What Is the GRE? Your 2025 Guide

The Educational Testing Service (ETS) administers the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), a test that future graduate school and business school students take as part of the application process. The purpose of the GRE is to validate that you’re ready for graduate-level study. According to the ETS, 81 percent of test takers who submitted their GRE scores gained acceptance into a graduate program, and that number goes up to 87 percent when it comes to test-optional schools [1]. 

You may need to take the GRE because your chosen program requires it, or you may want to boost your application. Either way, learn what the GRE is, what it tests, if you need to take it, how to prepare, and what some alternatives to grad school are. 

What is the GRE?

The GRE is a standardized test you take when applying to graduate school, business school, or even law school. Many different programs in various disciplines, including master’s, PhD, and professional degrees, accept the GRE for graduate admissions. While business schools have traditionally used the GMAT and law schools the LSAT, it is becoming more common for these institutions to accept GRE scores as well. 

ETS offers a GRE General Test, which is most commonly used, as well as GRE Subject Tests in mathematics, physics, and psychology. Your GRE scores are just one aspect of your graduate application. While a good score will boost your application, admissions offices will also evaluate your academic program, transcript, personal statement, and letters of recommendation.

What does the GRE exam test for?

The GRE general exam tests your graduate school readiness by examining your reasoning skills. These are general skills that you use across all disciplines rather than relating specifically to one discipline or another. Instead, the GRE measures the types of thinking you will do in graduate school, regardless of your field of study, in three sections. These three sections of the GRE are:

• Analytical writing

• Verbal reasoning

• Quantitative reasoning

Explore each section of the GRE in more detail. 

Analytical writing

The analytical writing portion of the GRE tests your ability to build an argument and communicate it clearly, articulate your thoughts surrounding complex ideas, and create a coherent and focused discussion. The writing includes the GRE’s “Analyze an Issue” task, which gives you an opinion on an issue and requires you to respond, developing an argument by examining the issue's complexities to support your argument. 

The analytical writing section breaks down as follows [2, 3]:

To write your response, you use a word processor specifically for the GRE that has no spell check or grammar check. The task will be about a subject from various disciplines but does not require content knowledge of that discipline. ETS publishes the Issue Topic pool to help you prepare. 

Verbal reasoning

The verbal reasoning portion of the GRE tests your ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate passages, sentences, and the relationship between words and ideas. It tests your ability using several formats, including reading passages or completing sentences using three types of questions:

• Reading comprehension: Tests your ability to understand and engage with texts

• Text completion: Tests your logical reasoning skills with sentence meaning

• Sentence equivalence: Tests your ability to create the same meaning using similar words

The verbal reasoning section on GRE breaks down as follows [2, 3]:

Quantitative reasoning

The quantitative reasoning portion of the GRE tests your ability to perform basic mathematics and demonstrate your knowledge of elementary math concepts. Many problems test your skills in solving word problems using mathematical models. Specific topics the quantitative reasoning section tests include:

• Basic arithmetic, including integers, fractions, and operations

• Topics in algebra, such as setting up equations, simplifying expressions, and graphing functions

• Geometric problems, including solving triangles, area, volume, perimeter, and understanding shapes

• Data analysis topics, such as basic descriptive statistics, interpreting information from graphs and plots, and understanding probabilities

The quantitative section of the GRE breaks down as follows [2, 3]:

You can expect questions to be quantitative comparisons, multiple-choice questions with one answer, multiple-choice questions with two answers, or require your own numeric entry. 

Who should take the GRE?

If you are planning to attend graduate school, business school, or law school you will want to consider taking the GRE. Your program may require you to take the GRE as part of their graduate admissions. While some programs no longer require a GRE score, ensure that you check with the graduate admissions office of your desired program. Additionally, doing well on the GRE proves you are ready for graduate level study and may set you apart from other applicants. 

Other GRE information: Length, cost, timeline

The GRE is generally a computer-adaptive test, although ETS does offer a paper version in select cases. In the computer-adaptive version of the GRE, which only pertains to the verbal and qualitative portions, your score on the first section determines the difficulty level of questions you see in the second section. By performing well in both sections, you access the highest level of scores, but if you don’t perform well in the first section, you can reach a certain score threshold. 

Additional GRE facts to consider include:

• While each section of the GRE is individually timed, the entire test takes about 1 hour and 58 minutes [2]. 

• The GRE costs $220 in the US [4].

• To take the GRE, you must register on the ETS website.

• You can schedule a GRE test at a testing location or take the GRE at home at any time.

• You can take the GRE every 21 days if you need to retake it.

What is a good GRE score?

Data from ETS suggests that the mean scores for each section are as follows: 151.29 for verbal reasoning, 156.93 for quantitative reasoning, and 3.49 for analytical writing [3]. While that offers an average, it’s important to note that a “good” GRE score is relative to your target schools. Generally, you should research the average score of the school you are applying to in order to determine your target score. 

How to prepare for the GRE

The first thing you need to do to prepare for the GRE is create a timeline for your grad school application process. It’s a good idea to take the GRE at least a year before your application is due so you can send the score and retake it if needed. Once you have a timeline figured out, you can register for a test date and begin to study.

Get a practice book. 

ETS offers official practice books to help you prepare for the GRE exam. The books include practice questions, test-taking tips, explanations for answers, and sample essays with scorer feedback. 

Dedicate time to studying. 

An effective way to study for the GRE is to dedicate specific time to studying. Plan on studying for about three to four months before you take your test. Consider the study habits that work best for you, and create blocks of time for daily studying. 

Take practice tests. 

Take a GRE practice test to assess your scores so that you can allocate time intentionally to the areas you need to work on. By practicing ahead of the formal test, you can become familiar with the format of questions, the structure of the exam, and proper time management during the exam. 

Alternatives to grad school

While you can build many skills through the traditional graduate school career path, you can also develop job-ready skills in other ways. You can continue your education through bootcamps, massive open online courses (MOOCs), or digital learning platforms. If you want to build in-demand skills, consider options such as: 

• Google IT Support Professional Certificate

• IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate

• Meta Data Analyst Professional Certificate

• IBM Machine Learning Professional Certificate

• Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate

• Meta Marketing Analytics Professional Certificate

Get started with graduate school on Coursera

The GRE is a standardized test that many schools require as part of your graduate school application. You can also pursue your master’s degree online. For example, you might explore options such as the Master of Science in Data Analytics Engineering from Northeastern University, the Master of Business Administration from Illinois Tech, or the Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from UC Boulder, all on Coursera.