GRE Percentile Calculator

The GRE General Test has Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing measures. Verbal and Quantitative scores run from 130 to 170 in one-point increments. The current shorter test has one Analyze an Issue writing task, scored separately from 0 to 6 in half-point increments.

ETS released a shorter GRE in September 2023. The full test now takes about 1 hour 58 minutes instead of the old 3 hours 45 minutes. ETS cut Analytical Writing to one Issue task and trimmed Verbal and Quant to fewer questions per section. An unidentified unscored section may still appear. Scoring scales, five-year score validity, and percentile reporting remain unchanged.

ETS moved to the 130 to 170 scale in August 2011 to make small differences in performance more meaningful. The old 200 to 800 scale invited applicants and admissions committees to over-interpret 10-point gaps that were within the test's margin of error. The 130 to 170 scale uses 1-point increments and a narrower range, which more accurately reflects the actual precision of the test. Old 200 to 800 scores expired in 2016 and can no longer be reported.

ETS updates the percentile concordance once a year, typically every July or August. The table is built from a rolling three-year window of all test takers worldwide, so percentile ranks for the same scaled score drift slightly year over year as the test-taker pool changes. A 160 Quant has fallen in percentile over the last decade as the international STEM applicant pool has grown. For high-stakes reporting, pull the table that ETS publishes with your current score report.

Check each target program's current test policy and published score ranges. The GRE and GMAT measure different constructs, so similar-looking totals are not interchangeable and admission is not determined by a concorded number alone. Choose the test that your programs accept and that best matches the skills you can demonstrate.