What Is a Good GRE Score

A good GRE score is not one number. Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning each run from 130 to 170. Analytical Writing runs from 0 to 6, in half-point steps. Every scale reports the same range for every test taker, but each graduate field weighs the three scores differently. A 160 on Quant looks average in an engineering applicant pool and strong in a humanities pool.

This guide sets a competitive target using ETS percentile data and published field averages, not guesses. It covers why percentile rank matters more than the raw score, rough ranges by broad field, why Analytical Writing needs its own target, and where to find the exact number your program expects. Every figure below comes from ETS score reports and interpretive tables, with the source linked on the claim. Use the field numbers as a starting point, then replace them with the range your target department publishes.

Why a Good Score Depends on Your Scale and Your Program

ETS reports three separate scores on every General Test result. Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sit on a 130 to 170 scale in 1-point increments, and Analytical Writing sits on a 0 to 6 scale in half-point increments. The two reasoning measures move in single points, so a 5-point gain is a real shift in standing. Analytical Writing moves in half points, which gives 13 possible scores instead of 41. Each scale needs its own target, because a strong result on one says little about the others.

Many programs quote a combined Verbal plus Quant figure. The combined total runs from 260 to 340, and Analytical Writing is reported on its own scale rather than added into it. One total covers different profiles: a 320 is reachable with a 160 and a 160, or with a 150 and a 170. A quantitative department reads those two applicants differently, so check the section split behind any total you see quoted. Our GRE scoring guide covers how the combined figure gets built.

The three scores do not move together. Verbal and Quantitative scores correlate only moderately (r=0.44), and Quantitative barely correlates with the Analytical Writing score at all (r=0.08). A strong Quant score tells a program little about your writing score, and the reverse holds too. A single cutoff never covers every applicant fairly for this reason.

ETS also publishes an overall mean and standard deviation for each measure, based on all test takers from July 2022 through June 2025. The mean shows where the middle of the pool sits. The standard deviation shows how tightly scores cluster around it. Quant scores spread wider than Verbal scores, so the same 5-point move shifts your standing less on Quant. Read the table below with both columns in view.

A 152 sits above the Verbal mean of 151.39. The identical 152 sits below the Quantitative mean of 157.62 by more than half a standard deviation. The same number lands on opposite sides of the average. Read each measure against its own average, not against the other one.

Use Percentile Rank, Not the Raw Score

Raw scaled scores are not directly comparable across measures. ETS instructs test takers to use percentile rank, not the scaled score, when comparing standing across Verbal, Quant and Analytical Writing. The table below lists ETS's published percentile ranks for matching Verbal and Quant scores, drawn from the same July 2022 through June 2025 group of test takers.

A 160 places you at the 82nd percentile on Verbal and only the 50th percentile on Quant, per the table above. Even a perfect 170 diverges this way: the 99th percentile on Verbal against the 89th percentile on Quant. The gap comes from the pool, since more test takers reach high Quant scores than reach high Verbal scores. Matching scaled scores therefore carry different weight in a department's eyes. Aim at a percentile band first, then convert it back to the scaled score you need.

Treat every score a program states, or a number you see quoted online, as either a scaled score or a percentile, and confirm which one it is before comparing it against your own result. A perfect 170 on Quant sits at the 89th percentile, while a 165 on Verbal sits higher at the 95th. Mixing the two units sends you after the wrong target for months. Our GRE percentiles guide covers why Quant percentiles run lower than Verbal percentiles at matching scores, and how often ETS updates the tables.

Competitive Ranges by Broad Field

ETS publishes mean Verbal, Quant and Analytical Writing scores by the graduate field applicants intend to enter, drawn from the same July 2022 through June 2025 group of test takers. The figures come from seniors and nonenrolled graduates who named a field at registration. They describe who sits the test, not who gets admitted. Use them to see where your field clusters, then adjust for the selectivity of your specific programs.

Verbal means stay close across every field, ranging from 150 in Life Sciences to 154 in Business, Law and Social & Behavioral Sciences. Quant means spread wider, from 150 in Education and Life Sciences up to 162 in Physical Sciences. The field you are entering moves your Quant target more than your Verbal target.

STEM Programs

Physical Sciences applicants report the highest Quant mean on the ETS table at 162, with Engineering at 160, level with Business and Humanities & Arts. Life Sciences applicants report a Quant mean of only 150, level with Education, so a single STEM target does not cover every science field. Confirm the number for your specific department before assuming a physics program and a biology program share the same expectation. For computer science and engineering programs specifically, our GRE for CS and engineering guide covers score ranges by department type.

Business (MBA) Programs

Business applicants report a Verbal mean of 154 and a Quant mean of 160, alongside an Analytical Writing mean of 3.7, above the overall test-taker mean of 3.46. A business-school target sits closer to the Engineering Quant number than to the Education or Life Sciences one, while also asking for stronger Verbal and Writing scores. Our GRE for MBA admissions guide covers how business schools weigh the GRE against the GMAT and against work experience.

Humanities, Social Science and Law Programs

Humanities & Arts applicants report a Verbal mean of 153, an Analytical Writing mean of 3.4, and a Quant mean of 160, matching Engineering. Social & Behavioral Sciences applicants report a Verbal mean of 154 and the second-highest Analytical Writing mean on the table at 3.8. Law applicants report the highest Analytical Writing mean of any field, 3.9, alongside a Verbal mean of 154 and a Quant mean of 152. Writing quality carries more relative weight against Quant in these three fields than it does in Engineering or Physical Sciences.

Analytical Writing Needs Its Own Target

ETS publishes percentile ranks for Analytical Writing separately from Verbal and Quant, since the scales do not align: 0 to 6 against 130 to 170. Thirteen possible scores cover the whole Analytical Writing range, so each half point carries far more percentile weight than a single Verbal or Quant point. Programs read the writing score on its own, next to your Verbal and Quant results rather than inside them. The table below maps each half point to its percentile rank.

Each half point from 3.0 to 4.5 moves you across roughly 22 to 24 percentile points, per the table above. Gains shrink higher up the scale: 4.5 to 5.0 buys 8 percentile points, and 5.5 to 6.0 buys only 1. The cheapest improvement therefore sits in the middle of the scale. Pushing from 3.5 to 4.5 moves you from the 40th percentile to the 85th. Pushing from 5.0 to 6.0 moves you 6 percentile points, for far more work.

The overall Analytical Writing mean is 3.46, with a standard deviation of 0.85. Field means on the table above range from 3.4 in Engineering, Physical Sciences and Humanities & Arts up to 3.9 in Law. A 4.0 therefore clears the field mean in every field listed, and a 4.5 clears it by a wide margin everywhere. A 4.0 also puts you at the 63rd percentile of all test takers, and a 4.5 puts you at the 85th. Treat 4.0 as the working floor and 4.5 as the target for writing-heavy fields like Law.

Analytical Writing correlates weakly with Quant (r=0.08) and only moderately with Verbal (r=0.52), per ETS's own published figures. A strong Quant score gives a program almost no signal about your writing score. The Verbal link is stronger, so reading practice carries over into the essays to a degree. Prepare Analytical Writing as its own task, with timed essays and a scoring rubric, rather than as a byproduct of Verbal or Quant drilling.

Finding the Exact Score Your Program Wants

ETS field averages describe test takers who selected a field on their registration. They are not admission requirements set by any department. Many applicants scored below the mean shown above and were admitted anyway.

Confirm the real number for your programs in three steps. Each step takes a few minutes per program, and the answer changes what your study plan needs to hit. Do this before you fix a target score, not after your first practice test.

1. Open the admissions or graduate program page for the specific department, not the university's general graduate school page. Requirements differ by department even inside the same school.
2. Look for a stated minimum score or a middle-50% range for admitted students. A missing published number does not mean the GRE gets ignored in review.
3. Check whether a funding or assistantship offer carries a separate, higher score threshold than plain admission does.

GRE General Test scores stay reportable for five years from the test date. A strong score earned now still counts on a later application cycle. Testing early gives you room for a retake without losing the first result. Note your test date, since the five-year window runs from the test day rather than from your application deadline.

Our GRE practice page holds free full-length mock tests, section practice modules and topic drills across Verbal, Quant and Analytical Writing, with no signup required. Run a complete test first to get a baseline on all three measures. Convert each section result with our GRE score calculator, then compare it against the field means and percentile tables above. Repeat the cycle every few weeks and track the percentile, not the raw score.

Sources

• Interpreting Your GRE Scores: 2026-27 (ETS)
• Understanding Your GRE General Test Scores (ETS)
• GRE General Test Interpretive Data (ETS)
• Sending Your GRE General Test Scores (ETS)