How to Get a Perfect Score on the GRE
A perfect score on the GRE would be a 170 on each the Quant and Verbal sections and a 6.0 on the Analytical Writing Measure. Perfect scores are incredibly rare—while getting a perfect score in just one of these sections would put you in or close to the 99th percentile for that section, getting a perfect score in all three makes you a unicorn. In other words, you absolutely don’t need to get a perfect score in order to get into your program. I feel confident making that blanket statement. But for all the would-be unicorns out there, below I break down what you can do to get a perfect score in all three sections.
How To Get a Perfect Score on the Verbal Section
How many questions can you miss?
Virtually none. Possibly one. This means you will need to answer every question (leaving none blank) and that you don’t want to guess on any unless you just plan to get lucky. Since there are twenty questions per section and two scored sections, you’ll need to ace forty total Verbal questions, spending an average of a minute and thirty seconds on each question.
How should you study for GRE Verbal?
GRE vocabulary is tough for many people. You’ll want to study vocabulary for sure, but also be prepared strategically to answer questions when you see vocabulary that you don’t know.
Additionally, timing is important to bear in mind on all of the sections if you hope for a perfect score—in Verbal, this is often most challenging with regard to the Reading Comprehension problems, which make up half of your Verbal score (ten out of the twenty questions in a given section). You will want to make sure you have enough time to work on these problems, which means you’ll want to push your pace on the vocabulary-based problems—the Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence problems. A good rule of thumb is to try to spend no more than one minute per problem on average when it comes to the vocabulary-based problems so that you have more time—two minutes per question—on the Reading Comprehension questions.
In sum, in addition to learning test-specific strategies for the question types, you’ll need to make sure you’re managing the clock well.
How To Get a Perfect Score on the Quant (Math) Section
How many questions can you miss?
Unlike on the Verbal section where there may be a tad bit of leeway (such as missing a single problem), to get a perfect score on the Quant section you almost certainly can’t miss any. You’ll need to answer all forty questions correctly, in an average of one minute and forty-five seconds per question.
How should you study for GRE Math?
Getting a perfect GRE Quant score not only requires a solid knowledge of the topics covered—algebra, geometry, and so on—but also good strategy around the particular question types. Quantitative Comparison questions, for instance, of which you’ll likely see seven or eight, always ask you to do the same thing: compare two relative quantities. Because the instructions and answer choices never change, Quantitative Comparison problems often can be handled efficiently, banking time for you to spend on the less predictable question types. While studying, in addition to reviewing all of the substantive math areas you may see on the test (some of which you may not have seen since high school), you’ll want to learn question-specific strategies as well.
How To Get a Perfect Score on the Analytical Writing Measure (Essays) Section
I’m not sure why you want a perfect score on the Essays other than for bragging rights. But since that’s a fair goal, to get a perfect essay score, you obviously need to write a great essay: smart, coherent, and grammatically correct. It should contain sentences of varying lengths and somewhat advanced vocabulary, properly used. It should be well-organized and insightful.
These you can probably guess—but what you may not guess is how much length matters. You should prepare to write a lot—four to five paragraphs—if you are hoping to score a six. A shorter essay, no matter how well-crafted, is unlikely to get above a five.
What about the rest of us?
For those of us who find it daunting to talk about perfection, I’ll remind you of the good news: you don’t need a perfect score. Even the top graduate schools don’t expect you to get a perfect score on the GRE. If you miss a question here or there, don’t sweat it. Trust in your personal score goal, do all you can to reach that score goal, and you’ll still have a great shot.
Don’t forget that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free. We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.
Mary Richter is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Nashville, Tennessee. Mary is one of those weirdos who loves taking standardized tests, and she has been teaching them for 15 years. When she’s not teaching the LSAT or GRE for ManhattanPrep, she’s writing novels under the last name Adkins. You can find them wherever you buy books. Check out Mary’s upcoming GRE prep offerings here!