GRE Score Percentiles

Guide to GRE Percentiles, Score Ranges, & Test Results in 2022

gre-score-percentilesWhat are GRE Score Percentiles And What Do They Mean When College Admission?

GRE percentiles are the score rankings for your test results compared with other task-takers across the nation.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a standardized test administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) that assesses test takers on the critical reasoning abilities graded on a GRE score percentile system. This test is often a requirement for graduate programs admission. The test is section adaptive and computerized, which means the level of difficulty of the next level is determined by performance in the previous section.

The computer-based exam assesses verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, analytical writing, and critical thinking abilities. In 2011, ETS released the GRE updated General Test, which included new questions and designs to give test takers a better experience demonstrating their skills and preparation for graduate-level programs.


What are GRE Percentiles?

In the test report, there is the GRE score and percentile rank. The GRE percentile is vital in helping you know how you performed relative to other test-takers. The percentile shows the percentage of test-takers you performed better than.

For instance, if your score is in the 75th percentile, then it means you did better than 75% of the test takers. Equally of your score is in the 45th it means that 55% of the test takes did well in the test than you.

So the higher the percentile rank, the better your score is. This increases your chances of getting admission to a top graduate school.


GRE Score Range Percentile Chart

Here is an GRE percentile chart that displays the GRE test score scale for each section.

GRE General Test Score Percentiles for 2022

Here is a chart of the percentile scores for the GRE General Test including the Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning GRE tests:

GRE Test Score PercentilesVerbal ReasoningQuantitaive Reasoning
1709996
1699994
1689891
1679889
1669786
1659684
1649481
1639279
1629076
1618874
1608570
1598267
1587964
1577561
1567257
1556754
1546350
1535946
1525343
1514939
1504435
1493932
1483528
1473125
1462821
1452518
1442215
1431913
1421611
141149
140127
139106
13884
13773
13652
13542
13431
13321
13221
1311
130

GRE Analytical Writing Percentile Scores

Here are the percentile rankings for the analytical writing test:

Score LevelsAnalytical Writing
699
5.598
591
4.580
454
3.537
313
2.55
21
1.5
1
0.5
0

GRE Subject Test Score Percentiles

Here is the percentile rankings for each GRE subject test:

GRE Score PercentilesChemistryMathematics Physics Psychology
98095
940999688
900969481
860908774
82081796799
78071726195
74061645486
70050564772
66039483956
62028403242
58019322431
54012231622
500615914
4603848
4201325
380112
3401

How are the GRE Percentiles Calculated?

How to Interpret Your GRE Score Percentile

GRE percentile scores are different for Quant and Verbal reasoning. For instance, a score of 169 and 170 will be in the 99th percentile, which means it is among the top 1%, but in Quant, a score of 170% will be in the 97th percentile, implying that around 3% of Quant test-takers will receive the perfect score.

It shows that the number of candidates doing well in the Quant section is more than in the Verbal section. GRE scores are designed to have a normal distribution implying that most test-takers will fall in the middle range of the scale at around 150. Scores further from the mid-range are less common.

What is a High or Good GRE Percentile Score?

Around the middle of a percentile range, a slight increase in the GRE score will result in a significant percentile change. For instance, a verbal score of 148 will be in the 39th percentile, but if the score increases by five points to 153, the percentile change can move to the 63rd percentile.

Interestingly, a five-point increase will only move the percentile by a small margin at the ends of the scale. For instance, if your score is 165, it will be in the 96th percentile for the Verbal section, and if it improves to 170, your percentile rank will improve three points to 99th percentile.


GRE Percentiles and Graduate College Entrance Explained

GRE percentile requirements for college vary depending on program and school. The GRE percentiles will be different for every section of the test.

For instance, pursuing an economics postgraduate at the University of California will require a verbal percentile score of 60th or more with at least 70th percentile score in Quant. On the other hand, for the Graduate School of Education at Harvard, your score for the Verbal section should be in the 50th percentile, and for Quant, they can be in the 30th percentile.

It is important to note that most college entrance prefers scores in the 50th to 60th percentiles benchmarks. Similarly, if you are considering two different programs, the entrance percentiles required are different. For instance, you might expect most Math programs to require a quant score in the 95th percentile, but it could be unrealistic for the program to require the same percentile score for the verbal section.


Understanding Your GRE General Test Percentiles Score

You may be wondering what the GRE percentile score means when they appear on your score report. The percentile score tells you the percentage of test-takers you performed better than, and given colleges have a specific GRE percentile score, they prefer for admission. Thus, it will be easy for you to know if you have made it in or not.

There are percentiles for each section, and therefore if, for instance, you want to pursue an engineering degree, your Quant percentile should be high, unlike someone who might be majoring in an art program. It is important to note that the difference when interpreting the ranks depends on the discipline you are majoring in and the school.


GRE Test Structure & Format

There are three scored sections and two ungraded sections. The first section will be the analytical writing essays section, whereby the test taker has to write two essays in which one is issue-based and the other argument-based. The Verbal and Quantitative sections comprise two parts, each with 20 questions in each section.

Besides that, the identified or unidentified unscored experimental section and the number of questions in the section vary and appear either in the Math or Verbal section. The total time taken to complete the test is around three hours and 45 minutes.

GRE scores are essential in the postgraduate admission process, and most colleges require applicants to produce the score as part of the application requirement. In addition, admission committees and fellowship boards use the scores to identify strong applicants suited for the program. However, unlike some other graduate exams, GRE scores are helpful to schools and colleges in various ways.

Some use the GRE scores as a vital selection element, and some will use them as formal admission requirements. It is vital to note that GRE is the most acknowledged graduate admission test globally, and it can be the difference between you getting into graduate school.


Why is the GRE Test Important?

Unlike undergraduate schools, graduate schools have a variety, and they have different desired qualifications and expectations for applicants. GRE percentiles are helpful to institutions since they help0 in comparing test-takers.

Therefore, students pursuing a master’s degree in engineering will be compared to those pursuing doctoral programs in anthropology. Since GRE percentiles can describe a range of test-takers with varying interests and qualifications, different graduate programs will have different GRE requirements for students in terms of percentiles

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