GRE scores, explained.

How GRE scoring works

The GRE General Test reports three scores, not one. Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning are each scored on a 130 to 170 scale in single-point steps, and Analytical Writing is scored separately from 0 to 6 in half-point steps. When people quote a single GRE number, they usually mean the total, which is just Verbal plus Quant and therefore ranges from 260 to 340. The essay is never folded into that total; it stands on its own.

Verbal and Quant are section-adaptive. Each measure has two sections, and how you perform on the first determines the difficulty of the second. Within a measure, the number of questions you answer correctly is converted to the 130 to 170 scaled score, with harder sections able to support a higher scaled score for the same raw count. That is why two people with the same number correct can end up with different scaled scores, and why practising with a section-adaptive mock matters more than drilling untimed sets.

Scaled scores only become meaningful once you read them as percentiles, because the Verbal and Quant scales are not interchangeable: the same 160, for instance, sits at a much higher percentile in Verbal than in Quant. To interpret a score properly, map it to its official percentile with the percentile calculator, understand the full score range, and then judge it against what your programs actually expect. The questions below cover the points most people ask about first.