Is GRE exam a gateway to studying abroad, or a barrier?
The shortest, truest answer is: it shouldn’t, but it does.
But then, you’re not here for a short answer. And truth—sadly, in the disorganized study abroad education loan market in India—is subjective.
To help you find the answer for yourself, we’ve put together this guide.
In this guide, we’ll answer questions like:
- Does a high GRE exam score improve your chances of getting an education loan for studying abroad?
- What’s the lower GRE score for which you can expect to get an education loan for studying abroad?
- Does your GRE exam score influence whether you can get a scholarship or grant for studying abroad?
- What exactly is a poor, average, good, and great GRE exam score?
- Whether a high GRE score will guarantee that you get an education loan for studying abroad and admission to a top-rated university?
- What is ETS? (This is important, read on.)
- Can a bank deny you a loan based on your GRE exam score?
Does a high GRE exam score influence your education loan for studying abroad?
The best answer you can hope for is—It can. But it shouldn’t.
Whether a bank considers your GRE score as a make-or-break factor on the loan decision, depends entirely on factors beyond your control. Stuff like:
- Does the bank believe you’ll get an admission offer from your university of interest?
- Does the bank follow an internal policy of only entertaining loan applications from students whose GRE score is above a defined minimum?
- Does the bank have enough loan applications to meet its financial disbursement targets? (if no, expect their appetite for risk to rage on).
If you’d let us be philosophical for a moment, shouldn’t we ask whether your GRE exam scores should be allowed to influence your future?
GRE scores aren’t always fair
Here’s the one big question you want to be answered in plain English—will my GRE score influence the bank’s loan decision?
But you won’t find a plain answer anywhere—not on Google, not on YouTube, and certainly not on the lips of your loan agent.
That’s because the plain answer is boring and dissatisfactory.
This is certainly an interesting question, and certainly one that draws strong opinions.
IAT: Problems with GRE exam scores
In the same article, Clayton writes that GRE exams are “like taking a cancer test that was invented in the 1940s.”
Opinions aside, you have to live with the GRE exam.
Prepare for it, respect it, and celebrate it.
Until the vagueness comes back to haunt you, as you wonder whether your GRE score will influence the bank’s decision to grant you an education loan to study abroad.
But we’ll tell you all. So that you can anticipate, and give yourself the best chance to:
- Not waste your time with a bank that might eventually reject your loan application because of what they believe is a below-par GRE score
- Not squander an opportunity to secure a low-interest, highly-flexible education loan for studying abroad, irrespective (and not because) of your GRE exam score.
Are there any guidelines for the suitable use of your GRE score?
First, a word on ETS.
What’s ETS, you ask?
It’s the world’s largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization. GRE exam is one of the many tests this organization administers.
IAT: ETS and GRE
ETS’s guidelines dictate:
- How an institution can interpret your GRE scores correctly
- Which purposes your scores can be evaluated for
IAT: FundRight for your best study abroad education loan
Why does a bank ask for your GRE score when you apply for an education loan to study abroad?
There are valid reasons for this.
Banks would, naturally, not want to spend administrative man-hours evaluating applications of students who score below-par GRE scores.
That’s because banks believe that such students won’t get admission to a reputed university. And even if they do get admission to some university, that university won’t assist the student with a high paying job.
Most banks only trust a tiny list of universities while evaluating a student’s career prospects.
So, it’s almost certain that your GRE score will be considered. The trouble is that you can’t predict where your application will be accepted or rejected based on logic, or the whims (and misinformation) of the evaluating officer.
Don’t take a chance. Trust the secure and unbiased medium—FundRight.
What does a bank consider a good GRE exam score?
Banks and NBFCs don’t disclose exactly how they interpret your GRE score. However, you might draw an inference from this.
IAT: What’s a good GRE score?
The most reliable method of interpreting the goodness of your GRE scores is to use the Interpreting Your GRE Scores guide from ETS.
| Measure | Number of test takers | Mean | SD |
| Verbal
Reasoning |
1,548,211 | 150.37 | 8.59 |
| Quantitative
Reasoning |
1,551,107 | 153.66 | 9.44 |
| Analytical
Writing |
1,543,418 | 3.60 | 0.85 |
Will a high GRE score guarantee admission?
No, it doesn’t.
To be more precise, a high GRE score can ‘guarantee’ admission to any mediocre institute (that would admit you even if you’d scored half the marks), but that’s not what you mean by ‘admission’, right?
Apart from your respectable GRE score, you’ll need
- a great GPA (Grade Point Average)
- an extraordinary SOP (Statement of Purpose)
- a convincing letter of recommendation
- (preferably) work experience
Note that low GRE scores don’t mean that all is lost. Persist. Find a good enough university.
You know a dozen, but there are 1000s.
You can’t handle this information.
You need AI at your service.
You got it.
It’s SelectRight.
Do banks check the GRE score to evaluate applications for education loans to study abroad?
While a bank will ask for your GRE exams scorecard, they won’t deter you from applying for an education loan even if you don’t have your scorecard yet. Eventually—though—you’ll need to submit it.
What is the lowest GRE score at which a bank will process an education loan application?
That’s tough to say.
Traditionally, the belief has been that the following GRE scores (25th percentile or lower) mean a student is unlikely to be admitted to a good university.
- GRE verbal scaled score of 145
- GRE quantitative scaled score of 147
Can a bank deny you an education loan based on your GRE exam score?
It can’t. Unfortunately, you’d never actually know why a bank rejected your education loan application. That’s because banks don’t declare a rejection reason officially (even though your loan agent might say something to appease you).
We’ve explained earlier how ETS defines appropriate uses of GRE score, and ‘to evaluate a student’s credit-worthiness isn’t an approved use.
We guess the more important question for you is – will you sue the bank if it denies your education loan for studying abroad? No.
The right question is – what can you do to give yourself the best chance of getting a loan, and that too at the lowest interest rate, and with the most flexible terms.
We’re biased, but we aren’t lying when we recommend FundRight. We built this platform just so students won’t have to plant all their eggs in a tiny basket.
Instead, why don’t you let lenders compete for your loan? Try now; it’s worked for 1000s of students, sure you’ll find your best education loan for studying abroad here.
Some other questions you might want to be answered.
Does your GRE exam score influence whether you can get a scholarship or grant for studying abroad?
A high GRE score doesn’t guarantee you a scholarship. However, it can improve your chances significantly. A low GRE score, however, isn’t a deterrent, as most of the important scholarships consider factors more important than your GRE score.
Also, your GRE score is unlikely to influence whether you receive a grant or not, because grants are meant to be need-based, not merit-based.
How to find the right university based on my GRE score?
A detailed answer is nearly impossible. Because there are 1000s of great universities in the USA alone! And the score ranges differ based on the postgraduate courses (MS or MBA).
We recommend you don’t rely on outdated information on the web. Instead, first identify a shortlist of 20 universities, and then find out their past acceptance scores for them.
Is 300 a good GRE score for MS?
We just can’t say! Sorry, we’d rather be right than agreeable.
300 might get you an admission offer from Louisiana State University [QS World University Rankings 2022 Rank 800+] but won’t get you in Florida State University [QS World University Rankings 2022 Rank 475].
In comparison to 300, yes 325 opens up dozens of universities for you, from among those ranking among the top 500 universities in the world.
Wrapping Up…
We hope this guide helped you with the answers you needed. We’ve tried to be as objective as possible, and hope you found this guide helpful.
For more specific queries, don’t hesitate to ask our financial and education advisors. Write to us at grad@stage.gradright.com.
Sources :
https://www.quora.com/Will-a-good-GRE-score-automatically-get-you-a-scholarship
https://www.ets.org/gre/consider/admissions_advice/ultimate_guide_going_grad_school_for_less
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_Testing_Service
https://www.ets.org/
https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_interpreting_scores.pdf
https://brightlinkprep.com/what-is-a-good-gre-score/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20ideally%2C%20you%20would,any%20program%20at%20any%20school.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_and_university_rankings_in_the_United_States
https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2022
https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide_table1a.pdf
https://examstrategist.com/gre-percentiles/
