How to get a 325 on the GRE.
A 325 puts you near the 86th percentile, the top 15% of test takers. The score is achievable but requires a different approach from simply studying more: you need to find the specific mistake patterns that are holding back your ceiling, then close those gaps surgically.
A total score, not a single section.
Your GRE total is Verbal plus Quant, each scored from 130 to 170. A 325 is 16 points above the average total of roughly 309, putting it around the 86th percentile. That figure is an estimate: ETS publishes percentiles for each section but not for the combined total.
The Analytical Writing score (0 to 6) is separate and is not part of the 325. It still matters to programs, but it is not what this target is about. Convert any section score to its exact official percentile with our percentile calculator.
There is more than one way to make 325.
A 325 can be a near-balanced 163 and 162, or it can lean one way. The right split depends on your field. Every row below sums to 325, with the official ETS percentile for each section.
| Profile | Verbal | Quant | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced | 163 (91st) | 162 (57th) | Broad or still-undecided programs |
| Quant-leaning | 161 (86th) | 164 (63rd) | STEM and applied science master's |
| Verbal-leaning | 165 (95th) | 160 (50th) | Humanities and social sciences |
| Quant-heavy | 158 (77th) | 167 (76th) | Engineering, CS, quantitative finance |
The imbalance catch: the balanced split of 163V + 162Q has a Verbal at the 91st percentile but a Quant at only the 57th. In a competitive STEM or quant applicant pool, that Quant is the soft spot. A 161V + 164Q or 158V + 167Q gives you a stronger signal where it counts most.
Four steps built for this level.
Find your ceiling questions
At this level you are not missing easy questions. Identify the specific subtypes at high difficulty where your accuracy drops. That is the gap to close, not a broad re-review of all content.
Log every error by category
Keep a log that names the mistake type: arithmetic slip, wrong approach, misread, vocabulary, time pressure. Patterns in the log tell you what to drill. Vague 'review wrong questions' does not.
Drill the failure modes specifically
Once you know your two or three repeating mistake types, spend practice time on those alone. Scattered full-set practice at this level just reinforces what you can already do.
Retest under full fatigue
At 325, the hardest questions come late in the second section of each measure, when you are most tired. Full mocks under real conditions are the only way to lock in that performance.
Want the gap turned into daily numbers? Feed your current score, your 325 target, and your test date into the score simulator.
Two sections, two different execution challenges.
Verbal: the nuanced questions
At 325, the Verbal questions testing near-synonyms and subtle text-completion pivots are where the points are. Vocabulary depth and sentence logic in context, not definition recall, decide them.
Verbal practiceQuant: the hard-difficulty traps
The maths itself is not harder at 325. The traps are more carefully set: the answer that looks right on a quick read is usually wrong. Slow down on the hard questions and check your setup before calculating.
Quant practiceOn Verbal, consistent high-frequency vocabulary from early in your preparation pays off at this score level, where near-synonym distinctions decide hard questions.
It depends on where you are starting.
If you are already scoring around 315 to 320, the gap to 325 is often four to eight weeks of targeted error-log work: identify the patterns, drill the specific failure modes, retest under pressure. The content is not new at this level. The execution is.
If you are starting from below 310, build to 320 first, then plan for 325 as a second phase. Trying to jump directly from 305 to 325 means studying two different problems at once, which is slower than solving them in sequence. The total runway from that lower base is usually ten to fourteen weeks.
Getting to 325, answered.
Start with your real number.
Take a free, full-length, section-adaptive GRE mock. Get your estimated Verbal and Quant with exact percentiles, and find out how far you are from 325.