­­About the GRE

The Graduate Record Examination, or GRE, is an important step in the graduate school or business school application process. The GRE is a multiple-choice, computer-based, standardized exam that is often required for admission to graduate programs and graduate business programs (MBA) globally.

The GRE is developed and administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to provide graduate and business schools with common measures for comparing applicants’ qualifications and preparedness for graduate-level academic work. Graduate school and business school admissions committees look at your GRE score, along with your academic record and supporting materials, to assess your readiness for the rigors of graduate academic study.

A high score on the GRE will have a direct, positive impact on your graduate or business school application.

Content covered on the GRE

The GRE exam measures your command of basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis as well as college-level vocabulary. More importantly, it measures your ability to analyze and evaluate written material, think critically, and solve problems.

Structure of the GRE

You will receive three scores on the GRE:

  • Analytical Writing
  • Verbal Reasoning
  • Quantitative Reasoning

In addition, you will see one of the following sections:

  • Unscored (may be either Verbal Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning)
  • Research (used for ETS research purposes)

Understanding GRE scoring

The Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning sections are each scored on a scale of 130 to 170. The mean score for Verbal Reasoning is 151, and the mean score for Quantitative Reasoning is 153. The Analytical Writing Assessment is scored from 0 to 6 in half-point increments,

The GRE is a multi-stage test, which means that your performance on the first section of the scored Verbal and Quantitative sections will determine the level of difficulty of the subsequent Verbal and Quantitative sections. The raw score from each section is the number of questions you answered correctly. Your raw score is then converted to a scaled score through a process called “equating.”

For example, if you perform very well on the first Verbal section, you will receive the most difficult second section in Verbal, but you’ll also have access to the highest potential score range. If you perform less well on the first section of Verbal, you will see a less difficult second Verbal section, but you will also have access to a lower score band or “potential.”

For the Analytical Writing section, each essay receives a score from at least one human reader, using a 6-point scale.

Information adapted from https://www.ets.org/gre/.