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Last Updated on August 28, 2023
GRE average scores can be useful data points for figuring out how your scores stack up against those of other test-takers and what sort of GRE scores may make you a competitive applicant to your chosen graduate schools.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the latest average score data for the GRE General Test and discuss how to use GRE averages to set your score goals.
First, let’s review what the minimum and maximum possible GRE scores are.
How Is the GRE Scored?
Below you’ll find the GRE score ranges for each section of the exam and for the total test score. These score ranges represent the minimum and maximum scores you can possibly earn on the GRE exam.
The GRE Score Scale
As we can see, the Verbal and Quantitative sections use the same score scale. The minimum possible score for each of those sections is 130, and the maximum possible is 170. Note that Verbal and Quantitative section scores are given in 1-point increments. Note also that the Quant and Verbal section scores add up to the total score.
The Analytical Writing section is scored on a scale of 0 to 6, in 0.5-point increments. This score does not factor into your total score. (Check out this article for a detailed breakdown of how the GRE is scored.)
KEY FACT:
The Analytical Writing section score is not included in your total GRE score.
Now that we understand the minimum and maximum scores possible on the GRE, let’s review what GRE percentile rankings indicate.
GRE Percentile Rankings
Every GRE section score is associated with a percentile ranking. ETS, the test-maker, calculates GRE percentiles based on how all GRE test-takers performed on each section of the exam over roughly the past three years. (The data always lag a little behind the current year.) So, percentiles can change over time, as the skill-levels of the test-taker pool change. Furthermore, the percentiles for the GRE Quant and Verbal sections differ, since test-takers as a whole perform differently on the Quant and Verbal sections.
For instance, let’s say you earned a 165 in both the Quant and Verbal sections, for a total score of 330. According to the latest ETS data, which is based on the scores of all GRE test-takers who sat for the exam during the period between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2020, a 165 would put you in the 96th percentile in Verbal and the 84th percentile in Quant.
So, a 165 in Verbal means that you performed better than 96% of all GRE test-takers in Verbal. That same score of 165 in Quant means that you performed better than 84% of all GRE test-takers in Quant. (Incidentally, a 165 in either section is pretty impressive, but we’ll discuss that more later.)
As we can see, GRE percentile rankings allow you — and schools — to compare your exam performance to that of other test-takers. You can see the full list of GRE percentiles for each section here.
KEY FACT:
GRE percentiles allow you — and schools — to compare your exam performance to that of other test-takers.
Now that we know the GRE score ranges and the purpose of GRE percentiles, let’s take a look at what the average GRE scores are.
What Is the Average GRE Score?
Below are the GRE average scores for each exam section, based on the scores of all GRE test-takers between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2020. Note that the Quant and Verbal averages are rounded to the nearest point. Additionally, the percentile ranking for the average Writing score is a rough estimate based on the respective percentile rankings associated with scores of 3.5 and 4.0. Remember, the Writing section is scored in half-point increments, so the average of 3.6 is not an actual score you can receive on the exam.
Interestingly, the average GRE scores have ticked up slightly in Quant and Writing from the previous three-year period from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019. You’ll notice also that the average Verbal score is now associated with a slightly lower percentile ranking than it was in 2016-2019. So, a greater percentage of test-takers are now able to achieve a V150+. Likewise, the current percentile rank associated with a 3.5 Writing score is 37, two percentage points lower than the 2016-2019 rank.
Here are the previous stats:
It’s relevant to note that the GRE averages did not change wildly from the previous three-year period to the current one, right? While anything is certainly possible, average GRE scores don’t tend to make huge gains (or losses) from one period to the next. Any changes that occur are generally gradual and incremental.
KEY FACT:
Changes in GRE average scores over time are generally gradual and incremental.
So, now you know the average GRE scores. The next question is, how can you use that information to determine what your GRE score goal should be?
How Can I Use Average GRE Scores?
Because such a wide range of graduate schools and such a large variety of fields of study use GRE scores to help make admissions decisions, in practical terms, data about the average scores of all GRE test-takers have limited utility for individuals seeking to determine what their specific score goals should be.
After all, GRE averages vary by school and by discipline. For instance, graduate schools in the top 10, overall, have higher GRE averages than schools in the top 25-50. Similarly, a graduate program in a math-heavy discipline is, generally speaking, going to have a higher average Quantitative GRE score than a program that is not math-focused, even at the same school.
Thus, the GRE averages that will be useful for you will be specific to your situation. In other words, you’ll need to look at average GRE scores at the specific grad schools you’re interested in and for your chosen field of study. If you’re not looking at average GRE scores by school and major, then you’re not looking at what your specific competition is likely to be. And if you don’t know your competition, how can you beat them?
TTP PRO TIP:
In order to realistically assess your competition and the expectations of admissions, you must look at average GRE test scores at the specific programs to which you plan to apply.
Let’s delve a little deeper into how the GRE averages change depending on school and discipline.
Average GRE Scores by Major
Even if you don’t know yet exactly which graduate schools you’d like to apply to, if you know what field of study you’re interested in, looking at average GRE scores for that field can help you get a general sense of what may be expected of you.
For example, let’s take a look at the average scores ETS reported for test-takers during the 2017-20 period who were applying to graduate programs in some popular fields, compared to the averages for GRE test-takers in general:
*Based on ETS data here and here.
Notice, for instance, that the average Quant score of aspiring computer science students (160) is significantly higher than the average of aspiring political science students (153) and the average of test-takers in general (154). On the other hand, aspiring political science students performed notably better on average in Verbal (157) and Writing (4.2) than aspiring computer science students, who averaged 149 in Verbal and 3.4 in Writing, and better than test-takers in general, who averaged 150 in Verbal and 3.6 in Writing.
We shouldn’t be shocked by these differences, right? The key takeaway is that there can be significant differences in average scores from one major to the next. So, it’s important to look at the averages for your specific field of interest.
TTP PRO TIP:
There can be significant differences in average scores from one major to the next, so it’s important to look at the averages for your specific field of interest.
Of course, looking at GRE averages of aspiring students in your chosen field is just a starting point. You also have to think about what “tier” of graduate school you’re interested in, and eventually which specific programs you’ll apply to. Let’s discuss.
Average GRE Scores by School
The more competitive the graduate school, the higher the average GRE scores at that school are likely to be compared to the average scores of GRE test-takers in general.
Take UC Berkeley, for example. It’s graduate program in psychology is ranked #1 (tied with Stanford) by U.S. News & World Report. Unsurprisingly, the program reported that among its 2020 cohort, the average GRE scores were 163 in Verbal (92nd percentile), 160 in Quant (70th percentile), and 4.8 (roughly 87th percentile) in Writing. Those averages are all significantly higher than the averages for aspiring psychology majors who took the GRE (152 in Verbal/53rd percentile, 149 in Quant/32nd percentile, and 3.9 in Writing/roughly 51st percentile), as well as the averages of GRE test-takers in general (150 in Verbal, 154 in Quant, and 3.6 in Writing).
So, aiming for the average scores of GRE test-takers in general or of GRE test-takers applying to psychology programs in general would not help you to be a competitive applicant at UC Berkeley’s program, right? Clearly, if you were planning to apply to top psychology programs such as the one at UC Berkeley, you would need to set a target score well above those ETS-reported averages.
Furthermore, we don’t know how many of the GRE test-takers in the ETS-reported averages were actually admitted to the programs they were interested in. The GRE averages you find on school websites, however, will be for admitted students, not applicants. So again, that information will be much more useful for setting a realistic target score.
What If I Don’t Have a List of Desired Programs?
It’s always ideal to start the GRE process knowing exactly which graduate programs you’re going to apply to. If you know, you can (and should) go to each specific program website and look at the average GRE scores of the most recent incoming class in that program. That information will give you a very good idea of what are considered competitive GRE scores for your targeted programs.
The fact is, however, that many test-takers begin preparing for the GRE before they have an exact list nailed down of all the programs they’ll apply to. Furthermore, plans can change. Particularly if you’re planning to take the GRE while you’re a senior in college, or you’re taking the GRE a few years before you’ll apply to grad school, you may change your mind about which programs you want to pursue.
Additionally, some programs that accept GRE scores do not publish the average GRE scores of their incoming classes. So, there is a chance that you won’t find that information for every program on your list.
The good news is that you can still set a target score — or at the very least, a target GRE score range — for each section of the exam if you have a general sense of the types of schools you’re aiming for. If it’s top 10 or bust, then you know that GRE percentile rankings in the 40s and 50s, meaning that somewhere around half of all people taking the GRE outperformed you, won’t cut it.
And even if you know average score information for only a couple of programs, if other programs you may apply to are similarly ranked, you can still use the information you have to set a reasonable target score range for yourself.
TTP PRO TIP:
Even if you don’t have an exact list of desired programs nailed down, you can still set a GRE target score range if you have a sense of the types of schools you’re aiming for.
To learn more about how to set your target score, check out this article about what a good GRE score is. You can also visit the grad school section of our blog to learn about the average GRE scores at specific schools.
Happy studying!
