GRE scores are accepted by most of the top graduate level schools worldwide for admission to the Master’s degree programme. GRE or General Record Examination is one of the most prominent standardised tests that is conducted worldwide for students who aspire to pursue higher education abroad. GRE scores are reported for each section of the GRE exam including verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing. It is scored differently for computer-delivered and paper-delivered GRE exam formats. The students who have appeared for the exam get a notification on their registered email about the availability of official score in their ETS account. An official “Score Report” includes the scores of all the GRE tests in the reportable history and is intended only for information and personal records.

How is the GRE score calculated? What information does a GRE Scorecard carry? What are the scoring and reporting parameters? How can the students send the GRE score report to the colleges/institution? Can a student view the test scores online? For how long is a GRE score valid? The answers to all these questions are covered in this article. It provides you with in-depth information about the GRE scores including the score report, its analysis and the procedure to send the reports to the colleges/institutions.

GRE Scores – Sections Covered

The GRE exam basically comprises two test formats – GRE General and GRE Subject test. While a GRE general test covers topics like verbal reasoning, analytical writing, and quantitative reasoning, the GRE subject test involves topics specific to the subject in which you want to pursue postgraduation such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Psychology, English, etc. The aspiring students are open to both paper-delivered (offline) and computer-delivered (online) formats of the examination. The GRE scores for both General and Subject tests are covered in a single score report. However, the scoring pattern may differ for paper-delivered and computer-delivered tests.

Also Read – GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATION (GENERAL TEST)

GRE Scores – GRE Scorecard

The official GRE scorecard contains the following key information:

Contact information of the candidate (name, phone number, and email) Date of birth Gender Intended graduate major Test date GRE test score and the associated percentile ranks Authorized score recipients or fellowship sponsors and the scores reported to those institutions A cumulative record of scores reported within the last five years



The official score reports sent to the institutions you designate include your:

Contact information (name, address, phone number, email) Intended graduate major GRE test score(s) and the associated percentile ranks



To check the validity of the GRE score, the test taker can visit the ETS website and use the tool as shown below. The image below highlights the validity of the scorecard for which the student has taken the examination on 28 March 2019.

The score reports sent to the institutions will not include any information concerning the other score recipients you have chosen. The scores for each section is scaled in the incremental points given in the table below:

Scores Reported on the GRE General Test

Section Score Scale Verbal Reasoning 130–170, in 1 point increments Quantitative Reasoning 130–170, in 1 point increments Analytical Writing 0–6, in half-point increments

A sample of how GRE scores are visible in the scorecard is given below:

In this scorecard, one can find full details on personal details of the applicant like name, phone number, DOB etc., test scores for each section of GRE General Test along with estimated and scaled scores, percentile rank, test scores for the GRE subject test, etc.

GRE Scores – How the test is Scored?

How does a student score in each section of the GRE exam? What process does ETS follow to allocate scores to the students? The answers to these questions are given in this section. Given below is a description of GRE score scales for the General tets on the basis of which the students are evaluated.

Score Scales

Three scores are reported on the GRE General Test:

Verbal Reasoning score reported on a 130–170 score scale, in 1-point increments

Quantitative Reasoning score reported on a 130–170 score scale, in 1-point increments

Analytical Writing score reported on a 0–6 score scale, in half-point increments

Understanding the scores of the GRE General Test

Scores range from 130-170 for verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning at one point increments and 0 to 6 for analytical writing with half point increments. If applicants do not answer at least one question within a measure, a no score is reported.

The scores from different General Test measures are not compared because each measure is scaled separately. The percentile ranks provided on the score report is used to compare relative performance among all measures.

The computer-driven GRE General Test (verbal and quantitative reasoning) score reflects the number of questions answered correctly and the difficulty level of each section. In the analytical writing section, each essay receives a score from one trained reader using a six-point scale. The essay is scored by e-rater scoring engine, a program developed by ETS which is capable of identifying essay related to writing proficiency.

The paper delivered GRE General Test verbal and quantitative reasoning measure score report is based on the number of questions answered correctly and each essay receives a score from two trained readers.

For tests taken on or after July 1, 2016, scores are reportable for five years following your test date. For example, scores for a test taken on July 3, 2018, are reportable through July 2, 2023.

GRE Scores – Sending Scores to the Institutions

The GRE exam fee entitles the test-taker to send the GRE scores obtained by them to up to four graduate institutions or fellowship sponsors. With the “Score Select” option, a test-taker can decide which test scores to send to the institutions. They can select the GRE scores that show their personal best performance. If you wish to send scores to more than four institutions or decide to send scores after the test day, you can order the “Additional Score Reports” via an application by just paying a fee of USD 27 per college.

For the computer-delivered GRE General Test, the applicants will be asked to designate free score recipients at the test centre.

General Test, the applicants will be asked to designate free score recipients at the test centre. For the paper-delivered GRE General Test, they will be asked to designate free score recipients during registration.

On the test day of computer-driven GRE General Test, after completing the test, the students will be able to view unofficial scores of verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning sections and designate recipients they want the scores to be sent. The students can ask the test centre administrator for the appropriate form to indicate the unlisted institution. They will be able to select the “Most Recent” (sending scores from the current test administration) or “All” (sending scores from all administrations in the last five years) option for up to four institutions for free.

GRE Scores – FAQ

Q. How are the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections scored?

Computer-delivered Test:

Verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning are section-level adaptive. This means the computer selects the second section of a measure based on the performance on the first section. Within each section, all questions contribute equally to the final score. For each of the two measures, a raw score is computed. The raw score is the number of questions answered correctly. The raw score is converted to a scaled score through a process known as equating. The process is similar for the paper-delivered test.

Q. Will I see my scores at the test centre when I take the computer-delivered test?

After completing the computer-delivered GRE General Test, you will be given the opportunity to report or cancel your scores. For more information, read through the ‘Sending Scores to the Institutions’ section above.

Q. How do I send my scores to an institution?

Your test fee entitles you to request that scores be sent to as many as four graduate institutions or fellowship sponsors at no additional cost. For more information, read through the ‘Sending Scores to the Institutions’ section above.

Q. When will my official scores be reported after testing?

If you take the computer-delivered GRE General Test, your official scores will be available in your ETS Account and sent to the institutions you designated approximately 10–15 days after your test date. If you take the paper-delivered test, your official scores will be available in your ETS Account and sent to the institutions you designated within five weeks after your test date.