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    GRE Score Range: Know Score Validity, Percentiles & GRE Total Score

    Have you been aiming at scoring 320+ in your GRE exam? Or have you been wondering what exactly should you score to sail through your admissions? 

    No wonder with all the false information and rumours on the internet; you must have been confused about what exactly is a perfect GRE score. *Enter Yocket as your knight in shining armour*

    Well, harsh or not, the GRE score is a filtering mechanism. How? Wait for it. 

    First, solve this question for us, and we shall give you a life changing answer at the the end of this article- 

    Sita and Geeta went to give their GRE papers. Given below is a representation of their verbal sections, you’ve to predict their GRE scores: 

    Sita 
    Section  No. of Correct Answers 
    Verbal 1 (Medium) 4
    Verbal 2 (?) 15
    GRE Score  ?
    Geeta
    Section  No. of Correct Answers 
    Verbal 1 (Medium) 14
    Verbal 2 (?) 6
    GRE Score  ?

    Let’s now hope you can come up with accurate results for Sita and Geeta’s GRE scoring chart! 

    Okay, no more building curiosity like reality TV shows, let’s dive in. 

    GRE Score Range at a Glance 

    Before delving further into the depths of good, and bad GRE scores, here is how the GRE score range looks like: 

    Section 

    GRE Score Range 

    Increment 

    GRE Verbal Reasoning 

    130-170

    1 point 

    GRE Quantitative Reasoning 

    130-170

    1 point 

    GRE Analytical Writing

    0-6 

    0.5 points

    Now, with the minimum GRE score being 130, and the maximum score being 170 in each section; the total GRE total score is entirely dependent on the Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning sections. And therefore, the GRE exam score ranges from 260 to 340, with 260 being the lowest & 340 the highest. 

    How would you score if you took the GRE today? Try taking this 30-minutes FREE diagnostic test to find out! 

    What is a Good GRE Score? 

    And now fasten your seat belts for we are going to answer one of the most anticipated questions- What’s a good GRE score? To answer this question in a very layman manner- a good GRE score is any score that can get you into your desired dream university. Period. 

    While most top tier universities and schools across the globe expect a GRE score of 300+, there are also colleges and particular programs accepting a GRE score of merely 270. 

    To make your minds stop boggling, here is a clear cut distinction between a good and bad GRE score: 

    GRE Scoring  Verbal Reasoning  Quantitative Reasoning  Analytical Writing 
    Best GRE Score  163-170 165-170 5.0-6.0
    Competitive GRE Score  158-162 159-164 4.5
    Good GRE Score  152-158 153-158 4.0
    Below Average GRE Score  151 or below  152 or below  3.5 or below

    Given below are also major-wise GRE scores to help you understand what is expected out of you in terms of your chosen major:

          Major Verbal Range Quant Range Writing Range
    Economics 157-161 162-166 3.8
    Chemistry 156-160 163-167 3.7
    Mathematics 156-160 168-170 3.8
    History 159-163 150-154 4.1
    Psychology 155-159 151-155 3.9
    English 160-164 151-155 4.2
    Sociology 155-159 151-155 3.8

    Suggested: Know About the GRE Subject Test  

    Average GRE Scores for Top Universities 

    Like we mentioned before- GRE helps universities “weed-out” applicants based on the program and university chosen. Although specific university cut-offs may be hard to find, you can always look at their average accepted GRE scores. And don’t you worry, we have compiled these averages for you: 

    Another thing to note is that particular programs at specific universities might have their own GRE requirements. For instance, Sita scores an average score of 160 in Verbal Reasoning and about 147 in Quantitative Reasoning and is not able to get into Harvard for Economics. Geeta, on the other hand, scores 160 - Verbal and 166 - Quantitative, and gets herself into Economics Princeton! 

    Sita and Geeta might turn out to be your best friends by the end of this read, lol! 

    Suggested: Universities Accepting GRE Score 300-310

    GRE Score Conversion 

    Listen - we get it. You may often wonder how the raw GRE score is converted to a scaled GRE exam score. This GRE scoring chart below might be your saviour for once and for all! To carefully, yes, carefully analyse your GRE total score (and Sita and Geeta’s); go through this table below. 

    Correct Answers (verbal/quant) Raw GRE Score (verbal/quant) GRE Scaled Score (verbal/quant)
    0 0 130
    1 1 131
    2 2 132
    3 3 133
    4 4 134
    5 5 135
    6 6 136
    7 7 137
    8 8 138
    9 9 139
    10 10 140
    11 11 141
    12 12 142
    13 13 143
    14 14 144
    15 15 145
    16 16 146
    17 17 147
    18 18 148
    19 19 149
    20 20 150
    21 21 151
    22 22 152
    23 23 153
    24 24 154
    25 25 155
    26 26 156
    27 27 157
    28 28 158
    29 29 159
    30 30 160
    31 31 161
    32 32 162
    33 33 163
    34 34 164
    35 35 165
    36 36 166
    37 37 167
    38 38 168
    39 39 169
    40 40 170

    Suggested: GRE to GMAT score conversion guide

    GRE Score Percentiles

    The GRE score percentiles as elaborated by ETS will give you an idea how you fare well in comparison to other GRE takers. These percentile scores basically add value to your scaled scores. 

    Given below is the table having Verbal and Quantitative percentile scores: 

    Scaled Score  Verbal Percentile  Quantitative Percentile 
    170 99% 96%
    169 99% 95%
    168 98% 93%
    167 98% 90%
    166 97% 89%
    165 96% 86%
    164 94% 84%
    163 93% 82%
    162 90% 79%
    161 88% 76%
    160 86% 73%
    159 83% 70%
    158 80% 67%
    157 76% 64%
    156 73% 60%
    155 68% 56%
    154 64% 53%
    153 60% 49%
    152 54% 45%
    151 51% 41%
    150 46% 37%
    149 41% 34%
    148 37% 30%
    147 33% 26%
    146 29% 23%
    145 26% 19%
    144 22% 16%
    143 19% 13%
    142 16% 11%
    141 14% 9%
    140 11% 7%
    139 9% 6%
    138 8% 4%
    137 6% 3%
    136 4% 2%
    135 3% 2%
    134 2% 1%
    133 2% 1%
    132 1% 1%
    131 1% 1%
    130 1% 1%

    Moving on, here is how you can comprehend your GRE score for GRE Analytical Writing section

    Score Levels  Writing Percentile 
    6.0 99%
    5.5 98%
    5.0 92%
    4.5 81%
    4.0 57%
    3.5 39%
    3.0 15%
    2.5 7%
    2.0 2%
    1.5 1%
    1.0 1%
    0.5 1%
    0.0 1%

    Suggested: GRE General vs GRE Subject Test

    GRE Score Validity 

    Now that you’ve gained immense knowledge about the passing score for GRE and the maximum score on GRE, you might want to know how long is GRE score valid for? 

    The GRE score is valid for 5 years. To also answer- when do GRE scores come out? Your GRE scores come out within 15 days of giving your GRE exam. 

    Sample GRE Score Card

    Well, we hope we haven’t drained you yet with this wholesome piece of information. To give your brains a little pictorial transition, given below is a sample GRE score card: 

    gre score card

    Suggested: How to Check Your GRE Score Report?

    Prepare for GRE with Yocket Prep

    Making your GRE scores an “icing on the cake” or a “balancing the scales'' situation is totally your call. We can only help you get a score YOU desire! Through Yocket Prep you can get your hands on highly focussed study material, especially personalized for you. Yes, you are that important to us. 

    gre preparation

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    The Takeaway 

    Well well, it’s time guys. 

    Sita and Geeta have had them all waiting while you were fixated into understanding their GRE scoring. While we can always hope you were able to predict Sita and Geeta’s scores, here’s what they actually got: 

    Sita
    Section  No. of Correct Answers 
    Verbal 1 (Medium) 4
    Verbal 2 (Easy) 15
    GRE Score (with a penalty) 145
    Geeta
    Section  No. of Correct Answers 
    Verbal 1 (Medium) 14
    Verbal 2 (Hard) 6
    GRE Score (with a bonus) 154

    Hurray! if you predicted their scores right, and no worries, if you couldn't, we are here for you! Now, to understand John and Sarah’s score you must be aware that the GRE is section adaptive. Meaning based on your performance in the first section, the level of your difficulty will keep increasing or decreasing. 

    The major takeaways are: 

    1. Your second section must always be Medium or Hard so as to avoid penalization. 
    2. To avoid your second section to be easy, you must answer at least a minimum of 7-8 questions
    3. The verbal and quantitative sections are scored similarly. 
    4. You just cannot afford to be John, for a difference of even 2 marks will snatch away your dream university!

    With all this humongous overload of information, you must be wondering- what should be my plan of action for GRE? Well, we would suggest the first and foremost thing would be to firmly choose your course of study and university. You can also always take consultation from our Yocket Study Abroad Experts if you might stumble at any stage of your entire study abroad process. 

    And next, to implement your plans you can start preparing for your GRE with the help of Yocket Prep which will give a great deal of study material as well as help develop a personalised strategy for yourself. So, why wait? Pull up your sucks, kid! 

    Frequently Asked Questions about GRE Scoring 

    1. What is the passing score for GRE?

    Ans. The passing score for GRE is 130. 

    2. How to check GRE score?

    Ans. You can check your GRE score through the official website of ETS.

    3. What is the GRE score reporting fee?

    Ans. The GRE score reporting fee is 27 USD or 2,010 INR. 

    4. What is full score GRE?

    Ans. The full score GRE is 340. 

    5. GRE score is valid for how many years?

    Ans. The GRE score validity is 5 years from the date of taking the test. 

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