The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a standardized test that is often required for admission to graduate programs and business schools in the United States and other English-speaking countries. The GRE aims to measure verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills that have been acquired over a long period of learning.

The GRE has three sections – the Analytical Writing section, the Verbal Reasoning section, and the Quantitative Reasoning section. Each of these sections receives a separate score. The Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sections are scored on a scale of 130 to 170, in 1-point increments. The total GRE score ranges from 260 to 340 and is calculated by adding together the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores.

Along with the numeric scores, the GRE also reports percentile ranks, which indicate the percentage of test takers who scored equal to or lower than a particular score. So if you score in the 80th percentile, it means you scored higher than 80% of test takers. GRE percentiles allow you to understand how well you performed relative to other test takers.

In this comprehensive guide, we will cover everything you need to know about GRE percentiles, including:

• How GRE percentiles are calculated
• GRE score percentiles tables
• Estimating total GRE score percentiles
• How schools use GRE percentiles
• Why GRE percentiles change and decrease over time
• Whether GRE scores are curved
• Best time of year to take the GRE
• What 50th, 80th, and 99th percentile scores are

How Are GRE Percentiles Calculated?

The GRE is administered throughout the year by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). To calculate percentiles, ETS collects all the test scores over a 3-year period spanning the most recent July to June testing cycles. For example, the percentiles on the August 2022 score reports were based on tests taken between July 2019 and June 2022.

For each score point, ETS determines the percentage of test takers who scored at or below that score. This percentage becomes the percentile rank for that score. For instance, if a Verbal Reasoning score of 159 was achieved by 81% of test takers, it is in the 81st percentile. Higher percentiles correspond to better performance compared to other test takers.

Some key things to note:

• Percentiles are recalculated every July, leading to slight changes.
• Lower scores have higher percentiles in the Quantitative section compared to Verbal.
• The Analytical Writing score does not factor into the total GRE score.

What Are the GRE Score Percentiles?

Here are the latest official percentile tables released by ETS for the Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing sections:

Verbal Reasoning

Quantitative Reasoning

Analytical Writing

These percentile tables provide a snapshot of the score distribution. We can make some key observations:

• A perfect 170 in Verbal Reasoning is at the 99th percentile, while in Quant it is at the 94th percentile, indicating top performance is rarer in Verbal.
• The median score in both sections is around 150.
• Most test takers score a 3 or above in Analytical Writing.

Estimating GRE Total Score Percentiles

ETS does not provide total GRE score percentiles, but we can estimate them using the section percentile tables.

For example, a Verbal Reasoning score of 159 is at the 81st percentile, while a Quantitative Reasoning score of 165 is at the 76th percentile. If a test taker scored 159 in Verbal and 165 in Quant, their total GRE score would be 324. We can estimate this total score to be around the 80th percentile.

However, this estimate may be a bit high, since test takers tend to score relatively higher in either Verbal or Quant. Those who score very high in one section may not necessarily achieve an equally high percentile in the other. Still, adding the percentiles gives us a reasonable approximation of the total score percentile.

How Schools Use GRE Percentiles

GRE percentiles allow admissions committees to better evaluate applicants’ scores by providing context about their performance relative to other test takers. Here are some key ways schools use percentiles:

• Understand score meaning: Admissions officers can better interpret what a GRE score signifies by looking at associated percentiles. A 320 total score in the 90th percentile is more impressive than a 320 in the 70th percentile.
• Compare applicants: When comparing applicants, percentiles provide useful supplementary data beyond just looking at total scores. Between two applicants with 320, one in the 80th and another in the 95th percentile, the latter likely outperformed more of their peers.
• Compare tests: Some schools accept both GRE and GMAT scores. Since these are on different scales, percentiles allow fair comparison between applicants who took different tests.
• Confirm readiness: Many programs set benchmark percentiles to screen applicants and check if they are prepared for the rigor of graduate-level work.
• Contextualize scores: Percentiles give historical score performance context, allowing schools to see if an applicant performed unusually well or poorly compared to recent cohorts of test takers.

So in summary, percentiles add an extra datapoint for a more nuanced evaluation of applicants. But most schools still emphasize your actual scores over your percentile ranks.

FAQs

Why Do GRE Percentiles Change?

ETS recalculates GRE percentiles every July based on scores from the most recent 3 years. As old scores expire and new scores get added, the distribution shifts, causing slight percentile changes year to year.

For test takers, this means the percentiles reported on your score report when you first take the GRE may differ from the percentiles seen later on school score reports. But admissions officers understand percentiles are updated annually. As long as your actual scores remain valid, minor discrepancies in associated percentiles don’t negatively impact applications.

Why Are GRE Score Percentiles Decreasing?

Over the past decade, average GRE scores have steadily gone up, and as a result, percentiles associated with given scores have declined. There are a few key reasons behind this phenomenon:

• Test-optional policies: As more schools have made GRE optional, those who self-select to take it tend to be applicants aiming for top programs who expect higher scores. This skews the pool towards more high scorers.
• Applicant demographics: Rising numbers of aspiring doctors, lawyers, and business executives take the GRE. Since these groups are highly competitive, they pull percentiles down.
• Better preparation: Advances in test prep, strategies, and resources have lifted overall performance on the GRE over time.

So for any given score, the percentile rank has decreased because it has become more common for test takers to achieve higher scores, raising the bar for top percentile performance. But it is important to emphasize that the meaning of a particular score has remained consistent. A 165Q today indicates the same level of Quantitative reasoning ability as it did 10 years ago.

Are GRE Scores Curved?

Some test takers wonder whether the GRE uses a curve system where scoring scales are adjusted based on results of the overall group on test day. However, ETS has repeatedly confirmed this is not the case.

GRE scoring is standardized and does not change in response to test taker performance. The meaning of a score is consistent across administrations. So you are only competing against a fixed standard, not against other test takers in the room.

This fixed standard helps ensure the validity and fairness of the GRE as an assessment tool. It also means there is no advantage to taking the test on an “easier” day to get curved scores. Your performance depends only on your own preparation and ability.

Is There a Best Time of Year to Take the GRE?

Since GRE scoring is standardized and not curved, there is no particular time of year that is easier or harder to take the GRE. Your scores will reflect your skills no matter when you test.

Some people think taking the GRE right after the July percentile reset might be beneficial, since the percentiles are calculated from the preceding 3 years of scores. But any percentile advantage immediately after the reset is marginal at best and levels out once enough new test takers are added to the score pool.

The best time to take the GRE is when you have sufficiently prepared and your schedules and application deadlines permit it. The only key factors are allowing enough time for preparation and having scores ready before application deadlines.

What Is the 50th Percentile Score on the GRE?

The 50th percentile, or median score, in Verbal Reasoning is around 152. For Quantitative Reasoning, the median is around 157.

Therefore, we can estimate that a total GRE score of about 309 (152V + 157Q) is around the 50th percentile currently. This means half of test takers score below 309 and half score above it.

What Is the 80th Percentile Score on the GRE?

The latest data shows that a Verbal Reasoning score of 159 is at the 81st percentile, while a Quantitative Reasoning score of 166 is at the 80th percentile.

Combining these section scores gives us an estimated total GRE score of 325 (159V + 166Q) to be around the 80th percentile. So approximately 80% of test takers score below 325 while 20% score above it.

What Is the 99th Percentile Score on the GRE?

A perfect 170 in Verbal Reasoning is at the 99th percentile. In Quantitative Reasoning, 170 is at the comparatively lower 94th percentile. This indicates top scorers are more common in Quant than Verbal.

But we can estimate that only a small fraction of test takers achieve 170 in both sections. So the maximum possible total score of 340 likely corresponds to around the 99th percentile currently.

Conclusion

In this comprehensive guide, we looked at how GRE percentiles are determined, what current percentiles are for different section scores, and how percentiles can aid in evaluating GRE performance. Key takeaways include:

• Percentiles measure how you scored relative to other recent test takers. Higher percentiles indicate better performance versus your peers.
• Although percentiles fluctuate, the meaning of particular GRE scores has remained consistent over time.
• Schools use percentiles to contextualize scores and compare applicants, but emphasize your actual scores more.
• There is no “best” time to take the GRE to maximize percentiles, since scoring is standardized.
• With rising average scores, a given GRE score now corresponds to a lower percentile compared to previous years. But it indicates the same level of ability.

Overall, percentiles provide helpful supplementary information when interpreting GRE scores, but your focus should remain on achieving the highest possible scores based on your ability.