GRE (Graduate Record Examination)
ETS
Complete guide to passing the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) exam on your first attempt.
$220
N/A (score-based)
5 years
Global (USA focused)
ETS
Graduate school admission
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Complete Overview
The GRE General Test is a computer-delivered admissions exam from ETS that measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing, and it is taken by applicants to masters, doctoral, MBA, and JD programs. ETS charges $249 for the test everywhere except mainland China, where the fee is $231.30, with both prices effective August 1, 2026 and separate pricing published for India on the ETS India site.
Testing time is 1 hour 58 minutes with no scheduled breaks. That length dates from September 22, 2023, when ETS replaced the earlier 3 hour 45 minute format by removing the second essay task and the unscored pretest section and shortening the multiple-choice sections. The current test delivers one 30-minute Analyze an Issue task, two Verbal Reasoning sections (18 minutes with 12 questions, then 23 minutes with 15 questions), and two Quantitative Reasoning sections (21 minutes with 12 questions, then 26 minutes with 15 questions). That totals 54 scored multiple-choice questions plus one essay.
Both multiple-choice measures are section-level adaptive. ETS states that the first operational section of each measure is of average difficulty and the second section is administered based on your overall performance on the first section of that measure. Inside a timed section you can skip questions, change answers, and move freely, so the adaptation happens between sections rather than question by question. Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning each report on a 130 to 170 scale in one-point increments. Analytical Writing reports 0 to 6 in half-point increments.
There is no passing score. For the population that tested between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2025, ETS reports a mean Verbal Reasoning score of 151.39 across 788,021 test takers, a mean Quantitative Reasoning score of 157.62 across 790,864 test takers, and a mean Analytical Writing score of 3.46 across 785,720 test takers. The two multiple-choice distributions sit in very different places, so the same scaled number means different things by section: 160 on Verbal Reasoning is the 82nd percentile, while 160 on Quantitative Reasoning is the 50th.
Scores are reportable for five years after the test date, and ETS advises programs not to use scores older than that. You can take the General Test once every 21 days, up to five times in any continuous rolling 12-month period of 365 days. ETS states that 70 percent of retakers improve their scores. The ScoreSelect option lets you decide on test day whether recipients see your Most Recent scores or All scores from your five-year reportable history, and institution reports carry no notation that other GRE tests were taken.
The test runs at more than 1,000 ETS-authorized test centers in more than 160 countries, and at home on your own computer with a live human proctor, around the clock, seven days a week. In mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea, the test center version is offered one to three times per month rather than continuously. Official scores arrive in your ETS account 8 to 10 days after the test date; ETS reduced that window from the previous 10 to 15 days.
Why Get GRE (Graduate Record Examination) Certified?
One test covers three application markets: ETS reports that graduate, business, and law programs all use GRE scores, so a single $249 sitting can support masters, PhD, MBA, and JD applications rather than paying for separate exams.
The test fee includes four score recipients chosen on test day. Additional Score Reports ordered later cost $40 per recipient, so designating all four before you leave the test saves $160.
Scores stay reportable for five years from the test date, which means a score earned in your junior year of college is still usable for an application cycle four years later.
The retake structure is generous by admissions-test standards: once every 21 days, up to five times in any rolling 365-day period. ETS states that 70 percent of retakers improve their scores.
Turnaround is fast. Unofficial Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores appear on screen the moment you finish, and official scores reach your ETS account in 8 to 10 days.
The Fee Reduction Program cuts the General Test fee to $100 for eligible candidates and adds POWERPREP PLUS Practice Test 1 ($45), Practice Test 2 ($45), and ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice ($20) at no charge.
Total seat time is 1 hour 58 minutes, roughly half the 3 hour 45 minute format ETS retired on September 22, 2023, and the at home version runs seven days a week with no fixed test dates in most countries.
Exam Format & Structure
Duration
1 hour 58 minutes of testing time, with no scheduled breaks. ETS states that if you take an unscheduled break at a test center the clock keeps running, and unscheduled breaks are not permitted at all in the at home version.
Questions
54 scored multiple-choice questions plus 1 essay task: 27 Verbal Reasoning questions across two sections (12 then 15) and 27 Quantitative Reasoning questions across two sections (12 then 15).
Passing Score
None. The GRE reports scaled scores rather than a pass or fail result, and each program sets its own expectations. ETS explicitly recommends against using cut scores as sole admissions criteria in its Guide to the Use of Scores.
Question Types
- Reading Comprehension, multiple-choice select one answer choice (five choices)
- Reading Comprehension, multiple-choice select one or more answer choices (three choices, one to three correct, no partial credit)
- Reading Comprehension, select-in-passage, where you click a sentence that matches a description
- Text Completion, one to five sentences with one to three blanks; three choices per blank when there are two or three blanks, five choices when there is one blank
- Sentence Equivalence, one sentence with one blank and six choices from which you select two, with no partial credit
- Quantitative Comparison, comparing Quantity A and Quantity B against four fixed answer choices
- Quantitative multiple-choice, select one answer choice from five
- Quantitative multiple-choice, select one or more answer choices
- Numeric Entry, typing an integer or decimal into one box or a fraction into a numerator box and a denominator box
- Data Interpretation sets, where several questions share one table, graph, or other data display
- Analytical Writing, one Analyze an Issue essay typed in an ETS word processor with insert, delete, cut-and-paste, and undo but no spellchecker or grammar checker
Delivery Method
Computer-delivered at more than 1,000 ETS-authorized test centers in more than 160 countries, or at home on your own desktop or laptop through the ETS Secure Browser with a live human proctor. Tablets, Chromebooks, Microsoft Surface Pro devices, dual monitors, external keyboards on laptops, and headsets are all prohibited for the at home test.
- Section Breakdown: Analytical Writing: one section, one 30-minute Analyze an Issue task. Verbal Reasoning section 1: 18 minutes, 12 questions. Verbal Reasoning section 2: 23 minutes, 15 questions. Quantitative Reasoning section 1: 21 minutes, 12 questions. Quantitative Reasoning section 2: 26 minutes, 15 questions
- Adaptivity: Section-level adaptive on both multiple-choice measures. The first operational section of each measure is of average difficulty, and performance on it determines which second section you receive. All questions within a section contribute equally to the score.
- Calculator: A basic on-screen calculator is provided in the Quantitative Reasoning sections only. No personal calculator is allowed in either delivery mode.
How scoring works
Score scale
Verbal Reasoning 130 to 170 in 1-point increments; Quantitative Reasoning 130 to 170 in 1-point increments; Analytical Writing 0 to 6 in half-point increments. If you answer no questions in a measure, ETS reports NS (No Score) for that measure.
Score needed to pass
There is no cut score. ETS states in its Guide to the Use of Scores that using cut scores, especially GRE scores as sole criteria, contradicts holistic admissions and recommends against the practice. Individual programs publish their own expectations, so the number you need depends entirely on where you apply.
Roughly what that means raw
ETS defines the raw score explicitly as the number of questions answered correctly on each measure, with no deduction for incorrect answers. It does not publish a raw-to-scaled conversion table, because equating makes the conversion differ from one test edition to the next.
When results arrive
Unofficial Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores appear on screen at the end of the test, immediately after you choose to report rather than cancel. Analytical Writing is not shown on test day because of the essay scoring process. Official scores, with percentile ranks, reach your ETS account 8 to 10 days after the test date, and ETS emails you when they post. Institution score reports go out at the same time, and electronic scores are delivered to schools daily Monday to Friday.
How the scale is built
A raw score is computed for each multiple-choice measure as the number of questions answered correctly, so wrong answers cost nothing and blanks are never worth more than a guess. That raw score is converted to a scaled score by equating, which adjusts for difficulty differences between test editions and between the two possible second sections created by section-level adaptation. Analytical Writing is scored holistically by a human rater and the e-rater engine.
- Scale History: The 130 to 170 scales were built in fall 2011, with the means set so the full-year mean for both measures equalled 150 and the standard deviation equalled 8.75. ETS kept the same scales when it shortened the test in September 2023 so that admissions offices would see no break in comparability.
- Measurement Error: ETS publishes a reliability estimate of 0.88 for Verbal Reasoning, 0.94 for Quantitative Reasoning, and 0.77 for Analytical Writing, with standard errors of measurement of 3.17, 2.56, and 0.40 points. Conditional standard errors at a score of 160 are 2.5 for Verbal and 2.7 for Quantitative, so a two-point gap between two attempts is inside the noise.
Pacing and time budget
54 questions in 118 minutes gives you 1 minute 38 seconds average across the 54 scored questions, because the essay takes 30 of the 118 minutes and leaves 88 minutes of multiple-choice time. The real budgets differ by section: 90 seconds per question in the 18-minute Verbal section, 92 seconds in the 23-minute Verbal section, 105 seconds in the 21-minute Quant section, and 104 seconds in the 26-minute Quant section. per question.
Minute 25 of the 30-minute Analyze an Issue task
A complete essay with a stated position, at least two developed reasons, and a closing sentence, leaving five minutes to proofread without a spellchecker.
Minute 9 of the 18-minute Verbal Reasoning section
6 of 12 questions. This is the section that sets your adaptive path, so leaving nothing blank matters more here than anywhere else.
Minute 12 of the 23-minute Verbal Reasoning section
8 of 15 questions, with any multi-paragraph passage either finished or deliberately flagged for the end.
Minute 10 of the 21-minute Quantitative Reasoning section
6 of 12 questions. Quantitative Comparison items should be running well under the 105-second average to bank time for Data Interpretation.
Minute 13 of the 26-minute Quantitative Reasoning section
7 or 8 of 15 questions, with the Data Interpretation set located and its axes and units read before the clock drops under 8 minutes.
| At this point | You should have answered |
|---|---|
| Minute 25 of the 30-minute Analyze an Issue task | A complete essay with a stated position, at least two developed reasons, and a closing sentence, leaving five minutes to proofread without a spellchecker. |
| Minute 9 of the 18-minute Verbal Reasoning section | 6 of 12 questions. This is the section that sets your adaptive path, so leaving nothing blank matters more here than anywhere else. |
| Minute 12 of the 23-minute Verbal Reasoning section | 8 of 15 questions, with any multi-paragraph passage either finished or deliberately flagged for the end. |
| Minute 10 of the 21-minute Quantitative Reasoning section | 6 of 12 questions. Quantitative Comparison items should be running well under the 105-second average to bank time for Data Interpretation. |
| Minute 13 of the 26-minute Quantitative Reasoning section | 7 or 8 of 15 questions, with the Data Interpretation set located and its axes and units read before the clock drops under 8 minutes. |
- There is no wrong-answer penalty, because the raw score is simply the number correct. Fill every blank before a section expires, even with a blind guess on a five-choice item.
- Quantitative Comparison always uses the same four answer choices. Learning them cold removes several seconds per question across roughly the whole measure and frees time for Numeric Entry items, which have no choices to work backward from.
- Sentence Equivalence and select-one-or-more Reading Comprehension give no partial credit, so a half-solved item scores the same as a blank. Guess the full set and move rather than spending 30 extra seconds on a fraction of the answer.
- The on-screen calculator is available only in Quantitative Reasoning. ETS advises estimating the answer before keying it in so a mis-keyed digit is obvious, and warns against using it for computations that are faster mentally.
- Because adaptation happens between sections rather than between questions, you lose nothing by skipping a hard question and returning to it within the same section. Use the on-screen navigation rather than grinding in order.
- There are no breaks in the 1 hour 58 minutes. Practise full-length POWERPREP tests without pausing, because pausing in practice hides the fatigue that hits during the second Quantitative section.
Where the marks are
Reading Comprehension
About half of the 27 Verbal Reasoning questions, per ETS
ETS uses one to six questions per passage across six subject families. Questions ask for main idea, inference from incomplete data, author assumptions, and which sentence matches a description.
Data Interpretation sets
not published
Several Quantitative questions share one table or graph, so misreading a scale, a unit, or a broken axis once costs multiple items at the same time.
Quantitative Comparison
not published
One of the four Quantitative question types, with four fixed choices. ETS tests whether you can compare without computing, plug in zero, negatives, and fractions, and spot undetermined relationships.
Text Completion
About half of Verbal is non-passage work shared with Sentence Equivalence
Blanks sit in one to five sentence passages. Two-blank and three-blank items give three choices each and no partial credit, so one careless blank kills the whole question.
Descriptive statistics and probability
not published
ETS lists standard deviation, interquartile range, quartiles, percentiles, conditional probability, normal distributions, combinations, and permutations as in scope, and inferential statistics as out of scope.
Sentence Equivalence
not published
Six choices, exactly two correct, no partial credit. ETS warns that the correct pair need not be synonyms; what must match is the meaning of the two completed sentences.
Geometry with figures not drawn to scale
not published
ETS instructs that lengths and angles must not be judged by eye. Redrawing a figure while holding the given constraints fixed is the intended method and the one most candidates skip.
Analyze an Issue essay
Separately reported 0 to 6 score
The entire prompt pool is published, and the mean score is 3.46. A 4.5 sits at the 85th percentile, so modest gains move percentile a long way.
| Topic | Weight | Why it scores |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | About half of the 27 Verbal Reasoning questions, per ETS | ETS uses one to six questions per passage across six subject families. Questions ask for main idea, inference from incomplete data, author assumptions, and which sentence matches a description. |
| Data Interpretation sets | not published | Several Quantitative questions share one table or graph, so misreading a scale, a unit, or a broken axis once costs multiple items at the same time. |
| Quantitative Comparison | not published | One of the four Quantitative question types, with four fixed choices. ETS tests whether you can compare without computing, plug in zero, negatives, and fractions, and spot undetermined relationships. |
| Text Completion | About half of Verbal is non-passage work shared with Sentence Equivalence | Blanks sit in one to five sentence passages. Two-blank and three-blank items give three choices each and no partial credit, so one careless blank kills the whole question. |
| Descriptive statistics and probability | not published | ETS lists standard deviation, interquartile range, quartiles, percentiles, conditional probability, normal distributions, combinations, and permutations as in scope, and inferential statistics as out of scope. |
| Sentence Equivalence | not published | Six choices, exactly two correct, no partial credit. ETS warns that the correct pair need not be synonyms; what must match is the meaning of the two completed sentences. |
| Geometry with figures not drawn to scale | not published | ETS instructs that lengths and angles must not be judged by eye. Redrawing a figure while holding the given constraints fixed is the intended method and the one most candidates skip. |
| Analyze an Issue essay | Separately reported 0 to 6 score | The entire prompt pool is published, and the mean score is 3.46. A 4.5 sits at the 85th percentile, so modest gains move percentile a long way. |
The numbers
151.39, standard deviation 8.43, across 788,021 test takers
Mean Verbal Reasoning score
Source: ETS, GRE Guide to the Use of Scores 2026-27, Table 1A, covering July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025
157.62, standard deviation 9.90, across 790,864 test takers
Mean Quantitative Reasoning score
Source: ETS, GRE Guide to the Use of Scores 2026-27, Table 1A, covering July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025
3.46, standard deviation 0.85, across 785,720 test takers
Mean Analytical Writing score
Source: ETS, GRE Guide to the Use of Scores 2026-27, Table 1A, covering July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025
160 Verbal Reasoning is the 82nd percentile; 160 Quantitative Reasoning is the 50th
Percentile of a 160 score, Verbal versus Quantitative
Source: ETS, GRE Guide to the Use of Scores 2026-27, Table 1B
Verbal Reasoning 0.88 reliability with 3.17 SEM; Quantitative Reasoning 0.94 with 2.56 SEM; Analytical Writing 0.77 with 0.40 SEM
Reliability and standard error of measurement
Source: ETS, GRE Guide to the Use of Scores 2026-27, Table 4A
70 percent
Share of retakers who improve
Source: ETS, GRE tests overview page at ets.org/gre.html
If you fail
Wait before retaking
21 days between administrations of the GRE General Test.
Attempt limit
Five times in any continuous rolling 12-month period of 365 days. The window rolls rather than resetting each January, so a sixth sitting becomes available only when the earliest of your five attempts passes the 365-day mark.
Retake fee
The full test fee again, $249 outside mainland China and $231.30 inside it, plus $55 if you also reschedule or change test centre ($53.90 for a China reschedule). Candidates who previously qualified through a FAFSA Submission Summary can apply for another Fee Reduction Voucher and retest for $100.
ETS states that 70 percent of retakers improve their scores. Before booking, weigh the improvement you expect against the published standard error of score differences, 4.48 for Verbal Reasoning and 3.62 for Quantitative Reasoning, since ETS advises doubling that figure before treating a change as real. Every attempt within your five-year reportable history stays available to you, and ScoreSelect lets you send Most Recent or All, so a weak retake does not have to be shown as long as you choose Most Recent and the retake is not the most recent. Scores for any single administration must be reported in their entirety; you cannot mix a Verbal score from one sitting with a Quantitative score from another.
Exam Domains & Topics
ETS does not publish percentage weights for GRE content areas. It does state that about half of the Verbal Reasoning measure is passage-based. Each passage carries one to six questions, most passages run one paragraph, and one or two are several paragraphs long.
Key Topics to Master:
- Distinguishing major points from supporting evidence
- Identifying author assumptions and perspective
- Reasoning from incomplete data to infer missing information
- Understanding text structure and how parts relate to each other
- Passages drawn from physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, business, arts and humanities, and everyday topics
- Evaluating strengths and weaknesses of a stated position
The non-passage half of Verbal Reasoning. Text Completion presents one to five sentences with one to three blanks. Sentence Equivalence presents one sentence, one blank, six choices, and requires two selections that produce sentences with the same meaning.
Key Topics to Master:
- Reading structural signal words such as although and moreover
- Predicting the blank before reading the answer choices
- Handling three-blank Text Completion without testing every combination
- Recognising that Sentence Equivalence pairs need not be exact synonyms
- Secondary and figurative meanings of common words
- Accepting that neither type awards partial credit
One of the four content areas ETS lists for the Quantitative Reasoning measure. Question types can appear as Quantitative Comparison, multiple-choice, or Numeric Entry, and may sit inside a Data Interpretation set.
Key Topics to Master:
- Properties and types of integers: divisibility, factorization, primes, remainders, odd and even
- Arithmetic operations, exponents, and roots
- Estimation, percent, ratio, rate, absolute value
- The number line and decimal representation
- Sequences of numbers
- Judging when the on-screen calculator is slower than mental arithmetic
ETS caps the algebra content at a level generally no higher than a second course in high school algebra. Trigonometry, calculus, and higher mathematics are not tested, and constructing proofs is not tested.
Key Topics to Master:
- Operations with exponents
- Factoring and simplifying algebraic expressions
- Relations, functions, equations, and inequalities
- Solving linear and quadratic equations and inequalities
- Simultaneous equations and inequalities
- Coordinate geometry: graphs of functions, intercepts, and slopes of lines
Figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. ETS instructs test takers to assume only that lines shown straight are straight, points on a line are in the order shown, and objects are in the relative positions shown.
Key Topics to Master:
- Parallel and perpendicular lines, angle measurement in degrees
- Circles, triangles including isosceles, equilateral, and 30-60-90
- Quadrilaterals and other polygons
- Congruent and similar figures
- Three-dimensional figures, area, perimeter, volume
- The Pythagorean theorem
The content area that feeds Data Interpretation sets. ETS states that inferential statistics is not tested, which rules out hypothesis testing and confidence intervals.
Key Topics to Master:
- Mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation, interquartile range, quartiles, percentiles
- Reading line graphs, bar graphs, circle graphs, boxplots, scatterplots, frequency distributions
- Elementary probability including compound and independent events
- Conditional probability
- Random variables and probability distributions including normal distributions
- Counting methods: combinations, permutations, Venn diagrams
One 30-minute Analyze an Issue task, scored 0 to 6 in half-point increments and reported separately from the two multiple-choice measures. ETS publishes the entire Issue topic pool as a PDF, so the prompt you receive comes from a list you can read in advance.
Key Topics to Master:
- Evaluating an issue and considering its complexities
- Developing a position with reasons and examples
- Sustaining a focused, coherent discussion
- Controlling standard written English without a spellchecker
- Budgeting the 30 minutes across planning, drafting, and proofreading
- Understanding the published scoring guide and rater commentary
Recommended Study Plan
- 1Take POWERPREP Online Practice Test 1 under strict 1 hour 58 minute conditions with no pause
- 2Record section-level accuracy separately for the 12-question and 15-question sections to see where the clock, not the content, is failing
- 3Read the ETS Math Review PDF table of contents and mark every topic you cannot define in one sentence
- 4Download the published Issue topic pool PDF and read 20 prompts to see the pattern
- 5Set a target score by looking up the actual published expectations of three programs you will apply to
- 1Work the arithmetic chapters of the ETS Math Review: divisibility, factorization, primes, remainders
- 2Drill percent, ratio, and rate word problems until translation to equations is automatic
- 3Learn the four Quantitative Comparison answer choices verbatim and practise 30 comparison items
- 4Start a vocabulary system with the ETS GRE Vocabulary Flashcards app, 20 new words per day
- 5Read one long-form article from The Economist or London Review of Books daily and write a one-sentence summary
- 1Cover exponents, factoring, linear and quadratic equations, and simultaneous equations from the Math Review
- 2Practise 40 Text Completion items, always predicting the blank before looking at the choices
- 3Do 20 single-blank items and 20 two-blank or three-blank items and compare accuracy
- 4Review the ETS Mathematical Conventions PDF so notation surprises never cost time on test day
- 5Continue 20 flashcards per day and review the previous week with spaced repetition
- 1Work circles, triangles, quadrilaterals, three-dimensional figures, area, perimeter, and volume
- 2Practise redrawing figures that are not drawn to scale while keeping given constraints fixed
- 3Do 40 Sentence Equivalence items and log every pair you got half right
- 4Write your first timed 30-minute Issue essay from the published pool with no spellchecker
- 5Compare that essay against the ETS scoring guide and the published rater commentary
- 1Cover mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation, interquartile range, quartiles, and percentiles
- 2Work through elementary and conditional probability, combinations, and permutations
- 3Drill 10 Data Interpretation sets, reading axes, units, and footnotes before answering anything
- 4Watch the Khan Academy videos linked from the ETS Quantitative Reasoning page for any topic still shaky
- 5Add 20 flashcards per day and start reviewing words in sentence context rather than isolation
- 1Do 15 passages spread across physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, business, and humanities
- 2Practise select-in-passage items specifically, since they exist only in the computer-delivered format
- 3Work select-one-or-more items and confirm you never claim credit for a partial set
- 4For each passage, write down the author position and the single most vulnerable point in the argument
- 5Take a second timed Issue essay and score it with ScoreItNow! if you have access
- 1Take POWERPREP Online Practice Test 2 under full conditions, again with no pause
- 2Rebuild the error log by question type rather than by section
- 3Time yourself on the first 12-question Verbal section alone and confirm you finish under 18 minutes
- 4Identify the three question types costing the most points and schedule them into weeks 8 and 9
- 5Register for your test date if you have not already, checking the 21-day rule against your application deadlines
- 1Redo every Quantitative item you missed in weeks 2 to 5 without looking at prior work
- 2Practise Numeric Entry items specifically, checking units, rounding instructions, and fraction boxes
- 3Time a 21-minute block of 12 Quant questions and a 26-minute block of 15 to build both rhythms
- 4Practise estimating each answer before using the on-screen calculator to catch key-entry errors
- 5Reread the Mathematical Conventions PDF section on assumptions about figures
- 1Redo every Verbal item you missed in weeks 2 to 6 and classify each error as vocabulary, structure, or pacing
- 2Push flashcard review to 40 words per day, all in context sentences
- 3Do two full 18-minute and two full 23-minute Verbal blocks under timing
- 4Practise deferring one dense multi-paragraph passage to the end of a section and finishing it in the last four minutes
- 5Write a third Issue essay and cut it to a tighter structure than the previous two
- 1Alternate Verbal and Quant blocks daily rather than blocking a whole day on one measure
- 2Buy and start the Official GRE Mentor course for its 500 plus authentic practice questions if you need more official material
- 3Run one purchased POWERPREP PLUS test to get a scored essay alongside the multiple-choice sections
- 4Track your average seconds per question against the 90, 92, 105, and 104 second section budgets
- 5Review every flashcard word introduced since week 2
- 1If testing at home, install the ETS Secure Browser and run the Equipment Check at the same weekday and hour as your appointment
- 2Complete IDVaaS identity verification, which ETS requires at least 72 hours before the test
- 3Practise on a small desktop whiteboard or a sheet in a transparent sheet protector with an erasable marker, since regular paper is banned at home
- 4If testing at a centre, drive or travel the route once and confirm the 30-minute early arrival is realistic
- 5Check your ID against the ETS rules: original, physical, unexpired, photo, signature, and an exact name match excluding accents
- 1Take a second POWERPREP PLUS test at the exact hour of your appointment
- 2Review only your error log, not new material
- 3Write one final timed Issue essay to keep the 30-minute rhythm fresh
- 4Decide your four score recipients in advance so the on-screen prompt does not eat thinking time
- 5Decide your ScoreSelect choice, Most Recent or All, before test day
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Best Study Resources
POWERPREP Online practice tests
Official practice testETS practice tests that reproduce the real interface, the section-level adaptive design, and the 1 hour 58 minute clock. The closest available simulation of the delivered test, and the only free source of an official scaled estimate.
Free
POWERPREP PLUS Online, Practice Test 1 and Practice Test 2
Official practice testPaid ETS practice tests that add scoring for the Analytical Writing task and explanations. Included at no charge with a GRE Fee Reduction Voucher.
$45 each
ETS GRE Math Review (PDF)
Official study guideA 100-page ETS review of every mathematical concept in scope for Quantitative Reasoning, across arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis. Use it to confirm what is out of scope as much as what is in.
Free
ETS Mathematical Conventions (PDF)
Official referenceThe document that spells out GRE-specific notation, terminology, and assumptions, including which figure types are drawn to scale and which are not. Short, and it removes a whole class of avoidable errors.
Free
Published Analyze an Issue topic pool (PDF)
Official prompt bankETS publishes the complete pool from which your essay prompt is drawn. Reading the pool means no prompt on test day is genuinely unfamiliar.
Free
GRE Vocabulary Flashcards
Official appThe ETS flashcard app with more than 1,600 vocabulary practice questions, built for Verbal Reasoning. Words appear in usage context rather than as bare definitions.
Free
Official GRE Mentor course
Official online courseAn ETS course with more than 500 authentic practice questions and answers plus skill-building content. Useful once free official material runs out and you want questions written by the test makers.
Paid, priced on the ETS test prep store
ScoreItNow! Online Writing Practice
Official essay scoringETS essay practice scored by the e-rater engine, the same engine used in operational Analytical Writing scoring. Included free with a Fee Reduction Voucher.
$20
Khan Academy instructional videos for GRE Quantitative Reasoning
Free video courseVideos linked directly from the ETS Quantitative Reasoning page, mapped to the concepts covered in the ETS Math Review. Best for rebuilding a topic you have not touched since school.
Free
GRE Information Bulletin (PDF)
Official policy documentThe ETS document covering payment and refund policy, prohibited items, score cancellation, dismissal from a test, and test centre security procedures. Read the prohibited-items list before test day.
Free
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Leaving questions blank at the end of a section
The GRE raw score is defined by ETS as the number of questions answered correctly, so an incorrect answer and a blank score identically. On a five-choice item a blind guess is worth 20 percent and a blank is worth zero. Fill everything before the section clock expires.
Treating a 160 Quant score as equivalent to a 160 Verbal score
They are nothing alike in percentile terms. ETS reports 160 Verbal at the 82nd percentile and 160 Quant at the 50th for July 2022 to June 2025 testers. Quantitative programmes read 160 Quant as median, so set section targets from percentile tables, not from the scaled number.
Treating the test as question-by-question adaptive and panicking on hard items
The GRE adapts at section level only. The second section of each measure is chosen from your performance on the first section of that measure. A hard question mid-section signals nothing, and you can skip it and return within the same section at no cost.
Retaking after a two or three point change and expecting it to mean something
ETS publishes a standard error of measurement of 3.17 for Verbal and 2.56 for Quantitative, and standard errors of score differences of 4.48 and 3.62. A three-point move is inside measurement noise. Retake only if your practice tests show a genuine shift, not to chase a rounding difference.
Overusing the on-screen calculator
ETS explicitly warns that the calculator supplements rather than replaces mathematical knowledge, and advises against using it for computations that are faster mentally. Estimate the answer first so a mis-keyed digit is caught, and reserve it for long division, square roots, and multi-digit arithmetic.
Hunting for two synonyms in Sentence Equivalence
ETS states directly that the correct pair need not mean exactly the same thing; what must match is the meaning of the two completed sentences. Pairs of true synonyms are often planted as traps that do not fit the sentence coherently.
Judging geometry figures by eye
GRE geometric figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. You may assume only that lines shown as straight are straight, points on a line are in the shown order, and objects are in the shown relative positions. Coordinate systems and graphical data displays are the exception and are drawn to scale.
Preparing for two essays
The second essay task disappeared on September 22, 2023. There is now one 30-minute Analyze an Issue task and no Analyze an Argument task. Prep books printed before that date drill a task that no longer exists.
Skipping the four free score recipients on test day
The test fee includes four recipients designated on test day. Ordering the same four reports afterwards costs $40 each, or $160. Have the institution codes ready before you sit down.
Registering under a name that does not match the ID
ETS requires the first and last name on your primary ID to match your registration exactly, accents excluded, and states that a mismatch can prevent you from testing or trigger score cancellation afterwards. Supplemental ID cannot fix a name discrepancy. Contact the Office of Testing Integrity before registering if there is any doubt.
Exam Day Tips
- 1
Bring an original, physical, unexpired government-issued photo ID that carries your signature. Photocopies, digital IDs on a phone, international driver licences, international student IDs, credit cards, birth certificates, employee IDs, and the Aadhaar card are all rejected.
- 2
At a test centre, arrive at least 30 minutes before your appointment. ETS states that late arrivals may not be admitted and the fee is forfeited.
- 3
The only personal items allowed in a test centre room are your ID and a mask if you choose to wear one. Expect to empty pockets, raise sleeves above the wrists and trousers above the ankles, and possibly be scanned with a handheld metal detector wand and asked for a voice sample.
- 4
For the at home test, complete IDVaaS identity verification at least 72 hours before your appointment. Late verification can delay check-in.
- 5
Click the At Home Check-In link in your ETS confirmation email 15 minutes before your scheduled time. The ETS Secure Browser alone will not connect you to a proctor, and the connection window runs from 5 minutes before to 15 minutes after your start time. Budget 20 to 30 minutes for the whole check-in.
- 6
At home you may take notes only on one small desktop whiteboard with an erasable marker, or one sheet of paper inside a transparent sheet protector. Regular paper, pencils, and pens are banned, and the proctor will make you erase and show both sides at the end.
- 7
Keep your ears visible for the whole at home session. Hats, hair covering the ears, headsets, and earphones are prohibited; religious headwear is allowed as long as the ears stay visible. Face masks are not permitted during at home check-in or testing.
- 8
There are no breaks in the 1 hour 58 minutes. At a test centre an unscheduled break does not stop the clock, and at home an unscheduled break can invalidate the test. Hydrate before check-in, because food and drink are barred from the at home testing area.
- 9
Disable Zoom, Teams, Skype, TeamViewer, Apple Remote Desktop, Grammarly, and any spellcheck or screen-sharing software before an at home test, and make sure none of them auto-launch mid-session.
- 10
At the end of the test, choose to report rather than cancel unless something went badly wrong, name your four free score recipients, and pick your ScoreSelect option. You will see unofficial Verbal and Quantitative scores immediately; Analytical Writing will not appear until official scores post.
Career Paths & Salary Ranges
Doctoral researcher moving into medical or life science research
PhD programmes in the biological and health sciences commonly require or accept GRE General Test scores. The BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as typical entry-level education for this occupation and projects 9 percent employment growth from 2024 to 2034.
$100,590 median for medical scientists in 2024, per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
Data scientist after a quantitative masters
Masters programmes in statistics, analytics, and computational social science are heavy GRE users, and Quantitative Reasoning is the section they read first. BLS projects 34 percent growth in this occupation from 2024 to 2034, the fastest of any role listed here.
$112,590 median in 2024, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
Economist or policy analyst after a masters or PhD
BLS lists a masters degree as typical entry-level education for economists. Public policy and economics programmes weigh Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing together, since the job output is written argument built on data.
$115,440 median in 2024, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
Lawyer via a JD programme that accepts the GRE
ETS states that law programmes use GRE scores, so the General Test can replace a second admissions test for candidates applying to both law and other graduate programmes. Check each law school directly, because acceptance is school by school rather than universal.
$151,160 median in 2024, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
Management consultant after an MBA or policy masters
Business schools that accept the GRE read the Quantitative score against their GMAT-based expectations. BLS lists less than five years of related work experience as typical for this occupation, which lines up with the pre-MBA profile.
$101,190 median for management analysts in 2024, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
Clinical or research psychologist
Psychology doctoral programmes were the main users of the GRE Psychology Subject Test, which runs about 144 questions across six subscore areas. The General Test remains the common requirement, with the Subject Test requested by some programmes on top.
$94,310 median in 2024, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
Prerequisites & Requirements
- There are no education, age, or experience prerequisites. ETS sets no minimum degree, and anyone who can meet the identification requirements may register.
- An ETS account registered under your exact legal first and last name as printed on the ID you will present, accents excluded.
- An original, physical, unexpired, government-issued photo ID bearing your signature. Digital IDs are refused everywhere except the Republic of Korea, where some are accepted.
- Payment of $249, or $231.30 in mainland China, effective August 1, 2026. India has separate pricing published on the ETS India site.
- For at home testing: a desktop or laptop running Windows 11 or higher or Mac OS X 11 or higher with a licensed operating system, the Chrome browser, the ETS Secure Browser, a speaker and microphone that are not part of a headset, a webcam that can show a 360-degree room view, and a smartphone or tablet on iOS 12 or Android 8 or higher for the mandatory second camera.
- For at home testing: a private indoor room where you are alone, doors closed, blinds drawn, a clear tabletop, and a standard chair. Public spaces, glass-walled rooms, beds, couches, and overstuffed chairs are all barred.
- Testing accommodations for a disability or health-related need must be requested from ETS Disability Services and approved before you register.
- Candidates with political asylum or refugee status, or who otherwise cannot meet the ID rules, must contact the ETS Office of Testing Integrity at least 7 days before registering and receive approval first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the GRE General Test cost?
$249 in every location except mainland China, where it is $231.30, effective August 1, 2026. India has its own pricing published on the ETS India website. In Australia, Canada, Colombia, the 27 European Union countries, Nigeria, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey, the United States, and Vietnam, sales or value-added tax is added on top at checkout rather than included.
How soon can I retake the GRE and how many times?
Once every 21 days, up to five times in any continuous rolling 12-month period of 365 days. The limit is a rolling window rather than a calendar year, so a fifth attempt only frees up once the earliest of the five falls outside 365 days. ETS states that 70 percent of retakers improve their scores.
What does a retake cost?
The full fee again: $249, or $231.30 in mainland China. There is no discounted retake rate. Candidates who previously received a Fee Reduction Voucher by submitting a FAFSA Submission Summary within the past year can apply for another voucher, which brings the retest down to $100.
What happens if I do badly? Can I cancel my scores?
You are offered the choice to report or cancel at the end of the test, before you see anything. Cancelled scores are not sent to anyone. If you later change your mind, ETS charges a $50 Score Reinstatement Fee. If you report, the ScoreSelect option still lets you choose per application whether recipients see Most Recent or All scores from your five-year history.
Is there a passing score?
No. The GRE reports scaled scores, not a pass or fail result. ETS goes further in its Guide to the Use of Scores and recommends that programmes avoid cut scores, particularly using GRE scores as sole admissions criteria, because it contradicts holistic review.
How does the score scale actually work?
Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning report 130 to 170 in one-point increments, and Analytical Writing reports 0 to 6 in half-point increments. The raw score for each multiple-choice measure is the number of questions answered correctly, then converted to a scaled score by equating so that a given scaled score means the same performance regardless of which second section the adaptive design gave you. The scales were built in fall 2011 around a full-year mean of 150 and a standard deviation of 8.75.
Do wrong answers lose marks?
No. ETS defines the raw score as the number of questions answered correctly, so a wrong answer and a blank are worth the same zero. Guessing on every unanswered item before a section expires is strictly better than leaving blanks.
When do I get my results?
Unofficial Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores appear on screen the instant you choose to report. Analytical Writing is not shown on test day because of the essay scoring process. Official scores, with percentile ranks, post to your ETS account 8 to 10 days after the test date, and ETS emails you when they are ready. GRE Subject Test reports take about three weeks instead.
How long do GRE scores last?
Five years from your test date. ETS advises programmes not to use scores older than five years because ability changes over that period. ScoreSelect operates across the same five-year reportable history.
What ID do I need?
An original, physical, government-issued ID that has not expired, carries a recent recognisable photograph and your signature, and bears your first and last name exactly as you registered, accents excluded. Photocopies, digital IDs on a phone, international driver licences, international student IDs, draft cards, credit or debit cards, notarised letters, birth certificates, Social Security cards, employee IDs, diplomatic or consulate IDs, and the Aadhaar card are all refused. The Republic of Korea is the only place where certain digital IDs are permitted.
What are the rules for the at home test?
You must be alone in a private indoor room with doors closed and blinds drawn, sitting in a standard chair at a clear desk, on a desktop or laptop running the ETS Secure Browser in Chrome. Tablets, Chromebooks, Surface Pro devices, dual monitors, external keyboards on laptops, and headsets are prohibited. A second camera on your phone or tablet is mandatory. Talking to yourself, looking away from the screen, moving out of camera view, or taking a break can invalidate the test. Food and drink are not allowed.
Can I use a calculator?
Only the basic on-screen calculator that ETS provides during the Quantitative Reasoning sections. There is no calculator in Verbal Reasoning or Analytical Writing, and personal calculators are banned in both delivery modes. ETS publishes a separate PDF of guidelines specific to the on-screen calculator.
What reference material or notes can I use?
None. No notes, textbooks, or prewritten material of any kind. At a test centre the only items permitted in the room are your ID and an optional mask. At home you get one small desktop whiteboard with an erasable marker, or one sheet inside a transparent sheet protector; regular paper, pencils, and pens are banned, and the proctor watches you erase everything at the end.
Are accommodations available?
Yes. ETS provides testing accommodations for candidates with disabilities and health-related needs, but approval must be obtained from ETS Disability Services before you register rather than afterwards. Candidates approved for health-related needs may bring equipment, beverages, or snacks into a test centre room, which is otherwise prohibited.
How is the essay scored?
Holistically on a 6-point scale by a human rater together with the e-rater scoring engine, an ETS program that identifies essay features related to writing proficiency. ETS reports that two ratings of an essay agree about 97 percent of the time, differ by one score point about 2 percent of the time, and differ by two or more points less than 1 percent of the time. If you dispute the result, a Score Review for the Analytical Writing measure costs $60.
What is a competitive Analytical Writing score?
The mean is 3.46 with a standard deviation of 0.85 for testers between July 2022 and June 2025. On the percentile table a 4.0 sits at the 63rd percentile, a 4.5 at the 85th, a 5.0 at the 93rd, and a 6.0 at the 99th. Because the distribution is compressed, a half point moves you a long way.
How reliable is a single GRE score?
ETS reports reliability of 0.88 for Verbal Reasoning, 0.94 for Quantitative Reasoning, and 0.77 for Analytical Writing, with standard errors of measurement of 3.17, 2.56, and 0.40 points respectively. The standard error of score differences is 4.48 for Verbal and 3.62 for Quantitative, and ETS instructs users to double that value before treating a gap between two scores as real.
How does the GRE compare to the GMAT?
Both are accepted by many business schools, and ETS states that business programmes use GRE scores. The structural differences are concrete: the GRE runs 1 hour 58 minutes with 54 scored multiple-choice questions and one 30-minute essay, is section-level adaptive, provides an on-screen calculator in Quantitative Reasoning only, and reports 130 to 170 per measure. The GMAT is administered by GMAC on a different scale and structure, so compare a specific programme's published expectations for each rather than converting informally.
How does the General Test differ from a GRE Subject Test?
The General Test measures reasoning skills and assumes no subject knowledge. Subject Tests assume an undergraduate major or extensive background. Three remain: Mathematics with about 66 questions, Physics with about 70, and Psychology with about 144 questions across six subscore areas of Biological, Cognitive, Social, Developmental, Clinical, and Measurement/Methodology/Other. The Chemistry Test was discontinued in May 2023.
Is the at home test the same as the test centre test?
Yes. ETS states the at home test is identical in content, format, and on-screen experience, uses the same prep materials, and differs only in delivery method. Both run 1 hour 58 minutes with no breaks. The practical differences are logistical: at home requires the ETS Secure Browser, IDVaaS verification 72 hours ahead, a second camera, and a room that passes a 360-degree proctor sweep, while a test centre requires 30-minute early arrival, a metal detector wand, and storage of every personal item.
What if I lose my internet connection during an at home test?
A brief drop reconnects you to the proctor automatically once the connection returns, and the proctor reopens the exam if it can be reopened. If you cannot reconnect to either the test or the proctor, you restart the check-in process. Report any technical problem by speaking aloud or using the chat function, and expect the proctor to take 30 to 60 seconds to reply.
How many score recipients do I get?
Four, designated on test day as part of the test fee. Additional Score Reports ordered later cost $40 per recipient. Institution reports include your contact details, date of birth, gender, intended graduate major, and the test dates and scores you chose to send, and they never indicate that other GRE tests were taken.
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