What is the highest GRE score?
The highest possible GRE score is 340: a perfect 170 on Verbal Reasoning and 170 on Quantitative Reasoning, with a 6.0 on Analytical Writing reported separately. It is possible, and a small number of test takers reach it each year, but here is the more useful truth: almost no program needs it. Here is what a top score takes and what to aim for instead.
The maximum score on each measure
Three separate maximums, one combined ceiling.
Analytical Writing tops out at 6.0 on its own 0 to 6 scale and is not part of the 340 total. So a flawless GRE is a 340 with a 6.0 in Writing, reported as two numbers.
How hard a perfect score really is
A 170 in either section is near the very top of the scale, and a 340 is rarer still.
A 170 on Verbal is the 99th percentile, and a 170 on Quant is about the 91st (per official ETS data, 2021 to 2024); the Quant scale ranks lower because of its high-scoring pool. Reaching both at once, for a 340, is something only a small fraction of test takers manage. A perfect 6.0 in Writing is similarly uncommon.
For the exact percentile of any score, see the percentile calculator, which uses the official ETS tables.
You almost certainly do not need a 340
Chasing the ceiling is usually the wrong use of your time.
Admissions committees read your score against your field, not against the absolute maximum. A balanced score in your program's range, paired with strong essays and research fit, matters far more than a perfect total. Once you are comfortably inside a program's range, extra points have sharply diminishing returns.
Time spent grinding from a 168 to a 170 in your strong section is usually better spent shoring up the other section, the Writing, or your application itself.
A more realistic high-end target for competitive programs is a 330, which already sits around the top tenth of test takers. See how to get 330 for what that level takes, and what is a good GRE score for field-by-field goals.
Common questions.
Aim for the right number, not the ceiling
Find a target that fits your field, then build a plan to reach it. Start by seeing where any score ranks.