However, to begin with, here's what you need to know about your GRE score. The GRE is scored on a scale of 130 to 170 in the verbal and quantitative sections. The writing section is scored on a scale of 0 to 6 in half-point increments. But you don't just receive scores; you also receive a percentile rank, which rates your performance relative to that of a large sample population of other GRE participants.
Because there are so few possible overall scores (only 41) you can get on the GRE, answering a question more correctly might be enough to turn an average score into a great score. Some programs require a minimum score for admission, while others use the average GRE scores of admitted students as benchmarks for new applicants. While it's impossible to perfectly match GRE and GMAT scores, since they have different numbers of sections and their scores are reported differently, using your score on one test to predict your score on the other can help you know if you're prepared for the graduate programs you're applying to. It may be that working on another aspect of your application, for example, a portfolio or letters of recommendation will give you a higher return on investment in time than studying for a two-point GRE score increase, or that they are more impressed by a solid application overall than by a weaker application overall with a score GRE 5 points higher.
So, assuming you meet the general requirements of the program, what is a good GRE score for you? Keep reading, folks. As discussed above, the average GRE score for quantitative reasoning is 153.66, verbal reasoning is 150.37, and analytical writing is 3.60. Some schools do not require minimum scores for admission or publish the average GRE scores of admitted students. Similarly, for the subject test, the average GRE score for chemistry is 689, mathematics 664, physics 714, and psychology 619.Regardless of how important the admissions committee says GRE scores are (or are not), the more selective the program is, the higher your GRE score.
If your GRE score is significantly lower than most applicants, your academic readiness will be seriously questioned. Beyond that, a particularly good score can also help you qualify for scholarships and scholarships, particularly those that are university-wide, where GRE scores and GPA may be the only meaningful ways to compare applicants across disciplines. For example, if you look at the average GRE scores for all graduate programs in Clemson, you can see that most doctoral programs have higher average GRE scores than the corresponding master's programs, particularly in the most relevant section. The percentile scores listed below in the verbal, quantitative, and analytical score columns rate your performance relative to that of a large sample population of other people taking GRE.
So, while it's hard to say with certainty what a “good score” is in absolute terms, you can get an idea of how your score compares to other people taking the GRE test.
