services online portal you will need to:
Step 1: Login to your ETS online account.
Step 2: Allow up to 5 business days for your score reports to be sent to the educational institution of your choosing.
Where do You Stand?
Preparing for a test like this can be stressful and nerve-wracking, so naturally the first things you will want to know after you finish this exam is how you did and where you stand. While some general guidelines can be provided, those are not easy questions to answer without knowing more details about your educational profile.
Most universities consider a score that puts you in the 70th percentile or above as acceptable. However, certain schools or graduate programs may require a better score. It’s also imperative to note that your GRE score is far from being the only thing considered for admissions. Some of the other things that universities look for are:
• Your overall GPA
• The strength of the curriculum
• Number and type of extracurricular activities
• Your grades in college prep courses
• Determination and demonstrated interest
• Letters of recommendation from teachers, employers, etc.
Your program and major will also affect the required admissions criteria. For example, many larger universities look mainly at your GPA and admissions test scores, while smaller liberal arts colleges may encourage students to study more broadly. As important as GRE Score Percentiles are, it is always extremely important to remember that this test is only one part of a much larger picture. Everything you do academically is preparing you for the admissions process, so make sure you don’t neglect your community service and extracurricular activities in preparation for the GRE Test.
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