GRE Scores

The GRE test uses a scale ranging from 200 to 800 for the Verbal and Quantitative sections, and a score from 0 to 6 on the Analytical Writing Section. At the beginning of the Verbal and Quantitative tests, each student taking the test starts with a baseline score of 500. Each time you get a question wrong, your score drops, and each time you get a question right, your score goes up.

In addition, because the GRE is a computer adaptive test, each time you get a question right, the computer will feed you a harder question, and each time you get a question wrong, the computer will feed you an easier question. The result is that answering the first questions correctly will give you the biggest positive impact on your score.

The GRE is graded on a percentile based curve. In other words, your score corresponds to the percentage of people you scored higher than, rather than a numerical computation of right and wrong answers. For example, a score of 630 indicates that approximately 90% of test takers scored below this level, and a score of 700 indicates that approximately 95% of test takers scores below that level. The exact curve does vary from year to year.

Many gaduate schools have minimum GRE requirements. For example, the University of Alabama Engineering requires a minimum score of 1500. The Toulouse School of Graduate Studies is more fogiving, and will accept a minimum combined verbal and quantitative score of 800. Some schools combine the GRE score requirement with a GPA requirement. An example of this is the University of Memphis, which requires a minimum score of 1350 resulting from the following equation: baccalaureate GPA X 200 + GRE (verbal plus quantitative). They will also not accept any GRE score less than a 750.

Scoring of the GRE is done in two ways. A computer (called the E-Rater) grades each exam, and a human also grades it. The two scores are compared. If the scores are different, a second human is brought in to break the tie. This method insures highly accurate results.