What actually gets scored

Three separate measures, reported as three separate numbers. There is no single "GRE score" that includes the essay — when people say 330, they mean Verbal + Quant.

Your target, precisely: Quant 170 is the ceiling — a perfect section. Verbal 160 is the harder half of the job in practice, because it rests on vocabulary and reading, which move slowly. 170 + 160 = 330.

The shape of the test

The current ("shorter") GRE runs about 1 hour 58 minutes, with 27 Verbal and 27 Quant questions across five sections.

The essay always comes first. The order of the Verbal and Quant sections after it can vary.

Section-level adaptive — the part people misunderstand

The GRE does not adapt question by question. It adapts section by section: the computer picks your second Verbal section based on how you performed on your first Verbal section, and likewise for Quant.

The consequence is blunt: a weak first section routes you into an easier second section, and an easier section has a lower scoring ceiling. You cannot fully recover a bad opening by crushing the back half. Treat the first Verbal and first Quant sections as the highest-leverage 39 minutes of the entire exam.

Practical translation for you: do not "warm up" during section 2. Be awake and sharp from the first question.

Raw score → scaled score

Your reported score is based on the number of questions you answered correctly across the operational sections of that measure. That raw count is converted to the 130–170 scale through equating, a process that compensates for minor difficulty differences between test editions so that a 160 means the same thing whichever version you sat.

Two things follow. First, every question is worth the same — there are no bonus points for hard ones, so never burn four minutes on a monster while three easy questions sit unanswered. Second, because there is no penalty for a wrong answer, a blank is strictly worse than a guess. Answer everything, even if it's a coin flip with ten seconds left.

Percentiles, and why Quant and Verbal aren't comparable

A percentile rank is the percentage of test takers who scored below you. The current tables are built on everyone who tested between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2025.

The important asymmetry: the Quant percentile scale is compressed at the top, because a large share of GRE takers come from quantitative fields and score highly. The same scaled number is a very different achievement on each side — a given Verbal score generally places you higher in the pack than the identical Quant score. This is exactly why Q170 is worth chasing but V160 is worth more of your hours: verbal points are scarcer and move more slowly. Exact percentile tables are in ETS's Interpreting Your GRE Scores booklet, linked below.

What you get, and when

• At the end of the test: unofficial Verbal and Quant scores appear on screen immediately. This is the number you'll walk out with.
• Before that: you choose whether to report or cancel. Cancelled scores are not sent to anyone.
• About 8–10 days later: official scores, including Analytical Writing, in your ETS account.
• ScoreSelect: you decide which test dates get sent to schools — you are not forced to reveal every attempt.
• Validity: five years from the test date.

What this means for the next 31 days

• Never leave a blank — free expected points, costs nothing.
• Protect the first section of each measure. It sets your ceiling.
• Don't over-invest in the essay. It's separate from the 330; a competent template is enough.
• Skip easy-question errors before chasing hard ones. All questions are equal; accuracy on the easy ones is the cheapest scoring you own.
• Verbal is the bottleneck — it's slower to move and its points are scarcer.

Arithmetic

• Divisibility: 3 → digit sum divisible by 3 · 4 → last two digits · 6 → even and ÷3 · 8 → last three digits · 9 → digit sum ÷9 · 11 → alternating digit sum
• Primes: 2 is the only even prime. 1 is not prime. Check divisors up to √n.
• GCD × LCM = a × b
• Odd/even: odd×odd=odd; anything×even=even; odd±odd=even
• Exponents: aᵐ·aⁿ=aᵐ⁺ⁿ · aᵐ/aⁿ=aᵐ⁻ⁿ · (aᵐ)ⁿ=aᵐⁿ · a⁻ⁿ=1/aⁿ · a⁰=1 · a^(1/n)=ⁿ√a
• Traps: squaring a fraction between 0 and 1 makes it smaller; negatives flip inequalities when multiplied.

Percent, interest, ratio

• Percent change = (new − old)/old × 100. Increase then decrease by the same % never returns to the start.
• Successive: +20% then −20% → ×1.2×0.8 = 0.96 → a 4% loss.
• Simple interest: A = P(1 + rt) · Compound: A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt)
• Average speed = total distance / total time — never the average of the two speeds.
• Work: combined rate = 1/a + 1/b; time = 1/(combined rate).

Algebra

• Identities: (a±b)² = a² ± 2ab + b² · a² − b² = (a+b)(a−b) · (a+b)³ = a³+3a²b+3ab²+b³
• Quadratic: x = [−b ± √(b²−4ac)] / 2a · discriminant b²−4ac > 0 two roots, = 0 one, < 0 none
• Sum/product of roots: −b/a and c/a
• Arithmetic sequence: aₙ = a₁ + (n−1)d · sum = n(a₁+aₙ)/2
• Geometric: aₙ = a₁rⁿ⁻¹ · infinite sum (|r|<1) = a₁/(1−r)
• Absolute value: |x| = k → x = ±k. Always test both branches.

Geometry

• Triangles: angles sum 180 · third side lies strictly between the difference and sum of the other two
• Special right triangles: 45-45-90 → 1 : 1 : √2 · 30-60-90 → 1 : √3 : 2
• Triples worth memorising: 3-4-5, 5-12-13, 8-15-17, 7-24-25
• Area: triangle ½bh · trapezoid ½(b₁+b₂)h · circle πr² · sector (θ/360)πr² · arc (θ/360)2πr
• Polygon interior angles = (n−2)·180
• Coordinate: slope (y₂−y₁)/(x₂−x₁) · distance √(Δx²+Δy²) · midpoint averages · parallel = equal slope · perpendicular = negative reciprocal
• Solids: box V=lwh, SA=2(lw+lh+wh) · cylinder V=πr²h, SA=2πr²+2πrh · sphere V=⁴⁄₃πr³
• Critical: GRE figures are not drawn to scale unless it says so. Never eyeball.

Data analysis

• Mean = sum/n · median = middle (average the two middles if n is even) · range = max − min
• Standard deviation measures spread. Adding a constant to every value leaves SD unchanged; multiplying scales it.
• Weighted average = Σ(value × weight) / Σweight
• Counting: permutations nPr = n!/(n−r)! (order matters) · combinations nCr = n!/[r!(n−r)!] (order doesn't)
• Probability: P(A or B) = P(A)+P(B)−P(A and B) · independent: P(A and B)=P(A)P(B) · P(not A)=1−P(A)
• Sets: |A∪B| = |A|+|B|−|A∩B|
• Normal distribution: ≈68% within 1 SD, ≈95% within 2, ≈99.7% within 3
• Quartiles: IQR = Q3 − Q1

Quantitative Comparison — the signature type

Four fixed choices: A (Quantity A greater), B (Quantity B greater), C (equal), D (cannot be determined).

• D is impossible when both quantities are purely numeric — with no variables, a definite relationship exists. That alone eliminates a quarter of the answer space on many questions.
• Don't calculate — compare. Strip anything identical from both sides.
• Plug strategically: always test 0, 1, −1, a fraction between 0 and 1, and a large number. If two different plugs give two different relationships, the answer is D.
• Never assume a variable is a positive integer unless stated.

Test-day mechanics

• On-screen calculator is basic — no exponents, no parentheses memory. Estimation usually beats it.
• Numeric entry: obey the requested form (fraction vs decimal); no rounding unless asked.
• "Select all that apply" has no partial credit — every correct box, no incorrect ones.
• Every question scores the same. Flag and move on at ~2 minutes.

Text Completion

1. Read the whole sentence first. Never fill blanks in reading order.
2. Find the pivot — the word that tells you whether the blank agrees or contrasts with the rest.
3. Predict the blank in plain English.
4. Only then read the options and match to your prediction.
5. Multi-blank: solve the easiest blank first, eliminate that column, then move on. Blanks are interdependent — never treat them separately.

Signal words that decide the answer:

• Contrast — but, yet, although, despite, however, nevertheless, paradoxically, ironically, whereas, notwithstanding
• Continuation — moreover, indeed, furthermore, similarly, in fact, likewise
• Cause/effect — because, thus, therefore, consequently, hence, since
• Concession — while, granted, admittedly, to be sure

Sentence Equivalence

• Six options, choose exactly two, and both completed sentences must mean the same thing. No partial credit.
• Predict first, then hunt for the pair.
• The classic trap: a word that fits the sentence beautifully but has no synonym among the options. If it has no partner, it is wrong — however well it reads.
• The second trap: two words that are synonyms of each other but don't fit the sentence. Both tests must pass.
• Shortcut: scan for synonym pairs first, then test which pair fits.

Reading Comprehension

Map structure, don't memorise detail. You can always go back for detail; you cannot go back for the argument.

While reading, hold three things: the main point, the author's attitude (approving? sceptical? neutral?), and what each paragraph is doing (introducing, objecting, giving evidence, conceding).

Answer only from the passage. Outside knowledge is a trap, especially on topics you know.

The five wrong-answer species:

• Too extreme — "always", "never", "proves". The GRE prefers hedged language.
• Out of scope — true, sensible, and never mentioned.
• Half-right — first clause correct, second clause wrong. The most dangerous kind.
• True but not the answer — accurate to the passage but doesn't answer the question asked.
• Reversal — says the opposite of the passage, often using its exact vocabulary.

By question type: Inference means "must be true", not "seems likely". Vocab-in-context — context beats the dictionary; the common meaning is usually the trap. "In order to" asks for purpose, not content.

Timing

• TC/SE should run under a minute so long passages get the slack.
• Long passage: 2–3 min reading, then ~1 min per question.
• Never leave a blank. Guess and flag.