Percentile in GRE

Most of the students complain that though their score scale in the quantitative section is higher than it is in the verbal section, when the percentile for GRE is derived, the percentile for verbal section comes out to be higher than that of the quantitative section.

Out of the total number of students who appear for the test; most of them perform very well in the quantitative section as compared to the verbal section. The main reason behind maximum number of students getting a low percentile in quantitative section is that a high number of students perform well in the quantitative section, so the competition level is very high. It should also be remembered that even a high score of 800 in the Quantitative Section means a percentile of 94, while in case of the Verbal Section a score of 740 would result in 99th GRE percentile. In the revised version of the test this discrepancy has been reduced to make the scores more comparable, though ETS recommends that the scores of the two sections are calculated differently and should not be compared directly.

The percentile for GRE that a college accepts depends upon the area of study that the student wants to take up in the graduate school. A math based graduate course may demand a high one as compared to a graduate course in psychology.

They are subject to variation from year to year. It is set in such a manner so that it corresponds with the score scale. If an overall score of 720 corresponds to the 99th GRE percentile, then it means that 99% of the test takers secured at or below this particular level.

Percentile Score Requirement for Various Courses:

To be eligible to take admission into a graduate program, the student must secure the required score. To be admitted into a regular master’s degree, the candidate must have a minimum percentile of 40 in the verbal section. In the quantitative section, the minimum score must be 75. The student’s percentile score in the analytical writing section must be 52%.

To be a regular student of psychology or statistics the student must secure a minimum score of 89 in the verbal section, the score requirement for the quantitative section would be 73. The student must secure a minimum percentile of 80 in the analytical writing section.

The minimal  score for a graduate course in Electrical and Computer Engineering is 70 percentile in verbal section and 90 percentile in quantitative section. The score for analytical writing is 50 percentile.

Along with this score sheet the candidate will need his academic records, letters of recommendation, etc. but the admission authorities give a lot of importance to the percentile scores of the candidate. By having a look at the percentile score for GRE, the authorities can get a general idea about the abilities of the applicant as compared to those of the other students.

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