GRE Scores for Top Universities

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
• Stanford
• MIT
• UC Berkeley
• Princeton
• Columbia
• Yale
• NYU
• USC
• UCLA
• Cornell
• UPenn

Harvard GRE Scores

Stanford GRE Scores

MIT GRE Scores

UC Berkeley GRE Scores

Princeton GRE Scores

Columbia GRE Scores

Yale GRE Scores

NYU GRE Scores

USC GRE Scores

UCLA GRE Scores

Cornell GRE Scores

UPenn GRE Scores

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:

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.

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.

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.
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!