Chris Swimmer

GRE Scores for Top Universities

GRE scores for top universities - magoosh

If you’re aiming for an Ivy League-level graduate education, your test scores are going to play a part in your acceptance. So where do you stand when it comes to GRE scores for the top universities?

What are good GRE scores for grad schools?

The GRE score range you’ll need for top universities will vary across programs, but average GRE scores could potentially range between 147-170 on Verbal and Quantitative, with averages in the 160s for the very top grad programs. Below, I’ve aggregated all of the score charts from all of the individual school posts so that you can see the estimated ranges for average GRE scores by school, and identify where you stand in your application.

Scroll down to see them all, or jump directly to the GRE score ranges for grad schools you’re interested in.

Harvard - magoosh

Harvard GRE Scores

Program US News Rank Estimated Verbal Range Estimated Quantitative Range
Biological Sciences 1 158-162 160-164
Chemistry 4 158-162 164-168
Computer Science 17 158-152 164-168
Earth Sciences 9 159-163 161-165
Economics 1 160-164 169-173
English 3 162-166 157-161
History 9 161-165 156-160
Mathematics 3 159-163 170
Physics 3 161-165 168-170
Political Science 2 162-166 161-165
Psychology 3 157-161 156-160
Public Administration 3 159-163 159-163
Sociology 2 159-163 158-162

Check out more about Harvard GRE scores.

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Stanford - magoosh

Stanford GRE Scores

Program US News Rank Estimated Verbal Range Estimated Quantitative Range
Biological Sciences 1 158-162 160-164
Chemistry 4 158-162 164-168
Computer Science 1 156-160 169-170
Earth Sciences 4 159-163 161-165
Economics 1 160-164 169-170
English 3 162-166 157-161
Fine Arts 32 154-158 159-163
History 5 156-160 151-155
Mathematics 3 159-163 170
Physics 1 161-165 168-170
Political Science 1 162-166 161-165
Psychology 1 157-161 156-160
Sociology 5 159-163 158-162

Check out more about Stanford GRE scores.

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MIT - magoosh

MIT GRE Scores

Program US News Rank Estimated Verbal Range Estimated Quantitative Range
Biological Sciences 3 158-162 160-164
Chemistry 1 158-162 164-168
Computer Science 1 156-160 169-170
Earth Sciences 2 159-164 161-165
Economics 1 160-164 169-170
Mathematics 1 159-163 170
Physics 1 161-165 168-170
Political Science 7 162-166 161-165
Psychology 8 157-161 156-160

Check out more about MIT GRE scores.

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UC Berkeley - magoosh

UC Berkeley GRE Scores

Program US News Rank Estimated Verbal Range Estimated Quantitative Range
Biological Sciences 3 158-162 160-164
Chemistry 1 158-162 164-168
Computer Science 1 156-160 169-170
Earth Sciences 3 159-163 161-165
Economics 4 160-164 169-170
English 1 162-166 157-161
Fine Arts 15 159-163 154-158
History 1 161-165 156-160
Mathematics 3 159-163 170
Physics 3 161-165 168-170
Political Science 4 162-166 161-165
Psychology 1 157-161 156-160
Public Administration 4 159-163 159-163
Social Work 5 155-159 153-157
Sociology 1 159-163 158-162


Check out more about UC Berkeley GRE scores.

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Princeton - magoosh

Princeton GRE Scores

Program US News Rank Estimated Verbal Range Estimated Quantitative Range
Biological Sciences 6 158-162 160-164
Chemistry 7 158-162 164-168
Computer Science 8 156-160 169-170
Earth Sciences 9 159-163 161-165
Economics 4 160-164 169-170
English 3 162-166 157-161
History 2 161-165 156-160
Mathematics 1 159-163 170
Physics 3 161-165 168-170
Political Science 2 162-166 161-165
Psychology 6 157-161 156-160
Public Administration 10 156-160 154-158
Sociology 2 159-163 158-162

Check out more about Princeton GRE scores.

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Columbia - magoosh

Columbia GRE Scores

Program US News Rank Estimated Verbal Range Estimated Quantitative Range
Biological Sciences 11 155-159 155-159
Chemistry 11 155-159 159-163
Computer Science 14 153-157 164-168
Earth Sciences 4 159-163 161-165
Economics 9 160-164 169-170
English 8 162-166 157-161
Fine Arts 10 162-166 159-163
History 5 161-165 156-160
Mathematics 11 156-160 166-170
Physics 9 161-165 168-170
Political Science 8 162-166 161-165
Psychology 12 154-158 151-155
Public Administration 22 156-160 154-158
Social Work 5 155-159 153-157
Sociology 11 156-160 153-157


Check out more about Columbia GRE scores.

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Yale - magoosh

Yale GRE Scores

Program US News Rank Estimated Verbal Range Estimated Quantitative Range
Biological Sciences 6 158-162 160-164
Chemistry 11 155-159 159-163
Computer Science 20 153-157 164-168
Earth Sciences 14 156-160 156-160
Economics 4 160-164 169-170
English 1 162-166 157-161
Fine Arts 2 162-166 159-163
History 2 161-165 156-160
Mathematics 8 159-163 170
Physics 9 161-165 168-170
Political Science 6 162-166 161-165
Psychology 6 157-161 156-160
Sociology 18 156-160 153-157

Check out more about Yale GRE scores.

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NYU - magoosh

NYU GRE Scores

Program US News Rank Estimated Verbal Range Estimated Quantitative Range
Biological Sciences 46 155-159 155-159
Chemistry 51 152-156 156-160
Computer Science 35 153-157 164-168
Economics 11 157-161 164-168
English 20 159-163 152-156
Fine Arts 42 159-163 154-158
History 16 158-162 151-155
Mathematics 8 159-163 170
Physics 28 158-162 163-167
Political Science 15 159-163 156-160
Psychology 30 154-158 151-155
Public Administration 10 159-163 159-163
Social Work 16 152-156 148-152
Sociology 13 156-160 153-157

Check out more about NYU GRE scores.

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USC - magoosh

USC GRE Scores

Program US News Rank Estimated Verbal Range Estimated Quantitative Range
Biological Sciences 46 152-156 152-156
Chemistry 46 155-159 159-163
Computer Science 24 153-157 164-168
Earth Sciences 33 156-160 156-160
Economics 38 157-161 164-168
English 32 159-163 152-156
Fine Arts 53 156-160 151-155
History 38 158-162 151-155
Mathematics 37 156-160 166-170
Physics 55 155-159 160-164
Psychology 35 154-158 151-155
Public Administration 4 159-163 159-163
Social Work 72 149-153 145-149
Sociology 34 156-160 153-157


Check out more about USC GRE scores.

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UCLA - magoosh

UCLA GRE Scores

Program US News Rank Estimated Verbal Range Estimated Quantitative Range
Biological Sciences 17 155-159 155-159
Chemistry 16 155-159 159-163
Computer Science 14 153-157 164-168
Earth Sciences 14 156-160 156-160
Economics 12 157-161 164-168
English 11 159-163 152-156
Fine Arts 1 162-166 159-163
History 5 161-165 156-160
Mathematics 7 159-163 170
Physics 17 158-162 163-167
Political Science 12 159-163 156-160
Psychology 3 157-161 156-160
Public Administration 10 159-163 159-163
Social Work 9 155-159 153-157
Sociology 6 159-163 158-162
Library Sciences 14 159-163 152-156

Check out more about UCLA GRE scores.

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gre-scores-for-grad-schools-Cornell - magoosh

Cornell GRE Scores

Program US News Rank Estimated Verbal Range Estimated Quantitative Range
Biological Sciences 17 155-159 155-159
Chemistry 38 155-159 159-163
Computer Science 7 156-160 169-170
Earth Sciences 20 156-160 156-160
Economics 14 157-161 164-168
English 8 162-166 157-161
Fine Arts 53 156-160 151-155
History 11 158-162 151-155
Mathematics 14 156-160 166-170
Physics 7 161-165 168-172
Political Science 15 159-163 156-160
Psychology 9 157-161 156-160
Public Administration 39 156-160 154-158
Sociology 16 156-160 153-157


Check out more about Cornell GRE Scores.

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Average GRE Score by Program - UPenn

UPenn GRE Scores

Program US News Rank Estimated Verbal Range Estimated Quantitative Range
Biological Sciences 15 155-159 155-159
Chemistry 16 155-159 159-163
Computer Science 17 153-157 164-168
Earth Sciences 59 153-157 153-157
Economics 9 160-164 169-170
English 3 162-166 157-161
Fine Arts 64 156-160 151-155
History 11 158-162 151-155
Mathematics 16 156-160 166-170
Physics 13 158-162 163-167
Political Science 19 159-163 156-160
Psychology 12 154-158 151-155
Public Administration 58 153-157 151-155
Social Work 11 152-156 148-152
Sociology 13 156-160 153-157

Check out more about UPenn GRE Scores.

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Methodology

Using the limited score data in the US News & World Report’s release on graduate schools (for engineering and education), I created a block scale that assumes a standard difference between the ETS’s average of intended applicants of a specific major and the rank block (ie Ranks 1-10, 11-50, 51-100). Next I added the expected difference to the average score of the intended major and spread 2 points on either side of that to create a nice range. It would look like this:

Program Rank Rank block Intended Score Exp Difference Range
English 1 #1-10 157 11 points 166-170

Of course, you could argue that this isn’t perfect, and I’d have to agree. This is just intended to give you a general idea of average GRE scores for top universities, and what you should be striving for. We suggest contacting the admissions office of the graduate programs you are interested in to know exactly what scores they are looking for. 🙂 From there, you can compare against an online GRE score calculator to find your target score.

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Scores by School: GRE Ranges for Top Universities

As you can see, the GRE scores vary enormously depending on which school and which program you’re applying to. However, if you’re applying to a different program (other than one of those listed above) and you just want to know the general GRE ranges for these schools, we’ve averaged out the GRE scores by school in the table below.

Keep in mind that these are only rough ranges. For precise GRE scores, look on the admissions websites of the particular programs you’re applying to.

University Average Verbal Range Average Quantitative Range
Columbia University 155-164 153-170
Cornell University 157-164 153-170
Harvard University 155-164 158-170
MIT 158-164 162-170
New York University 154-161 150-166
Princeton 158-164 156-170
Stanford University 158-164 156-170
UC Berkeley 157-164 155-170
UCLA 155-164 154-170
University of Pennsylvania 154-164 150-170
University of Southern California 151-161 147-166
Yale University 158-164 158-170

Takeaways: GRE Scores for Top Universities

What should you keep in mind as you look at top-tier graduate programs?

  1. Each school’s GRE scores vary significantly by department.
    1. Note: For MBA programs that accept the GRE, you’ll want to check out the average GRE scores for those programs as well. Here are the profiles of the top 20 U.S. and European business schools.
  2. A good GRE score is at or above the 50th percentile scores of admitted students.
  3. Rankings reflect average GRE scores by giving a sense of how competitive a program is.
  4. A great GRE score can help you access scholarship money, as well as more competitive schools.
  5. GRE scores aren’t the only factor admissions committees look at! They also consider transcripts, letters of recommendation, essays/personal statements, and work experience.
  6. Getting your GRE score within the 50th percentile range for your dream schools helps strengthen your application—Magoosh can help!

Author

  • Chris Swimmer

    Chris Swimmer is an analyst at Magoosh who divides his time between marketing and research projects and helping folks out with their math hang ups while studying for the GRE and the GMAT. Follow him on Google+! And you can follow him @chrisrswimmer on Twitter.

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