Shorter GRE Diagnostic Quizzes

Take the Shorter GRE Diagnostics

Need a quick diagnosis of your GRE level? Try Magoosh’s free GRE Diagnostic Quizzes to determine your current abilities in both Quant and Verbal. Think of each GRE diagnostic test as an early step you can take toward test day, something that can help start you off on the right foot for your GRE prep. You can either take a combined math and verbal quiz or a quiz for each section separately:

After you take a GRE diagnostic quiz, you’ll receive:

• a rough score estimate (Note: since this estimated score is based on your performance on only a portion of the GRE, we recommend taking the full-length practice test option for the most accurate estimate)
• video and text explanations for each of the quiz questions
• a breakdown of your strength and weaknesses by question type and topic

And after you take the quiz, continue reading here for advice on how to study next based on your results!

What You Need to Know about Shorter GRE Diagnostic Quizzes

But first, if you are 100% new to the GRE, it might be a good idea to take a moment to familiarize yourself with the question types you’ll encounter; however, doing so is not absolutely essential before taking a diagnostic.

In Quant, you’ll see,

• Problem Solving questions (multiple choice)
• Numeric Entry (you enter your own answer)
• Quantitative Comparison (determining which quantity of two is bigger)
• and Multiple Answer (more than one multiple-choice answer can be correct)

And in Verbal, you’ll see,

• Reading Comprehension questions (a mix of formats)
• Sentence Equivalence questions (choose a pair of words for the same blank)
• Text Completion questions (choose one word for each blank)

Done! What Next?

Once you have taken a free GRE diagnostic quiz, you will see your estimated score on-screen, as well as the number of questions you answered correctly for a given section. Based on the number of correct answers you had, check out the ranges below for some information on where to go next in your studies.

Section Score: 0 – 3 Right Answers

First of all, don’t be discouraged if the diagnostic quizzes challenged you: the GRE is supposed to be hard! The great news is that now you know what GRE test questions look like. And you can tailor your studies to suit your needs exactly. Additionally, all this score tells you is where you are today, not what your final score on the actual GRE will be. Can you still score above 170 on a particular subject? With smart prep and hard work, you absolutely can! It all depends on you.

• Recommended Study Schedule: 3-Month Beginner
• These results suggest that you need to get familiar with the material that the GRE tests, so you’ll be prioritizing lessons to learn key concepts first.

Section Score: 4 – 5 Right Answers

This is also a common scoring range to be in when starting out in your GRE prep, so don’t worry if you find yourself here. Getting 4 or 5 correct on a 12-question diagnostic simply means you’ve identified areas for improvement. And the good news is that you have plenty of room to grow your score. The questions you answered correctly, those areas are your strengths. For the ones you missed, pinpoint the specific concepts that tripped you up in order to better tackle those questions in the future.

• Recommended Study Schedule: 3-Month Beginner
• These results also suggest that you can pick up a lot of points by prioritizing lessons to gain a strong grasp of fundamental concepts.

Section Score: 6 – 7 Right Answers

From your score, it looks like you have some familiarity with the GRE already, and that’s great! Maybe you’ve looked through a practice test or two and are familiar with some of the question types but struggle with others. Or perhaps there are certain topics that you’re already strong in but others where you need a refresher or a deeper understanding. Either way, through additional study and practice, you can turn those weaker areas into strengths and boost your score.

• Recommended Study Schedule: if you performed even better on the other section than this one, you might be best suited for either the 3-Month Math-Focused or the 3-Month Verbal-Focused schedule. You can also view all our study schedules here.
• In your studies, there may be some lessons that you need to study more closely and others that you can skip or scan through. But there should be more emphasis on practice and putting those skills to the test.

Section Score: 8 – 10 Right Answers

First of all, congrats! You have a solid grasp of both GRE question formats and concepts tested. With that said, there’s still room to improve, and you can push your score even higher. Additionally, keep in mind that these diagnostic quizzes are just one portion of the GRE. You’ll need to sustain that performance on the longer second section, so continued practice in your studies is essential.

• Recommended Study Schedule: 3-Month Advanced
• You should learn and review concepts from lessons as needed, but your time is going to be best spent on practice and carefully reviewing that practice to learn from your mistakes.

Section Score: 11 – 12 Right Answers

Impressive! On the diagnostic, you’ve shown either a near-perfect or a perfect mastery of the skills the GRE tests. That’s excellent! However, it’s important not to become complacent. On the second math and verbal sections of the GRE, you’re going to see more and harder questions, so don’t stop here thinking that you’ve already done all that you’ve needed to for test day. You want to keep your skills sharp so that you don’t start losing points from a lack of focus.

• Recommended Study Schedule: 1-Month
• The bulk of your studying is going to be targeted practice in the areas that give you the most trouble. But keep in mind that it’s still very important to do mixed and timed practice to ensure that your pacing and your test-taking strategies are in tip-top shape.

What does Magoosh’s shorter GRE diagnostic tests say about your GRE score?

These diagnostics can help give you a basic measure of your GRE abilities and will give you a feel for how you might do on the test. When you’re ready, check out What is a Good GRE Score? And, if you’re considering taking the GRE to apply to an MBA program, check out Verbal scores and Quant scores for MBA programs.

The diagnostics are a good place to kickoff your GRE preparation. However, additional practice is essential. As such, I further recommend taking Magoosh’s full length free GRE test in your future studies. And check out the other free GRE practice tests recommend by Magoosh as well. These resources, along with a good GRE study regimen (see our GRE study plans for examples), can help pave your way to a successful test day experience.

And speaking of test day….

How do the shorter GRE diagnostic tests compare to test day itself?

The practice questions come from Magoosh GRE‘s test question bank. Like the real GRE, these quizzes includes multiple choice questions, numeric entry, problem solving, and quantitative comparison. We write and release our questions after careful data analysis of real GRE materials from ETS.

Still, there’s no substitute for GRE practice from ETS. Official ETS GRE questions are the very best resource for preparing you for what you’ll encounter on test day. Thus, the very best free GRE practice tests, are the PowerPrep GRE tests. The tests from the GRE Official Guide are also great, but I especially recommend PowerPrep. This is because the PowerPrep software is programmed to make the exam adaptive just as it is in the test center. This is something you can’t get in any of the print GRE practice books from ETS.

Also, just like ETS, Magoosh GRE’s sets of practice questions and GRE practice tests are adaptive as well!

Finally, remember to take a “big picture” approach to your shorter GRE prep!

Leave no stone unturned when it comes to practicing for the GRE and self-diagnosing your abilities as you continue to learn and grow during GRE prep. Make sure you practice all major GRE skills: GRE Reading Comprehension, Sentence Equivalence, Text Completion, and, of course, all of the the GRE Quant concepts.

For more personalized support, you can sign up for an affordable, premium Magoosh GRE prep subscription!

Good luck! You’ve got this. 🙂