GRE percentile scores are used to compare the scores of one participant with other participants of a comparison group. It differs from the concept of scores and percentages. For example, if a candidate gets a percentile score of 90, it means that they have scored more than 90 percent of the participants who have appeared for the examination. The percentile scores are not the actual score that candidates have got out of the total marks. It is merely a process of comparison and creating a rank, which helps in selecting the top students based on the cut-off of each university.
The GRE General score is based on the analysis of three parameters, Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Aptitude. The duration of this exam is three hours 45 minutes and it is conducted in both online mode and paper-based mode. This exam can be taken at any time of the year. The score range of this exam ranges differently for different sections.
For the quantitative reasoning and verbal reasoning section, it ranges from 130 to 170 while for the analytical writing part, it ranges from zero to six. The percentile is calculated based on the score obtained by each student. Depending on the number of participants having a score less than the selected participant, the percentile is provided to each of them.
The GRE subject test is a specialised subject test that is taken for assessing the subject knowledge of the participants. This exam can be taken on six subjects which are mathematics, biology, chemistry, English literature, physics, and psychology. It is a two hours fifty minutes test which is totally a paper-based test. This test cannot be taken at any time of the year. It is only conducted during April, September and October. The score of this test ranges from 200 to 900. The percentile is calculated by the same method as it is done for the GRE General test.
|
Scaled Score |
Verbal Reasoning Percentile Rank |
Quantitative Reasoning Percentile Rank |
|
170 |
99 |
97 |
|
169 |
99 |
97 |
|
168 |
98 |
95 |
|
167 |
98 |
93 |
|
166 |
97 |
91 |
|
165 |
95 |
89 |
|
164 |
94 |
87 |
|
163 |
92 |
85 |
|
162 |
90 |
82 |
|
161 |
88 |
79 |
|
160 |
85 |
76 |
|
159 |
82 |
73 |
|
158 |
80 |
70 |
|
157 |
75 |
67 |
|
156 |
72 |
63 |
|
155 |
68 |
59 |
|
154 |
64 |
55 |
|
153 |
60 |
51 |
|
152 |
55 |
47 |
|
151 |
51 |
43 |
|
150 |
47 |
39 |
|
149 |
42 |
35 |
|
148 |
38 |
31 |
|
147 |
34 |
27 |
|
146 |
30 |
24 |
|
145 |
26 |
20 |
|
144 |
23 |
17 |
|
143 |
19 |
14 |
|
142 |
17 |
12 |
|
141 |
14 |
10 |
|
140 |
11 |
8 |
|
139 |
9 |
6 |
|
138 |
7 |
4 |
|
137 |
6 |
3 |
|
136 |
4 |
2 |
|
135 |
3 |
1 |
|
134 |
2 |
1 |
|
133 |
1 |
1 |
|
132 |
1 |
– |
|
131 |
1 |
– |
|
130 |
– |
– |
A percentile is calculated based on the comparison of all the candidates participating in the test. This concept is widely different from the calculation of percentages. A percentage is calculated by converting the score per every hundred. Percentile on the other hand represents the rank of a particular score among all other scores. A particular value of percentile represents how many candidates have scored less than the candidate. A 70-percentile score denotes that the candidate scored more than 70 percent of the test takers.
In order to improve their GRE exam percentile score, the candidates should first set a goal and decide in what range they want to score. After that, they should take the required preparation based on the sections of the exams. In the case of the General test, all students must practice the logical, analytical, and verbal sections. All students should be well aware of the type of questions that are usually present. In the case of the Subject test, detailed knowledge regarding the subject is necessary to get a good percentile.
Since there is no negative marking in this test, in case a participant is not aware f the correct answer, they must select an option randomly and not leave a question answered. In this way, there remains a 25 percent chance of getting a score. The analytical writing portion should be practiced daily. participants must e aware of the rating scheme of this section so that they can improve their writing pattern based on the factors that are considered during the rating.
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A score of 165 is the 95th percentile score. It means that the score should be 165 in the verbal or quantitative section of the test. A 95 percentile means that the candidate is in the top 5 percent of scorers. 95 percent of test takers have scored less than them.
The scaled score for the verbal and quantitative section of the general GRE test is 130 to 170 while the scaled score for the writing section is between zero and six.
At first, the raw score of each candidate is calculated. Since there are no negative markings, the raw score is the summation of all the correctly answered questions. The raw score is then converted into the scaled score by rating them on a scale of 130 to 170 depending on their relative difficulty level. Finally, after getting the scaled GRE score, the chart is used to convert it into percentiles. The percentile tends to vary for verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning for the same scaled score.
For the verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning section, the lowest GRE score accepted is 130 ad the best score is 170. Thus, the composite good score ranges from 260 to 340 points. A score below 145 is considered a bad score in the GRE General Test exam.
