Acing the GRE: What to know
If you’ve been thinking about graduate schools, chances are you’ve come across some mention of standardized tests. There are several well-known tests, most of them specialized for one field or another: the GMAT is mostly used in business school, while the MCAT is for medical school and the LSAT for law. Probably the most commonly administered test, though, is the Graduate Record Examinations, or the GRE - it’s basically the “all-purpose” option that universities use to evaluate students across a variety of STEM, business, or liberal arts disciplines. If your preferred graduate program wants (or requires) the GRE, read on! You’ll learn everything you need to know about this test, and how you can excel at it.
Structure of the test
The GRE consists of 5 sections: an analytical writing portion and four answer-choice sections, two Verbal (English) and two Quantitative (Math). The test is “adaptive” - your performance on the first Verbal and Quant sections will each determine whether you receive questions in the second half that are mostly Easy, Medium, or Hard.
Section 1. The “Analyze an Issue” essay is 30 minutes long, and asks the test-taker to read a short passage and then write an essay analyzing the contents.
Section 2. Verbal; 12 questions in 18 minutes (90 seconds/question). Standardized difficulty.
Section 3. Quantitative; 12 questions in 18 minutes. Standardized difficulty.
Section 4. Verbal; 15 questions in 23 minutes (92 seconds/question). Difficulty based on Section 2 performance.
Section 5. Quantitative; 18 questions in 23 minutes (92 seconds/question). Difficulty based on Section 3 performance.
The GRE is a computer-based test, administered digitally in a controlled testing environment. You have two options for taking the GRE, both of them digital: at a testing center, or at home with proctoring software. Most countries offer both in-person testing centers and at-home proctored exams, but be sure to check for your specific location.
Content of the test
The GRE Verbal portions and the Analytical Essay test English language aptitude at a high level. Expect to encounter a variety of unusual vocabulary terms, long sentences with complex structure, and questions that demand advanced logical reasoning. Most importantly, be prepared to read; more than half of GRE Verbal questions usually come with a long paragraph that must be read carefully to be properly understood. Even those questions testing vocabulary require reading in context, not simply rote memorization of dictionary words. Unlike high school tests such as the SAT, the GRE does not actively test for knowledge of grammar rules; however, it’s still important to have a strong grasp of grammar, especially for the analytical questions.
The GRE Quantitative portions test for a strong understanding of core mathematics concepts. Each Quant problems falls loosely into one or more of four major groups: Algebra, Arithmetic, Geometry, and Data Analysis. GRE questions also fall into one of several repeated formats: test-takers will need to determine the larger of two relative Quantities, choose the best answer from a set of choices, or calculate and enter a value in a field (pay attention to the rounding requirements!) While this section is certainly rigorous, it’s primarily testing your speed, not your knowledge of obscure mathematics; there is no higher-order Calculus or trigonometry, although you may need to brush up on some topics in combinatorics and set theory if you’re chasing a top score.
Both GRE Verbal and Quant sections use more than one kind of Multiple Choice answer. While most are “Choose One” (and only one), there are always some asking you to “Choose Two”, “Choose Three”, or even “Choose All That Apply”.
Despite variations in format, topic, and relative difficulty, none of the questions are worth more points than any other. How you do overall is a function of how many questions you get right - not which ones you answered correctly - and so you’ll need strategies designed to optimize what you are uniquely good at understanding.
Scoring and Score distribution
The GRE has undergone some changes in structure over the last few years, but its scoring format remains the same. Scores on Verbal and Quantitative each range from 130 to 170, with 340 as the maximum possible “perfect” score. This in turn is fitted to a percentile distribution from 1-99, based on how all other test-takers performed during the data collection period. The Essay does not factor into either overall subject, but receives its own score from 0 (no answer) to 6 (perfect score) traditionally based on an average of two essay reviewers.
In 2023-2024, the average (50th percentile) Verbal score was 151.2, while the average Quantitative score was 157.2.
To get into the top fifth of students, or 80th percentile, you’d need a 159 on Verbal and a 166 (!) on Quantitative.
The top tenth (90th percentile) has an even bigger divergence: to outperform 90% of students on Verbal, you’ll need a 163 or higher, whereas for Quant you’d need a near-perfect score of 169 or higher.
Meanwhile, the percentage of students doing well on both tests is even smaller than the percentage of students who do very well on either test. Most performers are “lopsided” to one side or another - and that’s fine if your program is too! But if you’re applying to a mathematically rigorous program and are worried about your Quant being competitive, it never hurts to have an above-average Verbal score as well to show your critical thinking and writing chops - and the same is true in reverse, as many social science programs increasingly value familiarity with statistics and data analysis.
The Essay has an average score of 3.5/6, with top 20% being a 4.5+ and top 10% being a 5.5 or higher.
Sharing your scores
Your “unofficial” score is shown to you immediately after taking the test. Two things make it “unofficial” at first: ETS (the parent company) has the right to review any tests later if they suspect cheating, but you also have the ability to delete your scores instead of accepting them! Doing so isn’t common, but in the event that you’re unhappy with one or both section scores and are confident you’d do better at a later date, canceling scores can prevent a disappointing result from being added to your permanent records.
Your scores from any one test are valid for the next five years from the testing date.
A quick note on ETS’s version of “superscore”
When you apply to a graduate program, you don’t choose which scores to send. Instead, ETS sends all of the scores you’ve accepted to each school. This is different from the SAT and ACT, which automatically selects your best scores in each section to share with schools - even if those scores come from different test dates! This “superscore” is a critical reason why I always advise high school students with the time and ability to take their choice of standardized test more than once - it dramatically increases your chance of an overall score improvement.
So, does the GRE lack this benefit? Not quite. Even though ETS will share all your accepted scores with whichever programs you apply too (and with whom you elect to share scores), the program admissions themselves typically do an informal superscoring of their own.
In other words, if you got a 155 V, 161 Q on the first of two testings, and then (after a focused study sprint in Verbal) bring it up to a 159 V at the cost of Quant dropping to 157? Your application to Example Institute of Technology will receive all four stats, but will usually evaluate you as a candidate with a 159 V, 161 Q - totaling 320 of 340, a highly competitive result.
In summation, undergraduate students should also heavily consider taking the GRE more than once. The benefits are almost as clear-cut, while there are virtually no downsides; any risk of sharing a mixed bag of scores will likely be outweighed by the benefits of “spot training” or simply getting two chances to do well.
Studying the right way to ace the GRE
There are plenty of ways to do well on a standardized test, many of them highly affordable. The common denominator across all of them, of course, is practice, practice, practice.
Allocate at least four weeks of dedicated study. Sign up for a test at least four to six weeks away to give yourself the time you need. At the same time, don’t study for too long - the returns on studying for standardized tests tend to plateau around the two-month point - and definitely don’t stop studying after four weeks and let everything you just practiced wash away.
Take a practice test before studying and another close to test-day. This is an essential step toward understanding your unique strengths and where you need to focus most of your studying. Its diagnostic powers are not perfect, but practice tests from a credentialed textbook or from ETS itself will help indicate how you’ve improved and what to expect on test day.
Study with practice problems, flash cards, and lesson content. Students and tutors agree that the best learning approach is both targeted to your needs and well-rounded among different ways to exercise your knowledge and reasoning.
Here’s the thing - all of this can be done for free with online resources (contact us for a list of recommended links and lessons). But the hardest part can be finding time in your busy schedule to not only study, but plan your lessons yourself. If that feels overwhelming, don’t worry! We at aalee test prep are here to help you navigate the stress of graduate applications. With data science analytics, customized learning plans, college program research, essay coaching, and more, we can help you level up your test scores and ace not just the GRE, but the whole application process!
