Average GRE Scores for the Top Private Universities

Most graduate schools have done away with publishing the average GRE scores for their incoming graduate students online and in promotional literature. They don't want hopeful attendees to get the wrong idea that if their scores aren't the same as what other students have achieved, then they should not even bother to apply. However, some graduate schools are willing to post average ranges of scores for incoming grad students, although most of those scores are arranged by intended major rather than by the school's statistics as a whole. Keep reading to see the average GRE scores as listed for top private universities for a couple of very popular majors (engineering and education) as published by the U.S. News and World Report. 

GRE Scores Information

If you are perplexed as you run through these scores because you expected to see numbers in the 700s, then you are probably still using the old GRE score system which ended in 2011. As of August 2011, average GRE scores can run anywhere between 130 - 170 in 1-point increments. The old system more people are familiar with, assessed students on a scale from 200 - 800 in 10-point increments. If you took the GRE using the old system and are curious about what your approximate GRE score would be with the new scale, then check out the two concordance tables listed below. Please note, however, that GRE scores are only valid for five years, so July 2016 was the last time students with GRE scores in the prior format were able to use them for admissions into graduate school. 

• GRE Verbal Concordance Table
• GRE Quantitative Concordance Table

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: 167

Stanford University

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: 167

Education

• Quantitative: 162
• Verbal: 164

Harvard University

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: 167

Education

• Quantitative: 161
• Verbal: 165

California Institute of Technology (CalTech)

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: 168

Duke University

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: 164

University of Chicago

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: NA

Northwestern University

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: NA

Education

• Quantitative: 158
• Verbal: 163

University of Pennsylvania

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: NA

Education

• Quantitative: 159
• Verbal: 161

Johns Hopkins University

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: 164

Education

• Quantitative: 161
• Verbal: 163

Rice University

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: 166

New York University

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: NA

Education

• Quantitative: 154
• Verbal: 159

University of Notre Dame

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: 160

Vanderbilt University

Engineering: 

• Quantitative: 167

Education

• Quantitative: 159
• Verbal: 164

Are My GRE Scores Going To Get Me In?

There are quite a few factors that go into your acceptance into one of these top private universities, so don't stress out just yet. Although your GRE scores are important, they are not the only things considered by admissions counselors, as I'm sure you've heard before. Make sure your application essay is top-notch and that you have secured great recommendations from those professors who knew you best in undergrad. And if you haven't worked on bumping up your GPA already, then now is the time to ensure you're getting the best grades you possibly can in case your GRE score isn't exactly what you wanted it to be.