You can retake the GRE multiple times in a rolling 12-month period, with a mandatory waiting gap between attempts. Universities consider your best score, and retaking is not viewed negatively. The practical limit is your application deadline, not ETS policy. If you’re targeting a Fall intake, plan your first attempt early enough to allow one retake before December. Check current attempt limits on the official ETS site before booking, as policy has changed in recent years.

For competitive US MS programs, target 320+ overall with Quant at 165 or above. For scholarship consideration, aim for the 75th percentile of your target program’s published class profile rather than its average. Indian applicants compete largely within the Indian applicant pool, which is large and quantitatively strong. This means the effective bar for Quant is higher than published averages suggest, while a Verbal score above 155 becomes a genuine differentiator.

Work backward from your deadlines. For Fall 2027, you want a final score by August–September 2026, which means beginning serious preparation around March–April 2026 to allow 4–6 months of prep plus one retake window. Students who start later usually face one of two outcomes: submitting a weaker score than they were capable of, or dropping to the next intake. Neither is necessary with adequate planning.

On test day, you can share your GRE scores with up to four universities for free using the ScoreSelect option, choosing your most recent or all scores from the past five years. Afterwards, you can send additional scores to more universities for a fee through your ETS account.

The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is a standardized test administered by ETS. It is used mainly for admissions to graduate, business, and some law programs in the U.S. and various other countries. It is a section-adaptive computer-based test that evaluates verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills essential for graduate-level education.

The GRE has two versions: the GRE General Test and the GRE Subject Tests. The General Test assesses verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing skills, while the Subject tests evaluate knowledge in specific fields such as Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology.

The GRE General test consists of three sections: Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning. The order of the sections is typically Analytical Writing first, followed by either the Verbal or Quantitative sections. The total testing time is approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes, including breaks.

As part of the GRE Classroom coaching program, IMS Manya offers 30 one-on-one mentoring sessions, in addition to 52+ hours of live learning, with some of the most experienced mentors. In these sessions, you can work with your assigned mentor to build GRE preparation strategies, refine your approach to problem-solving, resolve individual doubts, analyse your mock tests, and get tips on how to apply to the right colleges.

The range of scores for the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning measures of the GRE General Test is 130 to 170, in one-point increments. The range of scores for the Analytical Writing measure is 0 to 6, in half-point increments. The verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning scores are combined, while the analytical writing scores are scored separately. The GRE test scores are valid for two years. 

The IMS Manya GRE Coaching Program is comprehensive and covers all the aspects of verbal, quantitative, and writing required for the GRE test. The curriculum is updated to reflect the new, shorter GRE and offers exhaustive in-class exposure and practice material. You won’t need any other resources or help to complete your GRE syllabus and score 320+.