Overview of GRE Score Percentiles

What are GRE Score Percentiles?

Your official GRE Score Report will include a corresponding percentile for your Total GRE score, as well as for your score on each of the test's three sections—Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Analytical Writing. Percentiles compare your performance to how well others did on the exam, and they are the most accurate way to understand how you performed in relation to other GRE test-takers. Percentiles can be very helpful in understanding how you compare to the applicants you will be competing with for a spot in the graduate, law, or business program of your choice, better allowing you to objectively assess your odds of admission.

How Percentiles are Calculated

Percentile scores show what percentage of GRE test-takers you performed better than on the exam. For example, a percentile ranking of 80% means you earned a better score than 80% of other test takers, while 20% of test-takers scored higher than you.

Following are examples of GRE Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores and their percentiles using the most recent data from Educational Testing Service (ETS), the creator and administrator of the GRE.

Score	GRE Verbal Reasoning Percentile	GRE 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	69	42
155	65	40
154	59	36
153	55	34
152	48	31
151	43	29
150	39	25
149	34	23
148	30	21
147	26	18
146	23	15
145	21	13
144	18	11
143	16	9
142	13	8
141	11	6
140	9	5
139	8	4
138	6	3
137	5	2
136	4	2
135	3	1
134	2	1
133	2	1
132	1	-
131	1	-
130	-	-

Using the most recent data from ETS, here are Analytical Writing scores and their corresponding percentiles:

Score	Percentile
6.0	99
5.5	98
5.0	92
4.5	83
4.0	59
3.5	41
3.0	16
2.5	8
2.0	3
1.5	1
1.0	-
0.5	-
0.0	-

As you can see from the Verbal Reasoning and Quantititave Reasoning data, percentiles are not the same across the two different section categories of the GRE. A score of 165 falls at the 95^th percentile for Verbal Reasoning, meaning you performed better than 95% of test-takers. At the same time, a score of 165 falls at the 70^th percentile for Quantitative Reasoning, meaning you performed better than 70% of other test-takers.

Comparison By Program & Schools

Your official GRE Score Report will show your Total Score percentile for each school you choose to send it to compared to the percentiles of all other students who applied to the same school and took the GRE in the past five years. You can send your score report to up to four schools and programs for free and to more for an additional cost.

Role in Applications

Determining your score percentile is an important tool when assessing your odds of being admitted to your top-choice school. It also helps put into perspective how competitive a particular program is, as it will aid in understanding how these programs' expectations compare to the average test-taker. At highly ranked institutions, average GRE Total Scores are generally in the 90th percentile or above. For the most elite graduate, law, or business programs, average GRE Total Scores typically fall near the 95^th percentile.

A ”good” GRE score is the score that gets you admitted to the program of your dreams, which means you need to know the range of GRE scores among students accepted to those programs. Thankfully, this information can easily be found online (usually on the program’s website) or you can email a specific program’s admissions department and ask for additional information on preferred or expected GRE scores.

While all programs are likely to be concerned with your GRE Total Score, programs also place differing levels of importance on Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores. Graduate programs focused on the arts, humanities, and social sciences tend to place more emphasis on Verbal Reasoning scores, whereas fellowships specializing in computer technology, mathematics, engineering, and the physical sciences are generally more concerned with Quantitative Reasoning scores. While you should strive to do your best on all sections of the GRE, it can also be helpful to know whether a particular program is more interested in Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning scores, as this can direct your test preparation.

When it comes to graduate, law, and business programs, the following is generally true:

A “good” score falls at or above the 75^th percentile
A “great” score falls at or above the 90^th percentile
An “excellent” score falls at or above the 95^th percentile

Below is a helpful reference table containing the Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing scores that fall at specific percentiles:

Percentile	Verbal Reasoning	Quantitative Reasoning	Analytical Writing
75^th	157-158	166-167	4.5
90^th	162-163	169-170	5.0
95^th	165	170	5.5

Conclusion

While achieving such impressively high scores may seem impossible, they can be attained through diligent, focused study. At Manhattan Review, we offer prep courses and private tutoring programs, available online or in-person, taught by experienced, professional instructors who know just how to help you earn the scores you need to attend the program of your dreams. Set yourself up for test-taking success and consider if one of our test prep options might be right for you and your learning needs.