{"id":1982,"date":"2025-11-05T06:49:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T06:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/?post_type=faqs&#038;p=1982"},"modified":"2025-11-05T06:49:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T06:49:06","slug":"what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre","status":"publish","type":"faqs","link":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/","title":{"rendered":"What does a 70th percentile score mean on the GRE?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A 70% on the GRE refers to scoring in the 70th percentile, meaning you performed better than 70% of test-takers. The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) does not use percentage grades like exams in school; instead, it reports scaled scores and <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gre\/gre-score-percentiles\/\"><strong>percentile ranks<\/strong> <\/a>for three sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Verbal Reasoning<\/strong> and <strong>Quantitative Reasoning<\/strong> are scored from 130\u2013170 in 1-point increments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Analytical Writing<\/strong> is scored from 0\u20136 in half-point increments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Percentiles show your rank compared to all test-takers over the past three years (ETS updates these annually).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As of the latest ETS data (2023\u20132025 testing year), a 70th percentile corresponds to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Section<\/th><th>Score (approx.)<\/th><th>Percentile<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Verbal Reasoning<\/td><td>155<\/td><td>70th<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Quantitative Reasoning<\/td><td>161<\/td><td>70th<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Analytical Writing<\/td><td>4.5<\/td><td>~74th*<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>*Note: Writing percentiles are less granular; 4.5 is slightly above 70th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is 70th percentile competitive?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Yes for many programs<\/strong>, especially in humanities, education, or social sciences where Verbal scores matter more.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Moderate for STEM programs<\/strong>, where top Quant scores (165+, 85th+ percentile) are often expected.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Top-tier schools (e.g., Ivy League, Stanford) typically want 80th\u201390th+ percentiles overall.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Example:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A total of <strong>155V + 161Q + 4.5AWA<\/strong> = ~70th percentile across sections. This is solid for mid-tier master\u2019s programs but may need strengthening with GPA, research, or work experience for elite schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bottom line: 70th percentile = strong performance, but check your target programs\u2019 average admitted scores via their websites or ETS\u2019s <em>GRE Guide to the Use of Scores<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","faq-categories":[],"class_list":["post-1982","faqs","type-faqs","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What does a 70th percentile score mean on the GRE?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 70th percentile GRE score means outperforming 70% of test-takers. Discover exact scores for Verbal (155), Quantitative (161), and Analytical Writing (~4.5), plus competitiveness for grad programs. Check ETS percentiles and target school averages.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What does a 70th percentile score mean on the GRE?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A 70th percentile GRE score means outperforming 70% of test-takers. Discover exact scores for Verbal (155), Quantitative (161), and Analytical Writing (~4.5), plus competitiveness for grad programs. Check ETS percentiles and target school averages.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Entry Pass\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-05T06:49:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/thee-entrylogo1-2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"WebPage\",\"FAQPage\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/\",\"name\":\"What does a 70th percentile score mean on the GRE?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-05T06:49:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-05T06:49:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"A 70th percentile GRE score means outperforming 70% of test-takers. Discover exact scores for Verbal (155), Quantitative (161), and Analytical Writing (~4.5), plus competitiveness for grad programs. Check ETS percentiles and target school averages.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Frequently Asked Questions\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What does a 70th percentile score mean on the GRE?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/\",\"name\":\"The Entry Pass\",\"description\":\"Blogs and FAQs\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"The Entry Pass\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Entry Pass\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/thee-entrylogo1-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/thee-entrylogo1-1.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"The Entry Pass\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What does a 70th percentile score mean on the GRE?","description":"A 70th percentile GRE score means outperforming 70% of test-takers. Discover exact scores for Verbal (155), Quantitative (161), and Analytical Writing (~4.5), plus competitiveness for grad programs. Check ETS percentiles and target school averages.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What does a 70th percentile score mean on the GRE?","og_description":"A 70th percentile GRE score means outperforming 70% of test-takers. Discover exact scores for Verbal (155), Quantitative (161), and Analytical Writing (~4.5), plus competitiveness for grad programs. Check ETS percentiles and target school averages.","og_url":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/","og_site_name":"The Entry Pass","article_modified_time":"2025-11-05T06:49:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/thee-entrylogo1-2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["WebPage","FAQPage"],"@id":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/","url":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/","name":"What does a 70th percentile score mean on the GRE?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-11-05T06:49:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-05T06:49:06+00:00","description":"A 70th percentile GRE score means outperforming 70% of test-takers. Discover exact scores for Verbal (155), Quantitative (161), and Analytical Writing (~4.5), plus competitiveness for grad programs. Check ETS percentiles and target school averages.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/what-does-a-70th-percentile-score-mean-on-the-gre\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Frequently Asked Questions","item":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/faq\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What does a 70th percentile score mean on the GRE?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/#website","url":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/","name":"The Entry Pass","description":"Blogs and FAQs","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/#organization"},"alternateName":"The Entry Pass","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/#organization","name":"The Entry Pass","url":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/thee-entrylogo1-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/thee-entrylogo1-1.png","width":500,"height":500,"caption":"The Entry Pass"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"uagb_featured_image_src":[],"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Cathy","author_link":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/author\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A 70% on the GRE refers to scoring in the 70th percentile, meaning you performed better than 70% of test-takers. The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) does not use percentage grades like exams in school; instead, it reports scaled scores and percentile ranks for three sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing. As of the&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faqs\/1982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faqs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/faqs"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"faq-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theentrypass.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq-categories?post=1982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}