GRE Score Range: What is a good score?
I don't know what your GRE score means.The GRE score range is one of the least intuitive scoring scales out there.It's hard to tell if a 150 is a high score or a low one.We are here to help.
We will discuss the general score distribution for the GRE, talk about some program-specific score distributions and averages, and finally look at how this affects you in this article.How should you set a score goal based on the programs you are interested in?
Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing are included in the GRE.Both Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning are scored from 130-170 in one-point increment.There are at least 41 possible scores.The GRE score range is 130-170 for the main sections of Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning.The lowest possible score is 130, and the highest is 170.
The essay section is scored from 0-6 in half-points.The score range is 0-6 and there are 13 possible scores on that section.
Why 130-170?It is a weird scale, to be sure.I can give you some insight into why they chose those numbers.
Verbal andQuant used to be scored from 200-800 points in 10-point increment, like the SAT.You can see the old GRE to new GRE conversion chart if you took it.The new score scale from 130-170 was accomplished by ETS.
The 130-170 GRE scoring scales have a general motivation.What do the scores in that range mean?
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To normalize the GRE score distribution, one goal was to create a scoring bell curve with most students scoring around the middle of the scale.Less students would score around the extreme ends of the scale if they moved outward from the center.
The GRE score scale is centered at 150.The average GRE score on the verbal section is 150, and the average quantitative score is 153.
There is a general chart of GRE score percentiles.The better you did, the higher your percentile score was.
The average score for Analytical Writing is 3.5.Here is the distribution of scores for Analytical Writing.
How many students score at the extreme ends of the scale?The GRE percentile chart can be used to figure this out.
One percent of students score from 130-132 and one percent from 169-170 on Verbal.1.7 million students took the test between July and June.17,000 students scored between 169-170 on Verbal and another 17,000 scored from 130-133.Fewer than 17,000 students scored at the most extreme ends of the scale, 130 and 170.
One percent of students score from 130-134, and three percent score 170.The number of students who scored between 130-134 and 170 was between 17,000 and 51,000.
The data on how many students score at the extreme ends of the scale is provided by ETS.Students self-report areas of prospective graduate study.
The number of students scoring at extreme ends of the scale is very low.A small percentage of test-takers in each discipline received perfect scores on the Verbal section.The numbers of perfect 170 scores range from.4% to 9.0% in the physical sciences.No discipline had more than 4.7% of test-takers score in the 130-134 range for Verbal.This is all scores from 130-134, not just the 130 scores at the bottom of the scale.
The very low end and the very high end of the scale are rare, though there is some variation between disciplines.
The score percentile tables in the previous section apply to test-takers going into all programs and disciplines.There are different score distributions for students going into different graduate courses of study.
The average GRE scores for test-takers going into specific disciplines are shown in the chart below.This will show you how other people are doing in graduate programs.
The average score on Verbal was higher for those intending to pursue studies in the humanities and social sciences.Those pursuing a scientific or engineering study scored higher than average.The lowest score on Analytical Writing was scored by prospective engineers.The students who scored the highest were prospective arts and humanities students.
You can see the average for your chosen discipline.What does this mean for you?Is it enough to beat the average in your discipline?What should you be aiming for?
You should aim for the highest score you can achieve.It's kind of a no-brainer.You will want to set a goal score.If you exceed your goal score threshold, you don't need to take the test again.
People talk about GRE scores as though they are absolute across disciplines.A 170 is always going to be good in any discipline.Discipline specific and even program specific is what a good GRE score is.
If you want to get a Masters in Art History, a 160 on Quant would be a good score, but it isn't particularly impressive if you're going for a PhD in physics.Your Verbal score is more important to the Art History department than yourQuant score.A good score on Verbal at a mid-ranked Art History program may not be good enough for a top program.
A good goal score will give you a good chance of being accepted to all the graduate programs you are interested in.Depending on your test scores, graduate programs for which the GRE is less important or even unimportant, and in general even a stellar score won't do much to get you in if you do not meet the program's other requirements.
Based on the programs you are interested in, you will set a goal score.This is much harder for graduate school than it is for undergraduate applications, because there is less information available from the program about what scores they are looking for.
The middle 50% of admitted students are given the SAT and/orACT scores.The 25th and 75th percentile of admitted students.If the program reports an average score for admitted students, you will be lucky.
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If there is information available, it can be found either on the application requirements page or thefrequently asked questions page.You can find the name of the school and GRE scores on the internet.
This method gives you different types of information.The average GRE score of those accepted will be given by some schools.For the LSU Master's in Analytics, the average GRE and GMAT accepted scores are around 630 and 315, respectively.
The Harvard Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is one of the programs that will tell you GRE percentiles.Average GRE quantitative scores were within the 90-95th percentiles, and average GRE verbal scores had a score of 80 to 85.
The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy reports that they don't have a minimum GRE score requirement.The admitted student scores are usually in the 75th percentile or higher.
Some graduate programs still list GRE information from the old GRE, which was scored from 200-800.Consider a different graduate school.Just kidding!You can use a concordance table to compare old and current scores.
Don't worry, you can find information on GRE scores on the school websites.If none of my programs give GRE information, skip the next two steps and go to the section below.
How do we make the information we get from these programs into a goal score?You need to keep a chart of the GRE scores from the programs you are interested in.
Let's look at an example.Arno would like to get a Master's in Public Health.Arno is interested in the University of Illinois at Chicago.
We will check UIC first.The MPH program is highly competitive, so successful applicants typically have scores of at least 150 on the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the test, according to their website.
The University of Michigan is moving down the list.The average GRE score for the previous cohort of the program is what they have in their FAQ.The most recent cohort had a Median Verbal Percentile of 81.5% on the GRE and GMAT.
Our percentile chart shows that this corresponds to a Verbal score of 159 and aQuant score 159.That should be noted down.
Boston University is next.The most competitive applicants typically report GRE scores at the 50th percentile or above for each section.
If you looked at the percentile chart, you'd see that the Verbal score was 151 and theQuant Score was 153.Let's mark it down.
Emory is the last school on our list.The admissions page states that the Verbal andQuant scores are 158 and 159, respectively.
In the case of Arno, that would be 159 on both Verbal andQuant.Arno would have a good position for all of his schools with a 159 on each section.If he wanted to be more competitive, he could aim for a 161 on each section.He would be more competitive at the University of Michigan.He could stop testing and focus on other parts of his application if he hits 159 on each section.
If there is information online about GRE scores of successful applicants and current students, you can set a goal score.What if there is no information to be found?
Some programs don't give GRE score information.They may say that they don't publish the information.
Do my scores matter that much?If you think that they do matter, you can use the data from the ETS to get an idea of what a good GRE score is.
GRE scores will not be requested by programs if they don't matter at all.Writing MFA programs only request GRE scores so that you can be admitted to the graduate school overall, while they make the actual admissions decisions based on your writing sample.A basic level of competence is what you need to show in your GRE scores.You shouldn't stress about your scores too much, but focus on the part of your application most relevant to admissions.If you want to discuss minimum score expectations, you can call or e-mail the overall graduate school admissions office.You can talk to the program you are interested in.
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GRE scores are a small part of the PhD application.PhD programs don't care about GRE scores.They care about a lot of other things, including your publication history, work experience, teaching experience and so on.A good GRE score is important to setting you apart from other applicants.The score on the relevant section is the most important part.When applying for a PhD in Comparative Literature, it probably won't be a big deal if you have a good score.They will expect a high score in the relevant section for you to be a competitive candidate.
GRE Subject Tests are often requested by PhD programs to further test your mastery.According to the UCLA Department of Mathematics, you need to get a high score on your GRE subject test in math if you want to be admitted.If you can get an 80th percentile score on the math test, you will do well in the GRE.
I strongly advise you to call the admissions offices of the programs you are interested in if you feel that your scores are important.They may be able to give you a better idea of what GRE scores you should be aiming for.
You can check out Grad Cafe's graduate school discussion forums or a Reddit page for your program of interest and/or area of study.
You can look at the data for prospective graduate students in your area to get an idea of what scores might make you a competitive candidate.The linked document shows average Verbal,Quant, and Analytical Writing scores for test-takers who stated they were interested in pursuing specific fields.
Ginevra is applying to journalism programs, but none of her top-choice programs give GRE scores.If she looks at the data for students who say they are going into journalism, she can see that mean Verbal scores are 152 and meanQuant scores is 150.
The mean scores of potential applicants and admitted students are not the same.If you want to be competitive, you need to score at least five points higher than this mean.The general mass of other students applying to similar programs will make you competitive.This will only make you competitive at mid-range schools and lower.If you are going for a competitive program, you need a top score in the relevant section, no matter what, because they want the absolute top students.
The Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sections of the GRE score range is 130-170.The range on the Analytical Writing section is 0-6.
The Verbal and Quantitative sections are supposed to have a normal distribution of 150.The verbal and quantitative scores are the same.
Students going into the humanities have higher average scores on Verbal than students in the math and sciences.
You want to set a goal that will give you the best chance of getting in to the programs you are applying to.
Are you looking for an overview of GRE sections?Do you have any essential tips and tricks for the test day?
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Ellen is a public health graduate student.She mentors students of all ages to reach their goals and has in-depth knowledge on a variety of health topics.All posts by Ellen McCammon are available to view.