GRE Scoring
The GRE General Test score is one of the most important factors in graduate school admissions, generally weighted below undergraduate GPA, weighted equally with letters of recommendation, and weighted above other admissions criteria. The importance placed upon GRE scores varies widely among schools and even among departments within schools. Its importance can vary from being a formality to being an important selection criterion, depending on the program and on the student’s record of achievement.
Generally, GRE scores are most important for students who have weaknesses in their other application credentials, such as a lower undergraduate GPA. Some graduate programs may require GRE Subject Tests as well as the GRE General Test, which means it is important to do your research and understand exactly what tests you need to take in order to submit a complete and competitive application to your chosen programs.
The GRE General Test is usually referred to simply as “the GRE.” On this exam, scores are based on the number of correct responses to given questions. Rather than losing points for incorrect answers, you merely do not receive points for providing the wrong answer. Within each section, all questions contribute equally to the raw score. The raw score is the number of test questions answered correctly; this is then converted into a “scaled score” to account for variations in difficulty between test editions and also as a result of the section-level computer adaptation. The “scaled score” is intended to indicate a certain level of performance that is equatable across test dates while allowing for scores from those dates to be compared in a meaningful way.
In 2011, the GRE scoring system was changed from a scale of 200-800 for Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections to a “scaled score” of 130-170 added or subtracted in 1-point increments. There are two Verbal Reasoning sections on the GRE and two Quantitative Reasoning sections; you will receive one scaled score of 130-170 for the two Verbal Reasoning sections and one scaled score of 130-170 for the two Quantitative Reasoning sections. You also receive a total GRE score, which is the combination of your Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores, and GRE total scores range from 260-340. Let’s say you receive a Verbal Reasoning score of 145 and a Quantitative Reasoning score of 162. Your total GRE score would be 145+162=307.
When it comes to what qualifies as a “good” GRE score, much depends upon the program to which you are applying. What is considered an “average” score at an Ivy League university, for example, may be considered a “very high” score at a less prestigious university. But, in general, scoring above the 75th percentile is considered “good,” which works out to a score of 158 or higher in Verbal Reasoning and a score of 167 or higher in Quantitative Reasoning.
The Analytical Writing section of the GRE is scored on a scale of 0.5-6.0 in 0.5-point increments. It is important to remember that this score this does not contribute to your total GRE score. Scoring for the Analytical Writing section is focused on “holistic review” of your essay and is intended to grade the critical thinking and analytical writing of the entire essay, rather than grammar, spelling, or other writing mechanics.
The essay is scored by both a human reader, who is usually a university-level professor with a background in writing and/or literature, as well as a computer “e-rater” developed by ETS to identify features related to writing proficiency. If the human and the computer closely agree, the Analytical Writing score is the average of their ratings; if they disagree, a second human reads the essay, and the final score is the average of the two ratings by human readers.
On their website, ETS provides the following information about Analytical Writing scores:
| Analytical Writing Score | What Your Score Means |
| 6 and 5.5 (Outstanding Score) | Sustains insightful, in-depth analysis of complex ideas, points are developed and supported with logically compelling reasons, well focused and well organized, skillful use of sentence variety, use of precise vocabulary to effectively convey meaning, may contain minor errors that do not interfere with meaning |
| 5 and 4.5 (Strong Score) | Generally thoughtful analysis of complex ideas, main points are developed and supported with logically sound or well-chosen examples, generally focused and organized, demonstrates good control of sentence structure, may contain minor errors that do not interfere with meaning |
| 4 and 3.5 (Adequate Score) | Competent analysis of ideas, main points are developed and supported with relevant reasons and examples, adequately organized, meaning is conveyed with acceptable clarity, satisfactory control of sentence structure, may contain some errors that affect clarity |
| 3 and 2.5 (Limited Score) | Some competence in analytical writing, although the writing is flawed in at least one of the following ways: limited analysis, limited development, weak organization, weak control of sentence structure, contains errors that frequently result in vagueness or lack of clarity |
| 2 and 1.5 (Seriously Flawed Score) | Serious weaknesses in analytical writing, seriously flawed in at least one of the following ways: serious lack of analysis, serious lack of development, lack of organization, frequent problems with sentence structure, contains errors that obscure meaning |
| 1 and 0.5 (Fundamentally Deficient Score) | Fundamental deficiencies in analytical writing, fundamentally flawed in at least one of the following ways: content is extremely confusing, content is mostly irrelevant to the task, little or no development, severe and pervasive errors that result in incoherence |
| 0 | Your analytical writing skills cannot be evaluated because the response does not address any part of the assigned task(s), merely attempts to copy the assignments, is in a foreign language, or displays only indecipherable text |
Part of the rationale for the most recent scoring change was to make it easier to interpret differences between scores. ETS hopes that increments of 1 point will be easier to understand than the old system of 10-point increments. This is because single-point deviations between students reflect a very similar level of performance, especially now that students are generally presented with customized tests due to computer adaptive testing.
The GRE is computer adaptive at the section level, which means that how you perform on your first Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning section determines how easy or difficult the questions in your second Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning section will be. If you perform well on your first section, the questions on your second section will be more challenging. If you perform poorly on your first section, the questions in your second section will be less challenging.
GRE scores are valid for five years after the test date, and the “Scoreselect” system allows students to choose which GRE scores are sent to graduate institutions. On test day it is possible to send either your most recent score or all scores from the past five years; after test day it is possible to send specific test scores, but you cannot pick and choose sections from different tests; the entire test score must be sent. You may send scores to as many as four programs without paying additional fees, as this is included in your $220 registration fee. If you wish to send your scores to more than four programs, you may purchase additional score reports through ETS for an extra $40 per report.
Your official GRE scores will be available approximately 8-10 days after completing your exam. You will receive an email when your scores are ready, and they can be accessed online through your ETS account. This is also when ETS sends out an official Institution Score Report to the programs you designated as score recipients on the day of your exam.
GRE scores compared to GMAT scores
Graduate schools do not only look at scaled scores when evaluating applicants; they also look at an applicant’s percentile score, especially when applicants have taken different exams that may not easily be compared. Percentile scores can allow for an evaluation of how competitive a particular applicant is against their peer group.
It is important to remember, however, that each graduate test measures a unique set of attributes and must not be compared directly with other tests. The GMAT is the main test used for business school admissions, and this exam is designed specifically to test skills that are used in business school, while the GRE is intended to test more general communication, argumentation, and problem-solving abilities. Nonetheless, the GRE General Test and the GMAT are sufficiently similar that many business schools will accept either.
While both the GRE and the GMAT test knowledge and abilities that are predictive of success in business school, the GMAT is reputed to be more difficult in the Quantitative sections and the GRE is regarded as more difficult in the Verbal Reasoning and Analytical Writing sections. The administrators of the GRE and GMAT have constructed score comparison charts to fascilitate comparisons between the exams. In recent years, the GRE has been gaining ground as an option for students applying to business schools. If you perform well on language tasks and write clearly and concisely, then the GRE may be an opportunity for you to showcase your communication ability to business schools. If you have a strong background in mathematics or logic, you may perform better on the GMAT, giving yourself a competitive advantage.
Manhattan Review provides our students with practice tests for both the GMAT and the GRE; if you are uncertain which may be a better fit for you, we recommend taking a practice exam for each test to evaluate which is a better fit for your skillset and study preferences. Once you know which exam you perform better on, you can devise a study plan, enroll in a prep course or tutoring program, and learn all you need to know to obtain your highest score possible.