Average GRE Scores

An average GRE score is about 500 on both the Verbal and Quantitative sections and a 4 on the Analytical Writing section. What is meant by average GRE score? If you have an average GRE score, about 50 percent of GRE students have a score lower than yours and about 50 percent have a score higher than yours (i.e. 50th percentile).

Different Schools Want Different GRE Scores

Depending on the graduate school(s) you are applying to, you might or might not want a score that is above 50th percentile range. Additionally, you might just need a high percentile score on one section. For example, if you are applying to a prestigious graduate school, admissions is most likely looking for scores that fall at or above 90th percentile. If you are applying to a graduate school that doesn't have a high demand, an average GRE score might suffice.

Also keep in mind that more technical graduate programs, say, in the field of Engineering will require a high GRE Quantitative score but will place less emphasis on the Analytical Writing and Verbal sections. Similarly, if you are applying to graduate school to study English, less importance is going to be placed on the GRE Quantitative section.

Keeping this in mind, the phrase average GRE score should be considered loosely as it will vary quite a bit by graduate school as well as field.